Educ. Sci., Volume 12, Issue 7 (July 2022) – 78 articles

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant disruptions to the provision of education, including restrictions to in-person and remote learning. Little is known about how older adolescents and young adults experienced these disruptions. To address this gap, data were drawn from the Well-Being and Experiences study (the WE Study), a longitudinal community-based sample collected in Manitoba, Canada, from 2017–2021 (n = 494). Prevalent difficulties or stressors during in-person learning were less interaction with friends or classmates, worrying about grades, less interaction with teachers, and too much screen time (range: 47.3% to 61.25%). Prevalent difficulties or stressors for remote learning were less interaction with friends or classmates and teachers, less physical activity, worrying about grades, and too much screen time (range: 62.8% to 79.6%). Differences related to sex, education level, financial burden, and mental health prior to the pandemic were noted. From a public health perspective, efforts to re-establish social connections with friends, classmates, and teachers; strategies to manage stress related to worrying about grades or resources to improve grades that have declined; and approaches to reduce screen time in school and at home may be important for recovery and for any ongoing or future pandemics or endemics that impact the delivery of education. Full article

The present study investigates the combination of an epistemological sensitization and two different critical thinking instructions, i.e., the general and infusion approach, in the context of epistemological change induced by the presentation of resolvable scientific controversies. In a randomized study, we tested the hypothesis that the presentation of resolvable controversies generally reduces absolutism and multiplicism and increases evaluativism. We assume that these effects are strongest when the controversies are presented with an epistemological sensitization and the infusion approach. The results indicate an increase in absolutism when the general approach is employed without an epistemological sensitization. Combined with an epistemological sensitization, the increase in absolutism is only detected when the infusion approach is used. Concerning multiplicism, there is a reduction in all conditions, but the reduction is more effective without an epistemological sensitization. The general approach yields a larger increase in evaluativism without an epistemological sensitization, while the infusion approach fosters evaluativism only in combination with the sensitization. However, an argumentation task revealed that the desired level of an evaluativist argumentation only seems to emerge without an epistemological sensitization in combination with the infusion approach. In sum, the results show that there is no general way to reduce absolutism and multiplicism and increase evaluativism. Full article

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have remained stagnant in increasing diversity. An important factor in increasing diversity is building and supporting diverse cohorts of future STEM professionals in our classrooms. A strong sense of belonging in STEM has been demonstrated to increase persistence of women, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation college students in STEM or the college atmosphere. Therefore, it is important that STEM faculty develop inclusive teaching strategies to increase and support this sense of belonging in STEM for all students. This work evaluates a faculty-developed assignment implemented in Fall 2020 at a liberal arts college on a student’s sense of belonging in STEM. The results demonstrated that this semester-long project increased students’ sense of belonging in STEM. Current literature about any faculty-developed assignments focused on supporting a student’s sense of belonging and awareness of diversity in STEM implemented in chemistry courses is limited. This work represents a new approach grounded in inclusive pedagogy that can be utilized in addition to other institutional and departmental support structures to increase diversity and equity in STEM. Full article

Since students’ knowledge of scientific language can be one of the main difficulties when learning science, teachers must have adequate knowledge of scientific language as well as the teaching and learning of it. Currently, little is known about teachers’ practices and, thus, teachers’ knowledge of scientific language, in general, and the teaching and learning of it (Pedagogical Scientific Language Knowledge, PSLK) in particular. For this reason, with this systematic review, we seek to identify elements of pre- and in-service primary and secondary science teachers’ PSLK. The search was conducted on the database Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and resulted in 35 articles with empirical evidence after the selection process. The results have been deductively and inductively categorized following the framework of the Refined Consensus Model of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, elaborating elements of different knowledge categories that shape PSLK, as well as PSLK itself (e.g., knowledge of (i) scientific language role models, (ii) making scientific terms and language explicit, (iii) providing a discursive classroom, and (iv) providing multiple representations and resources). We can conclude that more research on PSLK is needed as analyzed articles are mainly based on case studies. Additionally, this paper shows a need for a stronger focus on scientific language in teacher education programs. Implications for further research and teacher education are discussed. Full article

Student attitude and involvement in the sciences may be positively or negatively influenced through both formal academic experiences and informal experiences outside the classroom. Researchers have reported that differences in science interest between genders begin early in a student’s career and that attitudes towards a particular field of science can be correlated to achievement in that field. In this study, we approach the question of how attitudes towards science have been shaped using college-age students. Survey data from students in similar academic positions were employed to control for differences in cultural and academic progress. Results from a self-reflection survey indicated that general personal interest in both science as a process and field-specific content increased from elementary school through high school until entering college. Differences arose between self-identified genders in student experiences with science, both while in groups and when on their own. Female students had higher rates of participation and enjoyment with science in groups, while male students more frequently enjoyed science alone. Students, regardless of gender, rarely had negative experiences with science outside of the classroom. However, male students’ interest in science surpassed female students’ during high school. Declining interests in quantitative aspects of science (mathematics and statistics) were more frequently reported by female students and non-STEM majors during and before their college experience. Connecting student attitudes regarding science to their pre-college experiences with science early in their college career may be important to understanding how to best engage all genders, as well as non-STEM majors, in their college science courses. Full article

There is a global trend towards the use of market-driven approaches as a strategy for educational reform. However, this is creating new barriers to the promotion of equity in some countries. Focusing on England as an extreme example of this approach, this paper points to some possibilities for addressing this concern. It reports findings from a series of studies in high poverty contexts in England. These studies have typically involved local educational practitioners and university researchers working together in ways designed to support equitable developments. Lessons from these experiences are identified for market-driven systems internationally. They suggest that to create more equitable arrangements, schools need to work together, and with other organizations, both within and beyond their local areas. They also point to the value of surfacing and using the rich experiential and contextualized knowledge held by practitioners to inform these collaborative developments. Acting on these lessons would mark a significant shift for systems whose current emphasis is on schools working competitively and in isolation, often to the detriment of disadvantaged children and young people. Full article

Online higher education teaching and learning has become a new normal in many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the support for online learning seems inadequate to address students’ diverse online learning needs and may impede the inclusiveness in higher education. Therefore, based on a questionnaire administered to higher education students in Sri Lanka, this paper examines the support or lack of support students have experienced during the university closure that may enable or hinder inclusive online learning. It draws on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a theoretical lens to analyse and make sense of these enablers for and barriers to inclusive online higher education. The key findings suggest that students first need autonomy support to access stable and affordable internet and devices, and quality online learning resources. They also need competence support for monitoring and managing their own learning through feedback and scaffolding as they engage in their learning online. Finally, they need relatedness support for reducing their anxiety and having a sense of connectedness by interacting and communicating with teachers and students. Full article

Teachers’ work engagement is associated with positive outcomes regarding work-related well-being. Conversely, burnout menaces teachers’ work and attitudes toward professional development. As indicated in the literature, burnout can influence teachers’ work engagement. Considering the impact of ICT on school activities, interest toward ICT training can also affect teachers’ work engagement. The present study aims to explore the differences among different school levels concerning work engagement, burnout, and interest toward ICT training. Furthermore, we study the extent to which teachers’ burnout and interest toward ICT training predict work engagement, taking into account the school level. The participants were 358 Italian teachers of primary, middle, and high school. We proposed to fill out the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, and three ad hoc items assessing interest toward ICT training among 358 Italian teachers. To compare the school levels, an ANOVA and a Multiple regression analysis for each group corresponding to a different school level has been used. Results showed that: (a) primary school teachers have a higher level of work engagement and interest in ICT training compared to their colleagues at high schools; (b) burnout predicts work engagement in all school levels; (c) interest toward ICT training influences work engagement only in primary and high school. Cultural and contextual dimensions are considered when interpreting the results. Implications for teachers’ enhancing their commitment at work are discussed, as well as limitations of this study and possible further development. Full article

One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been restrictions on mobility and thus the closure of schools. This has had consequences on the teaching strategies of primary mathematics educators who were not familiar with online education. Most schools in Chile have adopted virtual and hybrid classes to continue educational processes. From a quantitative approach with a sample of n = 105 primary school educators and through an online survey, we analyzed how educators implemented the mathematics curriculum during the pandemic using various didactic strategies and educational resources, as well as their respective contexts. The results show that there is a relationship between the level of technical knowledge of teachers, the years of experience, and the types of teaching strategies they use. Likewise, differences were found between educators in rural and urban sectors according to the use of teaching strategies and the types of educational resources used. Regarding the didactic strategies, it is shown that the emerging strategies most used are metaphorical and analogical, whereas in traditional strategies the automation of procedures is imposed. The implications for practice include suggestions and guidelines for improving the training and professional development of mathematics teachers including increasing and strengthening the number and quality of teachers’ didactic strategies and online pedagogical management skills and promoting metacognition through virtual forums. Finally, we discuss the context of the use of didactic strategies in mathematics during the pandemic, analyzing its challenges and opportunities. Full article

The irrefutable repercussions of personality and socio-emotional development on children’s learning and psychological well-being justify the relevance for the educational context of delving into the relationship between those two constructs. Therefore, the research presented in this article investigates the link between trait EI and the B5, B2, and B1 (or GFP) personality traits in children between 9 and 13 years of age. We used the Spanish adaptation of the BFQ-NA (Big Five Personality Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents) and the CDE_9-13 (Emotional Development Questionnaire for primary education) with a sample of 259 primary school students. The results showed correlations between the two Big personality factors (B2) and the Big One personality factor (B1) with trait EI. However, the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and the Big Five personality model (B5) was not very high; only two of the five personality traits significantly predicted trait EI. Thus, our results differ from studies conducted with adults, but instead, it is similar to studies conducted with children. Finally, this study reinforces the thesis that trait EI can be considered a synonym of the GFP (General Factor Personality). Consequently, it implies designing and implementing learning and socioemotional development programs during the school years to promote adaptability and social efficacy. Full article

Deafblindness is a unique and complex disability. Research on the needs and quality of life are scarce; as well as the lack of adequate knowledge, training and lack of qualified professionals to serve this group. All this justifies the sense and interest of this study. This study is derived from the project with reference 2020EDU04. Design: The study is descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative-qualitative research design was conducted. Objectives: Know and analyze the needs of adult deafblind people in order to contribute to improving their quality of life. Method: Sample of 16 adults with double sensory loss (hearing and vision) residing in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (Spain) was used. Instruments: The FUMAT Scale was used to measure personal development; self-determination; interpersonal relationships; social inclusion; rights of deafblind people; emotional well-being; physical well-being and material well-being. In addition, a semi-structured interview is conducted. Results by dimensions: Personal development: The professionals did not have specialized training to provide an educational response. Physical well-being: 68% of the sample had other health problems associated with deafblindness. Interpersonal relationships: 100% of the sample reported communication problems in the family environment. Social inclusion: They reported difficulties in accessing educational and leisure activities. Material well-being: In general, they stated that they have the material resources necessary for their daily lives. Self-determination: they consider that they have decision-making capacity in basic aspects of daily life. Rights: Deafblind people state that they have limitations in exercising their rights. Based on the interviews, it was observed that the people with the greatest difficulties in daily life are those who presented the greatest visual commitment. Conclusion: The etiology does not determine the quality of life of deafblind people, but communication conditions interpersonal relationships and personal development, and therefore their quality of life. Full article

In order to assess emotional competence in children, it is necessary to have psychometrically sound measures. To the best of our knowledge, there is no available tool to assess emotional competence in children from 3 to 5 years old that assesses the five emotional competences of the Bisquerra model and can be easily and quickly answered in the school environment. The objective of this study is to develop a measure, the Emotional Competence Assessment Questionnaire (ECAQ), and to provide evidence of its psychometric quality. Qualitative evidence was obtained from a systematic review, from two expert committees and from five discussion groups. On the other hand, quantitative validity and reliability evidence was obtained from a sample of 1088 students and other smaller subsamples. The results suggest that the ECAQ is a short and easy-to-use tool, easily understood by administrators. The quantitative results confirm a general factor of emotional competence adjusted for three specific factors. This factor has excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The ECAQ has therefore been shown to be a promising tool for assessing emotional competence in children between 3 and 5 years of age. Full article

In 2020, COVID-19 disrupted all aspects of society across the globe including healthcare, employment, social interactions, and education. In many parts of the world, abrupt school closures caught teachers off guard, as they were forced to immediately shift their practices from in-person to online instruction with little-to-no preparation. Furthermore, during this time, many parents of school-aged children vacillated between multiple roles associated with their employment, household caregiving activities, and supporting their children at home. These challenges were especially challenging for teachers and parents of students with severe disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of U.S. teachers of students with severe disabilities regarding interacting with parents during the COVID-19 pandemic, including when schools initially closed in March 2020 and then reopened in September of 2020. This manuscript outlines six key themes highlighting parent–teacher interactions: (a) parents directing school decisions, (b) teacher inability to meet parent expectations, (c) parent–teacher communication, (d) parents as teachers, (e) parent exhaustion, and (f) teacher helplessness. Full article

Programmatic assessment (PA) has strong theoretical and pedagogical underpinnings, but its practical implementation brings a number of challenges—particularly in traditional university settings involving large cohort sizes. This paper presents a detailed case report of an in-progress programmatic assessment implementation involving a decade of assessment innovation occurring in three significant and transformative steps. The starting position and subsequent changes represented in each step are reflected against the framework of established principles and implementation themes of PA. This case report emphasises the importance of ongoing innovation and evaluative research, the advantage of a dedicated team with a cohesive plan, and the fundamental necessity of electronic data collection. It also highlights the challenge of traditional university cultures, the potential advantage of a major pandemic disruption, and the necessity for curriculum renewal to support significant assessment change. Our PA implementation began with a plan to improve the learning potential of individual assessments and over the subsequent decade expanded to encompass a cohesive and course wide assessment program involving meaningful aggregation of assessment data. In our context (large cohort sizes and university-wide assessment policy) regular progress review meetings and progress decisions based on aggregated qualitative and quantitative data (rather than assessment format) remain local challenges. Full article

The educational parameters of neoliberal schools have transformed traditional social expectations about teachers. As some authors have suggested, “teacher uneasiness” is an appropriate category of analysis to understand and interpret the effects that such expectations can have on teachers’ professional identity. In this research, autoethnography was specifically chosen as an investigative and, at the same time, formative modality, ideal for determining the way in which a Social Sciences teacher in Spanish secondary education experiences his own uneasiness. According to the information in the teacher/researcher’s diary, collected during fieldwork carried out over two years, and processed by content analysis, this phenomenon can be generated by causes that are still unnoticed in the existing literature. Specifically, we could identify up to four subcategories from the data itself: the weight of tradition; daily overexertion; no time; and resignation after wear and tear. We conclude with vindications both of the theoretical category used, and of the usefulness of autoethnography in this type of empirical project. In any case, we also recommend new research that allows us to compare and expand the results and conclusions obtained herein. Full article

This position paper proposes that teacher education programs should shift from preparing teachers who are consumers and perpetuators of grand narrative knowledge to teachers who are creators and knowers of transdisciplinary (TD) knowledge and perpetuators of a TD narrative. To that end, the Nicolescuian TD methodology, especially epistemology, was introduced as a new grounding for knowledge that can lead to transdisciplinary teacher education. This paper explores what teacher education might look like through a Nicolescuian TD lens with its innovative focus on epistemology—the knowledge required to function in a complex, modern world confronting wicked problems. As this is currently a nascent and untested idea, recommendations for future research are suggested (practice, policy, and theory). Full article

Educational and healthcare professionals need to develop emotional communication with schoolchildren and patients, respectively. This study aims to analyse the psychometric properties of an instrument that evaluates emotional communication among these professionals. A total of 406 professionals and students of education and health sciences took part in the study. They were administered a questionnaire using a Google Form that collected different elements of emotional communication. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out from which three factors were extracted: Communicative Proactivity, Openness and Authenticity, and Listening. These were supported by confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency of the scale is also adequate, ranging from 0.69 to 0.82. This instrument is valid, and, in a self-reported, straightforward and time-efficient manner, can assess the emotional communication of professionals and students of education and health sciences. Full article

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the academic productivity of health sciences faculty members in one graduate school in the United States. Thirty-two faculty members completed an electronic survey comparing academic productivity in the year prior to the pandemic to a year during the pandemic. In total, 90.7% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that time dedicated to teaching increased, and 81.2% agreed or strongly agreed that they prioritized teaching over research during the pandemic. Participants presented an average of 2.72 peer-reviewed papers at an academic conference the year before and 1.47 during the pandemic, with females more adversely affected than males. Journal submissions with survey participants as the first or last authors decreased during the pandemic. Twelve faculty members including genetic counseling, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech and language pathology participated in one-to-one interviews. Three themes emerged from qualitative data analysis: stressed systems, balancing act, and meaningful connection. Faculty members were faced with an external locus of control during the pandemic and noted a lack of autonomy and pressure to help students graduate on time and maintain the quality of teaching while dealing with uncertainty in both their professional and personal lives. The pandemic disproportionately impacted women and junior faculty members as connectedness and mentorship declined. Collaboration and research mentorship must be prioritized moving forward to continue to advance healthcare and health sciences education. Full article

COVID-19 forced universities to shift to online learning (emergency remote teaching (ERT)). This study aimed at identifying the nontechnological challenges that faced Sultan Qaboos University medical and biomedical sciences students during the pandemic. This was a survey-based, cross-sectional study aimed at identifying nontechnological challenges using Likert scale, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions. Students participated voluntarily and gave their consent; anonymity was maintained and all data were encrypted. The response rate was 17.95% (n = 131) with no statistically significant difference based on gender or majors (p-value > 0.05). Of the sample, 102 (77.9%) were stressed by exam location uncertainty, 96 (73.3%) felt easily distracted, 98 (74.8%) suffered physical health issues, and 89 (67.9%) struggled with time management. The main barriers were lack of motivation (92 (70.2%)), instruction/information overload (78 (59.5%)), and poor communication with teachers (74 (56.5%)). Furthermore, 57 (43.5%) said their prayer time was affected, and 65 (49.6%) had difficulties studying during Ramadan. The most important qualitative findings were poor communication and lack of motivation, which were reflected in student comments. While ERT had positive aspects, it precipitated many nontechnological challenges that highlight the inapplicability of ERT as a method of online learning for long-term e-learning initiatives. Challenges must be considered by the faculty to provide the best learning experience for students in the future. Full article

Understanding preservice early childhood teachers’ perspectives on education in nature is important in the context of risk aversion and the future of education for sustainability. In the present study, 296 early childhood preservice teachers examined 16 photographs of outdoor areas from four categories: park with fence, park without fence, grassy area, forest. They the selected photographs depicting areas they most preferred and least preferred. They then selected photographs depicting areas the considered most or least conduciveness to education. The participants also completed a series of questions related to their beliefs about education in nature ant the benefits for child development and health. There were clear associations between the areas participants preferred and those they considered educationally conducive. Likewise, there were associations between areas participants least preferred and their ratings of least conducive. The belief that nature experiences belong within school settings was the strongest predictor of perceived educational and developmental benefits. The findings suggest more opportunity to spend time in a range of natural environments and a belief in the importance of nature experiences should be emphasised in early childhood preservice teacher training. Full article

The purpose of this study is to examine the risks of learning through digital technology and to design the individual and academic responsibilities. We propose answering the following research questions: Are higher education students and their families equipped with digital devices? What strategy do students use in their individual learning? How frequently do they get involved in various added digital activities (gaming, social media communication, surfing the Internet)? What are the risks of excess time spent online? A total of 2210 higher education students from five European countries, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, and Ukraine, participated in the quantitative study, the data being collected by the Center of Higher Education Research and Development at the University of Debrecen, Hungary in 2019. The analysis of the data is based on the advanced statistical test carried out with the SPSS program. The results indicated that most students come from families that possess essential digital devices (smartphone, PC, notebook) with an internet connection, regardless of the country of origin. The students’ learning strategy is mixed: they use the virtual and real environment. More than half of the students declared that they never learn by watching tutorials or listening to audio recordings. Reflecting on themselves, more than a third of them stated that they generally spend too much time online. Daily surfing, gaming, and communicating on social networks are those added activities that significantly multiply their chance of spending too much time in a virtual environment. The binary logistic regression analysis proves that these students have a four times greater chance of developing a concentration crisis. In addition, it is characteristic for there to be a general time management crisis that implicitly contributes to the development of a deadline crisis in learning, and another risk is the duplication of intention to drop out of university. Full article

Following concepts describing lesson planning as a form of anticipatory reflection, preservice physics teachers’ reflection skills are assumed to be positively connected with their planning skills. However, empirical evidence on this is scarce. To explore how relations between these specific skills change over the course of a field experience controlling for influences of professional knowledge, we conduct a pre-post field study with N = 95 preservice physics teachers in a one-semester field experience. Content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (paper-and-pencil tests), and reflection and planning skills (standardized performance assessments) were assessed before and after the field experience. Path analyses revealed almost no influence of reflection skills on planning skills. Reflections skills did not contribute to preservice teachers planning skills beyond knowledge, indicating both constructs might represent rather independent abilities. The results show the need for further development of models describing the development of teachers’ professional knowledge and skills in academic teacher education and for the development of concepts for a better integration of reflection and lesson planning in field experiences. Full article

Federal law in the United States requires that students with disabilities receive their education alongside their peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate given their individual circumstances. As a result, students with less support needs have enjoyed increasing amounts of time in the regular education classroom, while their peers with developmental disabilities are still largely served in separate educational settings. When these students are not included in the regular education classroom, they are not able to access the academic, social, and communication benefits of inclusion. The inclusion of students with developmental disabilities has long been a point of contention and disagreement among special education teachers, administrators, and scholars. It is the goal of this paper to carefully consider the perspectives and practical considerations that affect the placement of students with developmental disabilities and understand why these students spend less time in the regular education classroom than their peers with other disabilities. In addition, we weigh the relative advantages of inclusive and separate placements. After reviewing these issues, we believe that it is possible to simultaneously value a spectrum of placement options and advocate for increased inclusion in the regular education classroom. We discuss evidence-based practices to support inclusive placements and areas of future research to support inclusion of students with developmental disabilities in the regular education classroom. Full article

This study provides a zoom-out perspective of higher education students’ experiences related to the emergency remote learning (ERL) following the first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic as captured by a national, in-depth survey administered to all higher education institutions in Cyprus (different fields of study and educational levels). Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data collected from 1051 students provide valuable information and insights regarding learners’ prior technology background and level of preparedness for online learning, the challenges and benefits of ERL and how they would like their online learning experience to be improved in case of future ERL. The results underline that students’ knowledge of and self-efficacy in using e-learning tools do not directly equate to being a digital learner equipped with necessary digital skills such as self-regulation to fully benefit from online learning. The educational disparities caused by inequalities in access and accessibility to high-quality education laid bare by the pandemic stressed the need for online environments that would afford quality learning for all learners. Online learning demands are discussed in the article, as well as implications for research, practice and policy making. Full article

Different university degrees focus on students acquiring theoretical and practical knowledge, aiming to develop their professional activity in the future. However, the usual study plans often forget other skills that will be very useful for the correct performance of their professional activity. In the case of veterinarians, these can range from dialogue with farmers to the unification of knowledge, so that they can provide a simple and effective solution to the different questions that may arise throughout their work activity. On the other hand, the perception of the world and the ways of acquiring knowledge have been changing over the years. Currently, our students require new ways of being presented with the information and knowledge that they should acquire, using, in most cases, new technologies. The present study was carried out with two cases. First, we used gamification through role-play as an alternative methodology to generate a method to unify the knowledge acquired in the subject and, mainly, to acquire skills such as the transfer of this acquired knowledge to other classes and situations. The second case aims to verify if the use of new technologies, specifically the use of interactive videos, can improve the acceptance of students and their training. A total of 2 h of videos were recorded, and 31 min and 42 s of that footage were ultimately used. A special edition and some specific illustrations and designs were made for this work, taking care of the format–background relationship. The results obtained show that these alternative-learning methodologies could be applied to many subjects, so that students, in a playful and relaxed way, are able to unify all the knowledge they are acquiring in their training as veterinarians, preparing them to face the exercise of their future professional activity with greater ease and safety. Finally, we provide the degree of acceptance of these new learning methodologies by students. Full article

In this study, two teachers of multilingual learners in the U.S. report case stories about how they implemented translanguaging approaches in support of their students’ social emotional learning. Translanguaging refers to bilinguals’ meaning-making process using their multilingual resources. In the first case story, Deborah created and utilized multilingual writing checklists in her 3rd grade classroom to encourage and support students’ multilingual writing practices. She enacted translanguaging as a collaborative space, which enabled students to shift their roles from learners to teachers, helping them to increase their confidence and collaboration. In the second case story, Walny applied translanguaging approaches to reading in his 9th grade English classroom. He utilized translanguaging to explain literary concepts, create a multilingual reading list, and send letters to families in students’ first languages, enacting translanguaging as a space for connecting the multilingual texts. His approaches enhanced his students’ engagement with the text, the teacher, and the peers. The results highlight the significance of teachers’ advocating for multilingual learners’ use of their entire linguistic repertoire for their academic success and personal growth, providing implications for language teacher education. Full article

In this article, we reflect on the functions of outreach in developing the modern scientific mind, and discuss its essential importance in the modern society of rapid technological development. We embed our approach to outreach in culturo-scientific thinking. This is constituted by embracing disciplinary thinking (in particular creativity) whilst appreciating the epistemology of science as an evolving dialogue of ideas, with numerous alternative perspectives and uncertain futures to be managed. Structuring scientific knowledge as an assemblage of interacting and evolving discipline-cultures, we conceive of a culturo-scientific storytelling to bring about positive transformations for the public in these thinking skills and ground our approach in quantum science and technologies (QST). This field has the potential to generate significant changes for the life of every citizen, and so a skills-oriented approach to its education, both formal and non-formal, is essential. Finally, we present examples of such storytelling in the case of QST, the classification and evaluation of which correspond to future work in which this narrative approach is studied in action. Full article

The doctoral defense is an important step towards obtaining the doctoral degree, and preparation is necessary. In this work, I explore the relation between the way in which a doctoral candidate prepares for the defense and two important aspects of the defense: the outcome of the defense, and the student perception during and after the defense. I carried out an international survey with an 11-point Likert scale, multiple choice, and open-ended questions on the doctoral defense and analyzed the data of the 204 completed surveys using quantitative and qualitative methods. The methods I used included the statistical tests of the correlation between, on the one hand, the preparation and, on the other hand, the defense outcome and student perception. I used an inductive thematic analysis of the open-ended survey questions to gain a deeper insight into the way candidates prepared for their defense. I found that candidates most often prepare by making their presentation, reading their thesis, and practicing for the defense. The most effective measure is the mock defense, followed by a preparatory course. The conclusion of this work is that doctoral candidates need to understand the format of their defense in order to be able to prepare properly, and that universities should explore either individual pathways to the defense or pilots using a mock defense and/or preparatory course to prepare their doctoral candidates for the defense. Full article

Online learning has emerged as a widely used learning mode and will likely supplement traditional learning in the post-pandemic era. The purpose of this study is to present student voices of online school education by investigating students’ online learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in various contexts, and explain why the impacts are important to student learning and well-being. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with nine students from China, Lebanon, and the United States to gain direct insight into students’ perceptions of each country. The results showed that the online learning environment provided at the national level, such as social conflicts, and the facilities provided at the individual level, such as information access, increase the educational inequity. High-school students experienced numerous psychological changes and encountered academic cheating issues in the home online-learning environment. We recommend that online school education should make significant improvements in pedagogy, students’ mental health, and learning assessment, and consider factors beyond technology solutions. Full article

Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion are influenced by factors such as training and teaching experiences. However, there is no conclusive trend correlating specific factors with negative or positive attitudes. The aim of this study is to understand the reality of inclusion in schools in Extremadura, Spain, from the teachers’ point of view. To do so, a reliable and valid questionnaire was administered to a total of 106 teachers from more than 20 schools in Extremadura, followed by the subsequent categorization of more than 300 comments obtained from semi-structured interviews with 16 teachers. The results show that teachers value an inclusive philosophy in schools, especially in terms of values and policies. Teachers working in special schools had a moderately more positive perception of the degree of inclusion in their school, although there were hardly any significant differences compared to teachers in other types of schools, nor were there any significant differences according to teachers’ prior training. Finally, the importance of evaluation in the creation of plans to guarantee an improvement in the attention to diversity is assessed. Full article