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Background: Teachers are responsible for curriculum implementation and transformation. Therefore, they are viewed as the primary agents of change in teaching and learning. As agents of change, they are responsible for being innovative and creative in their teaching and learning in their English First Additional Language (EFAL) class. Objectives: The study aimed to explore South African teachers as agents of change in teaching EFAL in their Grade 3 classes. Method: This study adopted a qualitative research approach with an interpretivist paradigm. The researcher wanted to explore teachers' lived experience as agents of change in the Foundation Phase class. A case study design with purposive sampling was used. Results: The findings revealed that teachers understood their roles and responsibilities as change agents in their classrooms. They agreed they were responsible for implementing the curriculum to improve basic literacy skills among EFAL learners. Conclusion: The study found that teachers, as agents of change, needed support in continuous professional development to implement the curriculum. They also highlighted the need for help from their school management teams. Contribution: This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of the EFAL teacher. They are no longer mediators of learning but agents of change in teaching, learning and curriculum adaptation. Their roles go beyond imparting knowledge to learners. They are developers and mediators of critical thinking, decision-making, communication, use of technology and relationship-building skills.

The quality of early childhood experiences is crucial to a child's development and educational success. Yet few early childhood education and care services in the world today offer a consistently high level of educational quality. In particular, educational quality depends on the context's characteristics. The aim of this study was therefore to measure and compare the educational quality experienced in two distinct educational contexts, located in Quebec: early childhood centres and 4-year-old preschools. Results of the study indicate that there are very few significant differences between these two educational contexts in terms of interaction quality and pedagogical orientations quality, while variables related to structural quality vary greatly. Correlational and regression analyses carried out separately on each educational context show that few variables are predictive of interaction quality levels, suggesting that other variables, notably related to pedagogical orientations quality, would better explain variations in adult-child interactions predictive of child development. These results have implications for initial training curriculum aimed towards adults working in early childcare and for future directions in research on educational quality, including rethinking the importance of pedagogical orientations and structures in the ecosystemic model of quality.

The Accelerate Cancer Education (ACE) summer research program at The University of Kansas Cancer Center (KUCC) is a six-week, cancer-focused, summer research experience for high school students from historically marginalized populations in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Cancer affects all populations and continues to be the second leading cause of death in the United States, and a large number of disparities impact racial and ethnic minorities, including increased cancer incidence and mortality. Critically, strategies to bolster diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility are needed to address persistent cancer disparities. The ACE program offers an educational opportunity for a population of students who otherwise would not have easy access onto a medical center campus to make connections with cancer physicians and researchers and provides a vital response to the need for a more diverse and expansive oncology workforce. Students grow their technical, social, and professional skills and develop self-efficacy and long-lasting connections that help them matriculate and persist through post-secondary education. Developed in 2018, the ACE program has trained 37 high school junior and senior students. This article describes the need for and how we successfully developed and implemented the ACE program.

This research attempts to explore the challenges of teaching English listening skills at primary-level schools in Bangladesh. A mixed method was applied to conduct the research. The quantitative data was collected by a survey questionnaire from 30 primary-level English teachers. The qualitative data was collected by interviewing 5 primary level teachers. From the collected data, it is explored that the teachers confront several challenges in teaching listening skills, i.e., independent of teaching listening skills, teachers are bound to follow merely the vast syllabus of the institution, and they do not have any liberty to bring something beyond the stipulated instructions given by the authority. Few teachers have access to required teaching instruments like a computer, the internet, speakers, recorders, and a projector, and due to not having such instruments, the teachers cannot expose their students to cartoons, rhymes, stories, poems, and fables. A common view among the interviewees was that listening to--and watching--such types of audio-visual representations is effective in terms of honing students' listening and literacy. Also, teachers' classroom environment is not suitable for the teaching of listening skills. Many teachers are not yet trained to enact the proper pedagogy of listening. However, the time period of the primary level is so pivotal that if learners are not exposed to listening skills at that time, they then remain passive and weak in listening, communication, and literacy. Additionally, this study also provides recommendations for the establishment of and enhancing the teaching of listening skills at the primary level in Bangladesh.

This study investigated how different learning tasks influence students' collaborative interactions in immersive Virtual Reality (iVR). A set of chemistry learning activities was designed with iVR, and 35 pairs of undergraduate students went through the activities. Videos of students' interactions were analysed to identify patterns in students' physical, conceptual, and social interactions. When students were manipulating conceptually familiar virtual objects (several water molecules), they perceived the tasks as a simple extension of prior knowledge and did not attempt to explore the 3D visualisation much. They did not move around to take different perspectives, and conceptual discussions were brief. Their prior power relations (leader-follower) carried over in iVR environments. In contrast, when conceptually unfamiliar chemical structures (protein enzyme) were displayed, students perceived the tasks as complex, demanding a new mode of learning. They spontaneously moved around to explore and appreciate the 3D visualisation of iVR. Walking to different positions to observe the virtual objects from multiple angles, students engaged in more collaborative, exploratory conceptual discussions. As the perceived complexity of learning tasks or virtual objects triggers different collaborative interactions amongst students, careful considerations need to be placed on the design of iVR tasks to encourage productive collaborative learning.

Location of schools is one of the most important factors for encouraging active school transportation. The study identifies a gap that children lose a considerable amount of time in their school trips. The reason behind this is also identified: the ignorance of the population's preferences while planning for this infrastructure. Location of schools in Kharagpur city is evaluated in Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Global Moran's I test and hot spot cluster analysis provided the existing spatial distribution of schools. Desire line maps are prepared to note the distances children are traveling for schools. Parents' preference patterns are comprehended in the SERVQUAL framework. Cluster analysis is performed to identify the different categories of parents with respect to their preference patterns. These categories are profiled with their demographic characteristics using logit model. Next, multinomial logit model is used to ascertain the type of schools selected by the parents of each identified category. The framework developed to assess the expectations and perceptions of parents from schools will help the school providers understand the satisfaction level of their users. Schools of different categories will be able to customize their serviceability. If preference is included in the location planning of schools, it will encourage children for active school transportation.

Positive transition to adulthood of youth with disabilities is influenced by the type of support they receive. This study aims to analyse current transition to adulthood practices in the province of Quebec to map them to recommended practices and present an overview of the situation and needs. A multiple case study methodology included focus groups in six schools with 65 participants as well as internet searches and interviews with experts. A thematic analysis within and across cases was used. Results underscore the best practices in place concerning student-focused planning, student development, interagency collaboration and family engagement. They also highlight youths' and parents' opinions about strategies to better support transition. While inspiring practices are present, further efforts with regards to programme structures are required to ensure adequate support for transition to adulthood.

This study examined opportunities and barriers for implementing evidence-based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs in Prairie Canadian Schools. Educators from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta completed an online survey on SEL feasibility and reported on five feasibility domains: (1) attitudes about SEL, (2) knowledge about SEL, (3) job stress, (4) resources for implementing SEL, and (5) SEL practices. Results indicated that positive attitudes toward SEL significantly predicted increased perceived feasibility for evidence-based SEL implementation. Additionally, both knowledge and access to resources predicted increased SEL practice by Prairie Canadian educators. Analyses for open-ended responses paralleled quantitative results. Specifically, Canadian educators had positive views about SEL programing, but like previous research conducted in other countries, indicated that they require better access to SEL training, and resources (e.g., more time to plan and teach SEL, funding and program materials). A unique Canadian context-related finding from this study was that some Prairie Canadian educators indicated a paucity of French materials for SEL programs, which impeded implementation. In order to effectively implement evidence-based SEL in Prairie Canadian schools, policy makers must address the indicated barriers for Canadian educators, such as increased SEL training and resources, and easy access to appropriate French materials.

This study examined the effect of a serial multiple exemplar training (S-MET) procedure on bidirectional naming (BiN) in four preschool children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A non-concurrent multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of training listener and speaker behavior for one stimulus at a time until BiN occurred. When BiN occurred, probes were conducted to measure whether generalization occurred across settings and people. Three out of four participants' responding met the mastery criterion for BiN, while the fourth participant improved her performance. The results of this study suggest that S-MET may be a promising intervention and contribute to our knowledge about learning histories required for BiN.

Background: We investigated the prevalence of swallowing difficulties and associated factors in people with intellectual disability. Methods: We included people aged 50+ receiving care for people with intellectual disabilities. The Dysphagia Disorder Survey (DDS) was used to assess swallowing difficulties. We determined the agreement between the DDS and swallowing difficulties in medical records. We used logistic regression analyses to explore associated factors. Results: One thousand and fifty people were included. The prevalence of swallowing difficulties was 43.8%. Swallowing difficulties were not reported in the medical records of 83.3% of these cases. Frailty (odds ratio (OR) = 4.22, 95% CI = 2.05-8.71), mobility impairment (OR = 2.50, 95% CI = 1.01-6.19), and mealtime dependency (OR = 3.05, 95% CI = 1.10-8.47) were independently associated with swallowing difficulties. Conclusion: Swallowing difficulties are prevalent in older people with intellectual disability but may be under-recognised. Frailty may be a good indicator for population-based screening for swallowing difficulties.

The present study investigates the perception of experience of depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS) among young adults (18-22 years of age) from different locales in India during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The sample included 1,020 participants (603 males and 417 females) with 470 identified talented students (ITS) and 550 nonidentified students (NiS) from Indian villages, towns, and cities. multivariate analysis of variance and ordinal logistic regression analysis were carried out to understand the differences between the various subcategories and the probability of having high negative emotional states among those groups. Results point toward varying levels of DAS depending on whether they were ITS or NiS, whether male or female, and whether they came from Indian villages, towns, or cities. Both similarities and dissimilarities with other studies were observed, and the results provide insights into the effect of the pandemic on the mental health of young adults in India. The importance of developing psychological support systems for all students is implicated in the findings of the study.

Learning from multiple documents is an essential ability in today's society. This experimental study used concept network analysis to consider how reading prompts and post-reading generative learning tasks can alter students' documents integration performance. Undergraduates (N = 119) read three documents about Alzheimer's disease with one of two reading prompts (integrative prompts vs. detailed prompts) and then after reading completed a generative learning task (concept mapping vs. summary writing). Three days later they completed a delayed writing task and an inference verification test. Participants' written texts were converted to concept networks to evaluate conceptual level integration, including the "quantity" of integration (measured by the proportion of integrative links), the "semantic quality" of integration (measured by the similarity of integrative links), and the "structural quality" of integration (measured by comparing network graph centrality). Results showed that the integrative prompts relative to the detailed prompts enhanced the quantity of integration but not the semantic and structural quality. Further, concept mapping relative to summary writing significantly improved the structural quality of integration. In summary, this study describes a new concept network approach for measuring different aspects of integration to advance theory and research in multiple document comprehension.

South Africa is recognised as one of the most violent countries across the globe. School violence against teachers is a common phenomenon at most schools. This ongoing crisis has had a negative impact on the quality of teaching and learning. Schools are no longer a safe environment for teachers. Teachers are exposed to passive and active violence, causing physical and psychological harm. This paper focuses on violence against teachers and its effect on their well-being. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of teachers who experienced violence at their schools and received no support from school leaders. This study was conducted in one district in the Gauteng Province in South Africa. The author used the Invitational Learning Theory and National School Safety Framework as theoretical lenses, since these frameworks envisaged ensuring that all schools are safe, conducive learning environments. The findings revealed that at least two in every ten teachers experienced some form of violence. The acts of violence were either active or passive; for example, learners threw books at teachers, physically attacked them, swore at teachers, displayed rude behaviour, showed arrogance, and blackmailed teachers. The study recommends that the Department of Education employ rigorous and stricter measures to ensure the safety of all teachers. School leaders should engage with community forums and police services to support them in curbing violent behaviour and protect teachers. Stricter disciplinary actions should be taken against perpetrators of violence.

Short-term international mobility programs are being increasingly adopted by universities to achieve internationalisation, secure international accreditation and prepare graduates for global careers. A plethora of beneficial outcomes of student participation in short-term mobility education programs [Roy, A., A. Newman, T. Ellenberger, and A. Pyman. 2019. 'Outcomes of International Student Mobility Programs: A Systematic Review and Agenda for Future Research.' "Studies in Higher Education" 44 (9): 1630-1644; Waibel, S., H. Ruger, A. Ette, and L. Sauer. 2017. 'Career Consequences of Transnational Educational Mobility: A Systematic Literature Review.' "Educational Research Review" 20: 81-98] has motivated governments and universities to fund such programs [Pfotenhauer, S. M., J. S. Jacobs, D. J. Newman, and D. T. Roos. 2013. 'Seeding Change Through International University: The MIT-Portugal Program as a Driver of Internationalization, Networking and Innovation.' "Higher Education" 26: 217-242; Quan, R., A. Pearce, and Y. Baranchenko. 2017. 'Educational Mobility in Transition: What Can China and The UK Learn from Each Other?' "Journal of Management Development" 36 (6): 828-843; and Sin, C., O. Tavares, and G. Neave. 2017. 'Student Mobility in Portugal: Grappling with a Adversity.' "Journal of Studies in International Education" 21 (2): 120-135]. Scholarly work on student mobility in education has grown phenomenally in the last two decades. However, the specific study of antecedents of student participation which shape a student's decision to participate in short-term mobility programs has not received adequate attention in literature. The need to study antecedents of student participation in mobility is highly relevant and critical to the creation of student opportunities for participation in such programs. With this aim, our paper undertakes a comprehensive review of scholarly works thus far on antecedents of student participation in short-term mobility programs classifying antecedents into personal and contextual antecedents. We identify areas of study needed to enhance scholarly understanding of antecedents of student participation and propose an agenda for future research complemented with recommendations for studying antecedents to short-term mobility participation.