The objective of this study is to create a tool for evaluating teachers’ effectiveness in boarding schools. Planning and preparation stages, instrument testing, and measurements were used in this study to implement research on the creation of the Mardapi model instrument. In order to generate instrument items, the planning and preparation stage tasks included a literature assessment of teacher performance appraisal manuals. Data were gathered utilizing documentation approaches, and descriptive and qualitative analysis was performed. Six specialists validated the built instruments, which were subsequently put through limited testing at two boarding schools and extensive trials at nine boarding schools in Surakarta residency area. The Aiken formula was used to examine the expert’s evaluation data, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyze the test results. The results of this study indicate that the instrument for assessing teacher performance in boarding schools meets the validity criteria. This is indicated by the existence of loading factor values ranging from .51 to .72 (>.4) and t-sign values ranging from 4.75 to 9.25 (>1.96) and meeting the requirements of a fit model since Chi-square = 1307.95 < 2524 (2*df), p-value = .17956 (>.05), and RSMEA value = .014 (<.08). The instrument items are reliable assessment packages, and this is shown by the reliability value of omega .967 > .70. Because there is a guarantee of validity and reliability, the test can be used to further assess teacher performance in boarding schools.

Reflective practices have been recognized as a predictor of professional development because they favor teaching changes that improve the students’ learning. The expressions reflection, practice, and reflective professionals are very present in training programs, but with a diversity of meanings and interpretations. The concept of reflection is linked to professional development and teaching identity. The goal of training reflective teachers is shared on an international level, however, the educational conditions that favor a positive attitude toward reflection have not been sufficiently researched. This article aims to describe the obstacles to a positive attitude toward reflection in pedagogy students according to their teachers. This study is qualitative with an interpretive approach for which an instrumental case study was conducted with 15 university teachers in six Chilean regions.  The results show that both inter-institutional conditions negatively affect attitudes, as well as the lack of models of reflective practice, insufficient teaching, the way teacher reflection is evaluated, and the barriers to reflective practice in schools. The results indicate the need to intentionally teach pedagogical reflection practices and help to recognize its benefits for teaching.

This study explores the extent to which the gendered views exist among students in Kosovo’s compulsory education (primary and lower secondary schools) regarding mathematics and reading. It analyzes students’ perceptions of these academic domains concerning the performance of their peers (the same others) from the gender perspective. Additionally, it examines students’ perspectives on the opinions of their parents and teachers (their significant others) regarding girls’ and boys’ performance in math and reading. Furthermore, the study investigates whether students hold gender-stereotypical attitudes toward professions related to math and those that heavily rely on reading skills. The survey method was used to conduct this study. A sample of 531 students in compulsory education participated in this study, completing a paper-based questionnaire consisting of 14 items evenly distributed between mathematics and reading. The findings indicate that around half of the respondents believe that girls and boys perform equally well in both mathematics and reading and that parents and teachers hold the same views regarding the performance of their children/students in these academic domains. However, among the remaining portion of respondents who expressed gendered views, a higher percentage favored boys as being more proficient in math, while girls were seen as superior in reading skills. This study emphasized the need to address and mitigate these gender stereotypes, to ensure that students of both genders can pursue their careers successfully without any limitations.

The introduction of English language teaching (ELT) at the preschool level has been widely discussed by researchers. While most agree with ELT at preschool level, considerable issues are faced in learning a second, third, or foreign language. Therefore, this systematic review discusses the issues preschool teachers face in implementing ELT and their beliefs on how ELT should be applied to young children. Using three renowned databases, namely Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC), 34 articles were extracted out of 85 articles, from 2012 to 2022, with exclusion and inclusion criteria taken into consideration. The findings of this study showcased eight main issues faced by preschool teachers in implementing ELT: English language proficiency, pedagogical skills, teacher perception, curriculum, teaching resources, training, socio-cultural, and classroom environment. In terms of preschool teachers' beliefs about ELT, there are four main issues: Bilingual education, children's characteristics, curriculum alteration, and teachers’ experience. Generally, these findings will guide teachers, responsible authorities, and researchers to acquire an overview of the actual issues that occur in the implementation of ELT in preschools as well as the appropriate measures to overcome them, starting from the preschool teachers' beliefs.

The study aimed to explore the self-directed learning readiness model and its relationship with various factors such as emotional intelligence, transformational parenting, need-supportive teaching style, and self-efficacy as potential mediators. The research was conducted with 415 junior high school students in Surabaya, Indonesia. To ensure the reliability and validity of the instruments used in the study, confirmatory factor analysis was performed. The loading factor values of all the items in the instruments were found to be greater than .50 indicating a satisfactory level of validity. Additionally, the reliability coefficient of all the instruments exceeded .90 demonstrating good internal consistency. Analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated that the theoretical model of self-directed learning readiness was consistent with empirical conditions because it meets the standard value of goodness of fit. Furthermore, through the indirect effect tests, it was discovered that need-supportive teaching style, emotional intelligence, and transformational parenting significantly influenced self-directed learning readiness, with self-efficacy acting as a mediator. Among the factors examined, self-efficacy was found to have the greatest impact in explaining readiness for self-directed learning readiness.

Reinforced by the Russian war, an even stronger economic, social, and political orientation towards the values of the European Union and thus also Western economic paradigms is taking place in Ukraine. This article investigates financial literacy (FL) as the knowledge and understanding of personal finance among university students in Ukraine. Individual financial decision-making will be central to the reconstruction of Ukraine and the long-term economic growth of the country. We use the principles developed by the U.S. Council for Economic Education in modelling FL. In doing so, we examine the feasibility of using a version of the U.S. American Test of Financial Literacy translated and adapted into Ukrainian. The translation and adaptation process of the 50-item test instrument is presented in the article. Significant differences in the content of FL between Ukraine and the U.S. test instrument are highlighted. At the beginning of the winter semester 2022, the Ukrainian version was administered to 68 students at three East-Ukrainian universities (Donetsk, Sumy, Kharkiv). In the article, we present findings from the initial validation of the test instrument and show from a content perspective which hurdles need to be overcome in the future for some concepts of FL.

The ability to think creatively has a vital role in the development of preschool children. This research provides a comprehensive review of innovative approaches and strategies for developing creative thinking in preschool children based on current trends and methodologies used in educational settings. This research shows three significant areas: (a) creative thinking skills in preschool children, (b) factors influencing creative thinking skills in depth, and (c) innovative strategies and approaches to stimulate creative thinking abilities in preschool children. This research uses a literature study method assisted by the publish perish application to find reference sources related to creative thinking abilities in preschool children. Studies show that creative thinking abilities in preschool children enable them to find innovative solutions, help them adapt to challenges, foster self-confidence and courage, and enrich their experience and knowledge of the world around them. Meanwhile, preschool children's creative thinking abilities are influenced by collaboration from the external environment (parents, teachers, and society); providing support and examples for children to develop and stimulate their creative thinking skills is very important.

This research attempts to map the trend of research related to differentiated instruction (DI). The research was conducted in May 2023 by researching research articles in the Scopus database. The search data from Scopus used title, abstract, and keyword searches. Research articles were analyzed descriptively based on year of publication, journal name, affiliation, country, and researcher name. The article database from Scopus was analyzed through VOSviewer and RStudio software so that a bibliometric map could be depicted in research related to DI. Based on the Scopus analysis results, it showed that publications of articles related to DI had increased from 2011 to 2021, although it decreased in 2016. The journal with the largest contributor to the publication of research articles related to DI was the Teaching and Teacher Education Journal. Vrije Universitiet Brusel was the university with the most published articles on DI. The country that contributed the most to the research articles related to DI was the United States. Struyven was the most productive scholar related to DI. Through network visualization, it was revealed that the evolution map of research related to DI was divided into five clusters.

Students’ mastery goal orientation tends to decline over the course of compulsory school, especially after the transition to lower secondary school. According to stage-environment fit theory, secondary school is less accommodating to students' needs, interests, and abilities than primary school. In consequence, the perceived person-environment fit declines as well. It is assumed that a strong sense of classroom community in primary school can counteract a potential decline in both of these important individual aspects. Using data from the Swiss longitudinal research project WiSel (“Wirkungen der Selektion”; “Effects of Tracking”), we conducted a latent growth curve model (LGCM) to examine the correlation between the development of students' mastery goal orientation and the development of their person-environment fit during the transition from primary school to lower secondary school. Perceived classroom community was assumed to benefit from these developments. The results show that both mastery goal orientation and person-environment fit decrease during the transition to lower secondary school. A strong sense of classroom community in fifth grade leads to a smaller decline in both constructs. Implications for educational practice are discussed.

It is unclear how social networks can be utilized in educational settings. An exploratory study was conducted to examine the differences between university students in Mexico and Spain in terms of their perceptions of knowledge and utilization of networks in the university environment. An overall sample of 378 students was collected from two public universities, one in Mexico and one in Spain. This study utilized descriptive statistics as part of a contingency analysis, X² with correction was used for the analysis of differences, Mann-Whitney U for the analysis of independence, Mantel-Haenszel test for association degree, Cramer's V for strength of association, Spearman's correlation coefficient for correlations. According to the results, the use of social networks is clearly related to country of origin, but not to gender. It seems that Instagram is a platform widely used by both Mexican and Spanish students, but it is not used in educational environments. Therefore, the use of social networks in higher education contexts differs by country, as does the knowledge of social bookmarking and the distribution of content to share information and resources.

In an era where diversity and digitalization significantly influence higher education, understanding and adapting to various learning preferences is crucial. This study comprehensively analyzes 394 scholarly articles from 1984 to 2022 using bibliometric methods, providing a dynamic overview of the research patterns in learning styles within higher education. We identified four stages of development during this period: 1984–1995 (Low-interest), 1996–2005 (Early development), 2006–2018 (Development), and 2019–2022 (Intensification). Our analysis highlights that the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia were the top three leading publishers of research on learning styles in higher education. The results reveal three main topics of publications: educational technology, learning environments, and subject behaviors. This research not only identifies emerging research topics but also underscores the importance of adapting instructional strategies to diverse learning styles to enhance educational outcomes in higher education.

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.

The present study examined how empathy (affective and cognitive), basic psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), and demographic factors (gender and academic achievement) jointly predict prosocial behavior during emerging adulthood. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this research explored whether relatedness need satisfaction mediates the relationship between empathy and prosocial tendencies. A total of N=889 undergraduate students from a large public university in the southeastern United States completed self-report measures assessing empathy, psychological needs, and prosocial behavior. Path analysis revealed that affective empathy and relatedness satisfaction were significant predictors of prosocial behavior. Relatedness also partially mediated the link between empathy and helping actions. Furthermore, gender and GPA contributed to prosocial outcomes, with female students and those with higher academic achievement reporting greater prosocial tendencies. These findings suggest that fostering emotional engagement and supporting students’ psychological needs—particularly the need for relatedness—may be key mechanisms for promoting prosocial development in educational settings during the critical stage of emerging adulthood.