Search Results (3,715)

This study focuses on the issue of school bullying and explores the potential of video games as a tool to prevent and address this problem. To accomplish this, the video game Monité, specifically designed for the prevention of school bullying, was utilized, using the paradigm of digital game-based learning as an intervention methodology that emphasizes its educational and recreational potential. This study was conducted using a quasi-experimental approach, employing a pre-test and post-test design with a non-equivalent control group. The sample consisted of 92 boys and girls from fifth and sixth grade in primary education in the province of Cáceres, Spain. Data were collected through questionnaires from the System for the Evaluation of Children and Adolescents (SENA), which allowed for the gathering of information on peer problems, school problems and family issues. The results show that there are significant differences between the intervention group and the control group regarding problems external to individuals. In conclusion, this study investigates the use of the video game Monité as a tool to prevent school bullying and analyzes its impact on students’ perception of external agents such as family, peer group, and school. Our findings support its implementation in educational environments as an effective strategy. Full article

In the academic context, the use of innovative learning techniques that can have a positive impact in the classroom is becoming increasingly common; gamification is one such technique. This study compared the effects of gamification on engagement, cognition, metacognition, and academic performance when university students used a gamified platform to when they did not in a mathematics course. Using the statistical technique of structural equation modelling (SEM) for both cases, the results show that motivation was the construct with the largest effects, influencing behavioral dissatisfaction, cognition, and metacognition. When students used the gamified platform, motivation influenced behavioral dissatisfaction, which in turn influenced academic performance. On the other hand, when the gamified platform was not used, motivation had a negative effect on academic performance. Therefore, the use of gamification learning strategies can help to reduce student demotivation. Full article

This research explored young children’s online writing with the support of their parents. In this pioneering study, we explored the nature of the online discourse. We studied parents’ potential influence on their children’s executive function (EF) development by directing their online discourse. After a workshop in the preschools on supporting children’s writing and the promotion of ethics in online discourse, we encouraged parents to support their children in writing messages to their friends within a closed online forum. We asked them to help their children in responding to a child who had not yet received any comments and in writing new posts. The participants were 174 Hebrew-speaking parents and their children (M = 65.57 months) from eight preschools in Israel. We analyzed the written messages (N = 1167), including posts and comments. Parents guided their children to write positive, friendly messages that included empathic expressions. We identified 14 themes (e.g., sharing experience) in the posts and 4 in the comments. Despite the positive nature of the online discourse, 49 children did not receive any comments, while others received several. We suggest that guided writing in closed forums can be a good platform for promoting EF and teaching children to use the network empathetically. Full article

Sequential scaffolding during experimentation can support students in acquiring knowledge and experimentation skills. This study aims to explore students’ understanding and perception of digital sequential scaffolds in chemistry education, investigate predictors of this understanding and perception, and examine the effects on learning outcomes and processes. A total of 183 secondary school students conducted hands-on experiments on redox reactions using digital sequential scaffolds. This study collects data through questionnaires and analyzes prior knowledge, self-perceived experimentation competence, chemistry-related self-concept, and interest as predictors. This research also examines the influence of students’ understanding and perception on cognitive and motivational learning outcomes. The findings show that learners experienced digital sequential scaffolds as helpful and were motivated by them to conduct hands-on experiments. Results also reveal that only students’ prior experience with sequential scaffolds and prior self-perceived experimentation competence significantly predict their understanding of the concept and usage of the digital sequential scaffolds. Regarding motivation, outcomes show that perceived benefit and motivation regarding experimentation predict the motivational outcomes. Overall, our findings contribute to understanding sequential scaffolding in chemistry education and inform instructional design practices. Full article

In recent years, there has been a growing tendency to incorporate teaching proposals related to heritage education in both formal and non-formal contexts. However, heritage is approached from a limited perspective, often without considering a holistic perspective. In this sense, the present study aims to know the conceptions and perceptions of heritage and its teaching in 42 primary and secondary in-service teachers from the three educational systems of Andorra in order to identify, through a semi-structured interview, possible obstacles in their professional knowledge and practice. In general terms, the results show that Natural and Tangible Heritage are the ones most taught in the classrooms due to the previous teachers’ training and professional background. Likewise, regarding the most common methodologies used to learn heritage, teachers highlight visits in situ and the use of educational technologies. Moreover, in-service teachers perceive how heritage education plays a key role in different aspects of their development, such as identity, core values and interest in the subject, amongst others. In order to obtain a holistic approach regarding heritage education, this research is part of a greater-scope project that also considers other stakeholders in the education community that belong to formal and non-formal spheres. Full article

The main objective of this article is to acquire in-depth knowledge of the training primary education teachers receive regarding transgender identities, as well as the resulting consequences in school realities. A phenomenological qualitative research approach was used to accomplish this purpose. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview technique. The participants were 38 primary education teachers from different public schools in the province of Cádiz, Spain. They acted as key informants, allowing us to gain knowledge, understanding, and meaning regarding our object of study. Among the results obtained, the absence of transgender identities in pre-service and in-service teacher training is observed. As a result, a severe lack of knowledge and confusion about the subject, as well as discriminatory values, are perceived in teachers. The need for transgender identities to be present in initial and continuous teacher training is stressed in order to see to the social and educational needs of transgender students in primary education and avoid reproducing the invisibility of transgender identities and the transmission of inegalitarian values. Full article

This study was designed to examine the role of early bilingual home literacy experiences (HLE) (including parent–child shared reading, parents’ direct teaching in Chinese and English, the availability of books in both languages, and children’s access to digital devices for bilingual learning) in the biliteracy development of 66 Chinese–Canadian first graders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive analyses reveal that overall, parents report higher engagement in English than in Chinese across the four HLE measures. Parent’s engagement in bilingual HLE differs by gender, SES, and immigration status. Pearson correlational analyses of English reading, decoding, and bilingual oral receptive vocabulary reveal that the four dimensions of HLE are not strongly related to English early literacy skills but are positively related to Chinese receptive vocabulary. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses indicate that the availability of books in Chinese and parent–child shared reading in Chinese are key factors associated with Chinese receptive vocabulary score variance; the amount of time using digital devices is found to be significantly related to English reading comprehension, but not Chinese vocabulary; and parents’ direct teaching is not significant with either English early literacy skills or Chinese receptive vocabulary. These findings have important implications for parental engagement in early bilingual home literacy activities and early literacy instruction in school. Full article

The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has transformed the professional landscape and people’s career expectations. Especially among students, who now face new challenges not foreseen when they started their studies before the pandemic. Nevertheless, to date, there are no specific studies that examine in depth how the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have reshaped the professional expectations of future sport managers. To address this research gap, the main purpose of the study is to explore how COVID-19 pandemic has affected the professional intentions and career plans of sport management students. To this end, we share the visions collected in written essays, that a group of 90 students from the Paris Saclay University (France) have concerning their professional future and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on it. The essays were qualitatively analyzed based on the self-concept theory of career development through the person–environment perspective. The findings suggest that the COVID-19 outbreak influenced sport management students’ self-concept, their future workplace and employment time choice planning, and overall, their vision and intention for their career path. Accordingly, sports management educators, educational institutions, and policymakers need to ensure that sport management curricula and teaching practices address the new demands of the sports industry prompted by the pandemic, together with the expectations and educational needs of the sport management students. Full article

Although there is an indeterminacy in terminology, we can understand adding sounds and music to children’s stories as the relationships created between verbal language (words), music language (sounds or silence), and body language (gestures and movements), that intertwine, strengthening the message intended to be communicated and allowing learning to be addressed in a holistic manner. This quantitative study, of a descriptive nature, aims to identify the previous experiences of student teachers in Galicia and the northern region of Portugal, related to putting sounds to children’s stories and the training received in this field during their university studies. The data suggest that creative practices related to storytelling through music or adding sounds to children’s stories and/or creating atmospheres in early childhood and primary education, despite providing great benefits, are neither as usual nor as enriching as would be expected, at least in the Spanish context. In relation to initial teacher education, the results are even less encouraging in both contexts, as the majority of students had received training in creating sound stories but stated that they were not satisfied with their experiences, as they did not believe they were trained or had acquired the necessary tools for the integration of this methodological strategy in the school classroom. Full article

This study focused on the learning of interprofessional skills through an interdisciplinary university course provided to student teachers, and social work and law students. This study explored the development of the course, the aim of which was to raise the student’s understanding of interprofessional work to a more conscious level. The key research question was as follows: what kind of assignments and arrangements can be used to promote the interprofessional skills of students and their ability to solve complex student welfare cases? In this practice-oriented case study, we analyzed our own development process for the course, as well as the student’s reflective essays. Through our analysis, we identified four central themes of an interdisciplinary course that can enhance interprofessional skills in students: (1) identifying discipline-specific expertise as a part of a multi-professional network; (2) gaining an understanding of interprofessional working processes; (3) realizing the complexity of student welfare cases; and (4) orienting towards working life. Our research demonstrates that building an interdisciplinary university course based on flipped learning principles, which incorporates collaborative and reflective assignments supported by various course materials and literature, can promote the learning of interprofessional skills and processes by students. Full article

A lack of qualitative studies examining adolescent students’ voices regarding the contextual, relational, and self-regulatory factors that drive their language achievement has been observed. Therefore, the present study aimed to address this issue. Sixteen face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with secondary school students in Greece to document and analyse their perceptions of the factors that influence language achievement. The study was guided by social-cognitive theory and models of self-regulated learning. Computer-assisted thematic analysis was performed using abductive open coding followed by refinement of codes. Three overarching global themes were identified in line with theoretical expectations, namely personal factors (motivation and self-regulatory strategies), relational factors (teachers’ practices, parental achievement expectations, peer influences), and structural factors (the educational system). Afterwards, an abductive thematic network analysis was conducted to explore and theorise about potential relationships between the emergent themes in the data. It was found that parental expectations for higher performance and the teachers’ behaviours were associated with students’ language achievement. Task-related characteristics and peers influenced students’ regulation of effort in learning. The students believed that they were not objectively graded and frequent summative assessments created test anxiety. The findings are discussed in light of existing empirical evidence and in terms of educational implications. Full article

In the digital age, the integration of technology in education is gaining attention. However, there is limited evidence of its use in promoting historical thinking. Students need to develop critical thinking skills to address post-truth and fake news, enabling them to question sources, evaluate biases, and consider credibility. With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), historical thinking becomes even more crucial, as chatbots appear capable of analysing, synthesizing, interpreting, and writing similarly to humans. This makes it more difficult to distinguish between human and AI-generated resources. This mixed study explores the potential of AI in developing an argumentative historical text compared to future teachers. After 103 preservice teachers were instructed in historical thinking, they assessed a text written by a human and an AI-written text without knowing their authors. The obtained results indicate that participants assessed the AI text better based on historical thinking skills. Conversely, when asked about the capability of AI to develop a similar text, they emphasized its impossibility due to the belief that AI is incapable of expressing personal opinions and reflecting. This highlights the importance of instructing them in the correct use and possibilities of AI for future historical teaching. Full article

Teachers’ view of the school is determinant for their action and condition of their activity and their professional development. This study focuses on the voice of teachers at community management schools in Guinea-Bissau in order to know the vision they have of the school and the teaching profession. For data collection, a personal and professional characterization questionnaire and interviews with thirty elementary school teachers were used. The results show that teachers value continuing education as a tool that allows them to perform the profession better. They identified some constraints related to the difficulty in the Portuguese language, the lack of didactic materials and teachers, isolation, and lack of community participation. Teachers refer to the school as a place of transmission of knowledge and values, highlighting the school as the key to development. According to teachers, the need for more infrastructure and materials as well as the greater involvement and commitment of the educational community are the main factors that must be improved. To conclude, we highlight the role that teacher training plays in the quality of their work and the efforts necessary for schools to respond to the needs of society. Full article

Heritage plays a significant role in understanding historical societies, particularly intangible heritage, as a legacy kept “alive” solely by the action of communities. Therefore, it holds great education potential in the context of critical citizenship education. This action research aims to investigate the perceptions of primary education teachers about intangible heritage and its didactic potential in critical citizenship education. In addition, this paper analyses the changes and continuities that occur in student teachers’ perceptions after carrying out a didactic project focused on relevant social problems linked to the Way of Saint James. This case study is proposed for primary teachers in initial training at the University of A Coruña (Galicia, Spain). The study was conducted during three academic years (2020–2023), with the participation of 160 student teachers. The questionnaire, the interview, and the focus group were used as research instruments. Students learned to give more importance to understanding intangible heritage and reconsidered it as an educational resource for critical citizenship education. However, many aspects of a traditional heritage education remain, where what matters is to respect and care for what is inherited without questioning its current value or its suitability for transmission to future generations. Full article

The influx of immigrants has led to increased cultural and ethnic diversity in classrooms, presenting unique challenges for teachers who work with pupils with varying linguistic, social, and cultural backgrounds. This paper examines the impact of these challenges on the wellbeing of teachers who work with newly arrived immigrant pupils. It is argued that a lack of knowledge and skills in this area can be educationally, socially, and psychologically demanding for teachers, negatively affecting their wellbeing. Teachers’ wellbeing can be influenced by two main factors: personal and internal factors such as perceptions and ideology and contextual and external factors such as workload, low student motivation, lack of support, conflict with colleagues, and role ambiguity. Despite the importance of teacher wellbeing, it has received less attention than pupils’ wellbeing. Using an ethnographic study that collected data over a school year in two phases, this paper investigates the perceptions and self-constructed pedagogies of the teacher working with newly arrived immigrant pupils. Findings reveal that the teacher’s emphasis on her wellbeing, as well as her pupils’ wellbeing, emerged as the center of her self-constructed approaches. We posit that ‘diversity-related teacher wellbeing’ is crucial in wellbeing pedagogy, given that diversity is one of the main elements in reception classes. For the successful education of newly arrived immigrant pupils, the wellbeing of teachers who work with this group should be prioritized. This paper contributes to the field of wellbeing education by highlighting the importance of teacher wellbeing as a part of wellbeing pedagogy for newcomer pupils. Improving teacher wellbeing may have a positive effect on the wellbeing of newly arrived immigrant pupils, creating a win-win situation. The paper concludes with suggestions for professional support and directions for future research. Full article