The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of collaborative learning on learners’ communicative strategies in English for specific purpose (ESP) tour guide training course. The 12-week study was conducted using a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test, following the instruction of twelve topics in the ESP language training course. A total of 60 ESP language learners participated in the study. The experimental group was instructed using collaborative learning in the ESP tour guide language training and the control group was taught using a lecture-based approach. Data from the communicative strategies questionnaire were collected to assess the effectiveness of collaborative learning on learning communicative strategies in the ESP context. The results of the study showed that the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group on both the oral problem coping strategy scale and the listening problem coping strategy scale of the communicative strategies scale in the ESP environment. Based on the findings of the study, collaborative learning is effective in enhancing the language learners' communicative strategies in tour guide training course. Moreover, the study suggests that there should be a critical reflection on the ESP training course currently offered for tour guide language learners.

Vocational education plays a pivotal role in nurturing talent and supporting national development. However, challenges such as outdated talent development concepts, insufficient teacher training, and a lack of attention to soft skills cultivation from both schools and students have hindered the comprehensive development of secondary vocational students. This study aims to explore the direct effect of perceived teachers’ transformational leadership on the soft skills of 324 secondary vocational students in China and to examine the mediating role of students’ self-efficacy in this relationship. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the results show that teachers’ transformational leadership has a significant positive effect on students’ soft skills (β = 0.33, p < .01). Moreover, self-efficacy partially mediates this relationship (indirect effect β = 0.07, p < .05), accounting for 22.6% of the total effect. These findings suggest that teachers’ inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation directly foster students’ communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, while also indirectly strengthening them by enhancing students’ confidence. Practically, the study underscores the need for teacher training in transformational leadership and for policy initiatives that integrate soft skills into vocational curricula.

Purpose: This study examined the influence of metacognitive awareness, epistemological beliefs, and mathematical resilience on university students’ perceived mathematical problem-solving ability and explored the cognitive and affective processes students employ when solving mathematical problems. Design/methodology/approach: An explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 350 undergraduate Mathematics Education students at a public university in Ghana using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. Qualitative data were obtained from 10 purposively selected students and analysed thematically to provide further insight into students’ problem-solving processes. Findings: Metacognitive awareness (β = .247, p < .001) and epistemological beliefs (β = .273, p < .001) significantly predicted perceived mathematical problem-solving ability, whereas mathematical resilience did not significantly predict perceived mathematical problem-solving ability (β = .105, p = .163). The qualitative findings indicated that students engaged in problem interpretation and strategy planning, monitoring and evaluation, persistence and strategy adjustment, and experienced varied emotional responses during problem solving. Practical implications: Mathematics instruction should incorporate activities that strengthen students’ metacognitive regulation and productive epistemological beliefs while developing resilience alongside mathematical knowledge and problem-solving strategies. Originality/value: The study combines structural evidence on cognitive and epistemological predictors of mathematical problem-solving with qualitative accounts of students’ cognitive and affective experiences, providing a more comprehensive account of problem-solving among university mathematics education students.