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"Teaching"

The increasing demand for skilled professionals in technical fields such as Industrial Automation Engineering necessitates the implementation of effective teaching methods in vocational education. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an Integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Project-Based Learning (PBL) model in enhancing students’ competence and employability at SMK Negeri 1 Pariaman. Employing a quasi-experimental Nonequivalent Control Group Design, the research involved 60 students divided equally into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received instruction through the integrated STEM-PBL approach, while the control group followed conventional teaching methods. Data were collected using pre-and post-tests, as well as qualitative surveys and interviews, to assess students’ academic performance, learning engagement, and perceptions of the educational experience. The findings revealed that students exposed to the STEM-PBL model showed significant improvements in both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, outperforming those in the control group. Additionally, qualitative data indicated that the STEM-PBL approach fostered greater student engagement, motivation, and the development of critical 21st-century skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork, which are essential for success in the industrial workforce. The study concludes that integrating STEM principles with project-based learning substantially enhances vocational students’ readiness for employment by providing both cognitive and non-cognitive competencies. It recommends broader implementation of this model within vocational institutions. Future research is encouraged to explore the integration of emerging technologies to further strengthen the impact of project-based learning in technical and vocational education settings. © 2025; Los autores.

Determination of integrated STEM teacher competencies for the effective use of STEM education is important in terms of managing the learning process and performing STEM integration effectively. More studies are needed to identify and describe STEM teacher competencies as a result of comprehensive research. The purpose of this research was to constitute integrated STEM teacher competencies for secondary education by taking the opinions of the STEM experts. The research was carried out via three-round modified Delphi method and validation stage. The following four competency areas were defined within the scope of integrated STEM teacher conceptual framework: Cognitive Characteristics in STEM teaching, STEM teaching Skills, Affective-Motivational Characteristics in STEM teaching, and Collaboration and Engagement Skills. Under these competency areas, 14 competencies and 58 competence indicators were determined. This study would be a guiding framework for the development of STEM teacher education programs at the undergraduate or graduate levels. © 2025 by Author/s and Licensed by Lectito Publications,.

This study aims to examine the impact of a school-based intervention on life skills and personal development among adolescents in Kosovo. It responds to the educational shift toward competence-based learning outlined in the new Kosovo curriculum. The research adopts a quasi-experimental design with pre-and post-tests to examine changes in students’ self-perceived competencies across five life skills: interpersonal communication, conflict management, problem-solving, initiative-taking, and following instructions. The intervention was implemented in three schools using the FACE and PEACOCK programs, which were integrated into daily teaching practices. A total of 1,018 students (pre-test), aged 8 to 16, and 1,245 students (post-test) participated, along with 50 teachers trained in the program. Results show significant improvements in students' self-perception of competencies, especially in interpersonal communication and conflict management, with moderate gains in problem-solving and initiative-taking. Teacher feedback, gathered through surveys and observations, highlights positive changes in student's adaptability and classroom engagement. These findings reinforce the importance of integrating life skills into educational curricula to enhance holistic student development and bridge the gap between academic knowledge and personal competence. The authors recommend future research that includes longitudinal studies and examines the potential for expanding such interventions throughout pre-university education. © 2025, Association for Social Studies Educa. All rights reserved.

Background: Involvement of parents in their children’s academic learning is important, yet some Japanese elementary school teachers face challenges in involving linguistically, culturally, religiously, and ethnically diverse immigrant parents. Strong parental involvement is essential for the success of the child and the school and should be an ongoing, comprehensive, and purposeful process that ensures parents’ connection to the school culture, purpose, and organization. In physical education (PE), teachers must create a physically and psychologically safe learning environment for all children as well as enhance mutual understanding of the educational purposes and instructional concepts in the curriculum. To facilitate communication and collaboration with immigrant parents, teachers must become more culturally responsive and overcome linguistic problems and cultural conflicts. Therefore, in this study, the researchers developed an online professional development (PD) training to help Japanese elementary school teachers gain the knowledge and skills to implement culturally responsive approaches in their communication with immigrant parents. The researchers designed the PD training based on andragogy theory [Knowles, M. S., E. F. III. Holton, R. A. Swanson, and P. A. Robinson. 2020. The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. 9th ed. London: Routledge]. The purpose of this study was to investigate the teachers’ learning experiences during the PD training. Participants and setting: This study used a purposeful sampling method to recruit nine Japanese elementary school teachers (male n = 4; female n = 5) from eight schools who met the sampling criteria: (a) they were teachers in a Japanese public elementary school, (b) who experienced teaching a Japanese language learner in PE as a classroom teacher, and (c) who faced difficulty in involvement of immigrant parents regarding PE. Research design: This study used a descriptive-qualitative research design using an interview method with an in-depth, semi-structured approach [Seidman, I. 2019. Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences. 5th ed. New York: Teacher College Press]. Data were collected from the online PD training and online semi-structured interviews and a constant comparative method was used to analyze and interpret the data to develop a theory more or less inductively through coding, categorizing, and making a segment of categories. Findings: Three major interrelated and complex themes were identified from the data analysis: (a) use of multiple tools as culturally responsive communication strategies, (b) the borderline between socially acceptable and unacceptable responses to religious backgrounds of immigrant parents, and (c) the necessity of anti-bias curriculum to minimize teachers’ unconscious biases. To address the increasing cultural diversity in Japanese elementary schools, continuous PD opportunities must be created to foster teachers’ professionalism in promoting culturally responsive communication with immigrant parents regarding PE. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This research evaluates student attitudes and perceptions towards online learning at a local institution in Fiji using critical success factors (CSFs), (1) student characteristics, (2) teacher characteristics, (3) learning environment and instructional design, and (4) support. Data was collected using quantitative research methodology. A validated online questionnaire was disseminated to the students and 436 students participated voluntarily. Once the data was collected, appropriate analysis was performed to evaluate the findings. The results indicated that the students perceived the four CSFs as influencing the success of online learning. Student characteristics, such as digital literacy, teacher characteristics, instant feedback, the quality and design of the learning environment, and institutional support were important for effective online learning. Additionally, the correlation analysis showed a significant relationship between the four CSFs. Evaluating critical success factors from the student perspective is essential for educational providers to gauge the effectiveness of the teaching and learning processes and improve them in the future. Educational institutions can leverage the CSFs identified in this study to assess the effectiveness of their online delivery and develop strategies to enhance the quality of online learning and teaching. © 2025 by the authors.

—This study investigates the impact of additive learning tools on the educational outcomes of first-year engineering students. Employing a structured experimental framework, the research divided participants into three groups: a control group and two experimental groups, one with teacher facilitation and the other without. Utilizing technologies such as SolidWorks, LabVIEW, Unity, and Unreal Engine, the study measured variables including academic performance, intrinsic motivation, collaborative skills, and student satisfaction. Results from Kruskal-Wallis tests and ANOVA confirmed that students using additive learning tools under teacher guidance (Experimental Group 1) exhibited significantly enhanced academic performance and motivation compared to the control group and the group using technologies independently. However, no significant differences were found in collaborative skills across all groups, suggesting the need for tailored pedagogical strategies to leverage technological benefits fully. Furthermore, high satisfaction rates among students in the experimental groups underscore the positive reception and effectiveness of these learning tools. This study contributes to the discourse on integrating innovative educational tools in engineering curricula, advocating for enhanced teacher involvement to maximize learning outcomes, and highlights areas for further research in technology-enhanced education. © 2025 by the authors..

Problem-solving skills are critical for students in higher vocational colleges as they prepare for future careers and life challenges. However, cultivating problem-solving skills presents significant challenges. This study investigates the development of students’ problem-solving skills from the perspective of teachers in higher vocational colleges. Fifteen teachers participated in semi-structured interviews, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis based on the 3P model (Presage-Process-Product). Within this framework, the cultivation of problem-solving skills is conceptualized as a dynamic system comprising three interconnected stages. In the Presage stage, cognitive factors affect the effectiveness of skills development, while non-cognitive factors influence the developmental process. Teachers’ understanding and valuation of problem-solving skills are pivotal for their effective implementation. Moreover, environmental conditions also play a crucial role. In the Process stage, instructional design is guided by instructional objectives, and context-specific teaching methods combined with practical courses have been shown to enhance problem-solving skills more effectively. In the Product stage, teachers rated students’ problem-solving skills as ranging from moderate to below moderate, which they attributed to factors such as low student motivation, limited teacher proficiency, time constraints, and insufficient resources. These insights identify key areas for targeted improvements in the cultivation of problem-solving skills in higher vocational colleges. © 2025, University of Southern MIssissippi. All rights reserved.

Conceptualisations of the knowledge economy are highly contested. They range from descriptive accounts that associate it with a particular understanding of Post-fordism as well as with specific currents in Neo-liberalism that emphasise the salience of digitalisation and immaterial labour. In the case of the latter, there is a resonance with discussions of the fourth industrial revolution that address the changing nature of waged labour and its pedagogic requirements (Avis, 2021). Unger (2019), in a largely abstract account, provides a suggestive analysis of the knowledge economy that articulates with the previous conceptualisations. These overlapping constructions form a backdrop to the chapter whose specificity lies in its engagement with Higher Vocational Education (HIVE). The question the chapter poses serves as a provocation and is unanswerable given HIVE’s complexity. However, it enables an exploration of several issues: the relationship of the knowledge economy to STEM-ification, vocationalisation, employability and professionalism. These are set within a policy context in which there is an affinity between Post-fordist rhetoric and the knowledge economy which bear upon pedagogy, knowledge and critical practice. Importantly the issues the chapter addresses enable the problematisation of some of the tenets of the knowledge economy and the tensions graduates of VET/HIVE encounter when facing un-under-employment. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

Seeking to understand which pedagogical theories support the initial training of special education teachers in Brazil, we analyze documents, based on historical-dialectical materialism. We examined 53 courses and 1101 subjects, categorized into: fundamentals of education; vocational training; field-specific; “Others”, their relations with the stages and modalities of basic education and with curricular knowledge. We observed that there is an emphasis on the understanding of teaching as an individualized process, which seeks to develop students’ skills and competencies. The absence of a theoretical basis and curricular content distances this formation from a schooling project and brings it closer to non-critical perspectives, such as the new and technical school. © 2025, Centro de Estudos Educacao e Sociedade - CEDES. All rights reserved.

This paper explores the application and efficacy of task-based teaching (TBT) methods within the context of internet-based distance learning for English, with a particular focus on integrating environmental education. Through an empirical study involving two groups of college students, the authors examine how TBT can enhance students' language proficiency, motivation, and engagement compared to traditional lecture-based instruction. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the findings indicate significant improvements in various aspects of language skills among students exposed to the TBT method. Moreover, the integration of environmental content into digital teaching materials not only enriches the learning experience but also raises awareness about critical global issues. This study highlights the potential of TBT in online environments as a transformative pedagogical tool that fosters deeper cognitive engagement, practical language application, and autonomous learning. © 2025 IGI Global. All rights reserved.