Search Results (1,440)

Microbial electrochemical systems (MESs), represented by microbial fuel cells (MFCs), provide an interdisciplinary platform integrating microbiology, electrochemistry, and environmental engineering. However, laboratory teaching of MFCs often focuses on device construction or voltage measurement, with limited emphasis on mechanism understanding, system evaluation, and engineering applications. This study developed an inquiry-based learning (IBL) laboratory module based on a novel MES, the integrated microbial fuel cell (iMFC), and implemented it in an environmental science course for senior undergraduate students. Students worked in groups of 2–3 to design experiments, construct and operate iMFC systems, analyze performance, and evaluate environmental applications. Key learning outcomes included investigation of power generation, water purification efficiency, and energy conversion efficiency through experimental measurements and data analysis. The effectiveness of the module was assessed using pre- and post-course tests and a post-course questionnaire. The average score increased from 13.26 on the pre-course test to 17.49 on the post-course test on a 20-point scale, implying improved understanding of microbial electrochemical principles and experimental practices. In addition, more than 90% of students reported that the module improved their knowledge of iMFC operation, interdisciplinary concepts, and data analysis skills. The results demonstrate that an IBL-based iMFC laboratory module can effectively promote interdisciplinary understanding and practical skills in environmental science education, providing a transferable approach for integrating sustainable technologies into higher education laboratory curricula. Full article

Destructive earthquakes are natural hazards highlighting the importance of introducing disaster preparedness from early childhood. Preschool children require developmentally appropriate educational approaches that connect scientific understanding with experiential, play-based, and participatory learning. This study presents the design and implementation of the “Earthy and Quaky” (EQ) earthquake education program, developed for children aged 3–6 years and implemented in two preschool educational settings in Zografou City (Attica, Greece). The program was structured as an interdisciplinary and progressive learning pathway comprising eight thematic units integrating natural and social sciences, language, mathematics, music and movement, visual arts, puppet theater, simulation, and earthquake drills. Follow-up activities and family involvement extended learning beyond the classroom. The implementation involved 28 children, whose participation, verbal responses, interactions, behavioral responses, and drawings were qualitatively observed. The observations indicated active engagement with concepts, including the Earth’s structure, earthquake occurrence and impact, and self-protection practices. Within the context of this small-scale implementation, the observations indicate that an interdisciplinary, experiential, and activity-based framework can provide a supportive learning context for earthquake preparedness during preschool years. The adaptable structure, low-cost materials, repeated reinforcement, and school–family connection may offer potential for adaptation to other preschool contexts after studying applicability and effectiveness with larger and more diverse samples. Full article

Previous studies propose methodologies to transform any European curriculum into STEAM methodologies, where, based on curricular analysis, the areas of opportunity most likely to form a STEAM project with a high number of connections can be determined. Recent updates of the STEAM model toward a humanistic framework, STEAM∀H (STEAM for all Humanity), allow us to state the objective of this article: to expand these methodologies by connecting them with the SDGs addressed by each thematic area in the curriculum, where the “H” concept (for all humanity) is determined by the SDGs tackled within the designed project. The methodology proposed in this article consists of 10 phases to analyze the connection with the SDGs. To guarantee the validity of the analysis, the procedure includes an item-coding phase, the evaluation of inter-rater reliability, and the construction of adjacency matrices for network analysis. As a case study to test methodological feasibility, this article analyzes the LOMLOE Primary Education curriculum in the Valencian Community to identify the potential for designing interdisciplinary projects under the STEAM∀H approach and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although LOMLOE prioritizes the STEM model—excluding the arts and humanities—the analysis of 546 items from Science, Mathematics, and Art Education demonstrates that the regulations allow for their integration. After refining the sample into 32 thematic areas, 12 highly interconnected conceptual areas were identified. These conceptual areas are configured as potential ideal generative topics for Project-Based Learning (PBL) linked to the 2030 Agenda, which could foster the development of creativity and social commitment in students as a pedagogical implication. Full article

Higher education institutions are expected to contribute to sustainability transformation, yet less is known about how institutional capacity supporting such transformation develops through educational innovation. This study examines capacity building during the implementation period of LIFE (2016–2020), a university-wide interdisciplinary project-based learning initiative. The exploratory case study draws on institutional documents, interviews with 4 university leaders, 19 academic supervisors, and 151 students’ open-ended and closed-ended responses to the feedback survey. Analysis traced implementation tensions and challenges through their recognition, response and adaptations, institutional embedding, and emerging capabilities. The study shows that educational innovation can create important institutional preconditions for sustainability transformation, especially when paradoxical tensions are activated through identities and agency, communities and networks, rules and regulations, and infrastructures and tools. Three recurring tensions were identified: autonomy versus guidance, interdisciplinarity versus disciplinary depth, and flexibility versus regulation and quality assurance, alongside the challenge of moving from project coordination to longer-term continuity. Adaptive responses contributed to emerging institutional capabilities and overall capacity for facilitating student agency, interdisciplinary collaboration, cross-disciplinary networking, organizational learning, adaptive governance, and project coordination. However, sustainability was more salient in strategic discourse than in supervisors’ and students’ accounts of everyday practice, and this capacity was not consistently mobilized towards explicit sustainability purposes. The findings therefore distinguish institutional capacity relevant to sustainability transformation from sustainability-oriented institutional capacity. Sustainability orientation requires explicit alignment of emerging capabilities and capacity with sustainability purposes. Full article

Calls for supporting systems thinking across the educational spectrum and in diverse formal and non-formal educational and community contexts are pervasive. Educators can leverage systems thinking to support learners and participants in myriad ways, but this demands clarity of purpose and quality instructional design. I developed a novel, interdisciplinary graduate course, titled Systems Thinking Pedagogy and Praxis, to support current and future educators in this work. Drawing graduate students from diverse fields, the course is structured as an interdisciplinary learning community, centering the systems of interest to students throughout. Class activities and discussions help students to (1) differentiate foundational complex systems ideas and systems thinking perspectives and (2) evaluate a range of systems approaches for their utility in educational and community contexts. Through modeling, experience, and reflection, students are supported in their ability to implement teaching and learning strategies for promoting systems thinking in their own practice. Major course assignments were developed to support students in designing an educational intervention or tool to foster systems thinking in a real-world educational and/or community context. Educators and faculty developers in higher education can use strategies from this course and the backward design approach in a variety of disciplinary contexts. Full article

Contemporary education increasingly emphasises the development of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies alongside academic achievement, recognising their importance for students’ well-being, interpersonal relationships, and lifelong success. Project-Based Learning (PBL) is frequently presented as a pedagogical approach capable of fostering these competencies through collaboration, active engagement, and authentic learning experiences. However, empirical evidence regarding the extent to which these socio-emotional benefits emerge through participation in project work remains inconclusive. This study examined changes in students’ self-perceived socio-emotional competencies following participation in PBL intervention in secondary education. A one-group pre-test–post-test pre-experimental design was employed with 38 students aged 12–14 from a public secondary school in Andalusia, Spain. Students participated in four interdisciplinary PBL projects, each comprising approximately 10–12 sessions and implemented across the first two terms of the 2024–2025 academic year. Self-perceived SEL competencies were assessed using the 30-item Social and Emotional Learning Scale, and data were analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Mann–Whitney U tests and Spearman’s rank correlations. No statistically significant pre-test–post-test differences were detected in self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills, or responsible decision making. Self-control showed a statistically significant decrease in the individual Wilcoxon analysis, with a moderate effect size. No statistically significant gender differences were detected in the magnitude of change. The five competencies were positively associated at both measurement points, although these analyses did not test whether the correlational pattern remained unchanged over time. Rather than questioning the socio-emotional potential of PBL, these findings challenge assumptions regarding the automatic emergence of measurable SEL gains through project participation alone. They highlight the need for further controlled research into the pedagogical conditions under which PBL may support socio-emotional development, including intentional SEL integration, teacher preparation, structured collaborative scaffolding, and performance-based assessment. Full article

For sustainability education to support societal transformation, it is necessary to understand how pre-service teachers conceptualize sustainable development and which Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) they prioritize. This study examined pre-service teachers’ metaphorical perceptions of sustainable development, their 2030 SDG priorities, and convergence/divergence between the two. A qualitatively driven convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used with 93 pre-service teachers from six teacher education programs at a public university who had completed a sustainability-related course. Data were collected through a metaphor elicitation form and an SDG priority-ranking form. Content analysis produced 226 valid metaphor units grouped into six overarching themes and 17 subthemes. Metaphors centered mainly on future and intergenerational transfer, environmental protection and responsibility, and sustaining life and continuity. Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Clean Water and Sanitation, No Poverty, and Quality Education received the highest priority. Participants conceptualized sustainable development positively, holistically, and with a future orientation, yet prioritized immediate basic human needs. Environmental protection, systems integrity, and intergenerational responsibility were prominent metaphorically, whereas Climate Action, Responsible Consumption and Production, ecosystem-related goals, and Partnerships for the Goals ranked relatively low. The findings highlight a need for interdisciplinary, practice-oriented teacher education that makes the interdependence of the SDGs more explicit. Full article

Caring for people living with obesity requires attention to eating, weight, emotional needs, and the therapeutic relationship. This study explored how nurses understand obesity care in a specialized outpatient clinic within the Servicio de Endocrinología y Nutrición (Endocrinology and Nutrition Department). An interpretive qualitative study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Tenerife, Spain. Six nurses participated in semi-structured interviews conducted between August and October 2025. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, with reporting guided by the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ). Four interrelated themes were developed: the therapeutic relationship based on trust, empathy, and nonjudgment; support versus control; nurses’ perceptions of patients’ experiences of guilt, shame, and weight stigma; and the nurse as a source of support in a resource-constrained context. Participants sought to provide person-centered care, although practice remained organized around weight monitoring, behavioral supervision, and goal attainment. They also described emotional labor and frustration when psychological and social needs exceeded available resources. Participants described nursing care for people living with obesity as extending beyond dietary education, while empathy coexisted with weight-centered practices and attributions of individual responsibility. The findings suggest the potential value of specific training, stigma-sensitive communication, and interdisciplinary support. Full article

The rapid expansion of interdisciplinary dual-degree programs in higher education poses unique challenges to students’ identity construction, particularly in highly disparate disciplinary combinations like foreign languages and STEM. Existing research on learner identity in interdisciplinary contexts largely relies on cross-sectional data, failing to capture the dynamic evolution of identities. Accordingly, this longitudinal study draws on a multidimensional framework that conceptualizes learner identity across cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions and employs Q methodology and semi-structured interviews to trace the identity trajectories of 19 undergraduates in an “English + Engineering” dual-degree program across three critical time points throughout their four-year undergraduate studies. Findings reveal that at just six months after entering the program, students displayed either pluralistic exploration or an early engineering preference. After two years of learning, surging academic pressure and curriculum fragmentation were closely associated with a convergence toward an engineering-anchored identity, with some students caught in a dilemma between the two majors. Approaching graduation, the majority constructed a firm engineering-dominant identity and came to English as a competitive edge, while a highly vulnerable minority fell into a deep identity crisis. The study concludes with practical implications, calling for genuinely integrated interdisciplinary curricula and targeted psychological and academic support to mitigate identity conflicts and foster healthy interdisciplinary self-development. Full article

Wellbeing has become an increasingly prominent concern within educational research and policy. However, dominant approaches frequently conceptualise wellbeing as an individual psychological attribute associated with resilience, self-regulation, and personal coping capacities. While such perspectives have generated valuable insights, they risk overlooking the relational and structural conditions through which wellbeing is shaped and sustained. This conceptual paper argues that Relational Wellbeing can provide a valuable framework for understanding and advancing inclusion, predominantly in reference to Anglophone educational contexts in the global North. Drawing on sociological perspectives on wellbeing, and a synthesis of theoretical work on power, capital and pedagogy, the paper reconceptualises wellbeing as a dynamic and socially embedded process constituted through relationships, recognition, and participation. Through a collaborative and interdisciplinary analysis, the paper examines how individualised understandings of wellbeing are reinforced by neoliberal educational discourses and explores the implications for inclusion. Four interconnected perspectives are used to develop the argument showing how relational conditions are structured, constrained and potentially transformed. First, an intersectional lens demonstrates how wellbeing is shaped by unequal relations of power and belonging in educational institutions. Second, social capital theory is employed to examine how relational inclusion may be generated through the development of bridging relationships in informal educational spaces. Third, a Bourdieusian perspective highlights how symbolic violence and unequal recognition can undermine the relational conditions necessary for inclusion. Finally, the paper considers how Radical Visible Pedagogy may support relational equality and meaningful participation. The paper concludes that inclusion should be understood not merely as access or participation, but as a relational condition grounded in recognition, equal status, and social worth across macro-level policy institutional practices, and everyday relational experiences. By positioning Relational Wellbeing as a foundation for inclusion, the paper offers a theoretical framework that contributes to contemporary debates on diversity, equity, wellbeing, and inclusive education. Full article

Virtual cities in video games have emerged as significant sites for the production and reinterpretation of contemporary urban imaginaries. By translating the complexity of real-world urban life into interactive and emotionally engaging environments, they offer new ways of experiencing and understanding cities. Despite their growing importance, research on virtual urbanism remains fragmented across disciplines and lacks a coherent conceptual foundation. Consequently, there is an urgent need for an integrative conceptual framework that explains how virtual cities mediate the production and transformation of urban knowledge. Drawing on an interdisciplinary synthesis of the literature from urban theory, media studies, and game design, this study identifies three key analytical dimensions (representation, abstraction, and spatial cognition) through which virtual urban experience is mediated, alongside urban rearticulation as a distinct process through which virtual urban experiences may be reinterpreted in relation to real urban thought and practice. These insights are integrated into the Virtual Urbanism Feedback Model (VUFM), a cyclical framework composed of three interconnected domains: Real to Virtual Inputs, Ludic Urban Transformations, and Virtual to Real Outputs. The model conceptualizes virtual cities as dynamic epistemic systems in which real and digital urban processes continuously interact through cycles of translation, reinterpretation, and feedback. The study contributes a unified conceptual framework for understanding digital urban mediation and highlights its implications for urban planning, urban design education, participatory planning, and the study of spatial experience in increasingly hybrid urban environments. Full article

Although educational robotics is widely recognised as an effective approach to supporting curriculum-aligned learning in primary education, comparatively little attention has been paid to how teachers develop the learning resources needed for meaningful classroom activities. This descriptive qualitative case study, situated within the interpretive research paradigm, examined primary school teachers’ experiences in collaboratively designing curriculum-aligned learning resources during a three-hour practical workshop focused on integrating the Bee-Bot^® robot into formal instructional settings. Data collection methods included participant observation, field notes, semi-structured interviews, photographic documentation, and participant-produced learning resources, all analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. The findings indicate that participants generally found Bee-Bot^® easy to programme and recognised its educational potential for fostering pupil engagement and collaboration in interdisciplinary learning environments. However, significant challenges emerged during the collaborative design of curriculum-based learning resources, particularly in translating curriculum objectives into pedagogically meaningful and technically feasible Bee-Bot mats. The study concludes that professional development in educational robotics should extend beyond technical familiarisation and prioritise supporting teachers as designers of curriculum-aligned educational activities that actively engage pupils as co-creators of robotics-enhanced learning experiences. Full article

Background: Physical inactivity is common among people living with chronic non-communicable disease, and nurses are frequently the professionals with the most sustained patient contact. How nursing support for physical activity is experienced by patients, and how nurses understand their own role in providing it, remain poorly described. Objective: To explore how patients with chronic diseases and nursing professionals describe nursing support for physical activity and exercise adherence, and where their accounts converge or diverge. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study using individual semi-structured interviews and reflexive thematic analysis. Seventeen participants (nine patients with chronic diseases and eight nursing professionals) were purposively recruited from five healthcare institutions in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia. Interviews lasted 30 to 60 min (mean 45 min) and were conducted between December 2025 and February 2026. No quantitative measures of exercise frequency, intensity, duration, or session regularity were collected, so the study reports perceptions and experiences rather than measured adherence, and no causal relationships were examined. Rigor was addressed through researcher reflexivity, member checking, peer debriefing, and an audit trail; reporting follows COREQ. Results: Five themes were constructed: (1) Nursing-Facilitated Empowerment Through Education and Guidance; (2) Personalized Support and Accountability Mechanisms; (3) Barriers and Facilitators to Exercise Adherence; (4) Perceived Health Benefits and Motivation Enhancement; and (5) Gaps in Current Nursing Practice and Opportunities for Enhancement. Participants identified individualized explanation, graduated goal-setting, correction of fear-based misconceptions, scheduled exercise-specific review, and family involvement as the components of support they valued most, and lapsed follow-up, generic advice, limited interdisciplinary coordination, and scarce patient resources as the principal shortfalls. Conclusions: Patients and nurses in this setting described sustained, individualized nursing support as central to how patients engage with exercise, while both groups identified structural constraints that limit it. These accounts indicate targets that intervention studies with objective activity measurement could test; they do not establish that nursing support changes exercise behavior. Full article

The rapid integration of digital technologies into education has transformed electronic textbooks (e-textbooks) from static replicas of printed books into interactive, multimedia-rich learning environments. This bibliometric literature review synthesizes findings from 89 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2024, retrieved from IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink. Following the Kitchenham and Charters methodology and complemented by bibliometric analyses, this review is guided by the overarching research question (RQ): How are e-textbooks conceptualized, designed, and deployed to support learning outcomes while promoting accessibility and equity? This guiding question is complemented by three additional RQs: (1) How has the field of e-textbooks developed over time? (2) Which countries are leading research related to interactive textbooks, considering quantitative indicators of publications/country? (3) What evidence exists regarding the contribution of e-textbooks to learning outcomes? The analysis reveals a clear trajectory from early static digitization toward intelligent platforms incorporating adaptive feedback, personalization, and analytics. Well-designed e-textbooks using multimedia learning principles demonstrate significant potential to enhance conceptual understanding, learner engagement, and motivation—especially in K–12 contexts. However, the field remains challenged by definitional inconsistencies, the uneven application of accessibility standards, and the geographic concentration of research output in North America and East Asia. These disparities highlight an urgent need to align digital textbook development with broader global education goals. By foregrounding accessibility, inclusion, and equitable access, e-textbooks can play a transformative role in advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) by ensuring inclusive, engaging learning opportunities, and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by reducing educational disparities across diverse learner populations. This review concludes by calling for interdisciplinary frameworks that integrate cognitive science, human–computer interaction, and artificial intelligence to guide the design of the next generation of interactive, accessible, and pedagogically robust e-textbooks—tools that are not only technologically innovative, but also aligned with global commitments to equitable and sustainable education for all. Full article

Community pharmacists play an increasingly important role in the care of transgender individuals receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT). However, the content of structured pharmaceutical consultations tailored to this population has not yet been clearly defined. This systematic review aimed to identify therapeutic issues relevant to community pharmacy practice in order to inform the development of structured pharmaceutical consultations. A systematic literature review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 Statement. The review question was structured using the PICo framework, with transgender individuals as the population, treatment-related issues associated with GAHT as the phenomenon of interest, and community pharmacy practice as the context. Electronic searches of Medline, Google Scholar, and APA PsycINFO were performed on 17 July 2024. Studies involving transgender adolescents or adults receiving GAHT and reporting therapeutic effects, adverse events, monitoring requirements, or medication-related issues were eligible. Two reviewers independently screened the studies and extracted data using a standardized form. Owing to the heterogeneity of study designs, the findings were synthesized narratively according to therapeutic domains relevant to community pharmacy practice. Among 755 screened records, 116 articles met the inclusion criteria. Seven therapeutic domains relevant to pharmacist-led consultations were identified: cardiovascular and cardiometabolic effects, dermatologic effects, gynecologic effects, musculoskeletal effects, biological and pharmacological effects, psychiatric effects, and other adverse effects or specific clinical situations. The evidence highlighted treatment-specific monitoring needs, medication-related risks, fertility and contraceptive considerations, laboratory monitoring requirements, drug–drug interactions, and mental health outcomes. Community pharmacists may contribute to the monitoring and optimization of GAHT, adverse effect management, patient education, fertility and contraceptive counseling, pharmacovigilance, and interdisciplinary collaboration within the scope of their professional practice. These findings provide an evidence-informed basis for the future development of structured pharmaceutical consultations tailored to transgender individuals. Full article