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.

The concept of sustainability in visual arts education is a relatively new way of looking at content. Therefore, it is important that the contents of sustainability are systematically integrated into the educational process at all levels of education. In this research, special attention was paid to the specifics of understanding the complexity of the term “sustainability" of pre-service teachers who come from a different educational background and who will also carry out visual arts activities with different aged students in their future work. A free association method with online interviews and artwork analysis was used in this study, with 5 female pre-service teachers from four different European countries. The study revealed that pre-service teachers recognize examples of good practice in architecture, the cultural landscape, and various other visual arts messages - they know what good sustainable practice in the environment and the arts is and what is not. However, they show less understanding of the specifics of materials as carriers of material cultural heritage or of the artworks themselves, as well as of contemporary artistic practices that emphasize themes related to sustainable issues or development. It can be concluded that further interdisciplinary approaches should be used in reaching sustainability goals in visual arts education and wider.

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.

This study examines the impact of digital tools on fraction comprehension among 5th-grade students with learning difficulties in mathematics. It assesses the effectiveness of three teaching methods: educational software, video tutorials, and their combination. The research involved 252 students from 8 state-funded elementary schools, employing a quantitative experimental design with pre- and post-test assessments. Grounded in Constructivist Learning Theory and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), this research explored how technology can enhance mathematical understanding. Results indicated that the combined method achieved the highest improvement (58%, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 3.03), significantly outperforming educational software alone (33%, p = .015, Cohen’s d = 2.52) and video tutorials alone (7%, p = .987, Cohen’s d = 0.14). These findings highlight the substantial benefits of integrating diverse digital tools to effectively support mathematics learning among students facing additional educational challenges.

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.

There are studies in the learning management literature examining the measure of system usage, but few explore how users apply the software tools to achieve specific work tasks, which in turn leads to perceived benefits. In the context of distance education, this study focuses on how Learning Management Systems (LMS) are fully used by faculty for their instructional needs. It extends existing research on LMS adoption by investigating how faculty members or instructors use the LMS tools for effective class teaching to achieve educational outcomes. Four usage patterns were identified: communication, content management, assessment, and class management. A model is presented to examine how these usage patterns interplay to achieve the perceived benefits. Data were collected from 544 instructors using LMS, such as Blackboard Learn, etc. Structural equation modeling using LISREL was employed to assess the research model. The results suggest that the usage for communication, content, and assessment activities positively impacts the usage for class management. In turn, the usage for class management influences the net benefits perceived by the instructors, and the usage for content also impacts perceived net benefits directly. These results provide practical guidelines for LMS developers’ design improvements and institutions’ policies, such as training instructors to fully utilize LMS features to achieve the maximum benefits of distance education.

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.

Student dropouts led to a squandering of the education budget. The education system and society are significantly affected, particularly in terms of potential development. To ensure vocational students graduate and secure satisfactory employment in line with the field of study. Implementing a comprehensive system that encompasses promoting, supporting, preventing, and resolving various student issues is essential. This system includes close, meticulous care and support, timely and appropriate interventions, enhancement of life skills, guidance, and holistic student development. This research found that the risk factors in the teaching and learning process account for 90.78 percent of the reasons scholarship students drop out of the education system; there are instances of absenteeism, inappropriate behavior, and a dislike for the teacher and the subject they are teaching. Additionally, the care and support system for vocational students at risk of dropping out consists of four components: Component 1: living care; Component 2: dropout protection; Component 3: counseling and advising; and Component 4: transfer to support. The empirical evaluation of the care and support system for students concluded that the overall assessment was highly suitable. The information should be utilized for planning and policymaking in educational institutions.

Self-report surveys are extensively utilized in educational research to understand students’ perceptions and experiences. However, younger children, particularly those in elementary school, may exhibit a tendency to provide socially desirable responses, potentially compromising the data quality. This study examined the prevalence and impact of socially desirable responses in self-report surveys administered to elementary school students. A total of 1,024 students from grades 4 and 5 in five elementary schools participated in the study. Socially desirable responses were measured using detection items embedded within questionnaires. The findings indicate that (a) more than 20% of elementary school students demonstrated socially desirable responses; (b) female students and those with higher academic achievement were more likely to provide socially desirable responses; (c) socially desirable responses skewed the sample distribution by inflating mean scores and reducing standard deviations; and (d) while internal correlations within scales remained relatively stable, external validity, as reflected in correlations between self-reports and academic performance metrics, was significantly affected after adjusting for socially desirable responses. These results underscore the importance of addressing socially desirable responses when interpreting self-report data from young students. The study concludes with practical recommendations for improving the validity of self-report surveys in educational research.

Despite progress made in recent years, women continue to be underrepresented in academic publishing. We aim to share insights from academic women researchers who participated in the Training Needs Assessment for developing their writing for publication skills in an Open Distance Learning institution in South Africa. The research questions that guided the study were: a) What specific challenges do academic women researchers face in developing research and publishing skills? b) What motivated academic women researchers to participate in a writing project? c) What type of support do academic women researchers identify as essential for advancing their research and publishing skills? The data were collected through an initial face-to-face meeting, followed by a Training Needs Assessment from eight purposively chosen participants in a case study design. The findings indicate participants’ challenges of time constraints, lack of confidence, and knowledge as obstacles that hindered their publishing. Despite their challenges, women researchers reported their motivation to participate in the writing project for career advancement, personal development, academic recognition, and their inspiration to publish their research work. The study found that women researchers required writing support, peer collaboration, mentorship, and institutional support to improve their writing for publishing skills. Supporting academic women researchers with focused training, engaging them in collaborative networks, and developing gender-sensitive policies is crucial for promoting equity, breaking down barriers, and ensuring their academic and professional success.

In recent years, significant developments have occurred in AI-based chatbots that have been effectively deployed in the educational field. However, given the novelty of this technology, descriptive analyses remain scarce. Although many review studies have focused on the effectiveness of chatbots, they generally present broad results, and only a few have addressed the impact of this technology on learning outcomes. The present study examines the educational implications of AI chatbots on various learning outcomes through a post hoc analysis conducted in accordance with PRISMA principles. It aims to aggregate and analyze findings from studies that examined the use of chatbots and their impact on specific learning outcomes. A total of 26 studies were selected from a pool of 6,721 published between 2021 and 2024 and indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Data analysis was conducted using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for Education. The results revealed that AI-chatbot technology has a positive influence on several learning outcomes, including academic achievement, motivation, self-assessment, engagement in learning, self-efficacy, and language learning, among others. The studies also detailed the methodologies and tools employed in these investigations. The study also offers insights into how intelligent chatbots can be leveraged to enhance various learning outcomes.

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.