Although research on ethnomathematics has been widely carried out, there is still little empirical evidence reporting the mapping and trends of ethnomathematical research in Scopus-indexed journals. The purpose of writing this article is to map trends in ethnomathematical research in Scopus-indexed journals in the range from 1986 to 2022. The fundamental tenet of ethnomathematics is to study, appreciate, and exclusively take into account the application of mathematics by ethnic groups. In other words, in understanding mathematics to look attractive, it is necessary to make a connection between everyday life and the realm of abstract mathematics. Scopus is a resource for further research, identifying scientific uniqueness and gaps. This study uses bibliometric analysis methods using VOSviewer, article searches using Publish or Perish (version 8), and SEforRA applications. Bibliometric research provides a reliable and impartial way to gauge the contribution of an article to knowledge advancement and is a tool that is often used to analyze trends and performance on certain subjects. These findings reveal an increasing trend in ethnomathematical research and identify some topics or keywords that could form the basis for additional studies. In conclusion, for future studies, bibliometric analysis will provide information and knowledge about the evolution of ethnomathematical research.

The research on the pedagogical knowledge of teachers in technological education arises from the need to address the problem of pedagogical practices, which are traditional. The classes are at the graduate level, focusing on lecturing the student while the student remains with a passive attitude. It is believed that making explicit that teachers' pedagogical knowledge will allow reflection and awareness, thereby transforming pedagogical practices. Therefore, the objective is to understand the teachers’ constructions on pedagogical knowledge in technology programs in Plant Operations and Industrial Instrumentation of the Faculty of Engineering in order to reconstruct it theoretically, as well as identify its characteristics and trace action routes for teacher training. In this way, it allows education to be accessible to low-income and resource-poor populations, whose purpose is to strengthen the productivity and competitiveness of the economy through the training of human talent according to the needs of the working sector in a unique context. This research uses grounded theory as a methodological tool for data processing. In this sense, data collection procedures such as in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 teachers and seven of them were related to the industry. Whereas, 9 were linked to the teaching(educational) sector including elementary, high school and college level. The results showed differentiated, and socially constructed pedagogical knowledge that responds to teachers’ nature in a particular context. These results contribute to consolidate a broad vision about the pedagogical knowledge’s characteristics that the teacher builds.

Since the 1990s, there has been a global trend in the search for quality in school systems that have materialized in the educational policies of the most developed countries. This article analyzes the treatment given to the concept of quality in the educational reforms approved in the last fifty years in Spain. The objectives of this study were: (a) to analyze the presence and recurrence of the term ‘quality’ in each of the laws and (b) to identify the factors associated with quality in these laws. To respond to these objectives, a bibliographic study was carried out using a content analysis approach to the texts of the different laws, as well as a review of the existing literature on the subject in question. It was, therefore, an eminently qualitative research approach. Among the findings found, it is worth highlighting the high presence of the term ‘quality’ in the legislative texts analyzed since the beginning of the new millennium, as well as a continuity in the educational reforms of evaluation policies of the educational system in coherence with the demands produced by supranational organizations at a global level.

Teachers’ access to technology in this day and age could have a positive effect on the teaching and learning of English first additional language (EFAL). This qualitative interpretive case study explored how limited access to technology resources affects the teaching practices of Intermediate Phase EFAL teachers in rural schools in Limpopo, South Africa. This study, underpinned by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), conducted semi-structured interviews to collect data from ten EFAL teachers who were purposively sampled. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The study revealed that three of the ten EFAL teachers sampled integrated technology into their teaching despite challenges such as insufficient projectors, lack of learners’ smartphones and data bundles, and Internet connectivity. However, the other seven sampled participants did not use technology, citing a lack of digital tools and knowledge as a contributing factor. The study concludes that the lack of resources contributed to limited or no use of technology and the motivation to integrate technology into their lessons. Based on these findings, it is recommended that technological resources that can help EFAL teachers with digital teaching be made available so that they can integrate them to assist learners in developing language skills. Furthermore, in-service training and ongoing support should be provided to EFAL teachers to give them knowledge and skill to use available technology resources effectively.

The study investigated the effects of utilising English as the primary teaching language on the academic development of Grade 4 (Gr4) learners, specifically focusing on the Life and Living (L&L) component of Natural Sciences (NS). Gr4 learners commonly transition to English as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT), relegating native languages such as Sesotho to mere study subjects. This shift often results in comprehension and retention challenges, hindering students' academic achievements. By employing a quasi-experimental research design, the study used a purposefully selected sample of 80 Gr4 students from two primary schools. The control group (45 learners) received English instruction from Grade R to Grade 7, while the experimental group (35 learners) switched from Sesotho to English in Gr4. Both groups underwent pre-tests and post-tests, revealing statistically significant differences favouring the experimental group. These findings support the research hypothesis that introducing English as the LoLT as early as Grade R has a significant impact on learners' performance, particularly in NS. It is recommended that English be adopted as a medium of instruction for NS, as this better prepares students for future academic challenges.

This pilot study is part of a larger “Decolonization of Digital Learning Spaces” project, which aims to develop research tools for communities that are remote and/or excluded geographically, politically, economically, socially, culturally, and linguistically. The project’s ultimate goal is to work alongside these communities to design their own digital learning tools, networks, and online educational environments by accessing and leveraging their knowledge and skills. Testing the single-criterion card sorting method is the first step toward this goal. Card sorting is an easy, enjoyable, and cost-effective method for data collection and analysis, particularly for researchers working in remote areas with limited access to electricity or the Internet. The pilot explored single-criterion card sorting as a method to elicit knowledge from two diverse cultural and linguistic groups engaged in learning activities within their communities. These groups were from a Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) community in Canada (engaged in a bow-making workshop) and a rural Kabyle community in Algeria (engaged in a traditional cooking lesson). Despite low participant numbers, distinct patterns emerged, indicating the method's effectiveness. The results, though anticipated, were non-random, demonstrating the potential of card sorting in producing patterns indicative of how individuals and/or communities categorize their world(s). Kabyle sortings focused on ingredients, highlighting older individuals as teachers passing along knowledge, while the DHH sortings emphasized face-to-face contact and hand movements in communication. The findings, though modest, established relationships, provided insights into the research context and offered logistical understanding, paving the way for further work with DHH and Kabyle communities towards the design of digital learning spaces.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed human lives in myriad ways and one of its impacts has been the significant transition to distance learning that has occurred at all levels of education around the world. In this emerging system, teachers and parents have proved ill-equipped for the sudden changes involved, and a number of critical difficulties and issues pertaining to increased parental involvement have been exposed. Parents have been called upon to engage more effectively with the education of their children and to support them in various types and levels of distance learning. Parents have always formed a critical link between children and schools; however, alongside teachers, they have recently been required to assume new and unfamiliar roles and responsibilities, working together within an online educational environment. This study investigates the extent to which the transition to distance learning has affected the partnership between schools and families of students with disabilities. A qualitative research approach has been adopted, using semi-structured interviews with special education teachers. The findings are predominantly positive, with teachers believing that distance learning creates opportunities for developing stronger connections between schools and families, enabling more personalised communication, greater capacity and confidence within families, as well as opportunities for enhancing connections with the wider community.

This study explores the relationship between language competence and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners through a mixed-methods approach. A sample of 196 Chinese EFL learners was divided into three proficiency groups (low, intermediate, and high), with data collected through Likert-scale questionnaires and semi-structured interviews involving 16 participants. Quantitative analysis revealed that higher language proficiency is linked to improved overall ICC scores and its specific dimensions. The Kruskal-Wallis H test confirmed significant differences in overall ICC, attitude, and skill across proficiency levels, with attitude showing the strongest effect. Spearman's correlation analysis demonstrated small but significant positive correlations between English proficiency and overall ICC, attitude, and skill. Qualitative findings further enriched the quantitative results, emphasizing the foundational and catalytic role of language competence in enhancing ICC and its dimensions. However, participants acknowledged that language competence alone is insufficient for fully successful intercultural interactions. This study expands Byram’s model by offering detailed insights into the intricate relationship between language competence and various ICC dimensions. The study recommends that to fully cultivate ICC, it is essential to integrate the development of language competence into instructional practices.

Formal publications in the area of educational leadership and management (EDLM) can be traced back more than a century. The 1950s saw the emergence of reviews of these EDLM works. Unfortunately, these reviews were limited because they were not systematic. Sometime after the establishment of the Campbell Collaboration as the standard for systematic reviews in the social sciences in 2000, scholars began conducting systematic reviews of the EDLM literature, including the African EDLM literature. However, little is known about the quality of this latter corpus of systematic reviews. Therefore, in this article, a systematic review of systematic reviews — a meta-systematic review — was conducted on the African EDLM literature. This meta-systematic review revealed 42 systematic reviews. The quality of these reviews was assessed using Hallinger’s analytical rubric for conducting systematic reviews, which led to the identification of strengths and weaknesses of these reviews, as well as a set of exemplary reviews. These findings offer actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners by highlighting the need for targeted training and resources to improve systematic reviews' conceptual, methodological, and reporting quality, thereby enhancing their utility for evidence-based decision-making and educational policy development.

The process e-portfolio is a type of e-portfolio that helps students construct knowledge and familiarise themselves with their learning process through self-and peer assessment. Lecturers and students experienced difficulties when using the e-portfolio because Mahara 2019 was not updated. This qualitative research study proposes how lecturers should design e-portfolios for learning through formative assessment activities. Interpretivism was the researcher's standpoint, aiming to interpret how the study participants used e-portfolios for teaching and learning through formative assessment activities. This exploratory case study used semi-structured interviews and an e-portfolio checklist for data collection. It explored the use of the e-portfolio for formative assessment through the experiences of ten purposefully sampled lecturers. The findings suggest that an e-portfolio facilitates teaching and learning in open distance e-learning because it enables online delivery of the content and administering of assessments that afford students' learning of the module content through completing formative assessment activities. The e-portfolio facilitates co-teaching and co-learning because students become knowledge creators and active users instead of passive learners. This study recommends the use of process e-portfolios to facilitate assessment and learning in open-distance e-learning institutions.

Recent studies identified that faculty research productivity increased when they felt competent in conducting research. Faculty level of research competency varies due to academic training, context, country, discipline, and experiences; however, what is faculty research competency? The core competencies of faculty research are unclear; thus, the current study systematically reviewed the literature. Researchers used Boolean searches of four popular databases to identify 553 articles for first-level screening. These yielded 46 peer-reviewed journal articles for full-text analysis, six of which focused on faculty populations (40 on non-faculty). Six core components of faculty research proficiency were identified: finding and reviewing literature, planning a study, collecting and analyzing data, writing research, disseminating research findings, and managing research projects. Compared to non-faculty populations, faculty are uniquely more engaged in research project management. Researchers also identified 18 sub-competencies that will help to measure faculty research competency more reliably in the future. Finally, as the identified studies relied on self-reported measurements that may carry self-representation bias, an aspirational implication is to develop a competency-based diagnostic test for measuring faculty research competence.

The objective of this study is to analyze secondary school students' conceptual understanding of integer addition and subtraction. To achieve this, a test based on the multidimensional assessment approach Skills, Properties, Uses, and Representations (SPUR) was administered to 34 secondary school students selected through convenience sampling at a secondary school in Puebla, Mexico. The study employs a qualitative research methodology at a descriptive depth level. The analysis of student responses utilized basic descriptive statistics and the qualitative content analysis technique. Significant differences were found in the accuracy levels across the SPUR dimensions: skills (51.8%), properties (41.9%), uses (60.8%), and representations (20.6%). Students with a solid conceptual understanding of integer addition and subtraction demonstrated high accuracy levels in at least three dimensions. The main difficulties identified were the use of the negative sign and challenges in adding two negative integers. The SPUR approach is a viable alternative for multidimensionally analyzing and assessing conceptual understanding of integer addition and subtraction.

Dimensionalizing has been discussed in the Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) literature primarily as a component that informs the later stages of GTM coding (Strauss) or as a property and variety of human thinking (Schatzman). In this context, dimensional analysis is understood as an approach to concept formation, focusing on identifying the properties and empirical instances of a concept. Through this process, the scope conditions of a theory are clarified and explicitly defined. However, this perspective often overlooks how dimensionalizing contributes not only to concept formation but also to theory building. Specifically, the transition from dimensional analysis to theory development is seldom articulated. This article addresses this gap by using interview data from the substantive field of disability studies — specifically, parents raising a person with a disability (PwD). We demonstrate how dimensional analysis can be effectively applied at the conclusion of open coding, rather than solely at the final stages of GTM analysis, and how it can serve as a methodological tool for connecting categories, rather than for identifying the core category.

In recent decades, the work of teachers has been carried out in classrooms characterised by a high degree of diversity, necessitating the provision of pedagogical responses that promote the inclusion of students. This article is derived from the research, development and innovation (R+D+I) project 'Intergenerational Professional Development in Education Implications for the Professional Initiation of Teachers (DePrInED) and aims to analyse how teachers at compulsory education recognise, characterise and conceptualise the diversity and needs of students. A mixed methodological approach was employed, with information collected through focus groups and interviews with a total sample of 147 teachers from different educational levels (young, senior and retired). Thematic analysis, combined with a comparative analysis, was employed to analyse the data using ATLAS.ti software. The main categories analysed dealt with students' needs and their own diversity. The study's primary findings suggest that, in comparison to their retired counterparts, both young and veteran teachers make greater reference to the diversity and needs of students, and emphasise the scarcity of resources and support to effectively address the diversity of students in the classroom. Experienced teachers are found to make more frequent references to diversity and students' needs, while retired teachers make these references less often. This finding assumes particular significance in light of the paucity of studies that adopt a generational perspective to analyse how teachers perceive diversity.

This study examines the transition challenges faced by students with learning disabilities (LD) from primary to secondary school, focusing on emotional, behavioral, and social aspects. Using a sample of 168 special education teachers, the study employs the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Hel) to assess emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship difficulties, and prosocial behavior before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistical analyses, including t-tests and repeated measures ANOVA, reveal significant increases in emotional and behavioral challenges post-pandemic. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) indicate moderate to strong impacts in key areas, with emotional symptoms (η² = .06) and hyperactivity/inattention (η² = .05) exhibiting notable changes. The findings highlight the necessity for targeted interventions, such as teacher training on emotional regulation strategies and structured transition programs. Implications for educators and policymakers include the implementation of inclusive practices and specialized transition support structures to mitigate these challenges and enhance the overall well-being of students with LD.

Ensuring the trustworthiness of qualitative research remains a critical challenge in educational research. However, early career researchers often lack structured guidance on enhancing the credibility of qualitative data analysis. A key issue is the limited discussion on inductive approaches that support systematic theme generation and theory development. To address this gap, this study examines how two early-career researchers employed a three-level inductive methodology during their PhD studies to strengthen the trustworthiness of their findings. Using an autoethnographic approach, the study finds that this methodology deepened their understanding of participants’ experiences, facilitated the emergence of valid themes, and reinforced credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. These findings offer concrete strategies for researchers undertaking similar approaches to ensure trustworthiness in their qualitative inquiry. This study also highlights the importance of equipping PhD researchers in education with strategies to navigate qualitative research rigorously, ultimately enhancing the quality of their studies.

Students are among the most vulnerable populations during periods of crisis, including war, economic collapse, and pandemics. These events extend beyond academic disruption, significantly affecting students' emotional and social well-being. Mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and behavioural changes are commonly reported, particularly among youth living in conflict-affected areas or economically disadvantaged households. This review examines the consequences of crises on school-aged students across both local and global contexts. A structured search strategy was employed to retrieve peer-reviewed articles published between 2005 and 2024 from databases including PubMed, ERIC, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The selected studies were thematically categorized into three primary domains: pandemics, economic hardship, and war-related trauma. The review emphasizes the identification of common psychological outcomes, contributing factors, and resilience strategies implemented at the school and community levels. The findings highlight the urgent need for early interventions, trauma-informed pedagogical approaches, mental health support programs, coping strategies, and emotional regulation skills. By examining the interplay between crisis-induced stress and student support mechanisms, this review seeks to inform educators, policymakers, and practitioners in their efforts to foster resilience and promote academic recovery.

This qualitative study explored the implementation of Differentiated Instruction (DI) in Philippine multigrade classrooms with the aim of understanding teachers’ experiences, strategies, and challenges, as well as developing a performance appraisal tool. Guided by its specific objectives, the research examined how teachers plan, deliver, and manage differentiated lessons while addressing the diverse learning needs of students across multiple grade levels. Findings revealed that effective DI is rooted in intentional instructional planning, including learner profiling, curriculum mapping, and flexible pacing. Instructional delivery was enriched through the use of thematic and multimodal strategies, ability-based groupings, and contextually relevant teaching aids, although technological access and training remained persistent barriers. Classroom management practices emphasized inclusive routines, peer collaboration, and adaptive learning spaces. Teachers also highlighted the importance of assessment tools and reflective teaching practices in continuously improving instruction. In response to these findings, the study developed the Multigrade Differentiated Instruction Performance Appraisal Tool (MDI-PAT), which synthesizes theoretical frameworks with authentic classroom practices. The MDI-PAT serves as both a self-assessment and professional development guide for multigrade educators, promoting ongoing improvement in DI competencies. The study concludes that enhancing teacher capacities in planning, delivery, assessment, classroom management, and reflective practice is essential for fostering inclusive and effective learning environments in multigrade contexts. The insights and tools presented provide a practical framework for educational stakeholders seeking to enhance multigrade instruction in resource-constrained settings.

The personalization of learning and teaching processes represents an advanced approach to education that adapts content, pace, and teaching methods to the individual needs and preferences of students. This approach relies on analyzing diverse student characteristics, such as their knowledge level, progress, learning style, and interests. Achieving these goals is significantly supported by the use of information and communication technology, which facilitates and enhances the implementation of personalization in technology-enhanced learning (TEL). The primary objective of personalization is to increase student engagement, motivation, and support in achieving learning outcomes through individualized learning paths, real-time progress tracking, and feedback. This systematic literature review examines existing personalization approaches in secondary and higher education, supported by technology. The study investigates their effectiveness and provides recommendations for future research. Results reveal that personalized teaching methods—primarily through recommender systems, adaptive learning platforms, and algorithm-driven models—are effective in tailoring educational experiences by leveraging diverse student data, such as demographics, prior achievements, learning styles, and digital engagement. The review shows a predominant focus on higher education, particularly in subjects related to computer science and digital technologies. Quantitative evaluations complemented by qualitative insights, consistently indicate that personalization enhances content mastery, motivation, and overall satisfaction, with no significant negative effects identified.