Search Results (36)

Climate change poses significant risks to both natural and urban systems, and fostering climate literacy among younger generations is increasingly recognized as a key component of resilience strategies. This paper presents the outcomes of a transnational climate education project involving high school students from Cinisello Balsamo (Italy) and Edremit (Turkey), developed under the EU-funded Town Twinning program. The project combined scientific seminars, experiential learning, and digital tools (including carbon footprint calculators and immersive virtual glacier tours) to enhance climate knowledge and civic engagement. Youth Climate Councils were established to co-develop local sustainability proposals and engage with municipal authorities. Quantitative tests and qualitative evaluations confirmed significant learning gains and high satisfaction among participants. A comparative analysis with international initiatives highlights the project’s unique integration of scientific rigor, participatory methods, and cross-border cooperation. The proposed model offers a replicable framework for embedding place-based climate education into urban governance and youth policy. Full article

Active learning promises richer engagement, yet transnational English-medium engineering classrooms can remain quiet even when students are motivated. This study aims to explain this silence by examining the factors that encourage students to participate, the barriers that discourage them, and how student characteristics and coping strategies influence their participation. We conducted a mixed-methods survey of 402 undergraduates (Years 2–4) in a China–United Kingdom (Sino-UK) joint engineering programme in China. We analysed the closed-ended responses using descriptive and inferential statistics (including effect sizes) and the open-ended responses using inductive thematic analysis. Quantitative results showed that interest in the subject (76.6%) and career relevance (72.8%) were the most potent motivators. In contrast, fear of making mistakes (56%) and low confidence in public speaking (51%) were the most common barriers to participation. Other constraints included language load, deference to instructors, and prior passive learning experiences. Gender and discipline differences were negligible (Cramér’s V ≤ 0.09; Cohen’s d < 0.20). A small year-of-study effect also emerged, with later-year students marginally more confident in English-medium interactions. Qualitative analysis revealed recurring themes of evaluation anxiety, demands for technical vocabulary, inconsistent participation expectations, and reliance on private coping strategies (e.g., pre-class preparation, peer support, and after-class queries). We propose a ‘motivated-but-silent’ learner profile and blocked-pathway model where cultural, linguistic, and psychological filters prevent motivation from becoming classroom voice, refining Self-Determination Theory/Expectancy–Value Theory (SDT/EVT) and Willingness to Communicate (WTC) theories for transnational engineering contexts. These findings inform practice by recommending psychological safety measures, discipline-specific language scaffolds, and culturally responsive pedagogy to unlock student voice in English-medium Instruction/Transnational Education (EMI/TNE) settings. Full article

Higher education has long been subject to feminist critique, contesting traditional practices, with calls for transformative pedagogies that empower marginalised students, address social injustices and promote gender equality. Despite this, most classrooms in Western European universities remain largely unchanged, with educators facing the difficulty of imagining and/or enacting decolonial futures within their curricula. However, some progress has been made, particularly the inclusion of transnational scholarship in syllabi and a turn to transformative pedagogies, which allow for alternative ways of interdisciplinary knowing to enter academia. In this paper, we examine this coming together of approaches which promote dialogue and personal reflection to restructure discussions on equality, gender and knowledge production in the ‘classroom’. Using a creative critical account of feminist ethnography conducted at a Western European university, we present and discuss two illustrative vignettes about cultural mapping and critical fabulation, considering how dissonant voices have challenged Western concepts, exemplifying transformative pedagogy working in tandem with transnational thought. Key insights from the study identify approaches for facilitation of more open and richer discussions to reshape staff and student perspectives of gender, equality and knowledge production. Full article

Research on religion and migration has often focused on institutions and belief systems, while overlooking how mediation links migrants, sacred objects, rituals, and religious imaginaries. This study advances mediation as a core analytic in religion–migration studies by examining the practices of ten Thai migrant students in South Korea through semi-structured interviews on Buddhist amulets, Hindu deity pendants, Catholic rosaries, merit-making, and the elevation of sacred objects. Guided by Meyer’s religion-as-mediation framework and Taylor’s concept of the social imaginary, the analysis shows that quotidian, embodied engagements with sacred objects mediate and materialize Thai Buddhist–Animist imaginaries in Korean settings, expanding, transnationalizing, and hybridizing them through encounters with the host environment. These practices not only sustain spiritual continuity, but also generate sacred transnational social spaces that bridge both the ontological divide between the human and the transcendent and the geographical divide between Thailand and Korea. Rather than being preserved through institutional affiliation, migrant religiosity is continually reconstituted through everyday embodied practices of mediation that render the sacred experientially real in the host society. By foregrounding mediation, this study offers a reconceptualization of migrant religion as an embodied, material, and world-making process—one through which migrants actively reimagine and inhabit sacred spaces across borders. Full article

This ethnographic study explores the Durham Bubble Tea Society as a site of cultural identity and transnational belonging among university students. Through qualitative data collection, including interviews and questionnaires, this research investigates why students feel the need to establish a society centered around bubble tea, a drink with deep cultural resonance in East Asia but also a globalized product. The study identifies three overarching themes: maintaining original lifestyles amid transnational mobility, cosmopolitan aspirations and the symbolism of bubble tea, and the hybrid space of the Bubble Tea Society. These themes highlight how the society functions as a third space, bridging cultural divides and fostering transcultural connections. The findings contribute to broader theoretical discussions on transnational identity, cosmopolitan belonging, and the role of cultural artifacts in shaping globalized identities. This study underscores the importance of third spaces in fostering inclusivity and understanding, emphasizing the need for critical engagement with cultural symbols to ensure authentic cosmopolitan belonging. Full article

The development of existing technologies and the emergence of new technologies aiming at the total decarbonization of the buildings sector by 2050 requires and encourages upskilling and reskilling of existing professionals as well as the development of new subjects from higher education courses to be able to respond to the demands of these challenges. In responding to those challenges, the main objective of the research is to design, implement, and evaluate a novel, integrated, and transnational educational approach aimed at equipping professionals and students in the construction sector with the necessary skills to achieve sustainable and energy-efficient buildings. This study aligns with the European Union’s 2050 decarbonization goals by developing innovative methodologies that address the multidisciplinary challenges of sustainable building design, operation, and renovation. The proposed educational approach was developed in the framework of an Erasmus+ project entitled “Training for Sustainable and Healthy Building for 2050 (BUILD2050)”. Six higher education institutions from five European countries joined forces to create transversal skills in the building sector knowledge for emerging challenges through an integrated training composed of eight training courses for students and professionals of the construction area. In this work, the pedagogical approach used to develop the course contents, curricular development issues, technology, and infrastructure, as well as student support, the results obtained from the evaluation carried out after the pilot training of the eight training courses, and best practices and lessons learned, are presented and discussed. The courses’ learning objectives, the learning material, and the assessment activities were well-accomplished. However, based on the feedback of students and teachers, some improvements for future editions of the courses are required. Full article

Worldwide, social work educators’ teaching and learning practices are founded on social justice principles and recognised for their evidence-based, interpersonal, cross-cultural, and problem-solving approaches. Placements are integral to social work education preparing students for practice. Learning experienced on such placements, particularly those involving research, can assist students to develop a broad understanding of diversity, inequality, and anti-oppressive practice in local, national, or international contexts. Technology-enhanced, online research opportunities have revolutionised research placements. This article offers a reflective dialogue on the insights gained from two transnational, technology-enhanced social work research-based placements. The first example reviews three student-led, rural-focused inquiries completed in Australia and Ireland; the second pertains to students physically situated in Ireland and who engaged in collaborative online projects while completing their USA-based social work placements online. The authors reflect on the experiences and the skills the students developed and how the application of technology helped meet an increasing need for environmentally sustainable practices in teaching, learning, and research on placement. Publicly available student reflections on significant knowledge and practice benefits gained from their transnational experiences are considered. The study highlights how reflective practice assisted in the enactment of research in online contexts. Full article

In this paper, the authors present the possibilities of transnational networking and developing innovative cultural routes through participatory research and creative presentations of European cultural heritage in special collections of Adriatic libraries. The purpose of the research, conducted in the framework of the course Travel Writing and Cultural Routes, was to identify collections that contain travel writing material related to the broader Euro-Mediterranean area and to enable its better visibility through the digitization and creation of new European cultural routes. The students, with the help of librarians at the University Library in Pula, explored special collections, such as the Marine Library, and proposed the creation of new cultural routes, following the itineraries of European travel writers in the Adriatic. The conducted research indicated collections and materials in heritage institutions (archives, libraries and museums) in Pula and Istria relevant to the topics of cultural routes and travel in Europe, as well as regional multicultural history. Libraries in Istria and Dalmatia have valuable collections of rare archival material related to European travels to the Adriatic. The cataloguing and digitisation of rare travel texts has the potential to raise awareness of these collections, adding to their significance for academic research and heritage-based tourism. Full article

This paper discusses data related to the final phase of a six-year project entitled Digital Learning Across Boundaries (DLAB): Developing Changemakers. It explores university students’ growing perceptions of themselves as changemakers as they experience novel physical and digital spaces, drawing upon on the reflections of seven undergraduate education students from England who joined students from five European countries in the final year of the project. Using a critical ethnography methodology, this paper embraces reflexivity and immersion in the participants’ experiences. Verbal and written reflections were collated and analysed through inductive coding. The results suggest that the multidimensional and multidisciplinary elements of the project led to transformative learning. Transformative change was experienced as students encountered a series of novel spaces and resolved disorientations that arose within them through collective interaction and personal reflection. This paper concludes that educators value the intersection of learning experiences when planning transnational projects and consider the role of cumulative disorientations, multifaceted novel spaces, and critical discourse in catalysing personal growth. Full article

This article reports on the findings of a study of the relationship between transnational experiences in the United States (US) and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana among 7th grade students (n = 1418). The study was guided by a cross-national framework for research on immigrant health and assessed the accumulation of risk factors for transnational adolescents. Data came from a survey conducted in 2017 in Nogales, Mexico. In this study, the last 30-day prevalence of use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana among students was 21.7%, 8.3%, and 2.4%, respectively. Most students were born in Nogales (69.6%), while 10.5% were born in the US, 7.5% attended school in the US, and 3.6% engaged in health-related risk behaviors while living in or visiting the US. Students with transnational experiences, such as attending school in the US, reported the highest 30-day prevalence of tobacco (13.3%) and marijuana (9.5%) use. After adjusting for family, school, access to substances and neighborhood violence variables, students who engaged in health-related risk behavior in the US had significantly increased odds of alcohol and marijuana use while later attending school in Mexico. The article discusses the findings from a prevention science perspective and provides implications for policy, practice, and future research on the Mexico-US border region. Full article

In this article, we outline a transnational project shaped by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10: “Reduce inequality within and among countries”. SDG 10 provides a cross-cutting approach insofar as the targets refer to income inequality, discriminatory practices and policies, migration policies, and development aid and assist researchers as well as policymakers and community leaders with implementation. The project builds on two online courses for researchers early in their careers: one that covers the research context and one that covers preparing a research question and approach. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an impactful method of exploring social inequalities and applying research to solve practical problems. For students to learn the basic steps of CBPR, a workshop was conducted with a rural NGO in India that included researchers from three countries, staff members, and community members. The topic, “waste management”, was chosen by the local NGO and integrated with the university program through a CBPR methodology workshop. This article describes the background, learning process, and results of the participatory research workshop and focuses on the collaboration of students, staff, and community members as well as the application of research for action. Full article

When teachers engage in transnational higher education, exposure can challenge their existing beliefs and expand their understanding of effective pedagogical approaches. Collaborative teaching can influence teachers’ beliefs through collaboration and interactions. Thus, this study investigated changes in Chinese university teachers’ epistemological beliefs and beliefs about teaching and learning by addressing the following research questions: Are there any changes across time in beliefs about epistemology, learning, and teaching among teaching faculty members working in transnational higher education (TNHE)? To what extent do epistemological beliefs and beliefs about teaching change among teaching faculty members working in TNHE? Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used during the 2018–2022 academic years. A paired sample t-test revealed significant improvements in constructivist teaching (CT), innate ability (IA), and authority knowledge (AK). The semi-structured group interviews provided supporting evidence. The findings demonstrate that sharing and collaboration can promote changes in teachers’ epistemological beliefs and their beliefs about teaching and learning. Chinese teachers tend to develop more constructivist and student-centered beliefs after working with foreign colleagues. Transnational faculty collaboration promotes professional growth and diverse thoughts. By using mix-method examination of teachers’ epistemological and pedagogical beliefs within the TNHE context, this study provides empirical evidence supporting the development of tailored professional development opportunities. Full article

The present empirical study investigates, analyzes, and discusses the affordances and limitations of an augmented reality (AR)-based educational intervention for the critical digital awareness of secondary school students through a sociocultural framework of instruction. The design of the educational intervention focuses on the empowerment of students’ critical digital skills in the new media produsage ecosystem in parallel with the development of target language skills through content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in a mobile augmented reality (MAR)-based transnational educational setting. This study focuses on examining the usefulness rather than the digital use of MAR from a socio-constructivism perspective with 77 participants from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds and educational settings. More specifically, an investigation of the potential of internalization of new knowledge through immersive-triggered inclusive educational practices is carried out, examining the effectiveness of the universal design for learning principles (UDL) as a pedagogical framework for AR-based instruction related to long-term memory retention, the synthesis of meaningful learning instances, and the creation of new knowledge. The study findings suggest that AR-based instruction, if incorporated into a robust pedagogical framework, can enhance attention and long-term memory retention, provide meaningful, inclusive learning opportunities, and facilitate digital well-being in the ever-evolving complex learning ecosystem. This study concludes by proposing the term of critical immersive-triggered literacy (CIT Literacy), defined as a skill development framework that triggers learners’ attention and facilitates digital well-being for meaningful learning instances via immersive technologies. Full article

Background: In the diasporic eastern coastal region of China, leftover children are a unique group of children; their social adaptation challenges are more prominent due to transnational separation from parents. This study explores the relationship between parent-offspring communication and school adaptation among leftover children. Methods: We administered questionnaires to 957 children from six schools in June and December of 2022. All students in the sample were randomly selected from within the classrooms. In total, 561 (47.95% female, mean age = 12.84, SD = 0.95) of them were leftover children. Self-report questionnaires on communication with their parents, school adaptation, companionship, and feelings of safety were used in this investigation We subsequently used SPSS software and the PROCESS plugin to analyze the relationships between variables. Results: A significant and positive relationship was found between parent-offspring communication and school adaptation in leftover children. Companionship mediated this effect. Additionally, the impact of parent-offspring communication on companionship was moderated by a sense of safety. Conclusions: The study concluded that parent-offspring communication, school adaptation, companionship, and a sense of safety were all positively correlated. In addition, companionship partially mediated the relationship between parent-offspring communication and school adaptation. Moreover, a sense of safety played a moderating role. These conclusions can provide empirical support for improving the school adaptation of leftover children. Full article

Information and communications technology (ICT) has bridged the gap between students and universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As COVID-19 brings pandemic pedagogy to transnational higher education (TNHE), the emergent response of Chinese universities to this disruption to education has been to update practices to tackle the pedagogical and contextual differences in transnational education. However, few studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on TNHE through the lens of the socialization, externalization, combination and internalization (SECI) model and investigated the extent to which teaching faculty can co-construct knowledge in collaborative teaching with the assistance of ICT. This study uses the theoretical framework of the SECI model to explore whether collaborative teaching was effective in TNHE during COVID-19. A quantitative questionnaire is conducted to examine the joint knowledge production by adding information technology utilization to the four knowledge-creation and knowledge-conversion processes. Finally, the study explores a SECI knowledge-creation model with technology integration for discussing collaborative teaching quality during COVID-19. The results imply that collaborative teaching management can be linked to the multidimensions of knowledge generation and transfer. It also recommends that pedagogical knowledge and technological expertise can enhance instructional design and teaching practices from the knowledge perspective and achieve sustainable development in THNE. Full article