This study investigates the social attitudes and acceptance levels towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and other sexualities and gender identities, collectively referred to as LGBTQIA+, among students within the College of Education at Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology. Employing a descriptive correlational research design, the research utilized surveys and interviews to collect data from a diverse student body, analyzing their perspectives on LGBTQIA+ inclusion and the impact of educational environments on their acceptance levels. Results indicate a generally positive attitude and high acceptance of LGBTQIA+ students, with significant relationships identified between students' acceptance levels and their gender and year level, while no significant correlations were found with their course and religion. The study emphasizes the critical role of educational settings in fostering an inclusive atmosphere that supports LGBTQIA+ students, highlighting the importance of promoting understanding and acceptance to enhance the educational experience for all students. By shedding light on current attitudes and acceptance levels, this research contributes valuable insights into the efforts required to create more inclusive educational environments for LGBTQIA+ individuals. The findings are of particular relevance to educators, policymakers, and educational researchers interested in advancing LGBTQIA+ inclusion within educational settings.

Children who are currently in primary schools are part of the generation that will be most affected by the current environmental trend of our planet in the future. They are the generation that will need to live in accordance with sustainable development and biodiversity protection. One of the key aspects of biodiversity education is to increase environmental literacy using appropriate and effective methods. Our aim was to assess the ecological literacy of a group of primary school students in Slovakia and to identify areas where additional support and clarification may be needed for effective biodiversity education. Our findings reveal widespread misconceptions regarding terms such as 'ecology,' 'community,' 'population,' and 'ecosystem.' The research emphasizes the importance of innovative pedagogical approaches to address and correct these misconceptions effectively. By incorporating exploration-oriented teaching methods, hands-on activities, and a constructivist approach, educators can engage students in experiential learning and facilitate a deeper understanding of ecological principles. Interdisciplinary and participatory research approaches focused on biodiversity education offer promising avenues to enhance ecological literacy. Moreover, increasing interest in environmental education can contribute to nurturing environmentally conscious individuals equipped to tackle ecological challenges effectively. This study underscores the urgency of prioritizing ecological education at primary schools and provides insights into strategies for fostering ecological literacy among young learners.

With the current rate of technological advancements, higher education institutions around the world are increasingly adopting a wide variety of technology-related approaches to instruction. One of the teaching strategies used on digital platforms that has been successfully and widely adopted in higher education institutions is blended learning (BL). The objective of this investigation is to provide a comprehensive examination of the research efforts on BL in the context of higher education (HE) over the past 20 years, including the rise in publications, the most cited scientific journals and sources, and the upcoming research topics. This paper uses bibliometric analysis with a dataset of 651 documents from Scopus data, including 638 authors from 95 countries published in 271 journal sources. The results of the study show that the top three countries for BL research in higher education are the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia; the authors with the highest citation indexes are D. R. Garrison and B. Means, and the top two publishing sources are Education and Information Technologies and Internet and Higher Education. Based on the analysis, the main trends detected are (a) student participation and environment, (b) educational technology instructional innovation, (c) effective instructional strategies within the parameters of the COVID-19 pandemic, (d) effectiveness of evaluation in BL environments and (e) BL with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Learning Management System (LMS) in HE. These findings offer meaningful insights to early career researchers who consult the publications and research lists above, as well as to policy makers who develop suitable BL in HE policies.

Emotional empathy, mindfulness, and subjective well-being are essential to understanding human behavior and mental health among students. However, more research is needed to investigate how these constructs interplay within academic contexts. This study explored the hierarchical relationships between emotional empathy, mindfulness, and subjective well-being. The Multidimensional Emotional Empathy Scale (MDEES), The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS), and the Subjective Well-Being Scale (WeBs) were administered with a sample of postgraduate professional diplomas in teaching students attending Al Ain University in Abu Dhabi campus and Al Ain campus (n = 1545). The results showed that emotional empathy (positive sharing, suffering, feeling for others, and emotional contagion) positively affects physical and eudaimonic well-being. A negative correlation was found between financial and social well-being and other components of emotional empathy, such as emotional attention and responsive crying. Mindfulness significantly improves emotional empathy in components like describing, accepting without judgment, and observing. This study revealed that some components of mindfulness, such as observing and acting with awareness, decrease emotional empathy, such as suffering and feeling for others. Acting with the awareness component in mindfulness decreases positive sharing, responsive crying, and emotional contagion. Future research could explore these relationships further and examine potential cultural differences.

The wide use of the Internet of Things (IoT) in all spheres of life has led to a surge of cyberbullying among learners worldwide. That is why it cannot be denied that underlying factors, manifestations, consequences, and preventive measures of cyberbullying improve the welfare and overall mental development of students. This systematic literature review examines the causes, effects, and preventive measures of cyberbullying based on empirical studies conducted on learners in various situations. The review will focus on existing material published between 2015 and April 2024. For the inclusion and exclusion of literature, the Scopus online database was employed, along with the guidelines of the PRISMA model. Of 1004 studies, 51 were closely reviewed to determine the responses to the objectives of this study. NVIVO-12 was used for both thematic and content analysis in this study. The results show that there are 29 causes, 12 forms, 31 effects, and 41 different preventives for cyberbullying. The results of this study will not only enhance the comprehension of various concerns for parents, guardians, policymakers, educators, and governments but also provide valuable insights to researchers for addressing this issue.

Considering the importance of the results of national and international standardized tests, which are a benchmark for measuring educational quality, the objective of this research was to model strategies to improve the results of the evaluations, specifically the Saber 11 standardized tests. These tests are applied to students who finish their Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Bogotá, Colombia. To achieve this objective, we employed the Systems Dynamics methodology for a comprehensive analysis, which is a tool that allows for the analysis and projecting of the behavior of different systems, in which anticipation by means of modeling results over time is required. The modeling was conducted in two stages: First, a causal loop diagram and a stock-and-flow diagram that linked 45 variables were designed, showing the underlying physical structure of the system. Then, five groups of alternative simulations were conducted over a time frame of six years: Reference mode, student self-efficacy rate, management rate, teaching competencies rate, and educational policy. An increase in results was observed in each scenario. The combined activity of educational stakeholders is a notably effective strategy to achieve significant improvements. The data used for these simulations came from a six-year period of standardized test results in Bogotá. This period was selected to capture both recent trends and long-term outcomes, ensuring that the model reflects current educational conditions while allowing for meaningful trend analysis.

The rapid advancement of science, engineering, and technology, driven by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has heightened the demand for a highly skilled workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Integrated STEM education has emerged as a key driver of educational innovation in Vietnam, spanning both general and higher education. The competence of university lecturers in delivering integrated STEM education, a newly recognized pedagogical and professional skill set, is crucial to the success of STEM education at the tertiary level. As with general pedagogical competence, the development of an integrated STEM education competence framework is essential for enhancing this capability among university lecturers. However, there remains a lack of theoretical foundation and best practices tailored to the Vietnamese higher education context. This study aims to develop a framework for integrated STEM education competence specifically for university lecturers through document analysis and survey research. Multivariate statistical techniques, including exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Cronbach’s alpha, and Pearson correlation, were applied to analyze data collected from 205 lecturers across nine public universities in Vietnam. The integrated STEM education competence framework for Vietnamese university lecturers consists of three component competencies and 23 items: designing and implementing integrated STEM education (15 items), assessing integrated STEM learning outcomes (4 items), and demonstrating positive attitudes toward integrated STEM education (4 items). The framework was found to be both reliable and valid, with strong positive correlations among the three component competencies. This study also outlines limitations and provides recommendations for future research.

University dropout is a multidimensional and multicausal problem that affects every university around the world. The aim of this article is to conduct a bibliometric review of the scientific literature on the main factors that influence university dropouts in scientific publications between 2018 and 2022. The methodology is based on systematic searches using the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases. We analysed 417 and 498 articles, respectively, applying inclusion/exclusion criteria. The main factors of university dropout were identified: problems in the academic and social world of students, student stress, health reasons, the role of teachers, and changes in the education system. Among the countries with the highest scientific output, Spain stands out, along with the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and China. This would provide a more complete view of the historical evolution and multifactorial causes of this educational phenomenon.

This article deals with the European Union's educational policies during the Covid-19 pandemic when several cracks and vulnerabilities in its Member States' education systems were exposed across the European Union (EU). In this sense, and with this exceptional period as a reference, we propose to research whether the Community's educational policies reflect a reinforcement of the commitment to education as one of the pillars of European integration. Other studies have not yet addressed the possible impact of this exceptional period on the design of European educational policies as integration mechanisms. Namely, whether there would be a pause in the integration process or, on the contrary, its strengthening and, if so, in what respect. For this research objective, several documents from the most important European institutions were examined. Its results allow us to verify the intention to renew education as an essential element of European integration and as an instrument to promote the EU as an economically stable and socially integrated community.

This article provides a comprehensive guide to conducting and documenting systematic reviews (SRs) in educational research. While SRs are increasingly recognized for their value in synthesizing and evaluating literature on specific research questions or topics, there remains a notable scarcity of research-based papers that guide their development within the field of education. Systematic reviews, distinguished from traditional literature reviews by their standardized processes—including systematic searching, selection, and critical appraisal of relevant studies—offer a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the research landscape by integrating findings from multiple sources. This paper underscores the importance of adhering to established methodologies and guidelines to ensure the quality and reliability of SRs. Essential elements discussed include defining research questions, developing search strategies, applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, and synthesizing results. The paper also highlights the role of frameworks such as the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) in enhancing transparency and methodological rigor. By following this structured approach, researchers can produce systematic reviews that provide valuable insights into educational practices and policies, thereby supporting evidence-based decision-making and advancing the field of education.

Global Citizenship Education (GCE) has emerged as a significant area of research over the last decade, reflected by the substantial volume of scientific publications dedicated to the topic. However, a bibliometric analysis of GCE utilizing the Scopus database has not yet been conducted. This study addresses this gap by analyzing GCE-related articles published in Scopus-indexed journals from 2004 to 2024, employing bibliometric techniques and VOSviewer software. A total of 1,075 articles were examined. The results indicate a marked increase in publication volume since 2016, highlighting a growing interest in GCE—notably, the United States and the United Kingdom lead in publications and international collaborations. The journal Globalisation, Societies and Education is the most prolific, with 70 published articles. Prominent authors include Yemini from Israel, with 540 citations, and Goren from the United Kingdom, with 445 citations. Co-citation analysis revealed distinct research interests, ranging from multicultural perspectives and GCE curriculum development to integrating GCE in the digital era and critically evaluating its objectives and challenges. Moreover, a co-occurrence analysis of keywords identified nine primary research topic clusters, including education for sustainable development, cosmopolitanism, higher education, and international education. The insights derived from this study are crucial for scholars and practitioners engaged in GCE, as they emphasize the importance of fostering international networks and collaborative efforts while encouraging the exploration of more inclusive GCE practices in the future.

This umbrella review aimed to synthesize variables that explain dropout among students in preschool, primary, secondary, and high school education. The study focused on peer-reviewed articles indexed in SCOPUS, Web of Science, and ERIC, identifying five systematic reviews that provided comprehensive insights. Key findings revealed individual factors, such as insufficient parental support, emotional and behavioral challenges, and substance use, play significant roles in influencing student dropout. Socioeconomic factors, including poverty, financial constraints, and social inequalities, were also identified as critical contributors. Additionally, institutional elements such as inadequate school infrastructure, insufficient teacher training, and a lack of culturally relevant resources emerged as barriers to student retention. This review highlights research gaps in political-legislative, sociocultural, and family determinants, longitudinal analyses, dropout interventions’ long-term effectiveness, and marginalized populations’ representation, limiting a comprehensive understanding of student dropout and effective policy development. Recommendations include targeted policies and interventions that foster inclusive and supportive educational environments, reduce inequities, and improve access to resources to minimize dropout rates among students in preschool, primary, secondary, and high school education.

The aim of this research was to assess changes in secondary school students’ grades longitudinally, including the semester before the COVID-19 pandemic, the period of distance learning, and two semesters when students had returned to face-to-face learning. In this longitudinal study, n=263 Latvian students’ grades from the period of six semesters (autumn 2019 to spring 2022) were collected and analyzed for seven study subjects (mathematics, English, Latvian, biology, chemistry, physics, and literature), using Friedman’s ANOVA, and Wilcoxon test for comparison. Results show that grades increased for several study subjects during the beginning of the distance learning period (e.g., mathematics and Latvian). However, this initial increase diminished after students had returned to schools to study in-person, especially for the subjects of mathematics and Latvian (native language). Decreases in students’ grades after returning to face-to-face studies indicate possible accumulated negative long-term effects of distance learning. The dynamics of the grades differ in various study subjects (e.g., relative stability in chemistry, decrease in mathematics, Latvian, biology), thus justifying the approach to analyze each study subject or study field separately. This study gives insight into longitudinal changes in students’ academic achievement, following the same students throughout their whole secondary school period from 10th to 12th grade during the pandemic.

This study analyzes trends, collaborations, and research developments on augmented reality (AR) in mathematics education using a bibliometric approach. Data were collected from the Scopus database on July 31, 2024, identifying 542 documents published between 2015 and 2024. After screening, 194 journal articles were selected for analysis. Using VOSviewer, the study produced visualizations related to document types, publication trends, journal sources, research subjects, institutions, countries, keywords, and author collaborations. The results show that 88.7% of the documents are journal articles, indicating that this topic is predominantly published in scholarly journals. Publication trends reveal significant growth since 2016, peaking in 2024, reflecting increasing global interest. Education Sciences and IEEE Access are among the top journal sources. Subject-wise, social sciences and computer science are the main disciplines exploring AR in mathematics education. Chitkara University (India) and Johannes Kepler University Linz (Austria) are leading institutions, while the United States, Malaysia, and Spain contribute the most publications. Keyword analysis shows rapid growth in research using terms such as "augmented reality" and "mathematics education," emphasizing the role of immersive technology in enhancing student engagement and conceptual understanding through visual and interactive learning. Influential authors like Lavicza, Mantri, and Haas highlight the importance of global collaboration. Based on a thematic analysis of the most-cited articles, this study proposes the AI Mathematical Education Impact and Outcome Framework. In conclusion, although research on AR in mathematics education has significantly advanced, further studies are needed to evaluate its effectiveness across varied educational contexts.

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cooperative learning models in improving critical reading skills. This study uses a meta-analysis study method by analyzing 28 articles extracted from the databases of Scopus, Google Scholar, EBSCO, EmeraldInsight, Science & Direct, SpringerLink, Taylor & Francis, and ProQuest. The meta-analysis allows researchers to combine the results of previous research, providing a more comprehensive picture of how effective a particular approach is in teaching critical reading. The research findings show that cooperative learning models significantly improve essential skills of reading more effectively than traditional ones. This is shown by the effect sizes based on the fixed model, showing the overall standard difference in the mean is 0.784 (95% CI, 0.689 to 0.880) with p-values = 0.00 (<0.05). Using a cooperative learning model, The measure showed positive effect sizes on critical reading learning. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the cooperative learning model effectively improves essential reading skills. However, several factors, such as the quality of the facilitators and the teaching methods, influence the results. The implications of this study show the need for a broader application of cooperative learning models to improve critical reading skills in schools and other educational institutions, with adjustments to the needs and characteristics of students.

Adolescent sexuality education plays a crucial role in supporting healthy physical, emotional, and social development. Through bibliometric analysis, this study aims to capture existing trends in research on adolescent sexuality education and highlight less explored areas in the field. Using VOSviewer, 780 documents (from 1939 to 2024) were searched for authors, countries, journals, and keywords. The results show a 4-year increase in the total number of studies led by the United States. Popular topics about which people have some general understanding include sexual behaviour, contraceptive use and HIV prevention. Other Since 2015, there has been a growing interest in topics such as diversity, digital-age engagement, and the role of parents, but the scope of existing research remains limited, with a focus on only a few specific areas. In addition, the keyword analysis highlights the role of family communication in young people's understanding of sexual health. The implications of these findings are also in line with previous advocacy for a broader focus on health information in sexuality education, including digital technologies, and more inclusivity with a wider range of curriculum topics. More open dialogue between adolescents and trusted adults can reduce stigma, promote understanding, and support better decision-making. Therefore, this study is a valuable contribution to building relevant and adaptive research and policy in response to current challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the global educational landscape, prompting a need to explore emerging literature on home learning, literacy development, and parental involvement. This study aims to contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education, and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, by examining these aspects in the context of the pandemic and beyond through a bibliometric analysis. The analysis depicts 416 publications from the Web of Science Database between 2014–2023. The study utilized co-citation and co-word analysis techniques to identify key research clusters and trends related to home learning and literacy development. The analysis revealed that parental involvement can help mitigate learning loss, supporting SDG targets for equitable and inclusive education. Key research clusters identified include the influence of socio-economic status on literacy outcomes, continuity of literacy practices, and the long-term effects of traditional versus digital home learning environments. The findings highlighted a consensus on the importance of a supportive home literacy environment for reading skills and overall academic success. The need for intervention programs targeting low-income groups to ensure equitable access to learning resources, aligning with SDG 10, was also identified through the study. The findings have practical implications for enhancing the home literacy environment, increasing parental involvement, and supporting early literacy interventions, providing valuable insights for education stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers in the post-pandemic era.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized higher education. The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in education (AIED) tools has significantly transformed educational management, specifically in self-directed learning (SDL). This study examines the factors influencing Indonesian higher education students' intention to adopt AIED tools for self-directed learning using a combination of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with additional theories. A total of 322 university students from diverse academic backgrounds participated in the structured survey. This study utilized machine learning it was Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to analyze nine factors, including attitude (AT), subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC), optimism (OP), user innovativeness (UI), perceived usefulness (PUF), facilitating conditions (FC), perception towards ai (PTA), and intention (IT) with a total of 41 items in the questionnaire. The model demonstrated high predictive accuracy, with SN emerging as the most significant factor to IT, followed by AT, PBC, PUF, FC, OP, and PTA. User innovativeness was the least influential factor due to the lowest accuracy. This study provides actionable insights for educators, policymakers, and technology developers by highlighting the critical roles of social influence, supportive infrastructure, and student beliefs in shaping AIED adoption for self-directed learning (SDL). This research not only fills an important gap in the literature but also offers a roadmap for designing inclusive, student-centered AI learning environments that empower learners and support the future of SDL in digital education.

Integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in education has gained significant attention, particularly in flexible learning environments (FLE). This study investigates how students’ voluntary adoption of GenAI influences their perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), learning engagement (LE), and student-teacher interaction (STI). This study employed a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach, using data from 480 students across multiple academic levels. The findings confirm that voluntary GenAI adoption significantly enhances PU and PEU, reinforcing established technology acceptance models (TAM). However, PU did not directly impact LE at the latent level—an unexpected finding that underscores students’ engagement’s complex and multidimensional nature in AI-enriched settings. Conversely, PEU positively influenced LE, which in turn significantly predicted STI. These findings suggest that usability, rather than perceived utility alone, drives deeper engagement and interaction in autonomous learning contexts. This research advances existing knowledge of GenAI adoption by proposing a structural model that integrates voluntary use, learner engagement, and teacher presence. Future research should incorporate variables such as digital literacy, self-regulation, and trust and apply longitudinal approaches to better understand the evolving role of GenAI inequitable, human-centered education.

In recent years, particularly over the last 10–15 years, the scientific value of oral history in relation to historical and social knowledge has been increasingly recognized. Since the 1980s, oral history researchers have pioneered new approaches to interpreting human experience, highlighting oral biographical narratives and recounted experiences as valuable material for social research. According to Tsiolis, the biographical narrative approach has become an established scientific methodology for studying how social actors interact with their environment and respond to social changes, as these are reflected through their subjectivity. Based on the above, this study involved four academic lecturers who narrated their academic and professional journeys, the factors that influenced them, the challenges they faced, and the positive impact of their engagement with teaching in the context of Greek higher education. The research employed the methodology of narrative biography, allowing the participants to recount their academic trajectories spontaneously, recalling personal experiences and memories. Through these narratives, qualitative data emerged, which were analyzed and coded into common themes, leading to conclusions about the conditions, aspirations, and disappointments experienced by academics in higher education institutions. The paper concludes some limitations of the current study and offers suggestions for future research.