Academic failure and school dropout, or early school leaving, are two of the situations that most concern countries and educational institutions worldwide, because of their prevalence and also their economic and social implications. Despite this prominent role that academic failure and school dropout have in societies, there seems to be no consensus on the literature on their conceptualization, definition, and relationship. Moreover, it is frequent to observe how both concepts are confused or overlap in the scientific literature and how many authors avoid defining these constructs, using them indistinctly. Therefore, this work analyses whether educational research considers them as two different concepts or if they are used indistinctly. For this purpose, 2,051 keywords from 450 articles were subjected to a systematic review and classified into the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) thesaurus´ descriptors. The results reveal statistically significant differences in the descriptors according to the type of paper to which they correspond (academic failure or dropout). Thus, academic failure is associated with sociocultural, personal, and academic factors, while dropout is linked to employment and educational trajectories. These differences evidence that, although academic failure and school dropout refer to closely related educational problems, there are remarkable differences between them and between the treatment given to each of them in the scientific literature. Therefore, they should be considered as two different concepts. For all this, keyword analysis has proved to be a relevant element for the study of the structure of knowledge, allowing to clearly establish the differences between the two closely related concepts.

Numerous events occur in students' educational trajectories that are linked to school success. Some of these events are related to school-related factors. Moreover, these factors alter the quality of students' engagement, generating the risk of dropping out of school. The objective of this research has been to explore, compare and understand the different events that occur in the school trajectories of at-risk youths that are related to the existing dynamics in schools. In order to achieve this objective, a narrative research based on the life stories approach was developed. For the reconstruction of the stories, the technique of in-depth interviews and mixed data analysis was used, by means of different analysis techniques. The main conclusions reached after the research have been highly relevant for studies on educational trajectories of at-risk youth. The different factors associated with schools affect the trajectory and involvement of students. There are certain dynamics that have a greater presence in some stages or others, however, all of them can positively or negatively affect the quality of student engagement. Finally, it is shown that the key lies in the way in which the different dynamics of schools develop, i.e., how the dynamics associated with certain factors develop.

‘Panic-gogy’ is a term that describes the educational situation during the pandemic due to the transformation phenomenon from face-to-face learning to distance learning. Various types of research are used to uncover the constraints of this phenomenon, but not many researchers use phenomenological studies with parents as participants. Therefore, we used a phenomenological study to describe parents’ views on the constraints, expectations, and approvals regarding the preparation of distance learning modules at the junior high school level (aged 13-15 years). Data collection was carried out using semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using NVivo-12-assisted thematic analysis. The main findings are that most parents experience problems. Namely, children do not understand mathematics material, incomplete explanations of material from teachers, internet disturbances, and quota limitations, and children cannot learn mathematics optimally during the distance learning period. Most parents want face-to-face learning to be carried out immediately, teachers to provide detailed explanations, and use digital learning platforms. In addition, 85% of parents agree that mathematics teachers should develop distance learning modules. However, because the pandemic is still not over, this study recommends using blended learning to maintain the quality of mathematics learning.

Ursula von der Leyen identifies diverse classrooms have different knowledges and ‘epistemologies’. A typology of epistemologies for democratising knowledge ‘A Blueprint for Character Development for Evolution’ (ABCDE) is offered to mainstream policy benefits for all by Higher Education as hubs i) credentialing educational leaders by doctoral-study and ii) propelling networks of Professional Educators and Administrators Committees for Empowerment (PEACE) across professions credentialed by Higher Education and chaired by educational leaders. PEACE builds robust evidence bases to inform redesigning curriculums and culturally responsive pedagogies as policy benefits that empower students to use ABCDE with Assessment for Personal and Social Learning (APSL) to problem solve across the quadruple-helix. Education Outcomes include students’ self-management of personal and social understanding and wellbeing for resilience within sustainable circular, entrepreneurial, green and digitised economies with products and means of production regulated by professions credentialed by Higher Education. Impacts include communities developing responsible historical social consciousness to reinvigorate democratic governance, accountability, transparency, effectiveness and trustworthiness of rule-of-law based institutions and policies to expand active and inclusive citizenship empowered by safeguarding human rights. Further research, building on the powerful European Commission funded platform ‘DocEnhance’ is recommended to inform effective and efficient investment into high quality education and training.

The number of school-aged refugee background children on Turkish soil was estimated to be over 2 million in 2022. Acknowledging the importance of quality education for these children to achieve equity in Turkish-only public schools, this study examined pre-service teachers' self-efficacies in teaching refugee-background students (RBS). Data were collected from 437 pre-service teachers studying at eight different teacher education programs via the adopted Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) and analyzed with the Tukey multiple comparison test. The findings revealed that pre-service teachers rated low self-efficacies in teaching the RBSs. A comparison of mean scores based on the programs indicated that pre-service teachers in the early education programs scored the lowest self-efficacy while the pre-service teachers in Physical Education programs scored the highest. Moreover, the self-efficacies of bilingual pre-service teachers differed significantly from monolingual Turkish proficient pre-service teachers implying a positive correlation between pre-service teachers’ self-efficacies and bi/multilingualism. Lastly, senior pre-service teachers rated higher self-efficacies than freshmen, junior, or sophomore pre-service teachers. The study implied a need for culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies and differentiated instruction in the teacher education curriculum to prepare pre-service teachers better for the RBSs in Turkish public schools.

Most Greek primary teachers, not having enough training in learning difficulties, cannot effectively help these students, nor easily include them in the school context. An exploratory methodological approach has been used and an ad hoc questionnaire with four dimensions and 44 items has been designed. In this work we focus on dimension IV: Teacher training. 205 Greek primary school teachers have participated. One of the main results has been that most of the participants consider training in learning difficulties to be important and believe that the lack of training greatly affects the inclusion of students with learning difficulties. Equally important is that the majority of participants consider that training affects their attitudes. It was also found that Greek teachers do not believe they have enough training in learning difficulties, due to lack of time, the cost of training as well as the absence of frequent training activities in this field.

There is a great need to provide transition planning and enhance the success of individuals with intellectual disabilities in employment and independent living through appropriate practices. This study aims to explore the essential components of effective transition services that teachers should include in their instruction of students with intellectual disabilities. A descriptive quantitative research design was utilized, and data were collected through an online survey from 102 teachers of students with intellectual disabilities. The findings indicated that participants sometimes included most of the five essential components of effective transition service components in their teaching. No statistically significant differences were found in participants’ responses based on school type, years of teaching experience, or qualifications. However, statistically significant differences were found between male and female participants in responses to two of the main components, namely, student-focused planning and interagency collaboration, with male participants reporting higher mean scores than female participants. The study’s implications for practice and future research are also discussed.

During COVID-19 in Athens, Greece, 535 general education and 170 special education teachers were tested for computer use self-efficacy, ICT competence, and computer attitudes. Demographic and occupational factors impacted computer attitudes and computer use self-efficacy. The GCAS and GCSES showed that general and special education teachers liked computers. Teachers were computer-savvy and confident. Computer attitudes boosted computer use self-efficacy. Computer self-efficacy is strongly linked with computer attitudes, subscales of confidence and affection and moderately linked with cognitions about computers. Age, position, and ICT training substantially influenced computer attitudes and computer use self-efficacy. ICT-trained teachers had improved their attitudes and computer use self-efficacy. Computer self-efficacy and attitudes about computers did not change for special education teachers, but computer confidence increased. Except for those under 25, younger teachers demonstrated higher computer self-efficacy than older ones.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between teacher professional development, quality of lecture design, student engagement, teacher technical skills, pedagogical content knowledge and teacher satisfaction in using Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Powered Facilitator for designing lectures. The study used a non-random sample technique, and 208 participants answered a survey via Google Form after one semester, using a 5-point Likert scale to rate their responses. The structural equation model was used to analyze the data, and six factors were included in the study. The study confirmed hypotheses that teacher professional development, quality of lecture design, student engagement, and pedagogical content knowledge have a positive effect on teacher satisfaction. However, the study also revealed that teacher technical skills have a negative effect on teacher satisfaction, and pedagogical content knowledge has no significant effect. The proposed conceptual model explained 55.7% of the variance in teacher satisfaction Theoretical and practical implications were also discussed. These findings provide insights into the factors that contribute to teacher satisfaction in utilizing AI-Powered Facilitator for designing lectures and could inform the development of effective teacher training programs.

The study sought to determine the degree to which autistic children used language activities and their relevance to increasing verbal expression abilities in Jordanian special education institutions. The descriptive-analytical technique was used in the investigation. The two dimensions were utilized to represent the instrument through a set of 27 statements. The participants included 200 instructors from special education centers in Amman, Jordan's capital. The study's findings revealed a high level of application of linguistic activities among autistic children in Jordanian special education programs. Their ability to express themselves verbally improved significantly as well. The findings also revealed a statistically significant positive link between the extents to which autistic children applied language exercises and the improvement of verbal expression abilities in special education institutions.

The current research aims to analyze art teaching as an inclusive factor and pays attention to diversity in excluded populations to meet the needs of students in the pandemic context. In regard to methodology, we used the naturalistic paradigm, a qualitative approach, and an inductive method with a phenomenological and hermeneutical design. The data collection techniques we used were semi-structured interviews with teachers of the Regular Basic Education in Peru. The findings show that through the mediation of diverse artistic languages and the implementation of different didactic strategies, it is possible to achieve an interaction free from exclusion barriers, driven by good teaching practices that enable the inclusion and attention to the diversity of students, providing them with opportunities to develop capacities and skills to establish better coexistence. We concluded that art education comprises a lasting learning process that guarantees a healthy environment for peaceful coexistence, which today, inclusive teachers, parents, and students should keep in mind.

STEM education is an irreplaceable movement of educational systems across the globe in the 21st century. Both Pre-K, K-12, and higher education institutions consider STEM as an innovative approach to integrate and reform the teaching and learning processes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of studies on STEM in the Early Childhood Education context from 1992 to 2022. We investigated a dataset of 308 scholarly works from the Clarivate Web of Science database and figured a diversified collection of research focuses on topics such as children’s readiness, outcomes, teachers’ competency in designing and implementing STEM activities, and the role of computational thinking and robotics. The findings of this paper revealed the dominant contribution of researchers from the USA regarding research quantity and impact, as well as their collaborations with researchers from Western countries. In addition, we also figured out the top influencing authors, documents, and journals as a suggestion for scholars who are new to this topic. However, we would like to note that our findings depended on the quality of the imported database from the WoS system, which covers top-tier journals only.

Compliance with any policies, laws and regulations, including university compliance with quality assurance mechanisms globally, depends on the practicability of those mechanisms. Like other countries, Tanzania has quality assurance mechanisms that require universities to comply. However, the existing audit reports have shown non-compliance cases to such mechanisms. This study sought to explore the practicability of the existing quality assurance mechanisms in promoting universities’ compliance in Tanzania. The documentary reviews, interviews, and focus group discussions were used to collect data from the 4 universities and 46 students, academics, and quality assurance directors and officers as a sample size selected purposively. The data were analysed through content analysis. The findings revealed that the existing quality assurance mechanisms are generally practicable; however, there are quality assurance requirements with practicability challenges due to contextual factors. Such requirements include senior academics in administrative duties, academics’ promotion, academics’ recruitment, inclusive and participatory teaching approaches, requirements with extra financial costs, examination scripts’ marking, and invigilation restrictions. This study concludes that the practicability challenges of some quality assurance mechanisms are one reason for non-compliance cases at some Tanzanian universities. It recommends that key stakeholders be involved in establishing mechanisms, and all contextual factors must be addressed to enhance practicability.

Given the insufficient involvement of business investments in adult education, this study focused on the factors that motivate managers and entrepreneurs to invest in continuing education. For this purpose, we conducted a systematic literature review of studies referenced in Scopus and Web of Science since 2015. The factors for training were classified into four levels: personal, organizational, industry-related, and national. The results indicated that the inside firm-related determinants are the most studied and essential. A consensus emerged in the relevant literature on the positive impact of a supportive workplace culture, a learning orientation, formalized human resource development practices, and employee voice. The long-term orientation of managers and the perception of employees’ flexibility and adaptability to change also play a role. The study highlights the increasing pressure from regulations and market competition, as well as the (in)capability of universities to provide training tailored to the specific needs of companies. Although institutional factors appeared to predominate, economic considerations also influence training decisions; the latter means that the two underlying theories – institutional theory and human capital theory – complement each other when explaining employers' incentives to invest in training.

During the implementation of the inclusive education policy in several countries in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the psychological health of special education teachers should be considered as a key success factor. This study explored special education teachers’ perceived work stress (PWS), bio-psychological burn-out symptoms (BPS), and transformational teaching (TFT) in inclusive education in Indonesia and Thailand. There were 177 Indonesian and 199 Thai teachers completing a series of questionnaires that included BPS, PWS, and TFT. The results showed that BPS and PWS were high, whereas BPS and TFT were significantly different across nations. No gender differences were found among both Indonesian and Thai teachers. Moreover, TFT could be significantly predicted by positive age and negative work stress, which explained 8% of the variance among Indonesian teachers (R2 = .08, F(4, 172) = 4.18, p < .01) and by positive age and negative burnout symptoms, which explained 6% of the variance among Thai teachers (R2 = .06, F(4, 186) = 3.18, p < .05). Furthermore, inclusive education policymakers and stakeholders should be aware of psychological health improvement including burnout symptoms and work stress, which negatively invade the role of TFT among special education teachers in both countries.

The present study explores the Quality of Life (QoL) of young people with intellectual disabilities engaged in a social farming initiative, known as ‘‘Tuttincampo: Social Farming and Inclusivity’’. The project stands as an innovative approach to improving social inclusion and providing vocational education and training. The initiative seeks to offer a viable alternative to traditional rehabilitation day centers by establishing a network of both public and private institutions. To explore the QoL of the young people we analyze data from the Personal Outcome Scale (POS), a tool that investigates the perception of QoL through self-assessment and hetero-assessment. Data were collected at the beginning and at the end of the social agriculture project. The results obtained confirm the importance of planning pedagogical actions to support social inclusion and vocational training for people with intellectual disabilities, highlighting, as well, the potential of social farming as a new “space” to achieve a higher level of QoL.

The primary objective of this study was to determine how students and teachers in primary schools view the classroom climate and its dimensions: (a) peer relationships and (b) student-teacher relationships. Additionally, the study aimed to explore the role of students' age (11-12 years old - 7th grade students vs. 14-15 years old - 9th grade primary school students) and gender on their perceptions of the school climate. Classroom climate was measured with the "Classroom Climate Questionnaire", which was completed by a total of 1,531 students (792; 51.6% female) and 348 teachers (296; 84.6% female). The findings of the study indicated that both students and teachers generally perceived the classroom climate as being relatively neutral to positive. However, teachers tended to report more positive classroom relationships compared to students. Furthermore, the study found no significant gender-based differences in how students perceived the classroom climate, peer relationships, and student-teacher interactions. However, differences were identified based on the age or grade level of the students. The results were discussed in the context of the students’ psychological development characteristics and the aspects of socio-emotional learning within school environments, also considering educational policies for achieving greater school quality.

The field of education greatly benefits from inclusive education, which is praised for acknowledging and valuing student diversity and individual needs. Kosovo, as a newly independent country, went through major reforms, particularly in the realm of education, which is marked, among others, by initiatives that anticipate fostering and promoting inclusive education. Initiatives and programs throughout the country were designed and initiated to promote and advocate for inclusivity in the education system. To foster inclusivity, assistants for students with special educational needs were introduced to enable students with special needs to be part of regular education. Thus, in this study, the experiences of assistants for students with special educational needs in Kosovo are explored. This study employed semi-structured interviews to collect data and utilized thematic analysis to identify key themes and topics. The participants in the study included nine assistants for students with special education needs, reflecting diverse perspectives and experiences in the field of inclusive education. The following themes and topics were identified as the main findings of this study: (a) joy, excitement, and pride with the work; (b) individualized education plan (IPE); (c) lack of resources and guidelines; (d) (lack of) cooperation with parents and families; (e) united in unity: the power of collegial support; and f) promoting and advocating for inclusive education.

Augmented reality technologies can create unique interactive learning environments for students with special educational needs that enrich the learning process and provide immediate feedback. This research analyzed the use of augmented reality in teaching digital literacy courses for primary school children with special educational needs. The study involved a quasi-experiment with participants using a mobile augmented reality application to assess its impacts on learning outcomes. The results showed the positive effects of augmented reality on student achievement. The results highlight the potential of augmented reality in inclusive education. In addition, the findings emphasize the importance of further research and development in this area and an increased use of augmented reality to improve the educational experience of students with disabilities. In light of the results, we conclude with recommendations for integrating augmented reality into educational programs and improving educational practices.