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"Students"

This study explored the challenges and opportunities encountered by physical sciences student teachers during a five-week teaching practice, focusing on how these experiences shaped their professional identity formation. The research used identity formation and Situated Learning Theory as theoretical frameworks to investigate the complex interactions between classroom challenges, mentor support, and self-reflection in developing student teachers’ sense of professional self. The study employed an interpretivist qualitative case study design. The study purposefully sampled 15 student teachers from a cohort of 25 student teachers. Data were collected through reflective journals and semi-structured interviews. Findings highlighted key challenges such as managing large class sizes and difficulty differentiating instruction for students with diverse abilities. Despite these obstacles, student teachers reflected on their professionalism, with many reporting increased confidence and autonomy by the end of the practice period. The study, therefore, recommends strengthening mentorship programmes and providing more resources to support student teachers on their journey of becoming professional science teachers. ©Authors.

Purpose: This study aims to explore how autonomy, competence and relatedness impact work-based learning (WBL) motivation and engagement, contributing to enhanced employability skills. Additionally, it examines whether there are significant differences in these effects between students from STEM and social humanities. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a correlational design with 284 undergraduate students, collecting cross-sectional data through validated surveys on autonomy, competence, relatedness, WBL and employability skills. The analysis utilized structural equation modeling partial least squares (SEM-PLS) and partial least squares-multi-group analysis (PLS-MGA) to explore WBL’s mediating role in the relationship between SDT components and employability skills, with comparisons across different academic faculties. Findings: The results show that autonomy, competence and relatedness significantly enhance students’ employability skills through WBL. WBL serves as a mediator that strengthens student motivation and engagement, with notable differences in the effects between STEM and social humanities students. Practical implications: Higher education institutions should integrate SDT principles autonomy, competence and relatedness into WBL programs to enhance employability skills. Moreover, these programs should be tailored to accommodate the distinct needs of students from various academic backgrounds, such as STEM and social humanities. Originality/value: This study establishes a novel connection between self-determination theory (SDT) and the development of employability skills through WBL. It provides new insights into the mediating role of WBL in the relationship between SDT components and employability, highlighting the differential impacts across academic disciplines, particularly between STEM and social-humanities students. © 2025, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Purpose: This paper explores how higher education institutions can redesign curricula to produce globally competitive graduates equipped with critical skills for success in an interconnected workforce. It emphasizes the integration of interdisciplinary learning, global competence and experiential education while positioning leadership development as a central pillar of career readiness. Design/methodology/approach: The study synthesizes human capital theory, social cognitive career theory and global competence theory to create a framework for equipping students with emotional intelligence, technological proficiency and a global mindset. Using a structured literature review, the paper analyzes stakeholder collaboration strategies and provides actionable recommendations for curriculum redesign and workforce alignment. Findings: Higher education institutions must move beyond traditional academic models by adopting interdisciplinary approaches, fostering experiential learning and building global partnerships. These strategies help students adapt to dynamic international settings. Stakeholder collaboration and curriculum innovation are critical for ensuring that graduates are prepared to meet the demands of an evolving global economy. Originality/value: This paper offers a unique contribution by integrating three foundational theories into practical framework that aligns academic preparation with global workforce needs. The proposed framework highlights leadership competence as essential for global adaptability and provides actionable insights for educators, policymakers and industry leaders to bridge academic preparation and workforce demands. © 2025, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Guided by the capability approach, this study uses primarily quantitative methods to investigate at scale the capabilities that are valued by students of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in China. It identifies the capabilities valued by 892 vocational students in a mix of rural and urban settings. Fourteen capabilities were identified under three thematic domains: capital, health and agency. Compared with other countries, Chinese TVET students do not place as high a value on agency as is found in other countries. Those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to value mental health outcomes and, in general, students’ capability choices were greatly influenced by gender, socioeconomic background and personal experiences. Young males, more than young females, value the capability for economic wellbeing. However, unlike in other countries, males and those from higher socio-economic backgrounds are no more likely than others to attach importance to agentic values. These findings can be interpreted within China’s socioeconomic context and Confucianism-rooted value system. The study contributes to the methodology literature on youth empowerment and ascertaining their voice, further demonstrates the potential of the capability approach in educational contexts and provides a first step towards analysing the broad role of TVET in China. © 2025 The Vocational Aspect of Education Ltd.

This study explores the integration of Generation Z (Gen Z) perspectives in designing industry-aligned curricula that are both relevant and future-ready. The research aims to identify the essential insights and values that Gen Z graduates contribute to curriculum development and to understand how their unique learning preferences, skills, and expectations shape the design of educational content. The study employed a qualitative approach, utilizing one-on-one interviews with college graduates aged 23-27 who are currently employed. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the data obtained from purposive sampling. Participants were asked about their experiences with current educational curricula, the alignment of their skills with industry needs, and their views on how technology influences learning and curriculum expectations. The findings highlight the critical role of adapting curricula to include Gen Z’s preferences and skills, ensuring that future programs remain aligned with industry demands and prepare students for success in the evolving job market. © 2025 by author(s).

Purpose - This article comprehensively examines the existing body of literature about the assessment tools employed for evaluating higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) in mathematics within the last five years. The study endeavors to offer a comprehensive overview of measuring instruments for HOTS in mathematics, utilizing precise and up-to-date global data. Methodology - The research adheres to the PRISMA methodology, employing the systematic literature review (SLR) technique, encompassing ten distinct steps. By utilising the Scopus database, this review comprehensively analyses 18 scholarly articles written in English. Findings - The results emphasize the significance of implementing a thorough evaluation approach that integrates standardized exams alongside other assessment methods to measure students’ cognitive capacities in advanced mathematical reasoning precisely. The tendencies that have been observed provide valuable insights for the development of evaluation tools that can effectively measure effectiveness in many academic domains. Educators can augment instructional efficacy and foster heightened levels of cognitive reasoning in students by comprehending the equilibrium between evaluative and non-evaluative elements, while recognizing the significance of Bloom's taxonomy. Furthermore, this research presents opportunities for additional investigation, enabling scholars to delve into novel approaches and metrics, thus contributing to breakthroughs in education and improving student proficiencies in critical thinking and problem-solving. Significance – This research provides the opportunity to enhance our comprehension of incorporating higher-order thinking skills in education, thereby promoting holistic cognitive growth. © (2025), (Universiti Utara Malaysia Press). All rights reserved.

Learning with virtual reality (VR) can be highly motivating and conducive for cognitive and affective learning outcomes. For commemorative history education, VR enables novel experiences of testimonies co-created by survivors, witnesses, and museums. VR technologies allow learners to feel immediacy and an emotional connection to digitally reconstructed spaces and events of the past. While VR has proven to enhance affective learning outcomes by provoking emotions, interest, or motivation, its perceptual richness may also lead to distraction and cognitive overload. Generative learning activities can alleviate some of the limitations of learning with VR by helping learners to focus on the learning material. This study examines a highly engaging and historical immersive VR application and thereby investigates the effectiveness of the generative learning activities of self-explaining and drawing. Seventy-four undergraduate students explored a three-dimensional representation of the room where Anne Frank, a Jewish girl, was hiding during World War II. For the two experimental conditions, students had to either create drawings of Anne Frank’s room and their own room or verbally explain how Anne Frank’s living conditions would feel for them. For the control condition, students did not engage in a subsequent activity. Based on generative learning theory, we predicted that students engaging in generative learning activities would display higher posttest scores in knowledge and perspective taking than the control group. No such effects were found. Although the VR experience itself increased the ability to empathize with Anne Frank across all groups, it did not contribute to knowledge building. The study results indicate that even without any additional activity, VR can convey highly emotionally engaging testimonies and enables role taking, which suggests that VR is in particular suitable for affective learning. © 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

A pivotal recommendation of the Australian Universities Accord is the provision of financial support for students undertaking compulsory placements. The Australian Government has acted swiftly to implement this recommendation, announcing a means-tested Prac Payment scheme for students in nursing, midwifery, teaching and social work degrees. However, work-based placements are compulsory in many other degrees, including medicine, dentistry, psychology, veterinary science, speech pathology, occupational therapy, pharmacy and physiotherapy. The prevalence of students experiencing placement poverty has been highlighted by several researchers and student activists. The demands of full-time placements mean that students cannot work their usual jobs, and so they often experience extreme financial stress. This literature review explores the policies, practices, and advocacy efforts surrounding financial support for students on compulsory placements in OECD countries. By examining international precedents, the review seeks to contextualise and inform the Australian discourse on support mechanisms to ameliorate placement poverty. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The selection of a suitable career is increasingly crucial, especially with the rapid advancements in science and technology, which significantly shape the job market worldwide, including in Indonesia. However, many vocational education (VE) graduates face significant challenges in making informed career choices. Despite growing interest in Digital Competence (DC) and Psychological Well-Being (PWB) as key factors influencing Self-Efficacy (SE) and Career Choice (CC), gaps remain in understanding their interconnected effects. This study aims to examine the roles of DC, PWB, and SE in determining CC among VE students and to explore the mediating effect of SE. Employing an ex-post facto research design, data were collected from 647 VE students selected through cluster random sampling using a structured questionnaire. SEM-PLS was applied for data analysis, incorporating path analysis and bootstrapping methods. The findings reveal that SE significantly influences CC, with DC and PWB playing critical roles in enhancing SE. Furthermore, SE mediates the effects of DC and PWB on CC, although its mediating effect is relatively low, indicating the need for intensive programs to strengthen SE. Overall, SE is a key factor in improving career opportunities, aligning with industry-relevant digital competencies and students' psychological well-being. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of career development in the VE context and offers practical insights into enhancing students' competence. Future research should expand on these findings by exploring additional factors and employing longitudinal designs to further support VE students' career development. © 2025 The Authors

Background: The psychological health problems are becoming increasingly prominent among medical students under the heavy academic stress and high-intensity clinical internships. This study examines the psychological health of medical students in a Chinese university and its impact on academic performance, aiming to inform targeted interventions. Methods: 2022 undergraduate and postgraduates from an independent medical university in Eastern China were selected to score using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7(GAD-7), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation(BSSI); and the total grade point averages (GPAs) of 2022 undergraduates in the first and second academic years were determined to analyse the main psychological influencing factors. Results: The general survey of 2022 new medical students at admission showed that the various scores of postgraduates were higher than those of undergraduates. After two semesters, the percentage of students scored higher in unhealthy psychology indicators was increased in both postgraduates and undergraduates, but the differences between two groups were decreased. Analysis of the first and second-year academic performances of 2022 undergraduates revealed that assessment scores of PHQ-9, PSS, ISI, and BSSI had a correlation with the total GPA. However, no correlation was found between the GAD-7 values and the GPA. The PHQ-9 scores and major categories were identified as independent factors influencing the average GPA. Conclusion: The undergraduates face significant challenges in depression, anxiety, insomnia, and perceived stress, and these have negative effects on their academic performances; in particular, the depressive symptoms and perceived stress can significantly reduce their academic performances. In contrast, the psychological health statuses in the postgraduates tend to deteriorate as the semester progress. © © 2025 Chunhong, Jingjing, Huan, Peiyao, Xiaona, Xiaowen and Aiming.