Search Results (1,889)

The integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into face-to-face compulsory education has accelerated globally, but the conceptual definition and pedagogical application of Digital Education (DE) remain unclear. This systematic review explores how DE is defined, implemented, and assessed in in-person primary and secondary school settings. Guided by PRISMA methodology, 33 peer-reviewed empirical studies published between January 2012 and June 2025 were selected from Scopus and Web of Science, and through reference checking. Methodological quality and potential sources of bias were appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), and that appraisal informed the interpretation of the evidence. The results indicate significant ambiguity surrounding the term DE, which is often conflated with ICT use or digital competence. While many studies report positive outcomes in student engagement and basic skill acquisition, few articulate clear operational frameworks or pedagogical strategies for effective implementation. DE is predominantly applied to low-cognitive-demand tasks and is underused in promoting deeper learning. Key barriers include insufficient teacher training, fragmented educational policies, and infrastructural limitations. Nonetheless, when digital tools are intentionally combined with pedagogical goals—such as personalized instruction, learner autonomy, and content creation—DE demonstrates potential to improve motivation and support achievement. The findings suggest that well-designed DE can contribute to educational sustainability by strengthening learning opportunities, supporting equity and inclusion, and advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), but they also highlight the need for coherent policies, teacher training, and equitable access to digital resources. Full article

Background/Objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is now responsible for the majority of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCCs), an HPV-related cancer of direct relevance to the dental profession; oral-health providers may be well-positioned to perform routine oral examination, recognize suspicious signs, refer appropriately, and educate patients about HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer and HPV vaccination. This study assessed knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HPV, HIV/AIDS and HPV-related oral and oropharyngeal cancer among secondary-school students in Apulia, Italy, with particular attention to the dental setting. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by the University of Foggia among 1224 students from three secondary schools at the end of the 2025/2026 school year) using a self-administered 108-item questionnaire. A 63-item composite knowledge score was computed; “don’t know” answers were scored as incorrect and adequate knowledge defined a priori as ≥60% (Bloom’s cut-off). The minimum required sample (737) was derived using Cochran’s formula adjusted for a cluster-sampling design effect. Results: Overall knowledge was low (mean 28.5%, SD 18.2); only 5% reached the ≥60% threshold (Bloom’s cut-off). Only 14.8% of students were aware that HPV can cause oropharyngeal cancer, the lowest figure among all oncogenic outcomes assessed and significantly lower in boys (11.2%) than girls (17.3%; p = 0.003), despite boys carrying the higher OPSCC risk. Knowledge was independently associated with female sex, age and sexual experience. Despite poor knowledge, 61.2% of students would like to receive the HPV vaccine. Conclusions: The dental visit may represent an under-used opportunity to address this oral-cancer-prevention knowledge gap; the integration of oral-health professionals into school-based and clinical HPV-prevention strategies is a plausible public-health implication. Full article

Volunteering is a key component of social capital associated with improved health outcomes. However, it remains unclear how volunteer patterns differ by race and education and whether standard measures adequately capture racial and contextual differences in how volunteering is understood and reported. This mixed-methods study examined racial and educational differences in volunteer activities over time and evaluated how individuals from different racial backgrounds define, engage in, and value volunteering. This study used a mixed-methods longitudinal design combining secondary analysis of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study (1995–2016; n = 5921) with qualitative interviews (n = 47) in the United States. The quantitative outcome was the number of self-reported volunteer hours per month across four domains: healthcare, youth-related, political, and other organizations. Linear mixed-effects models were used to examine differences by race, volunteer context, and time, adjusting for age, gender, and educational attainment. Qualitative interviews used MIDUS item probes and open-ended questions to examine participants’ interpretations of volunteer work, unpaid activities, and forms of engagement. Black participants reported significantly higher volunteer hours than White participants (β = 0.97, p = 0.007). Volunteering varied by context, with higher engagement in school and youth-related (β = 1.12, p < 0.001) and other organizational activities (β = 2.80, p < 0.001) and lower engagement in political contexts (β = −0.45, p < 0.001), relative to healthcare settings. Volunteering increased modestly over time (Wave 2: β = 0.45, p < 0.001; Wave 3: β = 0.39, p < 0.001). Interaction analyses indicated that racial differences varied across contexts, with a significantly smaller increase in volunteering within “other” organizations among Black participants relative to White participants (β = −1.29, p = 0.006). Qualitative findings indicated that Black participants more often engaged in community-based and informal activities, including work within community organizations, whereas White participants more frequently participated in formal volunteering. Urban residents reported more flexible engagement compared with suburban residents’ structured participation. Volunteering is shaped by structural and contextual factors. Public health research and interventions should adopt more inclusive measures to better capture diverse forms of civic engagement. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study examined the association between low protein intake and pregnancy outcomes to test whether low protein intake was associated with higher rates of small for gestational age (SGA), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), and lower rates of large for gestational age (LGA). Methods: A secondary analysis was performed using the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be (NuMoM2b). Participants missing diet data or pregnancy outcomes and whose pregnancy ended <20 weeks were excluded. Protein intake was calculated in grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day and stratified into quartiles. Multi-variable analyses were done to assess the association between protein intake quartiles and rates of HDP, GDM, SGA, and LGA, adjusting for relevant covariates. Results: Participants (n = 7067) were categorized into quartiles by daily protein intake: Q1 (<0.6 g/kg), Q2 (0.6–<0.8 g/kg), Q3 (0.8–<1.1 g/kg), and Q4 (≥1.1 g/kg). Lower protein intake was common among Black women (p = 0.001), women with less than a high school education (p < 0.001), unemployment (p = 0.004), lower income (p = 0.003), or government insurance (p = 0.04). After adjusting for age, insurance, education, income, chronic hypertension, and dietary kcal, protein intake resulted in significantly lower odds of developing SGA < 10th percentile for women in Q3 (aOR 0.78, 95% CI 0.61–0.99 for Q3). Protein in-take was not significantly associated with HDP, GDM or LGA. Conclusions: Moderate to high protein intake in the first trimester was associated with reduced SGA risk; however, these findings are exploratory and require confirmation in future studies. Full article

The nineteenth century witnessed a significant transnational movement of European musicians and their pedagogical traditions across continents. Among the figures who contributed to this process, the Belgian flutist and composer Mathieu-André Reichert (1830–1880) occupies a distinctive position—trained in the Franco-Belgian tradition, he emigrated to Brazil, where he introduced the Boehm-system flute and produced pedagogical materials that continue to be used in flute education across a range of national traditions. This study examines Reichert’s method, 7 Exercices Journaliers pour la Flûte, Op. 5, from dual perspectives: a structural–pedagogical analysis of the seven exercises and a cultural–historical contextualization of the method’s transnational circulation. Designed as a qualitative research study, this work employed document analysis as the data collection tool and thematic analysis as the method for data analysis and interpretation. The B. Schott’s Söhne (Mainz) edition of the method was examined as the primary source; secondary data was obtained from articles, theses, books, and digital sources. Each exercise was examined in terms of structural characteristics—including meter, metronome speed, melodic patterns, and harmonic structure—and the technical demands and potential pedagogical applications associated with articulation, tongue–finger coordination, lip flexibility, and breath control. The findings reveal that the method possesses a distinctive structural organization that systematically cycles through all keys, employs a different melodic pattern in each exercise, and consistently embeds technical demands within harmonic and melodic contexts. Beyond its pedagogical content, the study traces the method’s cultural trajectory—from its composition in nineteenth-century Brazil through its adoption by French school luminaries, such as Marcel Moyse, Michel Debost, and Trevor Wye, to its current use in music education programs across diverse cultural contexts, including Türkiye. The convergence of structural–pedagogical and cultural–historical analysis suggests that the method’s continued relevance across diverse teaching traditions reflects not only its coherent structural design but also broader processes of cultural transfer, the mobility of musicians and their pedagogical ideas, and the formation of transnational pedagogical networks in instrumental music education. Full article

This exploratory survey study examines the use of accelerative practices among lower secondary physics and chemistry teachers in Finland and Sweden (N = 160), where a longstanding emphasis on educational equality and inclusion has limited attention to the needs of gifted students. Although international research demonstrates strong academic and socio-emotional benefits of acceleration for gifted students, evidence suggests that Nordic schools rarely implement such practices systematically. The present study investigates teachers’ experiences with four accelerative approaches relevant to the Nordic context—early entrance, grade skipping, subject-based acceleration, and curriculum compacting—and analyses how these practices shape instructional decision-making in science classrooms. Using a mixed-methods design combining descriptive and inferential statistics with inductive content analysis, the study reveals that acceleration is infrequently used in both countries, though Swedish teachers report higher implementation rates than Finnish teachers. Teachers with prior knowledge of gifted education were more likely to employ accelerative practices across all categories. Teachers reported limited time and material resources as barriers to implementation. The findings illustrate a persistent gap between policy-permitted accelerative opportunities and actual inclusive science education classroom practice, highlighting that meeting the learning needs of gifted students requires strengthened teacher education, policy support, and resource allocation. Full article

Teaching innovation plays a central role in advancing high-quality education and fulfilling the fundamental task of fostering moral development and holistic student growth. However, the internal mechanisms through which transformational leadership is associated with teachers’ innovative behavior remain insufficiently understood. Integrating the implicit theories framework and the job demands–resources (JD-R) model, this study proposes a sequential mediation framework in which transformational leadership is associated with primary and secondary school teachers’ innovative behavior through creative growth mindset and work engagement. Data were collected from 1082 primary and secondary school teachers using validated measures of transformational leadership, creative growth mindset, work engagement, and teachers’ innovative behavior. Structural equation modeling with bootstrapping was employed to test the hypothesized model. The results indicated that transformational leadership was positively associated with teachers’ innovative behavior. Creative growth mindset and work engagement each showed significant indirect associations between transformational leadership and teachers’ innovative behavior. Moreover, the sequential indirect association via creative growth mindset and work engagement was significant, supporting a cognitive–motivational pathway linking transformational leadership to teachers’ innovative behavior. These findings suggest that transformational leadership may relate to teachers’ innovative behavior not only directly but also through a cognitive–motivational pathway involving teachers’ beliefs about the malleability of creativity and their subsequent work engagement. From a practical perspective, these results highlight the potential value of leadership practices that communicate an inspiring vision, support teachers’ growth-oriented beliefs about creativity, and foster sustained motivational engagement. Full article

The rapid increase in technological advancements in quantum information science and technology (QIST) necessitates a diverse workforce. The need for understanding how students, especially young women, develop QIST identity is an important consideration in career aspiration formation. With no existing framework for QIST identity development, this qualitative longitudinal exploratory case study combined aspects of identity frameworks in the QIST-adjacent fields of physics, computer science, engineering, and mathematics into a new framework to identify factors influencing QIST identity development for precollege women. This framework was inductively generated from the analysis of 20 interviews with women from a high school QIST outreach program that was developed by university quantum researchers. The first round of interviews (N = 14) was conducted two to four weeks after the conclusion of the QIST workshops and focused on student attitudes towards QIST, while the second round of interviews (N = 6) was conducted six to eighteen months later and focused on emerging elements of the QIST identity framework. Analysis of the interviews showed that the proposed framework, which included performance/competence, interest, recognition, and sense of belonging—found in identity frameworks of QIST-adjacent fields—required the addition of (1) normative comparison, (2) positional advantage, and (3) career expectancy. Full article

Ecological civilization education has become an important component of environmental education and sustainable development strategies in China. Field-based learning in real ecological environments is essential for helping students understand ecological processes and human–environment relationships. However, limited attention has been paid to whether schools can spatially access ecological learning sites within feasible travel-time ranges, especially in plateau and mountainous regions where transportation constraints are strong. From the perspective of ecosystem service flow, forest parks can be regarded as supply sites of ecological learning services, secondary schools as demand sites, and road networks as the pathways through which such services are transformed into actual educational opportunities. To address this gap, this study evaluates the accessibility of forest-park-based ecological learning resources for secondary schools in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Taking 11 national forest parks and 137 secondary schools as research objects, a network-based travel-time model was constructed using road network data, and 1 h, 3 h, and 6 h service areas were generated to assess forest park service capacity and school accessibility. The results show that forest park educational service capacity is highly uneven. Nimu, Jiedexiu, and Caina Forest Parks have the highest service capacity, each covering more than 60 secondary schools within 6 h, while nearly half of the parks show relatively limited coverage. School accessibility also presents a clear core–periphery pattern, with high-accessibility schools concentrated around Lhasa and nearby transport corridors, whereas many schools in western and northern Tibet remain outside the 6 h service range. Based on the accessibility levels, differentiated field education strategies are proposed, including short field observation, one-day field trips, cross-regional fieldwork, and virtual or school-based alternatives. This study provides a spatial analytical framework for understanding the flow of ecological learning services from forest parks to schools and offers evidence for optimizing geography field education and improving equitable access to ecological civilization education in mountainous regions. Full article

The classroom climate is a multidimensional construct that embraces didactic practices, relational quality, shared norms, discipline, and a sense of belonging. A positive classroom climate conveys to students and teachers a feeling of safety and promotes a learning environment characterized by engagement, mutual respect, warmth, and a shared school vision. The current study, embracing the Prosocial Classroom Theoretical Model, aims to understand whether teachers’ socio-emotional competencies in terms of mentalized affectivity would affect their perception of the classroom climate via subjective dimensions of well-being in terms of life and job satisfaction. A total of 338 female teachers [M (SD) = 47.11 (10.17) years]—50.9% primary and 49.1% lower secondary education [M (SD)_{years of experience} = 17.79 (11.62)]—completed an e-survey. We tested a parallel mediation model in which teachers’ mentalized affectivity served as the potential personal resource for improving the classroom climate through the mediating role of job and life satisfaction. School grade and teaching experience were used as covariates. Results highlighted significant total, direct, and indirect effects. Although the cross-sectional design of the study limits causal inference, the preliminary findings are encouraging and may contribute to a better understanding of the resources that support the development of a positive school climate, with potential cascading effects on students’ socio-emotional and academic outcomes. Full article

Background: The study of cyberbullying has been growing worldwide; however, the literature is still scarce regarding risk and protection factors. Objectives: Therefore, the main objective of the present study was to analyze cyberbullying from the perspective of the aggressors and their association with authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles and with the two components of empathy. Methods: The sample consisted of 422 participants, students of the 2nd and 3rd cycles in schools and Secondary Education in the North region of Portugal, aged 12 to 17 years. For data collection, the Sociodemographic Questionnaire, the Cyberbullying Questionnaire (CBQ), the Parenting Styles & Dimensions Questionnaire: Short Version (PSDQ), and the Short Version of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES-A) were used. Results: It was found that positive associations were identified between cyberbullying behaviours and authoritarian style in the father figure and the mother figure. Low positive associations were also identified between the father figure’s authoritative parenting style and cognitive empathy, and moderate positive associations between the mother figure’s authoritative parenting style and cognitive empathy. There were differences between males and females in both empathy components, with females showing higher levels of affective and cognitive empathy than males. Regarding parental styles, the authoritarian style of the father figure stood out as the only predictor of cyberbullying behaviors. Conclusions: It is considered important to educate parents towards healthier family functioning and encourage the abandonment of punitive discipline to promote a reduction in the perpetration of cyberbullying and an increase in empathy levels in the younger generation. It will also be important to raise awareness among adolescents about the consequences of internet misuse. Full article

Augmented reality (AR) may support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching, but continued use depends on teachers’ readiness and implementation conditions. This mixed-methods, single-group pre-test/post-test study examined changes in perceived competence and views following an eight-week professional development program involving 23 volunteer secondary-school teachers of science, physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, and computer education. Data sources were a 35-item questionnaire, semi-structured interviews analyzed thematically, and teacher-developed materials. Mean perceived competence increased from 2.38 (SD = 1.15) to 4.21 (SD = 0.77), t(22) = 7.57, p < 0.001, Cohen’s dz = 1.58. Participants reported benefits for visualizing abstract concepts, comprehension, lesson efficiency, motivation, and interactive material design. Reported barriers included internet and power interruptions, paid applications, unequal access to resources, and additional time demands. All 23 participants intended to use AR, and 18 believed they could train colleagues. The materials demonstrated practical engagement during the program. The findings indicate short-term implementation readiness and perceived feasibility, not sustained classroom use or causal effectiveness. Longitudinal follow-up, classroom observation, comparison groups, and student-outcome evidence are needed to assess continued implementation. Full article

Background: Beijing’s 2024 school physical education reforms have substantially increased activity demands on children, yet population-level genotype data for Chinese schoolchildren remain scarce. Objectives: To characterize ACTN3 R577X, MTHFR C677T, MTHFR A1298C, and MTRR A66G polymorphisms in 564 Beijing schoolchildren; test Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE); compare allele frequencies with East Asian reference populations; and perform multi-locus cumulative allele analysis across all four loci. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 564 primary and secondary school students (265 males, 299 females) in Beijing. Genotyping was performed by PCR and Sanger sequencing using saliva-derived DNA; the overall call rate was 100% (564/564). HWE was assessed using the exact test of Wigginton et al. Allele frequencies were compared with 1000 Genomes CHB ($n=103$) and gnomAD EAS ($n\approx 2604$) using chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests. Cumulative variant allele counts (0–8) were computed across all four loci. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype frequencies were estimated using the EM algorithm. Results: All four loci were in HWE (all $p>0.05$). Genotype frequencies were: ACTN3 R577X—RR 31.56%, RX 49.11%, XX 19.33%; MTHFR C677T—CC 18.62%, CT 46.99%, TT 34.40%; MTHFR A1298C—AA 71.81%, AC 26.42%, CC 1.77%; MTRR A66G—AA 56.21%, AG 35.82%, GG 7.98%. No significant sex differences were observed at any locus (all $p>0.05$). Allele frequencies were consistent with East Asian reference populations. Across all four loci, 87.23% of students carried ≥2 variant alleles; 29.26% carried ≥4. LD between MTHFR C677T and A1298C was moderate to strong ($\left|D^{\prime }\right|=0.97$, $r^2=0.23$). The double-mutant T-C haplotype was rare (frequency $=0.002$). Conclusions: This study provides genotype frequency data for exercise- and folate metabolism-related polymorphisms in a sample of Beijing schoolchildren. These descriptive frequency data establish a baseline for future genotype–phenotype association studies; however, the sample is limited to two schools in two districts of Beijing and does not represent the broader Chinese pediatric population. Studies incorporating fitness, biochemical, and dietary data are required before such genetic profiles can inform educational or clinical recommendations. Given the purely descriptive, cross-sectional nature of the study and the absence of phenotypic data, these genotype frequency data do not, on their own, provide a basis for individualized physical education programming or nutritional recommendations. Full article

Disciplinary literacy refers to the specialized practices of reading, writing, and reasoning that are unique to each academic discipline—the distinct ways in which scientists, historians, mathematicians, and literary scholars construct, communicate, and critique knowledge within their fields. Although disciplinary literacy is relevant across the lifespan and across all phases of education, its demands become most salient as learners advance through schooling and encounter increasingly specialized texts and discourse conventions. It is distinguished from content-area literacy, which applies general study and comprehension strategies across subjects, and from the foundational literacy skills emphasized in the early-grades Science of Reading. Where foundational literacy concerns the components by which children learn to read (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension), disciplinary literacy concerns how learners read, write, and think as participants in a discipline once those foundations are largely in place. In secondary teacher preparation specifically, disciplinary literacy denotes both a body of pedagogical knowledge and a set of instructional competencies that content-area teacher candidates are increasingly expected to demonstrate—including the capacity to make discipline-specific reading and writing practices visible and teachable for their students. Its theoretical foundations lie in scholarship documenting that literacy demands become more specialized, rather than more general, as students advance through schooling. As educator preparation systems, particularly in the United States, formally integrate Science of Reading principles into program requirements, disciplinary literacy has emerged as the established, though comparatively less codified, extension of that movement into the secondary content areas, where disciplinary reading and writing instruction have historically received limited systematic attention. Full article

School belonging is an important indicator of students’ school adjustment and psychological well-being, yet it may be particularly vulnerable among students in Chinese secondary vocational education because of early academic tracking and weak vocational identity. This three-wave longitudinal study examined whether perceived teacher support was associated with later school belonging through self-efficacy and learning engagement. Data were collected from first-year secondary vocational students in China. The baseline valid sample included 9116 students, and 1273 students were retained at Time 3, indicating substantial attrition across waves. Structural equation modeling was used to test the serial mediation model, controlling for baseline self-efficacy, learning engagement, and school belonging. The results showed that perceived teacher support at Time 1 was positively associated with self-efficacy at Time 2, which was associated with learning engagement at Time 2. Learning engagement was positively associated with school belonging at Time 3. The direct association between perceived teacher support and school belonging was also significant but modest, and the serial indirect association through self-efficacy and learning engagement was statistically significant but small in magnitude. These findings contribute to the literature by showing that vocational students’ school belonging is linked not only to perceived teacher–student support, but also to a gradual psychological–behavioral process involving competence beliefs and learning participation. Full article