Search Results (342)

Curiosity and anxiety are critical emotional factors influencing language learning; yet, existing studies often overlook their combined effects and the mechanisms through which they shape academic achievements. This study aimed to explore the relationships among language learning curiosity, foreign language anxiety, and academic achievement among junior high school students. A total of 870 students from southeastern China, including 7 selected for semi-structured interviews, participated in the study. Quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS and AMOS with structural equation modeling, while qualitative data were examined using thematic analysis in NVivo to identify profile-based patterns. The findings revealed that students showed relatively high curiosity and moderate anxiety in English language learning. Consistent with our hypotheses, curiosity positively predicted academic achievement, while anxiety had a negative effect. Foreign language anxiety partially mediated the relationship between curiosity and academic performance. Qualitative data supported these findings, showing that curiosity fostered engagement and reduced anxiety in real learning contexts. These findings support the control-value theory of academic emotions and offer theoretical and practical implications for emotional regulation in language education. Full article

Background/Objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as a transformative force in healthcare education, including orthodontics. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the integration of AI into orthodontic training programs, focusing on its effectiveness in improving diagnostic accuracy, learner engagement, and the perceived quality of AI-generated educational content. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase through May 2025. Eligible studies involved AI-assisted educational interventions in orthodontics. A mixed-methods approach was applied, combining meta-analysis and narrative synthesis based on data availability and consistency. Results: Seven studies involving 1101 participants—including orthodontic students, clinicians, faculty, and program directors—were included. AI tools ranged from cephalometric landmarking platforms to ChatGPT-based learning modules. A fixed-effects meta-analysis using two studies yielded a pooled Global Quality Scale (GQS) score of 3.69 (95% CI: 3.58–3.80), indicating moderate perceived quality of AI-generated content (I² = 64.5%). Due to methodological heterogeneity and limited statistical reporting in most studies, a narrative synthesis was used to summarize additional outcomes. AI tools enhanced diagnostic skills, learner autonomy, and perceived satisfaction, particularly among students and junior faculty. However, barriers such as limited curricular integration, lack of training, and faculty skepticism were recurrent. Conclusions: AI technologies, especially ChatGPT and digital cephalometry tools, show promise in orthodontic education. While learners demonstrate high acceptance, full integration is hindered by institutional and perceptual challenges. Strategic curricular reforms and targeted faculty development are needed to optimize AI adoption in clinical training. Full article

During the coronavirus 2019 pandemic, sports activities were restricted, raising concerns about their impact on the physical condition of adolescent athletes, which remained largely unquantified. This study was designed with two primary objectives: first, to precisely quantify and elucidate the differences in the physical condition of adolescent athletes before and after activity restrictions due to the pandemic; and second, to innovatively develop and validate a non-contact medical checkup application. Medical checks were conducted on 563 athletes designated for sports enhancement. Participants were junior high school students aged 13 to 15, and the sample consisted of 315 boys and 248 girls. Furthermore, we developed a smartphone application and compared self-checks using the application with in-person checks by orthopedic surgeons to determine the challenges associated with self-checks. Statistical tests were conducted to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in range of motion and flexibility parameters before and after the pandemic. Additionally, items with discrepancies between values self-entered by athletes using the smartphone application and values measured by specialists were detected, and application updates were performed. Student’s t-test was used for continuous variables, whereas the chi-square test was used for other variables. Following the coronavirus 2019 pandemic, athletes were stiffer than during the pre-pandemic period in terms of hip and shoulder joint rotation range of motion and heel–buttock distance. The dominant hip external rotation decreased from 53.8° to 46.8° (p = 0.0062); the non-dominant hip external rotation decreased from 53.5° to 48.0° (p = 0.0252); the dominant shoulder internal rotation decreased from 62.5° to 54.7° (p = 0.0042); external rotation decreased from 97.6° to 93.5° (p = 0.0282), and the heel–buttock distance increased from 4.0 cm to 10.4 cm (p < 0.0001). The heel–buttock distance and straight leg raising angle measurements differed between the self-check and face-to-face check. Although there are items that cannot be accurately evaluated by self-check, physical condition can be improved with less contact by first conducting a face-to-face evaluation under appropriate guidance and then conducting a self-check. These findings successfully address our primary objectives. Specifically, we demonstrated a significant decline in the physical condition of adolescent athletes following pandemic-related activity restrictions, thereby quantifying their impact. Furthermore, our developed non-contact medical checkup application proved to be a viable tool for monitoring physical condition with reduced contact, although careful consideration of measurable parameters is crucial. This study provides critical insights into the long-term effects of activity restrictions on young athletes and offers a practical solution for health monitoring during infectious disease outbreaks, highlighting the potential for hybrid checkup approaches. Full article

Background: The Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) is widely used to assess the need for orthodontic treatment. IOTN consists of the Dental Health Component (DHC) and the Aesthetic Component (AC), evaluating malocclusion morphologically and aesthetically, respectively. However, the discriminatory power of individual DHC items and their relationship with AC grades remain unclear. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of individual DHC items in school dental examinations and investigate their contribution to AC grades among junior high and high school students. Methods: A total of 726 students (443 males, 283 females; aged 12–18 years) from Tsurumi University Junior and Senior High School, excluding 168 students undergoing or having completed orthodontic treatment, were included. Nine calibrated orthodontists assessed DHC and AC using IOTN during standardized school examinations. The discriminatory power and information precision of DHC items were evaluated by Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis using three-, two-, or one-parameter logistic models depending on convergence. Correspondence analysis visualized the correlation between DHC and AC grades. Simple linear regression analyzed the contribution of each DHC item to AC grades. Results: Orthodontic treatment need was identified in 21.1% of students. Females showed a higher rate of treatment need than males. Correspondence analysis suggested that aesthetic evaluations were more lenient than morphological evaluations. IRT and regression analysis revealed that crowding (4.d), increased overjet (2.a), and increased overbite (2.f) demonstrated high discriminatory power and significant contributions to AC grades. Conclusions: Among the DHC items, crowding, increased overjet, and increased overbite had higher discriminatory power for malocclusion and contributed more significantly to AC evaluations compared to other items. Full article

Education leads to building successful careers. However, different groups of students have different studying preferences. Our target group are athletes, combining their education and sports training. The main objective is to provide recommendations for an effective education system for athletes, improving their chances of finding new careers after leaving sports. Such a system must include Big Data and utilise AI possibilities currently available that support athletes’ career planning and development in a meaningful way. The main objective is specified by the following partial objectives: identifying what types of Big Data to analyse in connection with the athletes’ education; revealing what AI tools to include in the athletes’ education for their better preparation for a career after sports; determining what knowledge of AI and Big Data athletes need to stay relevant once they enter the labour market. Our study combines secondary and primary data sources. The secondary data (used in the orientation analysis) include case studies on AI and Big Data connected to education. The primary data were collected via a survey performed on over 200 Slovak junior athletes. The results show directions for the sports policymakers and sports organisations’ managers willing to improve their athletes’ career prospects. Full article

Digital learning competence has gradually become one of the core qualities essential for undergraduate students. To effectively enhance undergraduates’ digital learning abilities and their positive impact on academic performance, this study developed a validated survey on digital learning competence and academic achievement. A total of 312 valid questionnaires were collected from undergraduate students. Descriptive statistical analysis revealed that the overall academic achievement of the sample students was at an upper-middle level, with course achievements and practical achievements being higher than scholarly achievements. Differential analysis showed that male students scored higher than female students in scholarly achievements, practical achievements, and overall academic performance. Additionally, senior students generally outperformed junior students in course achievement, academic research, and overall academic performance, while undergraduates from key universities generally achieved higher academic results than those from ordinary undergraduate institutions. Correlation and regression analyses indicated that digital learning evaluation competence as a sub-competence under digital learning competence has significant positive predictive effects on undergraduates’ academic achievement. When other factors remained constant, for each unit increase in digital learning evaluation ability, academic achievement increased by 0.480 units. Therefore, universities can improve existing student development processes through measures such as enriching carriers, optimizing methods, and creating supportive environments to foster undergraduates’ digital learning competence, thereby enhancing their academic achievement. Full article

Background/Objectives: Adolescence is an important period for developing the knowledge and skills for healthy eating. Past studies have found that declarative knowledge of food and nutrition alone is not sufficient to improve healthy behavior, but how adolescents make connections from factual knowledge to skill and behavior is less clear. Based on cognitive development theories, a new concept, “awareness as connection”, was devised, and a questionnaire addressing the connection between food, nutrition, diabetes, and behavior was developed to assess the awareness of adolescents. Methods: A lesson designed to connect food, nutrition, and local lifestyle was piloted with a group of 146 students aged 13–17 years in northern Taiwan. Results: The pre- and posttest results found that students improved regarding their awareness of the association between food, nutrition, diabetes, and lifestyles (p < 0.01). The exploratory factor analysis results revealed one factor for the pre-test but two factors for the posttest, indicating growth in the students’ knowledge structure. Most of the students demonstrated significant progress in the posttest, especially on the knowledge application subscale. The results reveal that students in lower grades started low and ended low but achieved greater gains than high schoolers. High-school students had better nutritional knowledge, but junior-high-school students made substantial progress on the application of this knowledge, indicating an improvement for cognitive complexity. Students with overweight started out low and achieved fewer and uneven gains than students without overweight but scored high on particular items. Gender did not have significant impact on the overall learning, but girls showed more gains in factual knowledge. Conclusions: These results suggest that awareness can be a mid-step to help link knowledge to behavior, and for some, this step may take more time. Full article

Background: Health issues among school-age children have emerged as a global public health concern. These conditions often do not occur in isolation but tend to cluster, indicating a widespread issue of multimorbidity among this population. This study examined the prevalence and clustering of multimorbidity among school-aged school students in the Yangzhou district. Methods: A repeated cross-sectional analysis was conducted from 2019 to 2024, including 22,512 students aged 6–18 years. Common diseases, under national key monitoring, including myopia, dental caries, obesity, elevated blood pressure, and growth disorders, were assessed. Multimorbidity patterns were identified using association rule mining (Apriori algorithm) with predefined thresholds (support ≥ 2.0%, confidence ≥ 20.0% and lift > 1). Results: The multimorbidity prevalence among school-age students in the Yangzhou district is 53.95%. The most frequent multimorbidity was found in dental caries and myopia, while the most common ternary pattern was found in obesity, dental caries, and myopia. The following gender differences were observed: boys had a higher multimorbidity prevalence (56.4%) compared to girls (51.2%), with boys more likely to exhibit obesity and dental caries, while girls showed a higher prevalence of myopia-related multimorbidity. By educational stage, primary school students showed a multimorbidity rate of 50.3%, junior high showed a rate of 54.6%, and senior high showed a rate of 57.9%, indicating a rising trend across age groups. Patterns of multimorbidity varied but were interrelated. Conclusions: From 2019 to 2024, the prevalence of multimorbidity among school-aged children in Yangzhou remained relatively high, primarily manifesting as co-occurring myopia and other health issues. Patterns of multimorbidity across gender and educational stage varied but were interrelated. Full article

There is an ongoing global call for culturally responsive pedagogy that helps promote inclusivity in education. Yet, indigenous languages and literature are heavily marginalized in Nigeria’s Western education system. For instance, many students have poor learning outcomes in Yorùbá orature due to the negative effects of Westernization and the overdominance of the English language. Therefore, this study aimed to design and test the effects of a resource-person-mediated instruction as a form of culturally responsive education on junior secondary students’ learning outcomes in Yorùbá orature. This research used a mixed-method (QUAN + qual) research design, with a pre-test–post-test one group quasi-experimental research design and focused group discussion (FGD) with participating students. This study found a significant difference in students’ pre-test and post-test measures in the knowledge of Yorùbá orature, attitude to Yorùbá orature, and motivation for Yorùbá orature. The prevailing themes from students’ FGD were that the use of resource-person mediated instruction promoted active instructional engagement, cultural motivation, and socio-cultural competence. This article concludes that intervention through resource-person mediated instruction is a culturally responsive education capable of making students culturally competent and socially relevant. Yorùbá language teachers should adopt this instruction to improve their students’ learning outcomes in Yorùbá orature. Full article

This study examines the gaps between scientific–technological (STEM) education in Israel’s Druze and Jewish sectors, with a focus on the challenges affecting the achievements of junior high school students. The methodology included 25 in-depth interviews with STEM teachers in the Druze sector and an analysis of comparative data. The findings indicate disparities stemming from insufficient resources, deficient infrastructure, and cultural challenges. Hence, an intervention model was formed, which included professional development for teachers, upgrading the infrastructure, sociocultural support, and encouraging community engagement. This study emphasizes the importance of focused interventions and continuous support for reducing disparities and improving the quality of education. Full article

(1) Background: Physicians and medical students face unique barriers balancing career progression and their mental health. Some medical schools and residency programs have described interventions in which senior clinicians, residents, or medical students disclose their experiences with mental health diagnosis and treatment to peers, students, and those junior in training status. (2) Methods: The authors conducted a scoping review to describe how medical training environments incorporate the self-disclosure of mental health diagnosis and treatment by senior clinicians to junior trainees. They searched six databases and hand-searched references from relevant publications. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s steps for scoping reviews, at least two reviewers independently screened all publications for eligibility and extracted data from included publications. (3) Results: A total of 2326 unique publications were identified; eight were included. Psychiatry was the medical specialty most represented by physician–authors. One publication described an intervention that impacted learner’s behaviors, while the remainder (n = 7) focused on participant satisfaction. (4) Conclusions: Research aims often sought to describe behavior changes. However, most (n = 7) of the literature included in this study did not present the behavioral outcomes of implementing these interventions. This study aims to direct future research into the role of mental health history self-disclosure in medical training environments. Full article

Traditional lectures in architectural engineering often fall short of effectively conveying practical applications. This study introduces a hybrid teaching approach that integrates structured field trips with traditional lectures based on Kolb’s four-step experiential learning cycle to address this. An experimental design was implemented to assess the impact of this method on achieving core Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs). Using SPSS, independent-sample t-tests, and one-way ANOVA, we compared CLO scores across intervention groups, student seniority levels, and field trip frequency. At the same time, multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the influence of students’ attitudes, prior experiences, and enjoyment on the CLO scores. CLO achievement was further validated through the Course Learning Outcome Analysis Tool (COAT). The findings reveal that students exposed to field trips performed significantly better, particularly freshmen and junior students, who showed greater knowledge gains than their senior peers. Additionally, a higher frequency of trips was associated with improved academic performance, and students’ positive attitudes, prior exposure, and enjoyment of field trips positively influenced their CLO outcomes. These results underscore the effectiveness of integrating experiential learning into architectural engineering education, offering a compelling supplement to conventional lectures and addressing the limitations of traditional instructional methods by fostering deeper, more meaningful student engagement and learning. Full article

The interplay among classroom environment, grit, and enjoyment in shaping the feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) of Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners remains underexplored. This study investigates how the classroom psychological environment and L2 grit influence FSB, categorized as feedback monitoring (FM, the passive observation of feedback) and feedback inquiry (FI, proactive requests for clarification), in the context of L2 writing. This study also focuses on the mediating role of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) in this process. A mixed-methods design was utilized to study 612 Chinese junior secondary students aged 13–15 with over five years of formal English instruction. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that perseverance of effort (POE) and consistency of interest (COI), as two dimensions of L2 grit, directly predicted FM (β = 0.19 and 0.27, respectively) but not FI. The classroom environment indirectly enhanced both FM (β = 0.05) and FI (β = 0.09) through FLE. Qualitative interviews highlighted cultural constraints: 83.3% of participants prioritized FM over FI due to face-saving norms, despite high grit levels (M = 3.61 on a 5-point scale), underscoring cultural barriers to proactive feedback-seeking in Chinese collectivist classrooms. These findings validate the tripartite framework of positive psychology in L2 learning and propose strategies to balance institutional support, grit cultivation, and cultural sensitivity in fostering adaptive FSB. Full article

Background: Optimizing the development of adolescents in the post-pandemic era is an urgent concern. As an active initiative, the “Tin Ka Ping P.A.T.H.S. Project”, rooted in the “Positive Youth Development (PYD)” approach, represents a curriculum-based program aimed at fostering the psychosocial competence and well-being of adolescents. This study presents evaluation findings of the program’s effectiveness during the 2022–2023 academic year. Methods: Using a validated “36-item Subjective Outcome Evaluation scale (SOES)”, we evaluated perceptions of 2165 junior students (M_age = 13.43 years, SD = 0.70 years, 51.3% females) and 3287 senior students (M_age = 16.07 years, SD = 0.65 years, 52.8% females). Results: Replicating our previous findings before and during the pandemic, the 36-item SOES exhibited satisfactory validity and reliability in the current study. Students commonly provided favorable evaluations regarding program quality, implementer quality, and perceived benefits. Senior-grade students were more likely to perceive the program more positively. Conclusions: These replications underscore the generalizability of the robustness of the 36-item SOES as a reliable evaluation measurement tool across different time periods and research backgrounds. The participants’ positive responses indicated the positive impact of the “Tin Ka Ping P.A.T.H.S. Project” in enhancing the psychosocial competence and well-being of the students across background contexts and time periods. Full article

Based on Antonovsky’s theory, we explored the importance of adolescent sense of coherence (SOC) in coping with stress and how it was affected by the pandemic. Using longitudinal data from junior and senior high school students in urban areas in Japan, we examined the trends in SOC and factors related to SOC in students enrolled before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. With the cooperation of the Tokyo Metropolitan Secondary Education School, we surveyed 97 students who enrolled in 2018 (G1) and 144 students who enrolled in 2020 (G2). Four surveys were conducted for G1 and three for G2. Survey items included SOC, psychosomatic symptoms scale, Athens insomnia scale, school belonging scale, and stress experience scale. We followed the trends in SOC scores by gender and performed t-tests and multiple regression analysis. G2 had higher baseline SOC scores than G1, but the significant difference between the two groups disappeared by 2022. From 2019, comprehensibility and manageability significantly increased in G1 for girls, but meaningfulness decreased in G2 for both boys and girls. Multiple regression analysis showed no correlation between baseline SOC and SOC in 2022 in G1, which differed from G2, suggesting that the pandemic may have changed their perception of the world. Full article