This research aimed to explore (1) the characteristics and patterns of student interactions on online discussion boards throughout a course using social network analysis (SNA) and (2) the mediating effect of social presence, as the underlying mechanism, on the relationship between these interactions and students' learning outcomes. Eighty-four…

Instructor leadership is widely recognized as essential for facilitating meaningful online learning in higher education. While previous studies have applied organizational leadership theories to the study of instructor leadership, fewer studies have investigated online instructor leadership. This predictive correlational study detailed the…

This collection of works builds upon previous scholarship on biosociality and education. The timely contributions in this Special Issue are international in focus and explore the growing interface between the biosocial sciences and education. The issue begins with papers that are more applied in nature and ends on a conceptual note, leaving the…

This paper discusses the findings of a qualitative research project conducted in 2017 that explored practitioners' experiences and perceptions of the provision of play pedagogies in contemporary Western Australian early childhood education contexts. Interviews were conducted with four play-based learning teachers and an open-ended survey was…

This article reports an interview study focused on teacher beliefs about war, peace, and education. We use a conceptual framework that calls attention to the social and psychological factors that contribute to the meanings of war and peace. Data are presented in three composite cases to convey the range of beliefs and perspectives expressed by our…

In Italy, the National Evaluation System (SNV), encompassing both internal and external accountability components, is designed not only to hold school actors accountable but also to stimulate innovation and change in pedagogical practices. Nevertheless, existing literature presents inconclusive and contradictory findings regarding the effects and…

This article examines the affordances and limitations of textbooks for promoting action competence for sustainable development. Based on a content analysis of Swedish lower secondary level textbooks in geography and biology, we investigated how content about sustainable development is organised and formulated, the ways its multidimensional…

Purpose: The article investigates how to make a broader understanding of sustainability relevant for early childhood education (ECE) guided by the four dimensions suggested by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: ecological, economic and social/cultural sustainability, and good governance. Design/Approach/Methods:…

A particular status of the English language as the language of international communication and connections between the nearly related English and German languages resulted in the emergence of many interlingual borrowings in the Modern English and German language vocabularies. The paper aims to consider the functioning of borrowings (loanwords) in…

This paper describes the application of a "biosocial" approach to informal health and science education. As an engagement between biological and critical social sciences, biosocial theory has sought to re-articulate human bodies as fundamentally the product of interrelationships between the biological and social dimensions of human life.…

There exists a disconnect between instruction about biological evolution and acceptance of evolution by students. This disconnect prevents students from applying the theory to their lives or to their understanding of the field of biology. We examine the literature for common barriers to the acceptance of evolution, correlates with acceptance of…

The extent to which middle school students are engaged in required science courses is an elusive but increasingly documented phenomenon. Anecdotal and empirical evidence alike raise concern with a perceived decline in science engagement reported by students as they transition into the middle school setting. Even what it means to be engage is not…

Studies show that technology can have a positive influence on student achievement and motivation; however, the use of technology for educational purposes is rather modest. Research has shown teachers' attitudes to be a key aspect of technology use. However, there is no agreement on which attitudes we should focus on. The aim of the present study…

This study explores the relationship between factors related to the implementation of school reform in technology and variables related to students' acceptance of technology, in particular, of tablets. In order to do this, 2659 students in 208 schools were surveyed using an instrument developed according to the unified theory of acceptance and use…

When, in societies today, civic commitment decreases, there is a call for the need to strengthen citizenship education, identified uniquely with its public dimension and, on the other hand, the requirement for character education has been advocated, which is a cultivator of the most strictly private dimension. Setting out from the recognition of…