Search Results (156)

Inclusive education demands that children worldwide have access to education alongside their peers in their neighborhood schools and within regular classrooms. Understanding experiences that contribute to pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy is important as it influences their readiness to enact inclusive strategies effectively. This study involved 69 pre-service teachers from Canadian faculties of education in mixed-methods research using Group Concept Mapping. The analysis identified five clusters of experiences; a repeated measures ANOVA revealed that ‘Applying Knowledge’ and ‘Collaborating with Colleagues’ comprised the most important experiences for contributing to pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive practices, while ‘Community Support’ and ‘Experiences with Diverse Student Needs’ were significantly more important than ‘Professional Development’. By aligning these clusters with Bandura’s sources of self-efficacy, this study highlights the importance of mastery experiences and supportive interactions. These findings suggest that teacher education programs that focus on and enhance practical experiences and interpersonal supports will connect to and better prepare pre-service teachers for inclusive education. Full article

This paper aims to provide a framework for educators to effectively navigate the complexities of artificial intelligence (AI) integration while maintaining the core principles of effective teaching and learning, specifically through the lenses of Dewey’s experiential learning, situated cognition, and distributed cognition. By examining these principles, we explore the essential role of the teacher in this context and the implications of ignoring AI. The integration of AI can enhance personalized learning experiences, facilitate adaptive learning systems, and support educators in fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills among students. Additionally, we highlight the challenges and ethical concerns associated with AI use in education. We argue that AI should be viewed as a tool that enhances, rather than replaces, the role of educators, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the educator’s role in guiding and supporting student learning. This framework serves as a valuable resource for educators seeking to embrace AI’s potential while ensuring that teaching remains centered on student engagement and successfully achieving learning outcomes as we prepare the next generation to be an AI-ready workforce. Full article

As the development of technology and business improvement is rapidly advancing these days, higher education (HE) should continually provide and develop up-to-date knowledge and skills for students. This is crucial for training competitive specialists, addressing digital transformation and enhancing digital readiness of HE institutions, as well as increasing students’ employment opportunities. Therefore, this paper explores the development and implementation of the new courses for teaching Rapid Application Development (RAD) on the Oracle Application Express platform at five European universities. Consequently, a new and flexible methodology for the integration of developed courses into existing study programs with different integration strategies is proposed and implemented. The effectiveness of the courses’ integration, implementation and students’ satisfaction were evaluated using Kirkpatrick’s model. The results reveal that students’ knowledge of RAD increased after completing the courses, which can improve students’ employment opportunities and promote digital transformation in HE institutions and studies. In addition, a majority of the students expressed positive feedback for both modules, finding the courses relevant, well delivered and motivating for future study. This study and its results are expected to inspire researchers, teachers and practitioners for further work towards the digital transformation of HE and offer valuable insights for future HE digitalization and research. Full article

This study explored how bilingual Latine teacher candidates (TCs)—undergraduate students in a teacher preparation program working toward obtaining a teaching license and identifying as individuals from Latin America or of Latin American descent, using the gender-neutral term in Spanish, “Latine”, to encompass all genders—identified and addressed cultural assumptions in mathematics questions on the STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test. Twenty Latine TCs who were enrolled at a major southern research university (pseudonym: Southland University) program reviewed fifth-grade STAAR mathematics questions to assess cultural assumptions and suggest revisions for cultural relevancy. The findings reveal that the TCs identified cultural assumptions in questions about probable unfamiliar currency, non-standard measurement units, and culturally specific terms that could impede students’ understanding. In their revisions, the TCs proposed simplifying language and provided contextual examples to enhance clarity, aligning with the first tenet of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP). However, few revisions addressed CRP’s second and third tenets, which involve fostering cultural competence and critical consciousness. This study underscores the importance of integrating comprehensive CRP training in teacher preparation programs to better equip TCs to create culturally responsive teaching practices. The findings contribute to ongoing discussions about improving the cultural relevancy in standardized tests and supporting diverse student populations in achieving academic success. Full article

We present an automatic approach for generating learning problems for teaching introductory programming in different programming languages. The current implementation allows input and output in the three most popular programming languages for teaching introductory programming courses: C++, Java, and Python. The generator stores learning problems using the “meaning tree”, a language-independent representation of a syntax tree. During this study, we generated a bank of 1,428,899 learning problems focused on the order of expression evaluation. They were generated in about 16 h. The learning problems were classified for further use with the used concepts, possible domain-rule violations, and required skills; they covered a wide range of difficulties and topics. The problems were validated by automatically solving them in an intelligent tutoring system that recorded the actual skills used and violations made. The generated problems were favorably assessed by 10 experts: teachers and teaching assistants in introductory programming courses. They noted that the problems are ready for use without further manual improvement and that the classification system is flexible enough to receive problems with desirable properties. The proposed approach combines the advantages of different state-of-the-art methods. It combines the diversity of learning problems generated by restricted randomization and large language models with full correctness and a natural look of template-based problems, which makes it a good fit for large-scale learning problem generation. Full article

Ready and Healthy for Kindergarten is a Spanish/English multilingual family involvement program that is grounded in sociocultural and family literacy theories since it focuses on health and literacy development. The program’s development reflects a collaborative partnership of teachers, pediatricians, families, and an advisory board of multilingual parents dedicated to preparing preschoolers and their families for kindergarten. Health themes are presented to introduce foundational literacy and social-emotional skills, and the program comprises eight one-hour virtual sessions intended to engage both children and their families through active participation in learning. The program highlights how parents, educators, and pediatricians can come together to align their expertise and impact family knowledge around child development needs. With this strong collaboration when designing and implementing the Ready and Healthy for Kindergarten program, we were able to successfully provide guidance and support for families, which helped them to establish routines that promote health and well-being, along with some literacy skills. Full article

This study aims to investigate the existence of a relationship between the practice of augmented reality and motivation. The descriptive survey method was used on a sample of 310 students, 165 of whom were females and 145 of them were males. A questionnaire was conducted to determine the extent of augmented reality practice in education. Islamic education consists of five dimensions, namely, the use of augmented reality by Islamic education teachers in Islamic education, readiness to use augmented reality in Islamic education, benefit from augmented reality in Islamic education, employment of augmented reality in Islamic education, and the ability to deal with difficulties. To investigate augmented reality in Islamic education, a questionnaire was conducted to measure students’ motivation level, consisting of four dimensions: perseverance, goal setting, ambition, and perceived competence. The arithmetic means were used to calculate the level of each of the practices of augmented reality and motivation. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to calculate the association between AR practice and motivation. The study found that the level of augmented reality practice was medium, while the level of motivation was high. Also, a positive relationship was found between each of the augmented reality and motivation with a statistical significance at (α < 0.05), and the study also found that there are differences between the sexes in favor of females in both the practice of augmented reality and motivation with a statistical significance at (α < 0.05). There are statistically significant differences between grades in favor of the eleventh grade in practicing augmented reality at (α < 0.05). In the end, the researcher recommended conducting more research to determine the effectiveness of augmented reality in teaching Islamic education and urged designers to design applications that use augmented reality in teaching Islamic education effectively. Full article

(1) Background: Uneven access to the experience of extra-classroom, student–faculty pedagogical partnerships, as well as the relatively small number of students who can participate in this work, raise equity concerns. Calls to scale up such partnership opportunities often focus on expanding the number and kind of existing partnership projects in a given context, which requires resources and infrastructure that many institutions do not have. (2) Method: We took a students-as-co-researchers approach to a three-phase action-research project to test our hypothesis that (a) assessing the benefits of pedagogical partnership, (b) conceptualizing a new approach to fostering those benefits, and (c) piloting that approach could inform efforts at our own and other institutions to pursue social-justice goals in higher education. (3) Findings: Both our review of the wider literature and our analysis of our own partnership program’s student and faculty participant perspectives affirmed that participating in extra-classroom, student–faculty pedagogical partnerships fosters in students personal learning-related capacities, deepens understanding of other learners and of teachers, and builds career-ready competencies. The new scaling-up approach to fostering these benefits that we conceptualized and have begun to pilot has the potential to be more inclusive, equitable, and feasible than replicating existing extra-classroom pedagogical partnership models. (4) Conclusions: Creating such opportunities for students to develop educational, interpersonal, and professional capacities and competencies can contribute to equity and social justice in higher education. Full article

This systematic review examines preschool educators’ perceptions and implementation of Values Education (VE), emphasizing its critical role in moral and ethical development during early childhood. Following PRISMA guidelines, the review synthesizes findings from Scopus, ERIC ProQuest, Web of Science, and PsycINFO, covering studies published between 2000 and 2024. While educators recognize the importance of VE in shaping children’s character and promoting ethical behavior, several inconsistencies exist in its application. Successful VE programs often include explicit curriculum integration, teacher role modeling, and structured classroom activities. This review underscores the need for professional development initiatives to equip teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver VE effectively, and emphasizes fostering a supportive preschool environment to enhance VE practices. Furthermore, the review emphasizes that a systematic approach to VE can positively impact children’s intellectual, emotional, and social development, fostering ethically responsible individuals ready to engage actively in society. Full article

The primary aim of this article is to investigate and expand the existing knowledge on preschool children’s emotional self-regulation within the preschool setting and to explore how this critical skill can be effectively supported. This study is grounded in an interactionist perspective, viewing education as fundamentally relational. The methodology involved a systematic literature review of contemporary research focused on emotional self-regulation in preschool contexts. The findings indicate a positive correlation between children’s ability to regulate their emotions and their subsequent academic success. These results are discussed through the theoretical lens of the theory of social bond, alongside the relational competence model. The discussion emphasizes the role of preschool teachers in fostering secure social bonds, with their socio-emotional competence serving as a vital buffer that supports children in developing emotional self-regulation. Full article

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024, published by the United Nations, highlights quality education as a priority goal, emphasising its essential role in facilitating the achievement of other goals. Although there has been modest progress since 2019, several areas require further advancement, including the development of reading skills. Extensive reading plays an important role in foreign language acquisition, as it not only significantly enhances students’ vocabulary, text comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing skills, but also fosters the development of sustainable learning and self-regulated learning skills. In order to substantially increase students’ reading opportunities, the ‘Reading Circle’ (RC) project was initiated, allowing teachers and their students to read five to eight graded readers during English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes throughout the school year. During the school year 2023/2024, 45 teachers and 1328 students of Grades 3–11 participated in the 9-month project. The aim of this study was to analyse teachers’ perceptions on the efficacy of the ‘Reading Circle’ project and the most common teaching techniques. The data indicate that the most commonly used teaching techniques across all levels of language learning were the text discussions and the completion of ready-made exercises, while a significant difference across the levels emerged in the techniques of students reading aloud versus reading silently. The findings of this study reveal that teachers highly evaluated the benefits of the project and observed positive improvements in students’ reading motivation, text comprehension, and advancements in their reading and speaking skills, and the outcomes imply that the ‘Reading Circle’ project is an effective method of enhancing sustainable learning and self-regulated learning skills. Full article

Coding and computational thinking (CT) are important skills to include in early childhood education. Measuring these vital skills in preschool-age children can be challenging. We modified the TechCheck-PreK assessment, an unplugged measure of CT for 3-to-5-year-old children, to increase reliability and to add foundational coding concepts. We created the Coding Readiness Assessment (CRA) from a subset of nine TechCheck-PreK items and twelve new items that assess additional CT and coding readiness constructs. In an initial feasibility study of the CRA, teachers observed impulsive responses by children. We mitigated this by implementing a brief delay between the appearance of the question and the timeframe in which children could respond. In a subsequent randomized control trial, the CRA was administered 1637 times by Head Start educators. The assessment took an average of 9.8 min to administer. CRA scores were normally distributed and increased on average as a function of age. Girls scored slightly higher than boys, although the difference was not significant when age and race were taken into account. The CRA showed acceptable levels of reliability in terms of internal consistency (α = 0.78) and test–retest reliability (r = 0.65). Results from a 3PL indicate that the CRA has suitable levels of difficulty and skill level discrimination for 3-to-5-year-olds. The 3PL guessing parameter was 0.28, indicating that steps to reduce impulsive responses were successful. We conclude that the CRA has suitable properties for assessing preschool-age children’s CT skills and coding readiness. Full article

Social–emotional competence and executive function at preschool are critical for children’s school readiness. Unfortunately, young children with the dual risk of low-income status and identified developmental concerns are more likely to have lower social–emotional learning. This study examines (a) bidirectional associations between dyadic parenting behaviors, executive function, and social–emotional competence; and (b) executive function as an explanatory mechanism for the predictive relationship between specific parenting behaviors and children’s social–emotional competence. Data came from 267 parents and children with identified developmental concerns attending publicly funded center-based preschools. Children’s executive function was assessed by teacher-report, while parenting behaviors and children’s social–emotional competence were observationally assessed. Executive function and children’s social–emotional competence were bidirectionally related across the first year of preschool. Cross-lagged panel models demonstrated that executive function was not an explanatory mechanism for the relationship between parenting behaviors and children’s social–emotional competence. However, higher levels of conflict displayed by parents in the fall of the first year of preschool predicted more conflict during the spring of the same year. Higher levels of conflict in the spring then predicted poorer executive function and social–emotional competence during the spring of the child’s second year of preschool. Full article

Australian education faces persistent challenges in preparing and retaining teachers within rural contexts. This qualitative study examines the attributes of thriving rural teachers through focus group discussions with 103 rural educational leaders. Utilising a theoretical framework combining attribution theory and ecological systems perspectives, the study synthesised leaders’ perceptions of key dispositions and behaviours contributing to rural teachers’ success. Four interconnected dimensions emerged: being community, classroom, professionally and personally equipped. This study revealed that while individual teacher attributes are crucial, school support and community context significantly influence teacher success. The application of attribute theory further revealed that findings attributed teacher’s success to internal, stable, and controllable factors, suggesting that key traits could be developed through targeted professional development and experience. This study provides nuanced insights into ’rural readiness’, informing education policy decisions and practices, initial teacher education institutions, schools, and communities. The study emphasises the need for a holistic approach to teacher preparation and support that considers both individual and systemic factors. Full article

This study investigates the key components of teachers’ self-assessed artificial intelligence (AI) literacy competencies and how they align with existing digital literacy frameworks. The rapid development of AI technologies has highlighted the need for educators to develop AI-related skills and competencies in order to meaningfully integrate these technologies into their professional practice. A pilot study was conducted using a self-assessment questionnaire developed from frameworks such as DigiCompEdu and the Selfie for Teachers tool. The study aimed to explore the relationships between AI literacy competence and already defined digital skills and competencies through principal component analysis (PCA). The results revealed distinct components of AI literacy and digital competencies, highlighting competence overlaps in some areas, for example, digital resource management, while also confirming that AI literacy competencies form a separate and essential category. The findings show that although AI literacy aligns with other digital skills and competencies, focused attention is required to professionally develop AI-specific competencies. These insights are key elements of future research to refine and expand AI literacy tools for educators, providing targeted professional development programs to ensure that teachers are ready for the opportunities and challenges of AI in education. Full article