Today, we globally observe a sharp increase in learners' engagement in extramural (out-of-class) English (EE; Sundqvist 2009). This undoubtedly affords new opportunities for, but also challenges to, English language teaching (ELT) and learning. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore this topic from a cross-national perspective. Upper…

The present study examines university students' acceptance of e-learning according to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). We also investigate the influence of external factors, including self-efficacy with digital media, self-regulated learning, prior experience, and affinity for technology, to extend the model with valid individual factors.…

Our research aimed to identify factors of motivation and affect to best characterize upper secondary mathematics students and correlations between these factors. This work is based on personas, a tool from user experience research for representing the needs and characteristics of users of a system, developed in prior research. In the present…

The current study digitalised an assessment instrument of receptive vocabulary knowledge, GraWo-KiGa, for use in Austrian kindergartens. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study looks at 85 kindergarteners in their last year (age M = 5.79 years, 51.8% male, 71.8% L1 German), to find out (a) whether the form of digital assessment employed meets…

Background: Evidence so far shows that Waldorf students are characterized by average science achievement but at the same time high socioeconomic status and high science motivation. Moreover, Waldorf education is characterized by high emphasis on inquiry-based science education (IBSE). The present study investigates if the specific…

Citizen science research has been rapidly expanding in the past years and has become a popular approach in youth education. We investigated key drivers of youth participation in a citizen social science school project and the effects of participation on scientific and topic-related (i.e., political) interest and efficacy. Findings suggest that…

In the wake of COVID-19, university students have experienced fundamental changes of their learning and their lives as a whole. The present research identifies psychological characteristics associated with students' well-being in this situation. We investigated relations of basic psychological need satisfaction (experienced competence, autonomy,…

Background: Data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) revealed that countries systematically differ in their respondents' literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments skills; skill levels also vary by gender, age, level of education or migration background. Similarly,…

In the past decades, the importance of developing and validating informal and nonformal learning processes has been launched by several international organizations including UNESCO and the OECD, originally mostly focusing on adult learning experiences. Meanwhile, in recent years an increased focus has been evidenced on introducing informal and…

Podcasts are a useful tool for developing speaking skills in language acquisition settings, particularly within the context of the emerging Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL). While much research has emphasized the effectiveness of teacher-produced podcasts, this study seeks to address the gap in knowledge on student-generated podcasts in…

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the majority of 15-19-year olds follow vocational education programmes within a dual-track system, spending most of their time in a company and going to school only 1 day each week. With their separate aims, content and sociological organisation, the company and the school can be considered as two distinct…

In the last decades of the 20th century lifelong learning became a key concept for solving social and economic problems in highly industrialized countries. Lifelong learning was the societal response to conditions in a rapidly changing economic world. Humans have always learned in the normal course of their lives, but this learning was informal.…

This report examines how immigrant students performed, mainly in mathematics and reading, but also in science and problem-solving skills in the PISA 2003 assessment, both in comparison with native students in their adopted country and relative to other students across all countries covered in the report (the "case countries"). In…