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"Students"

Sexual harassment is a widespread problem. In care work, a significant proportion of sexual harassment comes from care recipients. Vocational education and training has an important role to play in preparing students to deal with sexual harassment from care recipients, but students describe a silence about sexual harassment in their education. This paper uses theories of gender and institutional betrayal to examine the mechanisms that enable the silence surrounding the sexual harassment from care recipients that students describe exists in health and social care education. The data consists of focus group interviews with 49 students. The findings, derived from the students’ descriptions, indicate that the mechanisms that facilitate the perpetuation of silence regarding sexual harassment are as follows: firstly, assistant nurses are inclined to prioritise the needs of the care recipient, and they are expected to demonstrate loyalty to the care recipient rather than prioritise their own safety. Secondly, managers and future colleagues socialise students into an environment where sexual harassment is condoned. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

In recent decades, reforms of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems have mostly focused on the needs of employers to produce graduates ready for the labour market. The academic literature has extensively criticised the narrow focus on the performance of work tasks at the expense of other types of knowledge in the curriculum. In our paper, we reflect on the evidence that a curriculum that delivers the appropriate development of expertise can be associated with colleges that incorporate certain social characteristics. These characteristics were found in the way colleges deliberately build collaborative relationships internally through teamwork, conflict resolution among their disciplinary experts, and externally through partnerships with employers. In addition, those colleges externally mediated employer’s skills expectations of students and internally translated the curriculum. Our analysis is based on a study of well-resourced vocational colleges in South Africa, two of which emerged as successful, in contrast to one college that failed to contribute to the appropriate professional development of its students which differed in that the latter lacked these social characteristics. Thus, in addition to resources as an appropriate precondition, we argue that the development of expertise is strongly related to how vocational colleges manifest their social characteristics. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The choice of higher education studies is a key moment for students with disabilities. In this line, the progressive increase in the number of students with disabilities at Spanish universities implies an imminent need to delve further into the reasons that have led them to choose university studies. A total of 91 university graduates with disabilities from different Spanish universities participated in this study. The data were obtained through semi-structured individual interviews and, subsequently, a mixed methods analysis was carried out. On the one hand, the obtained qualitative results indicate that decision-making is mainly based on personal interest. A significant proportion of respondents also referred to other factors, including family, disability and specialisation. On the other hand, the quantitative results define significant associations between various factors, such as gender, type of disability and area of expertise. In conclusion, these results are relevant in terms of guaranteeing the university success of students with disabilities, since, although the choice of degree is a complex issue due to the diversity of factors involved, having this information would allow universities to anticipate in order to favour their vocational development. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Introduction: digital content is a powerful tool for enhancing students’ interest in the learning process. The aim of the work is to determine the effectiveness of using Adobe Creative Cloud to create multimedia content in higher education institutions (HEIs). Method: the research employed the methods of observation, deduction, Thurstone scale, calculations of priority coefficient, knowledge coefficient and Student’s coefficient. Results: it was established that during training, Adobe Creative Cloud can be used to conduct theoretical and practical classes and develop students’ creative skills. It was established that charts (p(c)=1,2) and illustrations (p(c)=1,1) have the greatest importance in the created content for students’ perception. Textual information is less important for the perception of educational materials (p(c)=0,73). The students were found to perceive learning using Adobe Creative Cloud at a high level, which is associated with not overloading students with unnecessary materials and ensuring visual perception. The authors determined that students of Group 1 (Software Engineering) and Group 2 (History) achieved high academic results — (J=1,01), (J=1,0), respectively. Conclusions: the practical significance of the work is the possibility of expanding students’ approaches to building professional competence on the basis of content created using Adobe Creative Cloud. © 2025; Los autores.

The development of digital competence in adolescents is essential to the challenges of today’s society, which is strongly influenced by technology. Digital competence is no longer seen solely from the perspective of technical proficiency, as it now involves cognitive, social, and objective skills, which are all necessary for an effective and capable use of digital technologies, both in school activities and for personal use. This study aims to carry out various comparisons (regarding to gender, schooling, school location, parents’ academic qualification, help with school tasks, and reading habits) regarding the five areas of the DigComp project: information, communication, content creation, security, and digital problem solving. An adaptation of the ECODIES v2 tool was used (assessment of digital competence of compulsory education students) and applied to a sample of 810 young people aged 11 to 19 years, students in schools in the district of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The main results show schooling, school location, and help with school tasks are not determinants in acquiring better digital competences; girls are digitally more competent than boys; students with parents with a lower level of education have lower digital competences; students who have reading habits (not related to school activities) have better digital competences. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

In an effort to boost engagement while also nurturing 21st century skills such as collaboration and critical thinking, a growing number of U.S. public schools have expanded opportunities for students to engage in applied learning experiences via projects. This conceptual article explores the under-examined relationship between such experiences and the logic of neoliberal capitalism. The author explores how project-based learning, despite its potential as a lever for equity, sometimes takes up neoliberal capitalist tropes such as individualism, competition, profit maximization, the commodification of learner-made artifacts, and market-based solutions to social problems. The article suggests that until the field embraces approaches to project-based learning which include a Freirian emphasis on criticality and praxis, capitalist logic will persist as a mechanism by which “real world” learning can perpetuate all-too-real systems of oppression. © The Author(s) 2025.

This article explores a small number of African international students’ narratives on their identity work through work-integrated learning (WIL) in Chinese higher education. Applying a sociological use of the ‘possible selves’ concept to interview data, the findings show that individual participants accumulate a pool of like-to-be, aspire-to-be and like-to-avoid selves through navigating their WIL programs, which are reflective of the sociocultural, where the physical spaces young people inhabit (e.g. nation-states, family, schooling and employment) contribute to what selves are (im)possible for them, which are probable, which are ideal and which are feared. This study moves beyond the overwhelming dominance of the pragmatic and utilitarian aspects of WIL as merely enhancing student employability and competitiveness in current research, as I articulate the value of WIL in critical awareness raising and sense of (professional) self-making, which is an important, yet often hidden, outcome of WIL. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Purpose: This research analyzes the preparation of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for inclusion in the open labor market via supported employment (SE). To this end, Fraser’s (1995) concept of transformative action is used to evaluate changes in students’ attitudes and behaviors. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was adopted, consisting of interviews with SE organizations and observations of students participating in workshops focused on internships that form part of their educational process. Findings: The research findings indicate that an educational approach to SE inclusion can generate transformative processes that contribute to changing the conditions leading to exclusion from the labor market. Research limitations/implications: This research develops further the use of Fraser’s (1995) theorization in disability studies. students were observed participating in workshops, and not in their workplaces, which represents both a limitation and a line for future investigation. Practical implications: This research contributes to reducing managers’ reluctance to contract people with IDD. It is also useful for those secondary schools implementing an inclusive educational approach that are willing to include internships as part of their academic curriculum. Social implications: Greater investment and cooperation by education and labor policy makers are needed to make inclusion possible. Originality/value: This study investigates inclusion in the labor market as part of the educational development of students with IDD, focusing on its transformative nature. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Background/purpose. The increasing integration of digital technology in education underscores the need for instructional models that support personalized, skill-based, and problem-solving-focused learning. While traditional pedagogies often fail to address these needs comprehensively, this study proposes that the Mastery Adaptive Problem-Solving (MAPS) Model offers an innovative solution for enhancing digital technology skills (DTS) and academic achievement (AA) among Thai community college students. Materials/methods. The MAPS Model incorporates mastery learning, micro-learning, adaptive learning, and problem-based learning (PBL) into a six-step framework. Expert validation of the model was conducted using the Connoisseurship method via focus group discussions. A quasi-experimental design was employed to evaluate the model's implementation with 19 second-year Thai community college students. Student DTS and AA were measured using validated tools with reliability indices exceeding 0.80. Retention of skills and knowledge was assessed 14 days post-instruction. Results. Experts rated the MAPS Model highly for utility, feasibility, appropriateness, and accuracy. After implementation, students' DTS significantly exceeded the set threshold (70%), with statistical significance at the .01 level. Additionally, students demonstrated significantly higher AA post-instruction than pre-instruction levels, at the .01 significance level. Retention analysis revealed no significant decline in DTS or AA 14 days after program completion. Conclusion. The MAPS Model effectively integrates innovative pedagogical strategies to enhance DTS and AA in community college settings. Its structured, adaptable framework addresses diverse learner needs, ensuring immediate and sustained educational benefits. © The Author(s), 2025.

The growing complexity of care and healthcare workforce shortages in the Netherlands necessitates exploring interprofessional collaboration (IPC). However, the predominant single-professional education may result in a professional identity (PI) among healthcare students, which may not support successful IPC. Internships in student-run interprofessional learning wards (SR-IPLW) could foster interprofessional identity (IPI) development. There is a need for a better understanding of the intricacies involved in learning to work collaboratively, particularly when undergraduates are still shaping their professional identities. Our aim, therefore, was to identify facilitators and barriers for interprofessional education (IPE), IPC, and identity development among 21 healthcare students during a 20-week clinical placement on a SR-IPLW in rehabilitation medicine. An action-based prospective study using grounded theory analysis of nine focus groups across three semesters identified 17 theoretical codes. These codes are elaborated in a conceptual model highlighting facilitators and barriers for IPC and identity development, emphasizing the importance of fostering feelings of relatedness, competence, and autonomy. There are indications that professional and interprofessional identities changed during the internship. Implications for preceptors are delineated, showing the importance of personal relationships and elements of a positive learning climate. © 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.