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.

<p style="text-align:justify">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&#39;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.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Teacher flourishing encompasses a broad range of well-being, encompassing hedonic (pleasure-based) and eudaimonic (meaning-based) satisfactions. In the context of the literature review, a concise overview is provided, consisting of definitions, predictors, mediators, and outcomes. Conforming to the PRISMA protocol, the present review progresses through four stages: identification, screening, eligibility assessment, and including relevant studies. Furthermore, the search strategy focused on flourishing, well-being, and measuring tools, leveraging databases such as EBSCO Host, Proquest, Science Direct, and DOAJ. In line with the PRISMA statement, systematic review methodology guides the final analysis, incorporating twenty-seven studies published between 2017 and 2023. Despite being studied in numerous theoretical frameworks, teacher flourishing needs a more widely accepted definition and operational framework in studying the concept. The results show that multiple factors impact teacher flourishing, including individual, relational, and organizational elements. Additionally, the evaluation considers direct and indirect predictors, mediators, and outcomes. The new model is related to global well-being, including emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects, stating the connections of these elements. The implications of the results can be effectively applied within educational settings by teachers, policymakers, and scholars specializing in education.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Recently, a large-scale study of college students&rsquo; motivation orientations when they transitioned to online learning because of the global COVID-19 pandemic found that unlike prior studies, in the 3 x 2 goal orientation framework the standard for competence (self, other, task) was of greater importance than valence (approach, avoidant). Moreover, previous research found students&rsquo; different goal orientations related to how they responded to the shutdown academically from both volition and social perspectives. We investigated whether a three-factor model would replicate with unique undergraduate cross-cultural samples, and we wanted to examine how students with different goal orientations responded to the shutdown of their universities due to the pandemic. Students from a U.S. university and students from Oman completed a 44-item goal orientation survey, a demographic survey, and an 11-item survey to assess students&rsquo; experiences following the pandemic. Results indicate that students who set task-based goals were less likely to have negative experiences related to the social aspects of the pandemic and those students who had negative responses to the lack of social contact were also expected to have lower grades.</p>

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.

Teaching is a demanding and complex exercise, exposed to the direct or immediate resolution of multiple problematic situations, whether pedagogical, relational, or socio-affective. The teacher's personal resources are often insufficient to cope with the profession's demands. The research reports that there is a gap between research and educational practice. Hence, the objective of this research was to analyze the criteria used by early childhood educators to attribute validity to the written sources of information that guide their pedagogical decisions. The present study follows a qualitative research methodology. The sample for this study was non-probabilistic and consisted of 18 early childhood educators who participated through semi-structured interviews and discussion groups. The data obtained were analyzed by inductive categorization using NVivo 14. The findings revealed that the validity criteria assigned by the educators about the sources of information related to theoretical aspects is mainly attributed to the texts and authors they know, while those referring to practical aspects are attributed to their own experiences or the other educators at the same level. The results showed that specific information and obtaining it in the shortest possible time were the criteria that determined the use of information sources.

Recent research has identified factors influencing the choice of a special education career; however, it has not thoroughly examined their connection with personality traits and identity status. Thus, the present study was designed to explore how different personality traits and identity statuses correlate with the motives and perceptions associated with the choice to teach in special education. The study involved 209 pre-service special education teachers. The NEO-Five Factor Inventory was used to measure the Big 5 personality traits. The Ego Identity Process Questionnaire assessed identity commitment and exploration. The Factors Influencing Teaching Choice Scale was used to evaluate motivations and perceptions about teaching. Regarding the factors that influenced the decision to pursue a career in special education, intrinsic value, shaping children’s future, social equity, making social contributions, working with children, task demands, and job satisfaction were highly rated. Additionally, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and identity statuses were identified as positive predictors for certain factors influencing the choice of a teaching career in special education. Finally, the study identified two distinct groups of students: "Identity Achievers" characterized by high positive personality traits, and identity commitment, and "Identity Explorers" characterized by lower positive personality traits and higher identity exploration. Differences were observed between the groups in their motives and perceptions concerning teaching in special education. In conclusion, this study highlights the relationships between personality, identity status, and career decision factors, offering insights into the factors that influence this critical career decision among future special educators. Directions for future research are discussed.

Digital competence entails the healthy, safe, and responsible use of digital technologies to take engage in society, to learn, work and to interact with. However, the use of digital devices is not exempt of risks. The objectives of this study were to analyze the mediating effect of fear of missing out (FoMO) on phubbing and nomophobia, and to explore the perception of the use of Internet-connected devices among 522 Spanish university students, with an average age of 27.11 years. The 80.8% are women and 68.2% study degrees related with Educational Sciences. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining bivariate correlation with structural equation modelling (SEM), and qualitative content analysis. SEM analysis revealed that FoMO had a significant effect on nomophobia and phubbing. Qualitative content analysis underlined that the time spent, problematic use, and sense of dependence were the main concerns for participants. It is emphasized that the plethora of ICT opportunities exposes individuals to risk contexts, necessitating media education to mitigate psychological and social consequences stemming from Internet risks.