Search Results (118)

Deliberate practice plays a central role in high-quality music learning, yet the motivational and technology-related factors associated with sustained deliberate music practice remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on social cognitive theory, achievement goal theory, and the literature on artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, this study examined the relationships among music learning self-efficacy, achievement goal orientation, AI literacy, and deliberate music practice. A total of 458 music students from a teacher-training university in Liaoning Province, China, completed measures of the four constructs. Music learning self-efficacy was positively associated with deliberate music practice. Achievement goal orientation also showed a significant indirect association between music learning self-efficacy and deliberate music practice, such that students with higher self-efficacy reported stronger achievement goal orientations, which in turn were associated with greater engagement in deliberate music practice. AI literacy further moderated the association between achievement goal orientation and deliberate music practice, with this positive relationship being stronger among students reporting higher levels of AI literacy. These findings suggest that deliberate music practice is associated with both learners’ motivational beliefs and their self-reported AI literacy. Full article

Digital transformation and artificial intelligence are reshaping nursing education by changing how students access information, complete academic tasks, and engage with technology-mediated learning. However, evidence on digital competencies, AI-related constructs, mediating mechanisms, and academic performance remains fragmented and methodologically uneven. This systematic review of empirical studies synthesized how digital competencies and AI-related constructs are associated with academic performance and learning-related outcomes in nursing education. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines adapted to social science research, searches were conducted in Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection in March 2026, covering 2022–2026. Twenty-five empirical studies were included: 18 quantitative, 4 qualitative, and 3 mixed-methods studies. The evidence was concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, and Europe. Findings suggest that digital competencies are associated with academic and learning-related outcomes mainly through self-efficacy, academic motivation, cognitive presence, and learning flow. AI-related evidence remains emerging, mixed, and context-dependent. Although some AI-assisted interventions reported favorable outcomes, one experimental study found greater knowledge gains with traditional text-based study than with ChatGPT-assisted learning. Therefore, AI integration should not be considered universally beneficial, but contingent on pedagogical design, task type, teacher guidance, AI literacy, responsible use, and critical verification. Full article

Academic motivation and achievement are central to student success in applied STEM, engineering, and technical and vocational education and training (TVET); however, despite extensive research, the evidence remains fragmented across theoretical traditions, educational levels, and disciplinary settings. This structured narrative review synthesizes research on the factors shaping academic motivation, achievement, and career readiness in these contexts. A literature search was conducted in Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and PsycINFO for studies published between 2010 and 2025. A total of 58 studies met the inclusion criteria from an initial pool of 2184 records. Guided by self-determination theory, achievement goal theory, social cognitive career theory, and expectancy–value theory, this review identifies self-efficacy, perceived competence, task value, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, goal orientation, metacognitive skills, teacher and peer support, curriculum relevance, and industry-aligned learning opportunities as key factors associated with student engagement, achievement, and career-related development. The synthesis shows that these factors operate through an integrated motivational core linking motivational regulation, self-belief, task value, and goal orientation. The findings suggest that student success is shaped by the interaction between individual beliefs, social support, instructional conditions, and perceived links between learning and future professional pathways. Practical implications are discussed for designing student-centered, career-relevant, and motivation-supportive learning environments in engineering and TVET. Full article

This study investigates how immersive virtual reality (VR) simulations support international postgraduate preservice teachers (PSTs) in preparing for their initial professional experiences in Australian early childhood settings. Positioned within growing concerns about PST readiness, confidence, and cultural adjustment, the study examined the use of VR as a preparatory pedagogical tool. Sixty-six PSTs participated in human-in-the-loop mixed-reality teaching simulations in which they interacted with avatar children aged 3 to 5 in a realistic classroom environment prior to their professional placement. Guided by Bandura’s four sources of self-efficacy, video analysis examined how these simulated experiences contributed to PSTs’ self-efficacy-related practices, decision-making, and cultural readiness. Three themes emerged: (1) a movement from anxiety to relational regulation through social–emotional learning, (2) the use of simulation to bridge the theory–practice gap in classroom management and inclusion, and (3) the role of technology-supported reflection in enabling pedagogical revision through repeatable practice. The findings indicate that the simulation design compressed mastery experiences, modelling, credible feedback, and emotional regulation within a structured learning context. Participants demonstrated opportunities for reflective engagement with classroom dynamics in a low-risk environment before placement, including moments of hesitation, revision, and growing interactional control, highlighting the value of a programme-wide, technology-infused approach to immersive simulation in early childhood initial teacher education. Rather than directly measuring changes in efficacy beliefs, this study shows how mixed-reality rehearsal can operationalise the conditions that support efficacy formation within a repeatable pedagogical environment. In doing so, the paper contributes to current debates on technology-infused teaching by positioning mixed-reality simulation as a coherent model for future-oriented ITE design. Full article

Lesson planning is a core professional practice for pre-service teachers, yet opportunities for timely, individualized feedback are frequently constrained by educator workload. While generative AI has the potential to enhance planning processes and expand opportunities for individualized feedback, the provision of comprehensive lesson plans may lead to excessive reliance. This conceptual design paper details the development and theoretical underpinnings of an artificial intelligence-assisted feedback tool that provides self-efficacy-strengthening feedback on lesson plans for pre-service teachers. To promote constructive feedback, the AI-assisted feedback tool integrates principles from educational feedback research and structures feedback to foster teachers’ lesson-planning self-efficacy through mastery-oriented affirmations, vicarious examples, social persuasions, and emotional reassurance. Curriculum alignment is incorporated to support content validity and contextual appropriateness. While the initial implementation of the feedback tool focuses on Western Australian teacher education, an explicit transfer perspective is considered for the German vocational education context. The paper describes the iterative development process that follows a design-based research approach including platform evaluation, internal refinement, and expert review by teacher educators in Western Australia. The resulting system prompt architecture comprises 11 dimensions including general baselines, the interaction between the Lesson Planning Coach and PSTs and the theoretical foundations mentioned above. The tools’ environment, including examples for provided feedback on lesson plans, is presented and discussed. Finally, an outlook is given on the planned empirical research to evaluate the effectiveness of the tool. Full article

Mathematics achievement in South African schools continues to be limited by identifiable barriers to instructional improvement, including inadequate technological infrastructure, excessive teacher workloads, and inconsistent institutional support for professional learning. Although data-driven instruction is widely promoted, little is known about how psychological constructs such as instrumental attitudes, perceived control, social norms, and self-efficacy influence teachers’ use of data. This study, therefore, explored mathematics teachers’ perspectives on data use, guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). TPB was selected because, unlike purely cognitive or socio-cultural models, it integrates individual psychological factors, attitudes, perceived control, and self-efficacy with social and contextual influences on behaviour, making it particularly well suited to examining data use within complex, resource-constrained school environments. A qualitative design was employed, involving focus-group discussions with senior-phase mathematics teachers. Data were thematically analysed using NVivo 14, with iterative coding aligned with TPB constructs. Findings revealed that while teachers valued data for diagnosing learning gaps, they perceived data tasks as administratively demanding. Collegial collaboration fostered authentic engagement, whereas hierarchical accountability and limited technological capacity reduced motivation and autonomy. The interaction among attitudes, social norms, and perceived control showed that both belief systems and institutional conditions shape teachers’ behavioural intentions. The study concludes that professional development should strengthen teachers’ data literacy, encourage collaborative learning cultures, and improve infrastructural support to promote effective data-driven mathematics instruction in resource-constrained contexts. Full article

This study examines how protective factors contribute to teacher resilience and sustainable wellbeing during remote teaching, focusing specifically on parent-teachers who are balancing professional responsibilities with childcare. Within the broader context of research on educator resilience and professional practice, it explores the associations between social and organizational support, work–family conflict (WFC), and parenting self-efficacy (SE) and satisfaction, factors linked to educators’ capacity to manage dual roles effectively. The hypotheses were that (1) WFC would negatively correlate with parenting SE and satisfaction; (2) support from friends and family and from the workplace would be associated with lower WFC and higher parenting SE and satisfaction; and (3) WFC would mediate the relationship between support and parenting outcomes. Using a mixed-methods design with quantitative scales combined with open questions, data were collected through retrospective self-report questionnaires in relation to the COVID-19 lockdowns. The sample included 474 teachers who teach in schools in Israel and have children aged 0–12. The predictive mediation model confirmed the first two hypotheses, with partial support for the third. Qualitative findings provide insight into parent-teachers’ experiences, including gender-based differences, and emphasize factors associated with their adjustment to remote instruction. These findings contribute to understanding how social and organizational support—forms of collaborative and resilience-promoting mechanisms—may have an important role in promoting educator wellbeing through their negative association with work–family conflict. The findings should be examined further in longitudinal or experimental research and in additional cultural and educational contexts to examine their generalizability, as well as causality. Nonetheless, the findings provide possible directions for policy and interventions aimed at fostering resilience and sustainable wellbeing among teachers, particularly those navigating dual roles in their personal and professional lives. Full article

Computational thinking (CT) has become a cross-curriculum priority in many educational jurisdictions, yet a growing body of research reports uneven integration in initial teacher education (ITE), limited preservice teacher confidence, and persistent misconceptions that equate CT with coding. Concurrently, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has rapidly entered university programmes, offering new possibilities for modelling problem-solving, generating multiple representations, and supporting iterative design. However, while constructs such as self-efficacy, cognitive load, and affect are well established in educational psychology, their specific application to the intersection of CT and GenAI in teacher education remains under-theorised: existing research has not systematically examined how these psychological dimensions interact when preservice teachers learn CT through GenAI-mediated tasks. This thematic literature review synthesises 54 sources across three intersecting domains: CT frameworks and their pedagogical implications, CT integration in preservice teacher preparation, and GenAI in teacher education and learning design. Drawing on Bandura’s social cognitive theory, cognitive load theory, and research on technology-related affect, the review foregrounds the affective, cognitive, and cultural dimensions of preservice teachers’ engagement with CT and GenAI. The review proposes the GenAI-Enabled Computational Thinking for Preservice Teachers (GECT-P) model, which integrates CT dimensions with GenAI-supported learning cycles, psychological mediators, and teacher education outcomes. The model positions prompting as an epistemic and pedagogical practice that can make CT visible, supports cycles of decomposition, abstraction, pattern recognition, and algorithmic design, and embeds critical AI literacy, ethics, affective scaffolding, and classroom enactment. Design principles and practical pathways are offered for teacher educators seeking to prepare graduates who can develop CT with and beyond GenAI across diverse curriculum areas. Full article

As classrooms become increasingly diverse, achieving equitable and inclusive education is central to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4.7, and to advancing social sustainability in education. Teachers’ multicultural teaching efficacy is a key psychological resource shaping inclusive classroom practice. This study conceptualizes multicultural teaching efficacy as a multidimensional belief system and adopts a person-centered approach to identify latent efficacy profiles among Korean lower secondary school teachers. Using data from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024, latent profile analysis was conducted based on seven efficacy indicators, with teachers’ social and emotional learning self-efficacy (TSEL-SE) and participation in multicultural education-related professional learning included as covariates. Five distinct efficacy profiles were identified, revealing heterogeneity in both level and configuration. TSEL-SE consistently predicted profile membership, whereas the effects of professional learning varied across profiles and were strongest among teachers with high TSEL-SE, indicating a conditional interaction effect between psychological and experiential resources. Notably, over one-third of teachers belonged to a structurally low efficacy profile, indicating systemic vulnerability. These findings highlight the importance of differentiated and emotionally responsive teacher education strategies for advancing inclusive practice and contributing to SDG 4.7 and broader social sustainability goals. Full article

As artificial intelligence (AI) changes educational practices, understanding what sustains pre-service teachers’ generative AI use beyond initial adoption becomes important. However, existing research mainly focuses on initial acceptance rather than continuance intention, which is a more realistic indicator for sustainable technology integration. This study drew on an integrated framework including psychological (GAI anxiety, GAI self-efficacy), contextual (facilitating conditions, social influence), and perceptual factors (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness) to examine pre-service teachers’ continuance intention toward GAI in future teaching. Survey data from 549 Chinese pre-service teachers were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Results showed that GAI self-efficacy had the strongest positive associations with both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. GAI anxiety negatively influenced both perceptions. However, facilitating conditions did not significantly relate to perceived usefulness. The fsQCA identified six configurational pathways clustered into the following three patterns: intrinsic value driven, efficacy capability driven, and external support driven. These findings suggest that teacher education programs should prioritize building GAI self-efficacy and supportive peer environments and not focus solely on infrastructure provision. Full article

As artificial intelligence (AI) drives significant challenges in education, understanding and addressing the training needs of in-service teachers has become a critical issue for ensuring a responsible and long-term technological transition. Framed within Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) and the principles of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), teacher preparation in AI is increasingly recognized as a key mechanism for promoting ethical, equitable, and inclusive educational transformation. This study explores the influence of several key variables on intention and learning behaviors in relation to AI among a sample of 704 Spanish in-service teachers (71% women) from all compulsory educational levels. Using a validated questionnaire, this study assessed teachers’ anxiety towards AI, basic AI knowledge, personal relevance of AI, AI for social good, perceived self-efficacy, social pressure, and perceived usefulness of AI. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the direct and indirect relationships among these variables. The results indicate that the perceived usefulness of AI and self-efficacy directly and positively influence the behavioral intention to learn about AI. Furthermore, social pressure and basic AI knowledge indirectly influence this intention. In turn, both behavioral intention and social pressure significantly predicted AI learning behaviors. The model demonstrates strong explanatory power, accounting for 91% of the variance in the behavioral intention to learn about AI. These findings provide evidence to inform the design of teacher training initiatives and policies that promote responsible, ethical, and inclusive integration of AI in educational settings, contributing to sustainable development through education. Full article

This study explores the effectiveness of Baskin—an inclusive sport discipline—as a pedagogical tool to promote school inclusion, social cohesion and motivation in secondary school students. The intervention, conducted on a sample of 600 students in four Italian institutions, adopted an experimental design with pre–post measurements and a mixed methods approach. The quantitative results, obtained by means of validated psychometric instruments (PIQ, Classroom Cohesion Scale, AMS), showed significant improvements in all variables investigated in the experimental group compared with the control (p < 0.001). The qualitative analysis, based on interviews, focus groups and reflexive diaries, highlighted five thematic areas: revaluation of diversity, improvement of the classroom climate, development of self-efficacy, restructuring of interpersonal relationships and request for project continuity. Baskin emerged as a comprehensive educational practice, capable of integrating corporeity, citizenship and critical thinking. The systematic inclusion of inclusive sport in the curriculum and initial teacher training is suggested, as well as the promotion of school networks and longitudinal studies. Baskin emerges as a pedagogy of participation that contributes to transforming school culture, making inclusion concrete. Full article

The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale for measuring the self-efficacy of primary school and mathematics teachers regarding dyscalculia. Grounded in Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, the study followed established scale development procedures. In the initial phase, a pool of 42 items was generated to assess teachers’ self-efficacy regarding dyscalculia. The items were reviewed by a panel of seven experts in the fields of psychometrics, mathematics education, special education, and psychology to ensure content validity. Based on expert evaluations, four items were removed due to overly technical phrasing that could lead to misinterpretation, reducing the pool to 38 items. Subsequently, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) conducted with 273 teachers indicated that four additional items exhibited inadequate factor loadings or problematic cross-loadings; these items were also excluded. The resulting Dyscalculia Self-Efficacy Scale (DSES) comprises 34 items organized into four factors: “Dyscalculia Symptoms”, “Providing Psychological Support to Children with Dyscalculia”, “Diagnosing Dyscalculia”, “Providing Support in the Teaching Process”. Confirmatory Factor Analysis conducted with a separate sample of 242 teachers yielded strong model fit indices, supporting the construct validity of the scale. The overall scale demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.980, McDonald’s ω = 0.980). Correlation analyses with established instruments provided evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. The findings indicate that the DSES is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing teachers’ self-efficacy regarding dyscalculia. Full article

Physically Active Learning (PAL) integrates physical activity into classroom teaching and has been shown to benefit students’ cognitive, social, and academic outcomes. Despite these advantages, PAL is not yet sustainably implemented in everyday school practice, highlighting the need for effective professional development (PD) formats for teachers. This randomized controlled experimental study examined how different PD formats, varying in their mode of engagement with ready-to-use PAL materials, affect teachers’ motivation, professional competence, and implementation of PAL. A total of 153 in-service primary teachers participated in a 2.5 h PD training and were randomly assigned to one of three formats: example-based learning, experience-based learning, or problem-solving. Data were collected at pre-test, post-test, and a six-week follow-up using standardized questionnaires. Results showed that teachers in the experience-based format reported significantly higher motivation during the PD training than those in the other formats. Across all formats, attitude and self-efficacy regarding PAL increased over time, whereas no significant gains in knowledge were observed. No significant differences between PD formats regarding overall implementation of PAL were observed. Exploratory analyses indicated a potential advantage of the experience-based format. Overall, the findings suggest that immersive, experience-based PD formats may be particularly effective in fostering teachers’ motivation. Full article

This quasi-experimental study employed Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to examine the longitudinal changes in intergroup perceptions following a targeted Hebrew language intervention on intergroup perceptions among 119 Arab citizens of Israel, segmented into high school students (HSS; adolescents) and pre-service Teachers (PSTs; young adults). Focusing on instrumental language acquisition as a form of positive intergroup contact, the research measured changes in self-efficacy in Hebrew, endorsement of democratic influence strategies, hope for peace, and common ancestry categorization (Semitic/Abrahamic) across two time points (pre/post intervention). Results indicated a robust positive association between the time of intervention and four of the five tested outcome variables, supporting the instrumental pathway hypothesis. Complex interactions revealed that participants identifying as Palestinian, who exhibited lower baseline hopes and categorization scores, demonstrated the sharpest increase in both hope for peace and Abrahamic categorization. Conversely, sensitivity to inequality diverged by group, dropping significantly among PSTs but increasing among HSSs. These findings highlight that while language intervention bridges ideological divides, its impact is shaped by the professional socialization inherent in teacher training. For PSTs, the combination of linguistic proficiency and emerging professional identity appears to mitigate feelings of marginalization, offering a constructive pathway for negotiating identity, status, and belonging. Full article