Search Results (11,228)

Hungarian teachers’ reform priorities remain insufficiently mapped, despite their central role in shaping feasible, evidence-based educational change. In a cross-sectional study with 1254 kindergarten, primary, and secondary teachers across Hungary (May 2025), we elicited and analyzed open-ended written responses in which participants identified their top three required reforms. Responses were segmented and coded into 18 mutually exclusive categories via a validated codebook, and prevalence was calculated using respondent-normalized weights. We then examined demographic, well-being, and personality correlates of reform priorities using χ² tests, Mann–Whitney tests, and multivariable logistic models with Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery correction. Teachers most frequently prioritized competency development and pedagogical reform, followed by curriculum flexibility and system governance. Reform priorities were not random: female teachers were substantially more likely to prioritize inclusion and SEN support, while male teachers more often prioritized governance and depoliticization; older age predicted governance priorities. Lower educational system satisfaction robustly predicted prioritizing curriculum reform, autonomy, and governance restructuring, and anxiety and depression were positively related to curriculum concerns. Conscientiousness predicted prioritizing salary and material recognition. The results indicate that teachers’ reform demands function as systematic, psychologically grounded signals that can guide more targeted, teacher-centerd educational policy in Hungary. Full article

The vulnerability of many Pacific communities is impacted by rising sea levels and exposure to extreme weather patterns. This qualitative research study was conducted with focus groups of Māori and Pacific youth in Aotearoa New Zealand. I am a Pacific researcher, and I examine research and report on findings from Pacific youth focus groups. Employing a Talanoa methodology, a key question posed was how educators in Aotearoa New Zealand supported the wellbeing of Pacific youth in the face of increasing climate extremes within their schools and communities. Engaging a Pacific values framework, this discussion emphasizes the critical role of teachers and education in eliminating concerns, working collectively, listening respectfully, and collaborating with Pacific youth in confronting the complexity of issues surrounding climate change, thereby creating a shift from a position of despair and helplessness to a place of hope and optimism. Findings from the study reveal that, in the education sector, climate change is not well addressed, teachers could do more to acknowledge and address climate crises faced in the Pacific region in the curriculum, and little attention is paid to the wellbeing of Pacific youth facing climate change in the Pacific. An implication is that teachers need to support Pacific youth and understand that education about climatic variance affects Pacific learners’ wellbeing. Full article

Background/Objectives: Early autism screening needs to be both accurate and privacy-preserving, but single-source assessments can miss clinically important context. We therefore study a preliminary integrated framework that combines privacy-preserving questionnaire-based risk estimation with a second reasoning component based on a large language model (LLM) that evaluates symptom narratives. The objective is to test whether structured screening outputs can be translated into uncertainty-aware narrative reasoning within one privacy-conscious workflow. Methods: The proposed pipeline links a PATE-style AQ-10 screening stage to a MedPrompt-style consensus reasoning stage that operates on behavioral summaries and transcript-style inputs. Evaluation includes component-wise testing on AQ-10 data, an end-to-end controlled setting, synthetic stress testing, and transcript-only analysis on 26 examples. Results: In component-wise evaluation, the combined pipeline reaches ceiling performance on a controlled AQ-10 split, synthetic stress testing reduces accuracy to 97.2%, and transcript-only testing shows that contextual factors such as age substantially improve sensitivity. Conclusions: These findings support only a highly preliminary proof-of-concept under constrained evaluation conditions and should be interpreted as motivation for broader external validation rather than as evidence of practical decision-support readiness across settings. Full article

This study examined a maker-based approach to sustainable digital education in physical education (PE) through a laser-shooting program implemented over a three-year period (2022–2024). While prior studies have largely focused on short-term maker-based PE interventions, less is known about how such practices are refined, stabilized, and diffused across school contexts over time. Using a qualitative case study design, data were collected from lesson plans, instructional artifacts, implementation records, field notes, and semi-structured interviews with five PE teachers, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The findings suggest that, according to teachers’ accounts and classroom documentation, the program was perceived to reduce barriers to participation, diversify student roles, and improve instructional feasibility in indoor PE settings. Over time, the program evolved into a stable and adaptable instructional approach aligned with sustainable digital education, integrating physical computing into embodied learning environments. Diffusion occurred through teacher agency within informal professional networks and institutional training contexts. These findings highlight the potential of maker-based PE as a sustainable digital education approach that may support context-responsive participation, instructional adaptability, and professionally scalable innovation in school PE, with possible relevance for inclusive physical education contexts. Full article

School leadership practices may influence teachers’ motivation and professional engagement, which, in turn, may affect overall school performance. This study explores how secondary school teachers and deputy head teachers perceive head teachers’ leadership practices and how these practices are understood to influence teacher motivation and professional engagement. Drawing on a qualitative design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers and six deputy head teachers from six government secondary schools in Kabwe District, Zambia. A qualitative approach enabled an in-depth exploration of leadership perceptions across participants from multiple school contexts. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify patterns in leadership practices described by participants. The findings indicate that participants frequently described leadership practices aligned with delegation, mentorship, and open communication, shaped by contextual and organisational factors. However, these practices were not consistently experienced across all school contexts. Participants also described the presence of democratic and autocratic leadership practices. Participants perceived participatory and supportive leadership practices as contributing to their motivation and professional engagement. However, participants from several schools reported that autocratic leadership practices continued to shape decision-making, largely due to contextual, institutional, and workload-related constraints. The study highlights the importance of understanding leadership as contextually negotiated and relationally enacted. It contributes to African educational leadership research by demonstrating how leadership practices are experienced and interpreted within specific school contexts and emphasising the value of examining leadership beyond a single theoretical model. The implications of these findings for school leadership practice, policy development, and international educational leadership research are discussed. Full article

While there has been a recent focus on reforming kindergarten curricula to emphasize a play-based learning (PBL) approach, a lingering dichotomy remains between play-based learning and pedagogical instruction aimed at academic preparation. Early music education is a critical component of the current policy emphasis on arts education and PBL, yet there is scarce research on play-based pedagogy in music education, particularly regarding children’s engagement and the applied instructional models. This study investigates how instructional practices affect children’s behavioral and emotional engagement in musical play. Data were collected at two Hong Kong kindergartens (K1–K3) using classroom observations and the Engagement Check II (ECII) tool. Thematic content analysis revealed three instructional approaches: teacher-directed routines with minimal aspects of play, guided play within structured musical contexts, and open-ended, child-initiated musical play. Analysis of the ECII data revealed high levels of behavioral engagement, with guided-play contexts yielding higher levels of behavioral and emotional engagement compared to highly teacher-directed instructional approaches. Differences in engagement levels during musical play were revealed to be correlated with age. This study highlights the need for culturally responsive music teacher training, supportive school culture, and aligned curriculum and policy implementation. Full article

Despite broad agreement on sensorimotor foundations of cognition, existing integrative models are not user-friendly to those who most need them—parents, caregivers, teachers, and clinical practitioners. This review addresses that gap by proposing Meaning-Events (M-Es) as sensorimotor–cognitive coordination units that structure meaning from infancy through adulthood. Drawing on joint attention research, embodied cognition, and dynamic skill theory, this integrative model demonstrates how sensorimotor processes—gaze coordination, affective timing/synchrony, bodily orientation, eye–hand coordination, and goal-directed action—organize cognitive structures of increasingly abstract meaning-making. Meaning-Events are shown as the smallest analyzable units that integrate sensorimotor experience with cognition, providing (1) developmental continuity for embodied action giving rise to coherent thought, purpose, and identity; (2) reciprocal perspectives informing impacts of dyadic behavioral interactions; and (3) an analytical and synthetic tool providing visible, measurable differentiation and integration of behaviors over time. Integration of Fischer’s dynamic skill theory with Erikson’s psychosocial theory illustrates applications in clinical and educational contexts. Rather than viewing sensorimotor experience as an early precursor superseded by symbolic cognition, the Meaning-Event model positions these sensorimotor–cognitive coordination units as constitutive of meaning at all developmental levels. Full article

Digitalisation continues to shape debates in mathematics education, yet its classroom enactment remains uneven, particularly in rural and under-resourced school contexts. This study examined how mathematics teachers perceive and experience digitalisation, focusing on digital competence, barriers to integration, and readiness to adopt technology. Guided by the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, the study employed a qualitative design based on interviews with practising teachers. The findings show that digitalisation was constrained by limited awareness of mathematics-specific digital tools, uneven confidence and competence in their use, and structural barriers such as inadequate infrastructure, poor connectivity, and restricted access to devices. Although some teachers recognised the value of digital tools and expressed willingness to use them, this did not consistently translate into meaningful classroom practice. The study argues that digitalisation in mathematics education extends beyond the availability of technology and requires teacher competence, pedagogical readiness, institutional support, and equitable resourcing. Overall, the findings show that digitalisation in the participating rural schools remains emergent, uneven, and shaped by both teacher-related and structural conditions. Full article

Deciphering the dynamic fracture evolution of rock masses, particularly the interaction between dynamic stress waves and localised weak interlayers, is essential for optimising dynamic rock excavation in mining engineering. To systematically explore how these structural planes halt propagating cracks and generate a dynamic shielding effect, this study integrated Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar experiments, Digital Image Correlation techniques, and computational modeling. The findings demonstrate that altering the geometric orientation of the soft layer dictates the ultimate failure pattern. While an orthogonal interface (i.e., an interface with 0° inclination perpendicular to the loading direction) allows a tension-driven crack to cleave directly through the entire composite specimen, introducing an inclined obliquity of 15° forces the advancing fracture to deviate and permanently halt inside the soft stratum. Macroscopically, this barrier capability is validated by a rapid decrease in fracture speed, which drops abruptly by 75.5% upon encountering the inclined zone. Microscopic numerical evaluations confirm that this fracture arrest originates from wave mode conversion at the misaligned boundary. The angled interface forces incoming compressional pulses to transform into intense shear stresses, promoting extensive fracture. Substantial energy dissipation within the interlayer fully deprives the primary crack of the tensile stress required for propagation, effectively confining the stress-propagated hard rock within an energy shadow zone and suppressing further fragmentation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Physical activity behaviours are established early in life and tend to track across developmental stages. However, the role of continuity of sport participation across multiple developmental periods in shaping current physical activity levels remains insufficiently understood. This study aimed to examine the association between continuity of sport participation across developmental stages and current physical activity levels in university students, and to assess whether this association followed a graded pattern and differed by sex. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 796 fourth-year undergraduate students enrolled in a Primary School Education degree program at the University of Turin. Data were collected using an anonymous online survey. Current physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and categorised as non-active, sufficiently active, or active. Sport participation across six developmental stages was retrospectively assessed and summarised into a three-level continuity variable (discontinuous, intermediate, continuous). Associations were examined using chi-square tests and ordinal logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). Predicted probabilities were estimated to aid interpretation. Results: Continuity of sport participation was significantly associated with current physical activity levels (χ²(6) = 67.55, p < 0.001), with a graded pattern evident. In adjusted models, discontinuous participation (OR = 0.24, 95% CI 0.14–0.39) and intermediate participation (OR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.46–0.82) were associated with lower odds of belonging to higher physical activity categories than continuous participation. Predicted probabilities showed a clear dose–response pattern, with progressively higher likelihoods of being active as continuity increased. This pattern was consistent across sexes, although males exhibited higher overall activity levels. Conclusions: Greater continuity of sport participation across developmental stages is associated with higher current physical activity levels. Promoting sustained engagement in sport may support the development of active lifestyles across the lifespan. Full article

Accurate and interpretable learning diagnosis is increasingly required in AI-enabled educational assessment. Existing cognitive diagnostic models typically represent item attributes with a binary Q-matrix and infer mastered or not mastered knowledge states. Although polytomous extensions allow graded mastery, item attributes rarely encode theory-aligned cognitive-process demands, which limits pedagogical interpretation of diagnosed profiles. This study aims to operationalize revised Bloom’s taxonomy at the exercise–knowledge level by constructing an Exercise–Knowledge–Cognition tensor and to develop RLDM-EKC as a DINA-type cognitive diagnosis model that infers ordered knowledge–cognition profiles. The model defines EKC-based ideal responses, estimates slip and guess parameters with an Expectation–Maximization procedure, and derives learner profiles using Maximum A Posteriori inference with uncertainty summaries. We validate the approach on synthetic data and on TIMSS 2007 Grade 4 mathematics data, comparing against classical CDMs including DINA, PA-DINA, and pG-DINA. In simulation, RLDM-EKC attains a PMR of 81.7% and an AAMR of 91.6%, and in empirical data, it yields theory-aligned multi-level cognitive profiles with transparent uncertainty reporting. These properties support actionable, human-in-the-loop feedback for teachers and learners under realistic deployment constraints. Full article

Contemporary educator preparation programs face sociopolitical constraints that limit critical discussions surrounding how systemic, structural, and institutional inequities influence teaching and learning, leaving future educators underprepared to meaningfully nurture diverse ways of knowing in K-12 schools. To address this challenge, in this study we explored how video-mediated transcultural dialogues between 60 pre-service educators from Taiwan and the U.S. influenced the development of essential critical cultural competencies. Using a nested theoretical perspective, we analyzed participants’ discussions related to internalized notions of teaching and learning across diverse ecologies. Analysis revealed that through these conversations, incremental development of interconnected global awareness, self-determination, reflexive relationality, and social justice orientations occurred. Modest individual perspective shifts transpired as participants cultivated emerging critical cultural competencies. Despite limitations including a small sample size and a term duration, this pedagogical innovation demonstrated a possible pathway for further exploration to develop future educators’ critical cultural competencies while bridging global relations even within restrictive sociopolitical contexts. Full article

High-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) technology was used to deposit Ti-Nb-Cr films on Si (100) and 316L substrates by changing the peak power of the Ti-Nb-Cr target. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) was used to study the effect of peak power on the ion atomic arrival ratio in front of the substrate. Experimental instruments such as an X-ray diffraction (XRD) device, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), nanohardness tester, ball-disk reciprocating friction machine, and electrochemical workstation were used to study the effects of the atomic arrival ratio of Ti, Nb, and Cr ions on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance of Ti-Nb-Cr films. The results show that when the peak power is 67.84 kW, the ion atomic arrival ratio of Ti reaches 47.57%, the ion atomic arrival ratio of Nb reaches 39.41%, and the ion atomic arrival ratio of Cr reaches 10.6%. The ion atomic arrival ratio is doubled compared to the peak power of 51.04 kW. The films prepared at different peak powers all show diffraction peaks of the BCC structure. At high power levels, the TiNbCr films exhibit reduced residual compressive stress, although this may be accompanied by lower hardness and wear resistance. Full article

Cattle behavior constitutes important phenotypic information reflecting animals’ health status, activity level, and welfare condition, and is therefore of considerable significance for automated monitoring and precision management in smart livestock farming. However, under complex barn conditions, cattle behavior recognition is easily affected by factors such as illumination variation, partial occlusion, background interference, and individual differences, thereby reducing recognition stability and generalization capability. To address these challenges, this study proposes a pose-driven method for cattle behavior recognition in complex barn environments. First, a 16-keypoint annotation scheme suitable for describing bovine posture, termed cow16, was constructed. Based on this scheme, OpenPose was employed to extract heatmaps (HMs) and part affinity fields (PAFs), which were then used to build an intermediate HM/PAF posture representation. Subsequently, this representation was taken as the input to a lightweight convolutional neural network for classifying three behavioral categories: stand, walk, and lying. On this basis, class-imbalance correction during training and a multi-random-seed logits ensemble strategy during inference were further introduced. In addition, knowledge distillation was adopted to transfer knowledge from a high-performance teacher model to a lightweight student model. Experimental results demonstrate that training-stage class-imbalance correction and inference-stage multi-random-seed logits ensembling exhibit strong complementarity; when combined, the AB configuration improves the test-set Macro-F1 by 3.83 percentage points. Moreover, the distilled student model still achieves competitive recognition performance while maintaining 1× inference cost, indicating a favorable trade-off between accuracy and efficiency. This study provides a useful reference for deployment-oriented cattle behavior recognition in smart farming scenarios and offers a lightweight technical basis for subsequent practical applications. Full article

Education for Sustainable Development promotes educational approaches that integrate scientific knowledge, experiential learning, and critical reflection to address complex socio-environmental challenges. Within this framework, school gardens have been recognized as learning environments that foster interdisciplinary teaching, environmental awareness, and socio-emotional development. However, their integration into formal curricula remains limited due to structural constraints and insufficient teacher preparation. This study evaluated the implementation of a university–school partnership intervention model aimed at strengthening teacher training for the pedagogical integration of school gardens in basic education in Veracruz, Mexico. A sequential exploratory mixed-methods design was applied, combining an initial diagnostic survey with a subsequent intervention and evaluative phase. In the diagnostic phase, 71 teachers from preschool, primary, and secondary education participated in a survey to identify training needs and perceptions regarding the educational use of school gardens. Subsequently, 34 teachers participated in agroecological and pedagogical training workshops and evaluated a didactic guide designed to facilitate curricular integration. The results revealed high teacher motivation to implement school gardens despite limited institutional infrastructure. Participation in the training program strengthened teachers’ pedagogical capacities and promoted the use of school gardens as interdisciplinary learning environments. The findings suggest that structured university–school collaboration models can support sustainability-oriented teacher training and facilitate the integration of experiential learning into formal education. Full article