Search Results for
"education"

Vocational education plays a vital role in fostering green skills that are central for achieving climate goals, sustaining economic competitiveness, and promoting social inclusion. Expectations are especially high for collective vocational education systems, in which both employers and the state are deeply involved in governance and funding. However, little is known about the extent to which collective systems have adapted to the skill demands of a green economy. Using Denmark as a case, this paper examines how collective vocational systems adjust skill content to support a net-zero carbon economy. Using natural language processing, we analyze the integration of green skills in the training ordinances of 101 Danish vocational programs from 2015 to 2024. Rather than a uniform transition, this explorative study identifies diverse trajectories of skill adaptation. Based on the analysis, four reform trajectories are inductively identified: trailblazers, that rapidly integrate green skills; adaptors, that make substantial but incremental changes; laggards, that make limited updates; and late bloomers, that initially delay reforms but later accelerate green skill integration. © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Foreign language acquisition significantly hinges on competencies that inform both teaching and learning. Despite the multiple language policies and frameworks like the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), there exists a gap in empirical research on the implementation of language policies by local education authorities in rural areas, where trainers’ needs and trainees’ circumstances are often different. Therefore, this study contributes to bridging this gap by analyzing how competency-based policies are implemented in rural areas via teacher training workshops organized by the local education board and schools. In total, 196 junior and senior high school teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the rural areas surrounding Hengyang City in China were recruited to participate in the study. A mixed-method approach, consisting of analyzing quantitative and qualitative data gathered from a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, a corpus comprising seven years of education policies, and workshop content, is analyzed in the study. The findings indicate that national language policies did not adequately align with teachers’ needs, and EFL teachers attended relatively few competency-based training workshops, which they perceived to be moderately useful in improving core competencies outlined in the policies. Furthermore, there were discrepancies in the needs of junior and senior high school TOE. The implications of the findings inform our reflection on adjusting the policy implementation structure at the rural level to customize the policies and reinforce competency-based training to reflect the realities of rural area-based parents, students, and TOE. © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

This study aimed to develop and examine the validity and effectiveness of a Project-based Teaching Factory (PbTF) model within the context of the chemical cleaning industry to enhance students' soft skills and entrepreneurial intention. The model was designed by integrating project-based learning and teaching factory practices and was developed through three main stages: planning, conceptual validation, and empirical testing. Validation involved six experts assessing content and construct validity, with results indicating a very high level of validity across all evaluated aspects. Empirical testing employed a one-group pretest-posttest design involving 24 students, using structured soft skills observation and the Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (EIQ), both of which had undergone validity and reliability testing. Descriptive and inferential analyses revealed significant improvements across all aspects of soft skills and entrepreneurial intention following the model's implementation. An effect size of η2 > 0.80 in all aspects indicated a very strong impact of the intervention. These findings suggest that the PbTF model in the chemical cleaning industry is an effective and innovative pedagogical approach in academic education, with high potential for adoption in other higher education contexts to equip students with 21st-century competencies aligned with industry and business demands. © 2025 The Authors.

This study addresses three central research questions (1) How do autonomy and related contextual factors—specifically social relatedness and competence recognition from Self-Determination Theory (SDT), and self-regulation capacity from ego-depletion theory—relate to educational outcomes, particularly given the conflicting predictions from these frameworks? (2) Do these associations differ between the two key educational outcomes: vocational competence and persistence (Outcome-Specificity)? (3) Do these associations vary depending on the domain-specific (company-level) versus domain-general (occupational-level) nature of the educational outcomes (Domain-Specificity)? The sample included 458 vocational education and training (VET) students in Germany (36 % male, 64 % female; Mage = 19.66 years), followed throughout their training programs. Four longitudinal regression models were estimated—based on two types of educational outcomes (competence and persistence) across two domain scopes (company-specific and occupation-wide). Models controlled for time effects and the nested structure of the data (students within classes and schools). Findings indicate that autonomy and related contextual factors—such as social relatedness and competence recognition— show significant positive associations with persistence, but not with vocational competence. Outcome-specific patterns were observed, while domain-specific versus domain-general distinctions were less clear. Despite the dual structure of VET, integration between company-based and school-based learning may blur the boundaries between company-specific and occupational wide learning effects. While the longitudinal design supports temporal analysis, reliance on self-report measures and the absence of experimental manipulation limit causal interpretations. © 2025 The Author(s).

High rates of attrition in secondary transition research present a persistent challenge to sustaining research-to-practice partnerships (RPPs) in special education. Districts and schools often face structural, leadership, and personnel barriers that hinder their ability to participate fully in research, particularly in initiatives focused on improving postschool outcomes for students with disabilities. Similarly, higher education and research institutions contend with systemic challenges, including rigid timelines, funding constraints, and top-down research agendas, which can limit their ability to engage in RPPs. This conceptual paper introduces the School/District Readiness Rubric for Secondary Transition Research, a tool designed to assess readiness across five domains: institutional capacity, infrastructure and resources, administrative commitment, sustainability potential, and collaborative community partnerships. Informed by implementation science, RPP literature, and feedback from high schools that withdrew from a federally funded efficacy study, the rubric aims to minimize attrition, strengthen school-researcher collaboration, and enhance the long-term feasibility of transition research efforts. Practical guidance is offered for using the rubric to (a) align research initiatives with district and institutional priorities, (b) support grant development, and (c) co-design studies that are both methodologically rigorous and grounded in the realities of practice and policy contexts. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2025

This systematic review examines the effectiveness of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in project-based learning (PBL) to develop entrepreneurial competencies among secondary education students. A total of two hundred studies identified across three databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and SciELO) and published between 2000 and 2024 were analyzed, six of which met the established inclusion criteria. The findings reveal that integrating ICT in PBL significantly enhances the development of entrepreneurial competencies, cross-disciplinary skills, and student motivation. Studies indicate that this integration facilitates the creation of more interactive and applied learning environments, enabling students to develop skills such as creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving within entrepreneurial contexts. However, limitations were identified, including methodological heterogeneity and an uneven geographic distribution of studies. This review provides robust evidence on the effectiveness of integrating ICT and PBL in entrepreneurship education while highlighting the need for further longitudinal research in diverse socioeconomic and cultural settings. © 2025 Common Ground Research Networks. All rights reserved.

Journal clubs are active learning approaches routinely used within academic research institutes and allied health professions to boost critical thinking, data analysis, and disseminate knowledge of novel research concepts. These group-based discussions regarding scientific literature aim to develop knowledge and facilitate the sharing of expertise. Many of these outcomes align with those highly desired for post-graduation employability. However, they are usually constrained to small defined student groups, with limited reported attempts to deliver journal clubs at scale within the undergraduate curriculum. Therefore, this study sought to compare the pedagogical efficacy of delivering journal clubs as both extracurricular and curriculum-embedded activities and determine if they are translatable into undergraduate curricula. Student feedback was assessed through anonymous surveys upon completion of both the extracurricular and curriculum-embedded journal club sessions. Pre- and post-session surveys were also provided to assess academic literacy knowledge acquisition. Both extracurricular and curriculum-embedded journal clubs had a positive impact on student experience, knowledge acquisition and transferable skill development. Most students stated they learnt a lot from the session (86.5%) with 78.8% stating that they preferred this learning experience to didactic lectures. Students also stated the session enhanced their confidence (76.9%) and teamwork skills (78.8%) and critical appraisal of scientific research (84.6%). Further pre and post-analysis revealed journal clubs significantly increased students’ knowledge of academic literacy. Students who participated in the extracurricular journal clubs scored their enjoyment and enhancement of their employability skills higher than in the curriculum-embedded session. No significant differences were observed when responses were stratified based on socioeconomic parameters. These data show that journal clubs are a valuable pedagogical tool for developing academic literacy and key transferable skills. We also for the first time showcase how journal clubs can be designed and delivered to be an appropriate and scalable pedagogical tool for large taught modules. © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Case management in the criminal justice system includes conducting psychosocial assessments, identifying risks, developing intervention strategies, navigating services, monitoring/evaluation, and advocacy. Social work and criminology graduates are equally qualified for forensic case management positions, yet the work readiness of these graduates is poorly understood. This study used a simulated client interview in a community corrections context to explore students’ confidence, performance, and the calibration between these. The study used a quantitative, non-randomized pre-experimental design with a pre-and-post online survey via Qualtrics. Participants included a total of 106 social work and criminology students in Australia aged 20–73 years. The results did not find a correlation between confidence and performance, raising questions about how self-efficacy transfers and functions across social work tasks and contexts. Students’ self-reported confidence often did not reflect the assessed performance during the simulation. This was most evident around the skill of engaging in trauma-informed practice and managing ethical dilemmas. The findings highlight difficulties in operationalizing theoretical knowledge into discernible skills for forensic practice. It is recommended that a greater focus be given to adaptive learning to assist graduates with building confidence and skills to support clients within the criminal justice system. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The widespread adoption of virtual and remote laboratories has transformed practical education by offering scalable, safe, and flexible environments for developing technical skills. Despite these benefits, challenges remain in providing timely, meaningful feedback that supports self-regulated learning and improves student outcomes. In this study, we analyze anonymized interaction logs from a virtual laboratory system focused on the Industrial Electrical Control Training Lab, used by 839 students enrolled in Electrical, Electromechanical, Mechanical, or Industrial Automation vocational programs offered by the National Service of Industrial Apprenticeship of Santa Catarina (SENAI/SC, Brazil). We introduce a novel methodology that combines sequential pattern mining (SPM) with automatic performance-based segmentation to analyze student behavior in virtual laboratory environments. Using interaction logs from students containing time-stamped cable connections and interface interactions, we segment learners into performance (High, Intermediate, and Low) based on the z-scores of accuracy and speed, using two strategies: (i) a K-means clustering approach, and (ii) a rule-based decision function. Building on this segmentation, we propose an algorithm to identify frequent action sequences and recurrent error patterns specific to each group. Chi-square tests confirmed significant associations (p < 0.05) between distinct error types and performance levels, and one-way ANOVA validated that both segmentation methods produce statistically distinct clusters. Our findings indicate that students in the high-performance group are likely to refer to schematics beforehand, whereas those in the lower performance group frequently begin with montage connections. These results can be integrated into LA dashboards to support real-time feedback for students and instructors, ultimately enhancing teaching strategies and learning in practical disciplines. © 2013 IEEE.

This chapter discusses adult learning initiatives undertaken in the United Kingdom in the last 35 years. Drawing on a rich history of adult education, carried largely by local communities, adult education throughout the 1990s became increasingly formalised, standardised, and centralised. Spending cuts affected Further education Colleges, non-traditional Adult Higher education students, and providers of Adult Liberal education. Short-term initiatives were introduced by the government primarily to boost employability and increase skills supply for economic growth. Apprenticeships gained prominence and led to the introduction of a levy in 2017. The late 2010s also saw a turn back to the local level with the instalment of Devolved Adult education Budgets. COVID-19 lockdowns accelerated the use of online and digital learning. In July 2024, the UK's newly elected Labour Government announced the establishment of Skills England to streamline skills policies and to create coherence between the fragmented work of stakeholders. © The Editors and Contributing Authors Severally 2025.