Search Results (137)

This article analyzes the role of dance and the arts in European and national educational policy agendas and maps the provision of dance in upper-secondary schools in the district of Porto, Portugal. To understand the role of dance in educational policies, we conducted a document analysis of regulations and decree-laws inspired by Stephen Ball’s policy cycle approach. To explore how these policies materialize in educational contexts, a mapping approach was conducted in upper-secondary schools within the district of Porto, Portugal. Results show that, at the public education policy level, although there is no specific debate about dance, the arts are gradually being included in the educational agendas, but still in a scarce way and with a more instrumental approach. At the institutional level, access to dance in education is not sufficiently democratized, reinforcing social and territorial inequalities. Despite its local scope, the study contributes to the broader international debate on equity in access to education with the arts, mainly dance. It offers insights from Southern Europe—a region often underrepresented in global research—which can inform research and policy development aimed at more inclusive educational systems. Full article

The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT (GPT-4) could transform teaching and learning. Yet, integrating these tools requires insight into what drives students to adopt them. Research on ChatGPT acceptance has so far focused on university settings, leaving school contexts underexplored. This study addresses the gap by surveying 506 upper secondary students in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2). Performance expectancy, habit and hedonic motivation emerged as strong predictors of behavioral intention to use ChatGPT for school purposes. Adding personality traits and personal values such as conscientiousness or preference for challenge raised the model’s explanatory power only marginally. The findings suggest that students’ readiness to employ ChatGPT reflects the anticipated learning benefits and enjoyment rather than the avoidance of effort. The original UTAUT2 is therefore sufficient to explain students’ acceptance of ChatGPT in school contexts. The results could inform educators and policy makers aiming to foster the reflective and effective use of generative AI in instruction. Full article

Understanding agricultural production dynamics is vital for addressing global food security in the least developed countries. In Senegal, the issues of rural development and enhancing agricultural productivity are still less understood. Using survey data (n = 600) from the Thiès region, this study aims to explore factors that influence agricultural productivity in Senegal. The multinomial probit model is estimated using maximum simulated likelihood (MSL) methods. This approach is necessary due to the presence of multiple-choice categories. The results highlight that young farmers aged 18–30 are less likely to achieve high production (>10 tons) compared to their older counterparts (p < 0.01). In contrast, older farmers (31–60) report higher income stability (p < 0.05). Education levels also impact production, with farmers having lower or upper secondary education being less likely to attain high production than illiterate farmers (p < 0.05). Receiving subsidies reduces the likelihood of high production (p < 0.01). Larger landholdings (>1 ha) correlate with lower production odds (p < 0.01), suggesting diminishing returns. Gender disparities are evident, with male farmers being 45.6% more likely to report income declines (p < 0.1). Marginal effects show that acquiring land through rental or purchase significantly boosts income (p < 0.01), while traditional ploughing increases the sown area (p < 0.01). Policymakers should enhance training in agriculture, improve subsidies, secure land tenure, and promote certified seeds to boost productivity. This study highlights the need for targeted policies on training, subsidies, land tenure, and sustainable practices to enhance Senegal’s agricultural productivity. Full article

There has been an increase in the number of users on digital platforms. Similarly, technology is prevalent in the daily lives of young people, therefore, it is crucial to address the topic of digital citizenship with them, ensuring they use technology in a responsible and healthy manner. The present study argues that the foreign language classroom constitutes a privileged space for the promotion of digital citizenship. To address this research gap, the present study examines digital citizenship within the context of foreign language education, with a particular focus on its articulation with the intercultural dimension, and explores its impact on participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and opinions. More specifically, this study aims to determine the effectiveness of a five-session didactic intervention in developing students’ knowledge, attitudes, and opinions regarding digital citizenship within an intercultural dimension in an EFL secondary classroom. The research question formulated is: how can digital citizenship be developed in conjunction with the intercultural dimension in the English language classroom in secondary education, namely concerning students’ knowledge, attitudes, and opinions? With the intention of addressing this question, an intervention project was implemented with a class of 11th-grade students at a school in the Aveiro district, Portugal. The didactic project consisted of five sessions conducted in the English classroom, in a total of 450 min. Through the content analysis conducted on the collected data, it revealed significant improvements in students’ understanding of online rights and responsibilities, and a positive shift in attitudes toward intercultural interaction. While some initial prejudices persisted, the project fostered increased awareness of diverse cultural perspectives in the digital world. These findings suggest that targeted interventions integrating intercultural awareness within digital citizenship education can be effective in promoting responsible digital engagement and intercultural sensitivity in EFL secondary education. Full article

Literature education is often justified by its presumed cognitive, social, and developmental benefits. However, little research has explored how students themselves perceive the relevance of literary reading in both educational and leisurely settings. This study surveyed 1641 Dutch upper-secondary students (grades 10 to 12) across various academic tracks. A self-completion questionnaire was used to assess students’ justifications for mandatory literary reading and their evaluations of 20 benefits associated with reading literature. Most students supported the government mandate to read literature in school, primarily justifying it by functional benefits, such as improving language skills and general reading proficiency. Cultural, social, and psychological justifications (e.g., fostering empathy or enhancing political awareness) were deemed less persuasive. Significant group differences emerged, with girls, 12th-grade students, and frequent leisure readers finding the benefits of literary reading more compelling than boys, 10th-grade students, and non-readers. Teachers tended to underestimate the persuasiveness of certain justifications, particularly those related to concentration and complex interpretive skills. The study shows that students predominantly view literature education through a qualification-oriented lens, emphasizing its instrumental value. Hence, literature education could place greater emphasis on fostering ethical awareness and social understanding to counter students’ predominantly functional perceptions of literary reading. Moreover, this study confirms the divide students experience between school-based and leisure reading: even enthusiastic readers rarely attribute more personally oriented justifications, such as relaxation and escapism, to school-based literature reading. Full article

With education playing a role as a catalyst for change towards a more sustainable world, there is a need to develop educational concepts that enable young people to responsibly take up the challenges of future-proof development. The GewässerCampus project is related to environmental education in the context of the ecological dimension of Education for Sustainable Development. This article focuses on evaluating the GewässerCampus project by assessing current motivation, ecological knowledge, and environmental values during participation in an outdoor learning program. In total, 231 German pupils of lower and upper secondary level participated in the project. In a quasi-experimental study design, current motivation, pro-environmental and anthropogenic values (Preservation and Utilization), and knowledge were assessed before and immediately after participation in the learning program. The learning activities during the project day led to significant knowledge acquisition. Furthermore, high individual values of the test items for Preservation and low values of the test items for Utilization were obtained. Our results show how important it is to consider the individual teaching and learning requirements of the learner group depending on the grade level, as well as the type of school, when preparing modules for environmental education in the context of sustainable development. Full article

This study examined the association between school climate, defined by social and academic environments, and mental wellbeing among 446 first-year upper-secondary students in eastern Norway (ISRCTN10405415). As part of the MOVE12 pilot study conducted in February 2023, a cross-sectional online questionnaire targeted approximately 600 students from five schools offering diverse academic and vocational tracks. Mental wellbeing was assessed using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS, scale 7–35), and the data were analyzed with stepwise multiple linear regression. The mean mental wellbeing score was 24.5 ± 4.3, with significant gender differences (p < 0.05) but no variations between academic and vocational tracks. Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of mental wellbeing (b = 0.236, p < 0.001), followed by health satisfaction (b = 0.179, p < 0.001), time spent with friends (b = 0.163, p < 0.001), social isolation (b = −0.162, p = 0.001), wellbeing in physical education (b = 0.129, p = 0.002), and classroom climate (b = 0.128, p = 0.007). These findings emphasize the critical role of self-efficacy, peer connections, and supportive classroom climates in promoting mental wellbeing. Addressing these elements of school climate can significantly enhance the mental health and overall outcomes of upper-secondary students. Full article

Empirical findings show that students often have insufficient financial literacy, even though they increasingly make independent financial decisions. Financial education at school can provide a foundation for a lifelong proactive approach to financial matters with increasing utility value and financial interest. This includes the simulation of future financial decisions with serious games. Despite a wide range of serious games to promote financial literacy, there is a lack of empirical research on the instructional design of such games. This includes the instructional design of game mechanics as action-guiding and reflection prompts for debriefing. In a quasi-experimental intervention study with a 2 × 2 research design, upper secondary students were assigned to four groups (n = 293). They played the game Moonshot with different combinations of game mechanics and reflection prompts. Based on mixed ANOVA analysis, the combination of strategic game mechanics and direct reflection prompts significantly increased students’ utility value for a financial literacy game, which underlines the importance of the instructional design of game mechanics and reflection prompts in serious games. But only a group-independent time effect was found for financial interest. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Full article

In recent years, Estonian employers, upper secondary schools, and other stakeholders have devised various new collaborative measures to effectively integrate workplace learning (WPL) and school education. These efforts are aimed at enhancing the key competences of students. However, the educational purpose and effectiveness of the various initiatives are unknown. The main aim of this research is to explore what kinds of practises are applied in Estonian upper secondary schools to integrate formal education and WPL, and the experiences and requirements of schools and employers in this area. The empirical study is based on individual and focus group interviews conducted with upper secondary school teachers, head teachers, and employers. A phenomenological approach and inductive thematic analysis were used to examine current practises. The results of the study show that workplace learning is integrated into school learning mainly for the development of key competences and career competencies. An important part of the learning process is reflecting on experiences implemented via institutional cooperation. In core or foundation subjects, especially STEM subjects, the topics of work life or recognition of work experience are rarely encountered in school. Full article

Intergenerational educational mobility means that adolescents graduate at a higher level (upward mobility) or lower level (downward mobility) than their parents did. Knowledge about early determinants supports upward and downward mobility at an early stage. Evidence about early determinants of educational mobility allows for the elaboration of educational strategies to minimize the correlation between family socio-economic status (SES) and student upper-secondary education level. In this longitudinal study (N = 2376), we examined the extent to which teacher and parent expectations in 7th grade (mean age: 13.2 years) predict the achievement and effort of adolescents with and without migration backgrounds and the probability of upward and downward mobility at the end of upper-secondary education. The results showed indirect effects of teacher and parent expectations on upward and downward mobility, mediated by student achievement, after controlling for gender and conscientiousness. The effects of parent expectations were stronger than the effects of teacher expectations. Effort predicted downward mobility more than achievement in mathematics and German. No differences were found between adolescents with and without migration backgrounds. In the case of the tracked Swiss education system, parents’ and teacher expectations predicted educational mobility over long periods. Full article

The share of general upper secondary students working or having acquired work experience in an authentic work environment in parallel with learning in formal educational settings is expanding. It is therefore important to understand how learning in an authentic work environment and the interrelationships between work and school learning support the development of students. The main aim of this study is to understand and conceptualise the early work experience of students studying at general upper secondary schools. This study applies a phenomenological approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with students who have had work experience in authentic work environments. The main results of this study show that the variety of meaningful skills and competences developed in the work environment is rather great. Mostly, generic competences are learned at work. The incorporation of elements from one practice into the other (work to school or school to work) also occurs. Knowledge learned at school in traditional subjects and in elective courses is applied at work in a few cases. The positive impact of work experience on school studies, however, was reported—better time planning, increased motivation to learn, and increased career awareness. Full article

Readers tend to allocate more cognitive resources to processing belief-consistent than belief-inconsistent information when reading multiple texts displaying discrepant views. This phenomenon, known as the text-belief consistency effect, results in individuals being more prone to making biased decisions and falling victim to manipulation and misinformation. This issue is gaining relevance due to the undeniably vast amount of information surrounding us. Hence, schools must ensure that students complete their education prepared to face this challenge. However, international surveys and research indicate a generalized literacy deficiency among students. In the present study, recent upper secondary graduates read four texts discussing a controversial topic to explore whether they effectively overcome the text-belief consistency effect or not. Eye tracking was used to explore immediate (or passive) and delayed (or strategic) text processing, and an essay task was used to measure their resulting mental representation of the text content. Results revealed no significant differences in immediate and delayed processing depending on whether the arguments were belief-consistent or belief-inconsistent. Moreover, essays displayed a balanced and unbiased approach to the debate. Despite these results suggesting this population may be capable of overcoming the text-belief consistency effect, limitations in the study and alternative explanations must be explored before drawing definite conclusions. Full article

Computer vision education is increasingly important in modern technology curricula; yet, it often lacks a systematic approach integrating both theoretical concepts and practical applications. This study proposes a staged framework for computer vision education designed to progressively build learners’ competencies across four levels. This study proposes a four-staged framework for computer vision education, progressively introducing concepts from basic image recognition to advanced video analysis. Validity assessments were conducted twice with 25 experts in the field of AI education and curricula. The results indicated high validity of the staged framework. Additionally, a pilot program, applying computer vision to acid–base titration activities, was implemented with 40 upper secondary school students to evaluate the effectiveness of the staged framework. The pilot program showed significant improvements in students’ understanding and interest in both computer vision and scientific inquiry. This research contributes to the AI educational field by offering a structured, adaptable approach to computer vision education, integrating AI, data science, and computational thinking. It provides educators with a structured guide for implementing progressive, hands-on learning experiences in computer vision, while also highlighting areas for future research and improvement in educational methodologies. Full article

Graduating from secondary education for adolescents living in poverty is challenging. Strong entrepreneurial intention and student engagement among youth living in poverty often play a protective role in reducing school dropout and fostering school completion, which results in improved educational attainment. However, research on this topic is scarce. A total of 1135 adolescents took part in this cross-sectional study, 50.9% of which were females. On average, they were 16.4 years old. They were all upper secondary school students from ten public and private schools in Lebanon. They completed instruments measuring entrepreneurial intention and student engagement. This study explored the covariate associations between risk and promotive factors through four dimensions of entrepreneurial intention and two components of student engagement (cognitive and psychological engagement). It shows positive associations for entrepreneurial intention with both individual factors (age) and social factors (working mother and private school). Negative associations for student engagement were found in all (individual and social) factors with the exception of the father’s job, which did not present any association. The findings provide insight for policymaking to empower schools to promote school completion and educational attainment among these youth by providing policy initiatives and school-based interventions that target entrepreneurial exposure and engagement strengthening, hence meeting young people’s individual, family, and school community needs. Full article

Today, the Vocational Education and Training (VET) curriculum in Greece is state-regulated, combining school-based and work-based learning, and it is offered at upper-secondary and post-secondary levels. There is a need to prepare a new agenda for VET in Greece that follows the rapid technological developments of today. Our paper aims to enrich, redefine, and expand the current curricula and educational practices while proposing a complete plan for the overall reformation of VET’s learning conditions from the point of view of teaching and learning analytics. Through the evaluation of the existing changing institutional framework, the updated bibliographic references, and the experiential data of the educational reality, we can understand the expected needs of technological educators and decide how to address the priorities that must be determined. We focus on the preparation of the trainers and the overall redefinition of the role of education in preparing graduates. This paper’s main conclusions offer interpretations for the cognitive orientation of the existing curricula, as well as direction for the thinking and teaching skills of teachers, to build confidence in the prospects of technical education in Greece. Full article