Search Results (1,379)

Peer conflict is a common and developmentally meaningful social experience in children’s school life. However, existing interactive technologies have mainly focused on immediate mediation or conflict skills training, whereas established approaches such as attributional intervention, restorative practices, reflective learning, perspective taking, conflict debriefing, and social information processing have rarely been integrated within a single AI-supported system for children’s post-conflict reflection. Based on social information processing theory, this paper presents Kindom, a multimodal AI-supported story co-creation system for children aged 6–8 years. Through neutral prompts, role-based perspective switching, revision-oriented narrative branches, and Qwen-generated co-created narrative endings and researcher-mediated visual summaries, Kindom supports children in event review, emotion recognition, intention inference, and strategy generation and evaluation. This study adopted a two-stage Research through Design approach. First, formative interviews were conducted with 10 primary school teachers and 4 educational experts to identify design needs and develop system design goals. A one-month mixed-methods quasi-experimental study was then conducted to compare the performance of 40 children under the Kindom condition and a matched picture-book condition. The results showed that children in the Kindom group had significantly lower hostile attribution than those in the control group (p < 0.001, d = 1.175), and significantly higher positive response generation (p < 0.001, d = 2.109) and positive response evaluation (p < 0.001, d = 1.577). Qualitative analysis further showed that children shifted from hostile interpretations to contextualized interpretations, from a single-character perspective to an understanding of both parties’ emotions, and from direct responses to constructive strategies such as negotiation, repair, and help-seeking. These scenario-based task results suggest that multimodal AI-supported story co-creation may provide structured, low-pressure, process-oriented scaffolding for children’s social information processing and post-conflict reflection. This study proposes a four-stage support model for children’s post-peer-conflict reflection, designs and implements a child-centered multimodal AI-supported story co-creation system, and provides preliminary mixed-methods evidence based on scenario tasks. Its main contribution lies in integrating AI-supported multimodal story co-creation, sequential SIP-based reflection, structured revision of children’s initial interpretations, and traceable interaction logs. Full article

Rural teachers often face work overload arising from demanding teaching responsibilities and extensive non-teaching duties, which may be closely associated with their subjective well-being. However, prior research has largely adopted a single-effect perspective, paying insufficient attention to the potentially competing mechanisms linking work overload to well-being. Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study develops a moderated parallel mediation model to examine the dual pathways through which work overload is associated with rural teachers’ subjective well-being. Survey data were collected from 639 rural primary and secondary school teachers across 12 provincial-level regions in western China. The proposed model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis, hierarchical regression, and bootstrapping. The results indicate that work overload is positively associated with subjective well-being through job crafting, but negatively associated with subjective well-being through emotional exhaustion. Self-efficacy strengthens the positive association between work overload and job crafting while weakening the positive relationship between work overload and emotional exhaustion. Moreover, self-efficacy moderates both indirect associations, amplifying the beneficial pathway through job crafting and attenuating the detrimental pathway through emotional exhaustion. These findings reveal two distinct mechanisms linking work overload to rural teachers’ subjective well-being and extend research on occupational stress by identifying self-efficacy as an important boundary condition. The study also provides practical implications for educational authorities seeking to optimize workload arrangements and develop targeted support and incentive mechanisms for rural teachers. Full article

Structural thinking is widely recognized as an important aspect of mathematical thinking, yet the role of structuring representations in supporting generalization has received relatively little attention. This study examined how pre-service mathematics teachers construct mathematical structure when solving a pattern generalization task. Written solutions produced by 62 pre-service mathematics teachers at different stages of their teacher education program were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis informed by theoretical perspectives on emergent and mathematical structure. Six distinct solution strategies were identified, differing primarily in the structuring representations participants used to reorganize the mathematical situation. The findings indicate that participants differed not only in their solution procedures but also in the mathematical relationships highlighted by their representations. These differences were reflected in the general rules participants formulated and in the mathematical reasoning they used to support their conclusions. The study highlights the importance of structuring representations as a component of structural thinking and suggests that developing pre-service teachers’ ability to construct and interpret mathematically productive representations may support the transition from recognizing local relationships to formulating general mathematical relationships and supporting them through mathematical reasoning. Full article

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is widely regarded as a key task for schools, yet its implementation depends strongly on teachers’ opportunities to develop ESD-related professional expertise. This study examines how ESD is represented in state-accredited in-service teacher training (TT) in Germany, focusing on the degree of ESD relevance and selected characteristics of ESD-related TTs, including duration, school-type specificity, participation numbers, and cancellation. The analysis is based on 1186 ESD-related TT course descriptions from six German federal states, collected for the school year 2022/23 and the first half of 2023/24. TTs were coded using a qualitative content analysis approach and categorized into three degrees of ESD relevance: less ESD-relevant, ESD-relevant, and highly ESD-relevant. Results show that most TTs were classified as ESD-relevant or highly ESD-relevant (n = 828/n = 1186). ESD relevance was not significantly associated with participant numbers, but highly ESD-relevant TTs showed higher cancellation rates than ESD-relevant TTs. Course duration was not significantly related to cancellation. Within school-type-specific offers, ESD relevance differed significantly by school type. The findings highlight the need to consider ESD-related TT offers from a differentiated perspective and to complement the present document-based analyses with additional data to better capture contextual needs and conditions. Full article

Historical empathy is a key concept in history and social studies education. It involves understanding how people in the past thought, acted, and experienced the world through engagement with historical context, perspective taking, and affective connections to historical actors. While these competencies are often developed through written sources and historical narratives, visual and interactive media may offer additional opportunities for fostering historical empathy. This article examines whether the historical video game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla may provide affordances for historical empathy for players. Set in Viking Age England and Norway, the game’s representations of Norse and Christian religion form the focus of the analysis. The study combines systematic gameplay analysis with qualitative thematic analysis. The empirical material was analyzed for historical empathy and compared with historical sources. The findings suggest that the game may provide opportunities to support historical empathy by helping players understand how people in the past interpreted and navigated the world through religious and cultural frameworks. However, historical simplifications and gameplay-oriented adaptations may limit this potential unless accompanied by teacher scaffolding and critical reflection. Thus, while Assassins Creed Valhalla may be engaging and pedagogically valuable, it should be approached critically as an entertainment product rather than a straightforward representation of the past. Full article

This study examines inclusive early childhood education in China and Türkiye through a comparative qualitative analysis of policy, curriculum, and teacher perspectives. A two-stage research design was employed, combining document analysis of national early childhood education curricula with structured individual interviews involving 60 (30 from each country) early childhood teachers. Content analysis of data explored conceptualizations of inclusion, implementation practices, perceived barriers, and contextual influences. Findings reveal contrasting patterns in the relationship between policy and teacher-reported practices. Türkiye demonstrates more explicit curricular commitment to inclusion, with extensive references to diversity, participation, and individualized support. However, teachers frequently reported challenges in implementing these principles due to limitations in professional preparation, institutional support, and available resources. In contrast, Chinese curriculum documents contain fewer explicit references to inclusion; teachers described more pragmatic and contextually responsive implementation practices that facilitate the participation of children with diverse needs. Across both countries, cultural values, teacher agency, and school-level conditions emerged as significant factors influencing inclusive practice. The findings indicate that the policy–teacher-reported practice gap remains a central challenge in both contexts. The study argues that effective inclusion depends not only on policy commitments but also on the capacity of educators and institutions to translate policy into practice. Full article

Adolescent mental health is a high priority in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet perspectives may differ among youth and adult providers responsible for supporting mental health within schools. These differences may create challenges for designing contextually appropriate school-based preventive strategies. This qualitative study compared adolescent and school guidance and counseling coordinator (GCC) perspectives on factors influencing adolescent mental health and support in all 12 public senior high schools in Tamale, Ghana. GCC data were collected through semi-structured interviews informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, and adolescent data was through human-centered design workshops. Data were analyzed using rapid qualitative analysis and organized using the Social Ecological Model. At the individual level, adolescents linked emotional distress, stress, and substance use to mental health challenges, whereas GCCs more commonly framed these as behavioral or academic challenges. At the interpersonal level, both groups identified peer relationships and confidentiality as important influences on help-seeking; adolescents emphasized trusted peer relationships, while GCCs described challenges implementing peer counseling approaches within schools. At the organizational level, adolescents emphasized teacher attitudes and punitive school responses to student distress, while GCCs emphasized staffing shortages, limited infrastructure, and insufficient institutional support. At the community level, both groups identified stigma and gendered social norms as barriers to mental health support. Adolescents and GCCs identified similar concerns but differed in how they understood adolescent mental health and support within schools. Integrating both youth and provider perspectives may strengthen multilevel school-based preventive strategies in resource-constrained settings. Full article

This scoping review aimed to map empirical interventions in teacher and educator populations in which burnout or burnout-related outcomes were evaluated from a broad mental health promotion and prevention perspective. Searches were conducted in Scopus, ERIC, PubMed/MEDLINE, and Web of Science. The search strategy was broadened to improve sensitivity by removing the mandatory study-design block and expanding intervention-related terminology. A structured evidence map was used to chart reports by intervention category, population, intervention level, study design, burnout-related outcome, follow-up, and research gaps, following PRISMA-ScR reporting principles and established scoping review methodological guidance. The final evidence base comprised 123 eligible reports. Interventions spanned cognitive-behavioral and rational-emotive approaches, mindfulness and mind–body programs, compassion- and emotion-focused interventions, social–emotional and trauma-informed approaches, professional development, classroom-management and instructional-practice interventions, and broader occupational or organizational approaches. Emotional exhaustion was the most frequently represented burnout-related dimension, although substantial heterogeneity was evident in intervention content, design, measurement, and follow-up. No formal risk-of-bias or methodological quality assessment was conducted. The evidence base is substantial but heterogeneous, and future research should more directly evaluate sustained, context-sensitive, organizational, and multilevel approaches alongside individual- and classroom/practice-level interventions. Full article

The purpose of this study is to explore the different perspectives of teachers at an Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Center (serving ages 0–3) regarding the teaching–learning process, the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), its benefits and the training received. This approach aims to identify the persistent barriers to implementing inclusive pedagogical practices. A qualitative single-case study approach was adopted, utilizing semi-structured interviews as an instrument. The results reveal that teachers adapt to the interests and needs of the classroom by contemplating UDL and its benefits. This framework does not strike them as a novelty introduced by the country’s latest educational regulations, as they were already implementing it to attend to all students. However, they still demand and emphasize the lack of training, despite it being mandated by current legislation, which consequently creates a gap between theory and practice. The study concludes by highlighting the need for continuous and contextualized teacher training in the first cycle of ECEC. Furthermore, reflecting on teachers’ beliefs regarding early childhood learning (0–3 years), understanding UDL principles, and applying inclusive strategies are considered vital for high-quality educational practice. Full article

Teacher professional learning increasingly depends on situated collaborative practices that emerge in the everyday work of schools. In educational contexts characterized by diverse career paths and the coexistence of different generations of teachers, it is important to understand how professional knowledge circulates and is reinterpreted among teachers with varying levels of experience. From this perspective, Intergenerational Teacher Learning (ITL) is understood as a process of reciprocal knowledge and practice exchange among teachers from different generations. This study analyzes how ITL takes shape through the everyday working relationships among teachers of different generations in Chilean schools, adopting a qualitative paradigm grounded in constructivist grounded theory. To this end, fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with practicing teachers at different career stages. Based on the initial, focused, and theoretical coding of the data, an inductive, situated explanatory model of ITL was constructed, organized into five dimensions. The results show that age and professional experience are associated with teachers’ assessments of their peers’ competencies, and that ITL manifests primarily through traditional mentoring, reverse mentoring, and peer learning. Furthermore, novice teachers in particular contribute to knowledge related to the use of technology and innovation, while experienced teachers contribute knowledge related to school culture and pedagogical management, which is especially relevant to the professional integration of novice teachers. Full article

This study situates autonomy-related learning behaviors and forms of teacher support within the broader framework of student engagement in Romanian high schools. It presents a secondary analysis of a national mixed-methods study conducted in 2023. Quantitative analyses used responses from 3181 students in a two-stage cluster survey involving 237 school/specialization units; qualitative evidence came from focus groups and interviews in ten schools. Descriptive analyses, selected correlations, and an individual-level cross-tabulation were integrated with thematic findings. Personal learning methods, self-assessment, strategy adaptation, and a preference for learning independently were frequently reported, whereas learning-time management and additional self-directed learning were less common. Preferences for learning independently and for teacher explanations coexisted among 66.7% of students; teacher explanations were similarly endorsed across groups reporting higher and lower frequencies of learning better independently. Selected planning, monitoring, and strategy-adjustment behaviors were positively associated with corrective feedback, teacher explanations, or teacher-selected resources. Qualitative accounts showed how pedagogical guidance may follow independent effort and support understanding and strategy adjustment, while workload, long school days, and limited learning time may constrain responsibility for learning. The findings support guided autonomy as an analytical perspective linking student initiative with pedagogical structure, formative feedback, and relevant resources. Full article

Higher Education Institutions are increasingly expected to connect teacher education with professional knowledge, institutional collaboration, and territorially situated educational challenges. However, less attention has been paid to the processes through which teacher professional knowledge is articulated, interpreted, represented, and communicated across institutional boundaries within Initial Teacher Education (ITE). This study examined an instrumental qualitative case developed by the University of Valladolid in collaboration with five educational institutions in rural and urban settings, educational authorities, and the Institute for Women. Sixty-nine first-year pre-service teachers participated in a structured knowledge mobilization process involving nine collective teacher interview-dialogue sessions with nine professional participants, collaborative analysis, the production of multimodal communication outputs, and a final public seminar. The qualitative corpus comprised records generated through the nine interview-dialogue sessions, including 69 individual field-note records and partial audio recordings, together with 12 analytical summaries, 12 infographics, 12 oral presentations, seminar records, institutional documentation, and a whole-cohort plenary discussion used as supplementary contextual evidence. Data were examined through reflexive thematic analysis supported by NVivo 15. Four interrelated themes were constructed: teacher professional knowledge as situated expertise; its transformation from individual experience into a shared professional resource; students’ representations of teaching and their interpretive and communication practices; and the interinstitutional coordination supporting knowledge mobilization. The findings document a bounded process through which situated professional knowledge moved from teacher articulation to student interpretation, multimodal representation, and institutional communication. They support claims concerning coordination, complementary institutional responsibilities, and knowledge communication, while providing more limited evidence concerning shared governance, long-term knowledge reuse, institutionalization, or territorial effects. Collaborative governance and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) are therefore used as interpretive perspectives rather than as demonstrated outcomes of the partnership. The study contributes a relational conceptualization of university–school partnerships as infrastructures through which situated teacher professional knowledge can be made available for interpretation and communication within ITE. Full article

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to create a sustainable future by considering environmental, social, and economic elements from a holistic perspective. Instilling these goals in individuals through education is critically important for increasing awareness of sustainable development and translating this awareness into behavior. This study aims to examine how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through educational projects conducted in collaboration with schools. While the projects involved various educational stakeholders, including students, teachers, school administrators, and parents as project beneficiaries, the qualitative data for this study were collected through semi-structured interviews with representatives of 17 NGOs responsible for planning and implementing these projects. The interview data were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis. The findings show that SDG projects significantly contribute to developing environmental awareness, sustainable thinking, and responsible behavior in students. However, the success of the projects varies depending on the level of stakeholder participation in the educational environment, i.e., the active involvement and collaboration of relevant individuals in the process. The research findings indicate that strengthening stakeholder participation and more regular integration of sustainability-themed projects into educational curricula are necessary to promote the dissemination of sustainable development goals through education. Full article

This study aims to explore women school administrators’ experiences of sustainable leadership by examining how they define sustainable leadership, the leadership practices they adopt, the challenges they encounter, the resilience strategies they employ, and their perspectives on the future of educational management. The study was conducted using a qualitative case study design. The participants consisted of 23 women school administrators working in the provinces of Manisa and Hakkâri, Türkiye. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that women school administrators primarily perceived sustainable leadership as a future-oriented leadership approach that emphasizes building a strong organizational culture, continuously improving the quality of education, and adopting a human-centered management philosophy. Sustainable leadership practices were found to revolve around collaboration, stakeholder participation, supporting teachers’ professional development, the effective use of school resources, empathy, and inclusive leadership. However, participants also reported significant challenges in implementing sustainable leadership, including traditional gender roles, work–life balance difficulties, limited access to leadership positions, and the perceived preference for male leadership. To overcome these challenges, participants emphasized continuous professional development, collaboration, strong communication networks, fair decision-making, emotional regulation, and maintaining work–life balance as key resilience strategies. Furthermore, they envisioned the future of educational management as being shaped by leadership approaches that are inclusive, collaborative, empathetic, innovative, and adaptable to change. Full article

Futures Literacy is increasingly recognized as a key sustainability competence within the GreenComp framework, yet limited research has examined how arts-based pedagogies in teacher education can foster it. This study explores arts-based approaches to Futures Literacy within a micro-credential integrated into a first-year course for pre-service primary teachers. Developed within the GreenComp School project, the micro-credential comprised face-to-face and asynchronous components; the face-to-face arts-based activities were fully implemented, while engagement with the asynchronous component was limited. Data were collected through pre- and post-questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, participant artifacts, and the researcher’s reflective journal. The findings indicate increased self-reported understanding of Futures Literacy and identify six interconnected pedagogical processes: emotional engagement, communicating future-oriented messages, embodied learning, envisioning alternative futures, humanitarian values, and collaboration. Emotional engagement was particularly important to meaning-making and highlighted the affective complexity of engaging with uncertain futures. Arts-based speculative futuring supported envisioning alternative possibilities, although critical examination of assumptions, competing values, and perspectives was limited. The limited asynchronous component also highlighted challenges in integrating a non-assessed micro-credential into a compulsory first-year course. The study offers an empirically grounded account of how arts-based approaches can pedagogically enact Futures Literacy in teacher education. Full article