Search Results for
"education"

Kazakhstan’s 2025 Water Code aims to institutionalize Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), but its success is threatened by a persistent “implementation gap” between policy requirements and the workforce’s practical competencies. This study provides empirical evidence of a persistent misalignment between water-related higher education and emerging governance demands in Kazakhstan by conceptualizing the implementation gap as a human-capital deficit. We conducted a repeated two-wave survey of students enrolled in “Water Resources” programs (n1 = 39, n2 = 82) to empirically diagnose this gap and examine changes in educational preferences over time. The findings reveal an overwhelming demand for dual education (97.6%), alongside a statistically significant shift (χ2(1) = 33.53, p < 0.001) from theory-oriented learning (56.4% to 4.9%) toward practice-oriented formats (30.8% to 62.2%). Key reported constraints include limited access to modern laboratories (47.6%) and insufficient real-world professional experience (28%). Taken together, these results indicate a structural misalignment between academic training and the competency requirements implied by ongoing water-sector reforms. The study concludes that dual education may function as an institutional mechanism for narrowing the policy-to-competence gap, supporting efforts to operationalize the 2025 Water Code and advance Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 6. © 2026 by the authors.

In this epoch of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), digital advancement, technological initiatives, and advancements, as well as their imperative role, have improved universities’ performance and transformed business models, practices, and processes. This study aimed to systematically review the existing digital transformation discourses as the main axis for the higher education (HE) sector. It elucidates the required skill sets, benefits, barriers, and challenges brought about by digital transformation. The article commences by identifying the relevant literature on digital transformation in general, which is not confined to one methodology. It also includes the case studies that were conducted across the globe, the skills needed to drive the transformation agenda, the benefits, the barriers, and the challenges that impede digital transformation in the HE sector. This article found that the sector has been exploiting digital tools to improve performance, business processes, restructuring systems, structures, and practices. The myriad of digital transformation impacts, benefits, and skills to drive the digital transformation have been overshadowed by diverse barriers and challenges in the HE sector. Constraints such as inadequate funding, employee resistance, limited digital literacy, and insufficient infrastructure stand in opposition to the principles of the connectivity theory, which emphasises access, interaction, and the knowledge flow as prerequisites for effective digital integration. © 2025 by the authors.

Purpose – Encouraging vocational education and training (VET) graduates to actively pursue their careers is imperative to foster the employment of well-trained and skilled personnel to provide companies with a competitive advantage in the long term. This study aims to investigate the factors shaping the career intentions (CI) of VET students based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991). When compared to previous studies conducted with university cohorts and adult populations, the current study uniquely examines the CI determinants of senior students from VET programs. Design/methodology/approach – Under the guidance of TPB, this study conducted an empirical investigation involving a survey of 513 VET students. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the factors that influence students' CI. At the same time, the moderating role of perceived behavioral control (PBC) in the relationships between career attitudes (CA)-CI and subjective norms (SN)-CI was tested. Findings – The findings obtained from the study showed that CI are influenced by CA, SN and PBC. Among these, the strongest predictor was PBC. In the suggested model, SN and PBC emerged as significant predictors of CA. Findings from the moderator test revealed that the relationships between CA-CI and SN-CI were not significantly influenced by PBC. Originality/value – The novelty of the current research lies in its examination of the antecedents of CI, its use with vocational education students and its focus on the TPB. The current research contributes to the awareness of policymakers, administrators and teachers about the factors that underpin CI among VET students. © 2026 Emerald Publishing Limited

Quality Teaching is essential for preparing learners for the 21st century. This study proposes a conceptual framework for Quality Teaching embedded in three domains, identifying its focuses and characteristics. We address two questions: What are the focuses of the literature describing Quality Teaching? What are the main characteristics of Quality Teaching in the three domains? A systematic literature review involving 152 articles published between 2000 and 2025, based on the PRISMA guidelines, was conducted to identify key characteristics and theoretical constructs regarding three focuses: teachers, learners, and the education system. The thematic analysis yielded 740 themes related to Quality Teaching. Over half of the themes were related to pedagogy, approximately a quarter to technology, and less than a fifth to social–emotional learning/teaching (SEL/SET). The results suggest that Quality Teaching involves quality pedagogy and high-level socio-emotional proficiency. Professionalization in digital learning technologies also contributes positively to advancing Quality Teaching. Therefore, Quality Teaching requires ongoing training leading to high proficiency in skills, methods, and practices. This study outlines essential components for teacher education and professional development programs. Its novelty lies in systematically highlighting both the distinctive and integrative combined contributions of three professional domains—pedagogy, SEL/SET, and technology—to the enhancement of Quality Teaching in educational systems (focuses), narrowing the gap between theory and practice. © 2025 by the author.

This study aims to develop and test a conceptual model comprising six hypotheses focusing on the impact of Augmented Reality (AR) on students’ academic self-efficacy. The research addresses the need to explore how AR technology can improve students’ academic self-efficacy by examining the relationships between AR technology features, task value, usage intention, and personal cognitive approach. A total of 340 students participated in this research, completing online questionnaires as part of a controlled experiment. The Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Square was used to assess, test, and analyze the conceptual model. The results of this study indicate that the personal cognitive approach, tech features, and task value implemented by students all positively affect their academic self-efficacy in learning. The personal cognitive approach directly contributes to influencing task values and technological features. Task value and tech features contribute to improving usage intention in students while learning with AR. The personal cognitive approach and the usage intention of use contribute directly and significantly to enhancing students’ academic self-efficacy. Overall, implementing a personal cognitive approach, tech features, task value, and usage intention positively boosted students’ academic self-efficacy in learning with AR. © 2026, International Journal of Information and education Technology. All rights reserved.

Set in the vocational education and training sector in England, this article draws attention to how top-down, centre–periphery approaches to curriculum design and development in vocational education fail for at least three reasons. First, they misconstrue the nature of knowledge. Second, they lead to perfunctory and fragmented approaches to curriculum design, coupled with mechanistic measures of quality and achievement, which often require little more than “one-off” and superficially assessed demonstrations of performance. Finally, they underplay the role and importance of the teacher as researcher and artist in putting the cultural resources of society to work in creative curriculum design and pedagogy. Teacher artistry is pivotal in animating and heightening the vitality of vocational curricula. It is through this artistry that teachers make theories, ideas and concepts in vocational subjects and disciplines accessible and meaningful to all learners in coherent ways in the contexts of their learning and their lives. The consequences of the epistemic faux pas underpinning centre-to-periphery models of curriculum design and development are highlighted in this article in vocational tutors’ accounts of experiences of problems and issues in curriculum design, development and assessment encountered in their practice. Participants in the research teach in a variety of vocational education settings, including Apprenticeships and Higher-Level Technical education; English Language at General Certificate of Secondary education (GCSE) level; Health and Social Care; Information and Communications Technology; Construction (Plumbing); Digital Production, Design and Development and High-Tech Precision Engineering. Data are analysed and reported through systematic, thematic analysis This article draws upon qualitative data derived from a study funded by the education and Training Foundation (ETF) in England over a two-year period from 2021 to 2023. The research population consists of a group of eight practitioner–researchers working in three colleges of Further education (FE) and one Industry Training Centre (ITC) in England. All of the teachers of vocational education reported here volunteered to participate in the study. Research methods include semi-structured interviews, analysis of critical incidents and case studies produced by practitioner–researchers from across the FE and Skills sector in England. © 2025 by the author.

Inclusive education aims to ensure equitable access to quality education for all students, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This research analyzes the attitudes and competences of non-university Spanish teachers regarding the inclusion of students with ASD, considering relevant variables in previous studies such as teacher training, prior experience, and educational context, among others. The study involved a sample of 2310 teachers in active service during the 2023–2024 school year. Data collection was conducted through two questionnaires: the INTEA-EDG questionnaire, designed to measure teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards the inclusion of students with ASD, and the CEFI-R questionnaire, which evaluates teachers’ competencies and skills for inclusive education. The results reflect a generally positive attitude towards the inclusion of students with ASD in mainstream schools, although significant variations were found depending on variables such as previous experience, teaching specialization, and specific training received. Based on these and other findings, the study highlights the need to strengthen initial and continuous training in inclusive education and attention to diversity of students with ASD, promote early positive contact with students with ASD, and foster collaborative work and the design of inclusive learning environments. © 2026 by the authors.

Purpose – To explore and synthesise evidence for a better understanding of the use of Community of Practice (CoP) in the workplace learning of student nurses. Design/methodology/approach – This systematic review examined peer-reviewed literature on the impact of CoP membership for student nurses during their placements in various settings. A content analysis was conducted using tabular, descriptive and narrative methods to identify and report key themes. Findings – From 58, 670 resultant articles, only 14 were included for data charting and content analysis. Most of the literature is based on research looking at placement experience of undergraduate student nurses. All articles are qualitative in nature involving CoP in clinical settings in different countries. Content analysis has highlighted several contributions of CoP membership for workplace learning among student nurses: (1) active engagement in workplace discourses, (2) building a stronger sense of professional identity among student nurses and (3) gaining a collective voice in engaging organisational stakeholders around relevant issues. Originality/value – This synthesis findings should guide nursing education stakeholders in creating better placement approaches and interventions that can strengthen placement outcomes. On the other hand, findings also suggest a conflict: a structural paradox associated with short-term membership in long-term CoPs. To address this, the model “Transient CoP” is proposed; however, its theoretical standing remains preliminary and requires extensive validation through further research. © 2026 Emerald Publishing Limited

Purpose: This study investigated student and teacher perceptions of engine mock-ups as instructional tools in automotive technology education. Design and Methods: A quasi-experimental design with single case study methodology was employed following educational intervention. Participants included two teachers and eight students from an Auto Mechanical Work program in Lagos State, Nigeria. Constructivist Learning Theory served as the theoretical framework, emphasizing active knowledge construction through experiential learning. Engine mock-ups constituted the primary intervention, with focus group discussions serving as the data collection instrument. Mock-ups underwent functional validation and pilot testing, while discussions received member-checking for qualitative rigor. Data collection occurred following three weeks of instructional implementation, with transcribed responses analyzed qualitatively for emerging themes. Results: Findings revealed strong alignment between mock-ups and educational objectives, enhanced student cognitive processing and motivation, and meaningful experiential learning opportunities. The tools improved teacher confidence, instructional delivery, and professional competence. Results indicate that accessible instructional materials enhance both teaching effectiveness and student engagement. Conclusion: The study recommends policy development by educational authorities to promote locally manufactured instructional materials across institutions, supporting practical learning approaches in technical education contexts. These findings contribute to understanding effective pedagogical tools in vocational education settings. (188 Words). © 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.