Search Results (68)

The impacts of the climate crisis compel congregations to reimagine their mission and identity in various ways. Working with data taken from U.S. clergy participating in an online program for education and support on climate and environmental issues, as well as selected congregational leaders from their congregations, this article examines the ways that ministers and their congregations in primarily North American mainline Protestant contexts frame the climate crisis and how those understandings both create tension and open space for new conversations about their Christian and congregational vocation. It also describes how these ministers and congregations engage with environmental issues through means beyond technological solutions and consumption choices, such as collaborating with other community organizations, hosting rituals for grieving or meaning-making, and inviting transformative encounters with the more-than-human world. Finally, it will suggest possible strategies for leaders and their congregations to frame and creatively engage with the environment through various methods. Full article

Amid the digital transformation of logistics and supply chains, Extended Reality (XR) technologies have emerged as promising tools for enhancing education and training. However, existing studies are fragmented, often limited to case-specific applications with minimal theoretical or longitudinal depth. This study conducts a systematic literature review of 1172 publications from 2009 to December 2024, using PRISMA protocols and VOSviewer-based text mining to identify trends and research gaps. A total of 59 peer-reviewed articles were selected for in-depth analysis based on relevance, methodological transparency, and educational scope. Five key themes emerged: immersive instructional innovation, XR-enabled safety training in high-risk logistics environments, simulation-based development of practical competencies, intelligent learning environments with personalized features, and competency alignment with Industry 4.0. These themes span higher education, vocational training, and community-based learning. A temporal analysis reveals a three-phase evolution: exploratory (2009–2013), applied implementation (2016–2020), and integrative innovation (2021–2024). Despite increasing interest, the field remains dominated by descriptive methods and lacks systematic evaluation frameworks. XR shows strong potential to bridge the theory–practice gap and support scalable, interdisciplinary education models. Future research should prioritize evidence-based frameworks and cross-contextual validation to support the effective adoption of XR in LSCM education. Full article

This entry provides a detailed examination of the relationship between education and employment outcomes. It presents the conceptual framework which connects them and discusses the theories on their nexus, and is the first study to attempt this endeavor. Moreover, it analyzes the factors which influence the education–employment relationship, which the existing literature has not comprehensively addressed. In addition, this entry employs data from Eurostat which points to a beneficial role of education on employment, especially of tertiary education. The entry also highlights the role of factors such as the quality and relevance of education, the development of employability skills, the selection and matching processes in the labor market, and the broader economic and social contexts. Within this framework, policymakers should prioritize investments in education and training programs that align with labor market needs, promote both general and vocational skills development, and foster closer collaboration between educational institutions and employers. Full article

Background/Objectives: Youth mental health significantly impacts future well-being, with nearly half of mental health disorders emerging during adolescence. Civic engagement is defined as active participation in the community to improve conditions for others or to help shape the community’s future. It offers a unique opportunity to enhance youth mental well-being, acting as a protective factor against mental health struggles. In this line, Relational Developmental Systems Theory posits that positive youth development is positively linked to civic engagement. The main objective of this literature-based paper is to identify, select, assess, and synthesize the existing literature on interventions promoting mental health in the youth through civic engagement, resulting in an up-to-date review. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a search was conducted using PsycInfo, Scopus, and Web of Science to gather studies published between 2018 and 2023, based on the combination of key terms: (“civic engagement” OR “social participation”) AND (“mental health” OR “psychological adjustment” OR “well-being”) AND (adolescen* OR teen* OR youth OR “young people”) AND (program* OR intervention OR training OR education). Data extraction and risk-of-bias assessments were performed. Results: Ten studies were included in this review which suggest that civic engagement programs improve youth mental health outcomes, including reduced anxiety, reduced sadness, and increased resilience. These programs foster empowerment, sense of belonging, and social connections, while also enhancing interpersonal skills and career aspirations. Youth also gain valuable skills such as leadership, communication, and problem-solving, contributing to educational and vocational growth. However, challenges such as socio-economic barriers and attendance issues can impact some outcomes, with variations in effectiveness across programs. Conclusions: Youth civic engagement programs should integrate mental health support to mitigate the emotional costs of activism, ensuring greater participation and well-being. It is important to adapt these programs to local contexts and provide flexibility to strengthen participation and community impact. Future research should explore the role of cultural, gender, and socio-economic factors in shaping program outcomes and utilize randomized controlled trials to improve the validity and generalizability of findings. Full article

Typically developing peers are the key factor for children with disabilities to participate in inclusive settings. Good peer relationships can improve the social communication and language expression of children with disabilities, and typically developing children play a role as “gatekeepers” in the social activities of children with disabilities in the schools. In this study, 36 primary school students from grades 1 to 3 received online picture book teaching for 3 weeks, 6 units, 12 class hours, and 40 min per class hour with six volumes of disability picture books (including physical disability, deaf and hard of hearing, visual impairment, intellectual disability, learning disability and autism spectrum disorder) selected by experts in summer vocation. The attitudes of typically developing children toward peers with disabilities of participants were tested before and after attending the online picture book course. The teaching of disability-themed picture books online has significantly improved the attitudes of typically developing children in lower grades toward peers with disabilities. Specifically, there are significant differences in the sub-dimensions of emotion and positive behavior and negative behavior before and after the intervention. The results showed that online picture book teaching activities with disability themes can effectively improve the attitudes of typically developing children in primary schools toward children with disabilities in terms of cognition, emotion, and behavior, and they can be used in schools to create an inclusive climate for students with disabilities. Full article

(1) Background: Self-control is an essential capacity in educating young generations for the good management of personal resources and a healthy life adapted to the constantly changing demands of technological society. Artificial intelligence is an economical and efficient solution for designing medical education programs aimed at optimizing this capacity, which can be personalized according to each personal needs and characteristics. (2) Methodology: This research is a sequential intervention study that aims to investigate if the level of impulsivity decreases and consequently the self-control in adolescents studying drama can be improved by using an online program designed for this purpose. The program’s effectiveness is evaluated by analyzing its impact on vocational performance and the reduction in unhealthy lifestyle habits. A sample of 90 subjects aged between 14 and 17 years, enrolled in the compulsory vocational education system was included in this study. The study was conducted over a five-month period and was organized in three stages: 1. The preparatory stage in which the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale was initially applied (pre-test scores); 2. Selecting the tasks for the online self-control education program and uploading the artificial intelligence network; the application of the program lasted for three months; 3. Applying Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (post-test scores). (3) Results: The results indicated both a statistically significant decrease in self-reported impulsivity and an improvement in the self-control of the sample of adolescents after three months of training on the online platform, compared to the pretest scores of impulsivity. (4) Conclusion: A comparative analysis between the initial and the final BIS scores showed a statistically significant decrease in teens‘ impulsivity, suggesting that the program was effective for this sample of adolescents. Consequently, the study findings indicate significant improvements in adolescents’ self-control after completing the three-month training program, which included cognitive-behavioral games. Full article

Background: Recent systematic reviews report a limited number of return-to-work (RTW) interventions for individuals touched by cancer (ITBC), with many falling short in effectiveness and lacking an integrated work-health approach. In response, iCanWork—a theoretically informed, multidisciplinary RTW intervention integrating vocational rehabilitation (VR) and occupational therapy (OT)—was conceptualized and developed to address the gap identified in recent reviews for robust, work-health-focused RTW interventions. Methods: A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary work-related outcomes of the iCanWork intervention among 23 ITBC participants randomized to either the intervention or control group. Feasibility was assessed through recruitment, retention, and engagement benchmarks; acceptability was measured using a participant satisfaction survey. Preliminary work-health-related outcomes included RTW status, work ability index (WAI) scores, and health-related quality of life (QoL) domains. Results: Feasibility benchmarks were achieved, with 92% recruitment, 83% retention, and 100% completing at least one VR session. Adherence to the session delivery benchmarks was met by 75% of participants before RTW and 41.7% after RTW. Participants rated the intervention highly for its tailored and supportive approach. Compared to the control group, the iCanWork group showed modest improvements in RTW status, WAI scores (mean change: +2.54), and QoL domains, including fatigue, social roles, and pain interference. Given the small sample size, these exploratory findings should be interpreted as preliminary signals to inform outcome selection for a future trial. Conclusions: iCanWork is a feasible and acceptable RTW intervention for ITBC with early indications of benefit. These findings inform the design and outcome selection for a future, larger trial aimed at evaluating the intervention’s potential to improve RTW outcomes for ITBC. Full article

Adolescents’ knowledge about climate change is key to protecting the well-being of all generations and to promoting individuals’ rights and resilience. This study assesses the climate change literacy of Indonesian adolescents and its determinants. This nationwide study was conducted in 2023 in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Eastern Indonesia. A total of 1126 adolescents aged 13–19 years were selected through multi-stage sampling. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression. This study found that 49.7% of adolescents had poor climate change literacy. In the multivariate analysis, the significantly related factors had an odds ratio of 1.66–4.75. Climate change literacy was higher in adolescents from the West and Central Regions, from public or religious schools, and those with educated parents, than in adolescents from the Eastern Region, from private or vocational schools, and those whose parents had low education, respectively. This study suggests the need to promote equality in climate change literacy among Indonesian adolescents through formal and informal education. High-quality formal education would necessitate well-trained teachers with expertise in climate change, as well as a structured, age-appropriate curriculum. Meanwhile, informal education through another information dissemination and social media-based movements can help broaden outreach among adolescents. Full article

This study examines the integration of disadvantaged Roma ethnic minority students in Hungarian-language vocational schools in Central European countries with highly segregated education systems. It focuses on Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary, where Roma students face significant segregation. This research investigates two Romanian, two Slovak, and four Hungarian vocational schools, selected based on their proportion of Roma students aligning with national averages. Surveys and interviews were conducted with teachers to assess their attitudes, commitment, and preparedness in educating Roma students. The main findings of this research are that schools with Roma student proportions matching national averages do not face significant challenges in co-education, teachers generally believe Roma students should complete lower secondary education, and teachers are committed to supporting Roma students but often feel unprepared to teach them. This study’s results suggest that governments should implement policies to eliminate educational segregation in vocational schools and promote inclusive education. Teacher training programs should focus on equipping educators with better tools to support Roma students. Possible directions for further research include a comparative analysis of vocational and grammar secondary schools in the integration of Roma students, longitudinal studies on the long-term educational and career outcomes of Roma students in vocational schools, and an examination of best practices in inclusive vocational education across different European countries. Full article

Background: The association between mental health and work has led to multiple meanings and definitions, leading to generalizations and equivalences that do not always reflect similar meanings. Objectives/Methods: To map and analyze the definitions of mental health related to work in the literature and identify the professional practices arising, a systematic review was carried out following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Six databases were selected for consultation, which was carried out in March 2023. Results: From the search, 26 articles were selected and most of them do not define the concept of mental health, nor the influence of work on mental health–illness processes. Few articles report working conditions and the professional environment as generators of stress. Even if these conditions exist, the studies highlight that individuals already had previous personality traits that made them susceptible to disorders. Conclusions: Failure to adopt clear theoretical–methodological references regarding the concept of mental health and its relationship with work weakens the field and professional practice. Moreover, the literature does not point to changes in work or indicate possibilities for returning to assisted/compatible work, vocational reorientation, or other means of overcoming the problem within work and organizations, with significant impacts on the design of public policies in the field. Full article

The Phubbing Scale (PS) is an instrument used to measure the frequency and extent of the behavior of ignoring someone you are with and giving attention to your mobile phone instead. However, there is insufficient evidence about the psychometric adequacy of the Spanish version of the instrument. The main goal of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of PS in a representative sample of Spanish adolescents and young adults. A total of 1351 participants comprised the sample (42.78% females, age range = 12–21). Students were selected from different levels of education such as secondary school, high school, vocational training, or university. A convenient sample was used. The reliability of the scores was calculated by means of McDonald’s Omega. The evidence of the internal structure of the questionnaire was analyzed by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The measurement invariance of the instrument by gender and educational level was also calculated. In addition, Pearson’s correlations between phubbing and other indicators of mental health were also calculated. The goodness-of-fit indices for the two-factor model were good. The McDonald’s Omega coefficient for the total score was 0.787. Measurement invariance both by gender and educational level was found. The phenomenon of phubbing was found to have statistically significant correlations with emotional well-being, other mental health indicators, and with Problematic Internet Use (PIU), with the sole exception of the hyperactivity subscale of the SDQ. This study provided validity evidence for the Spanish version of the Phubbing Scale (PS), suggesting that PS is a reliable tool for quantifying phubbing in Spanish adolescents. Full article

Education policies help to improve society by decreasing inequities and establishing effective learning environments. Periodic assessments can help researchers and policymakers uncover new obstacles and ensure progress on these ever-changing education policy concerns using critical theory. Bibliometric studies, a type of periodic study, emphasize the importance of data-driven approaches in the formulation and implementation of education policies. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of education policy issues from 2000 to 2023. Based on keywords, we initially selected 931 articles from the Web of Science (WoS) database. Only articles in English were included, and we used PRISMA guidelines to reduce the number of articles to 363. We focused on citations, publication frequency, topics, trends, and issues. Two independent researchers analyzed the documents for reliability. For validity, we used transferability. We also used a content analysis of frequently cited articles. Our analysis revealed three prominent trends. The first trend pertained to controversial environmental issues and sustainability concepts in education policy. The second theme was professional development, special education, and school choice. The third one was science, vocational education, special education, and ICT. The content analysis results indicated that teaching and learning, professional development, science education, subject matter teaching, and mobile learning were the topics of the content analyzed articles. We found that relying solely on bibliometric review resulted in broad conceptualizations of educational policy issues, focusing primarily on efficiency and effectiveness. Additionally, we applied critical theoretical frameworks to conduct a more comprehensive analysis of the emergent issues identified through bibliometric analysis. Full article

Kazakhstan’s government has launched many policy reforms to enhance the well-being of its underrepresented citizens and develop human capital by providing education to all. Therefore, the government has adopted a policy on inclusive education and recognised the rights to education of all learners, including those with disabilities, based on equal opportunity, without any discrimination. This aims to facilitate equal access to lifelong education opportunities, including in Technical Vocational Education Training Institutes (TVETIs). Thus, inclusive education in TVET settings and lifelong learning, especially for adults with special needs, has become an educational priority in Kazakhstan. Therefore, this collaborative action research study intended to explore classroom practices promoting the inclusion of adult students with disabilities at Kazakhstani Technical Vocational Education and Training Institutions (TVETIs). Qualitative data were collected through reflective journals, student focus-group interviews, documentary analysis, and reflective meetings of the professional learning group of selected teachers and students during the four stages of collaborative action research (CAR). Data were analysed through group interpretative meetings by the research team and inductive thematic content analysis by the researcher. Among the findings is that the educative process in TVETIs does not sufficiently provide reasonable inclusive support for adult students with disabilities. As a result, a comprehensive review of inclusive practices in these institutions was critical. This paper discusses some practices that could promote inclusion in TVET classrooms. Full article

Education is a complex system with implications for educational policy and management. Education systems that are more comprehensive generate more equal outcomes, fostering access to opportunities for all children. On the other hand, systems with early selection and tracking are more stratified and register higher inequalities in educational outcomes. Educational inequalities imply unequal access to education and, subsequently, career opportunities. The present study employs classification techniques, such as decision trees, in order to highlight lines of stratification and inequality in the upper secondary education system in Romania, focusing on the selection of students in general or vocational programs. Our results show that the education of parents and area of residence are factors that influence the stratification of students in the Romanian secondary education system, and the selection process contributes to the reproduction of social inequalities. The conclusions of this study are consistent with the cultural capital theory in education. Policy and strategic management implications are discussed in light of our results. Full article

Exploring the evolution of livelihood patterns of farm households relocated for poverty alleviation in three prefectures of Guizhou Province, China, can provide a theoretical basis and practical value for achieving sustainable livelihoods of relocated farm households in ethnic minority areas. This study took three ethnic minority autonomous prefectures in Guizhou as the research area. The types and evolution pathways of farm households’ livelihood patterns were divided using 355 tracking and monitoring data from the four phases of relocated farm households’ livelihoods. The evolution characteristics of farm households’ livelihood patterns and changes in their evolution pathways from “before relocation” to 2021 were analyzed. An indicator system of influencing factors was established based on the sustainable livelihood framework. The influencing factors of the evolution path selection and transformation of livelihood patterns were identified using the binary and multiple logistic regression models. The main results are as follows: (1) Implementing the poverty alleviation relocation project shifted the livelihood activities of farm households from agricultural production to non-agricultural industries. The transformation trend of livelihood patterns shifted from agro-dominated, agricultural, agricultural-diversified and balanced types to highly diversified, deeply diversified and subsidy-dependent types. (2) The transformation mode of the evolution pathways of farm households’ livelihood patterns mainly included the stable transformation modes of “active$\to$retention$\to$active” and “active$\to$retention$\to$retention” and the fluctuating transformation modes of “active$\to$retention$\to$fallback”, “active$\to$fallback$\to$active” and “retention$\to$fallback$\to$active”. (3) Natural capital promoted farm households to choose fallback pathways, while material and human capital showed an inhibitory impact. In contrary to human capital, social capital promoted farm households to choose retention pathways. Financial and human capital promoted farm households to choose active pathways. (4) Per capita income, the household head age and relocation years positively affected the evolution pathways of the livelihood pattern from the fallback type to the retention type. The number of means of transport, per capita education level, transportation and communication cost, and the presence of civil servants in the household positively affected the evolution pathways of the livelihood pattern from the fallback type to the active type. Policy suggestions are as follows: Expanding local and nearby employment channels, strengthening vocational skills training for farm households, expanding financial access for farm households, improving policy support for ethnic characteristic industries, implementing bottom-line guarantee policies and exploring ethnic interactive activities for resettlement farm households. Full article