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The deficiency in providing quality education is a significant challenge across many developing nations. This study examines the connection between the education system and the level of socioeconomic issues in the context of Nepal. The main argument is that Nepal's gender-related issues, the training gap among its populace concerning pro-environmental behavior, lateness habits, skill deficiency among the young generation, and unstable economic growth are directly or indirectly connected to the country's education system. Nepal's school-level educational programs and teaching methods are less practical for fostering human capital and economic progress than Japanese educational programs. Based on the context of Nepal, human capital theory, and research literature pertaining to educational programs, we propose a comprehensive intervention model composed of several non-academic programs, including physical education, community cleaning, and school textiles, designed to augment Nepal's social and economic development.

Under-education in Cameroon significantly hampers the nation's socio-economic development. Addressing this issue is crucial for enhancing the overall quality of life and economic growth of the country. This study identifies and analyses the primary factors contributing to under-education, offering actionable solutions to improve educational outcomes and promote sustainable development. The study employed a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative data. Surveys were conducted with 1,000 households across urban and rural regions, alongside in-depth interviews with 50 educators, policymakers, and community leaders, and field observations in 20 schools. Structured questionnaires, semi-structured interview guides, and observation checklists were used. Advanced statistical techniques, including regression and factor analysis, were applied.

The purpose of the current study is to reveal the reflections of the Köycegiz Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) field trip planned within the context of the unit "Domestic Waste and Recycling" and the activities carried out concerning this trip on middle school students in Turkey. This research was conducted based on the semi-mixed method using a single-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. The quantified data were collected using open-ended questions about domestic waste and recycling, while the qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Twenty-seven middle school students (17 females, 10 males) participated in the study selected by convenience sampling method. According to the study's quantitative findings, the field trip to the wastewater treatment plant made the students realize the wastes produced at home, recyclable materials, the importance of recycling, and the contributions of wastewater treatment plants to the country's economy and nature. On the other hand, the quantitative findings indicate that this trip helped the students develop more eco-centric behaviors (Protection of biodiversity, Protection of nature, and Protection of resources, etc.). Moreover, the contributions made by the field trip structured within environmental education to the students could be gathered under the following headings: sustainability, personal, and cognitive.

This study aims to investigate environmentally responsible and sustainable development of 56 pre-service teachers which relevant to framework of sustainable development goals. The qualitative data were collected and analyzed by summarizing general perspectives. The 9 concepts were found and reported. The ways to sustain environments and education students to reach sustainable development can be done by reduce, reuse, recycle; conserve water; save energy; sustainable transportation; grow trees and keep open areas green; waste management; support eco-friendly products; reduce carbon footprint; and conserve biodiversity. These frameworks and perspectives should be incorporated in education and classroom in action.

Integrating service learning with undergraduate research, the student biodiesel project converted all waste vegetable oil (WVO) from campus dining centers into a sustainable biofuel used by campus vehicles, allowing half of the campus diesel energy needs to be met by a material (WVO) that was formerly a waste. Biodiesel reduced air pollution from campus diesel vehicles, including the emission of greenhouse gases. This project connected students to their community and increased students' awareness of the "social/economic" aspects of environmental challenges in the world around them. Students felt a "great sense of responsibility to make a real product that would make a difference" in the real world. Students who participated in the research course became teaching assistants for another regular course in which biodiesel production was a component. This allowed biodiesel to be produced sustainably and provided additional students with hands-on bioenergy experience. Specific challenges and suggestions for future practices are also reported.

A workshop in environmental sustainability was organized to develop the skills and competencies in mitigating climate change, adapting climate risk management, managing waste, adapting sustainable human settlements and using sustainable transport, and developing skills of reducing CO2 emissions, and conserving energy and ecosystem, & educating people. The study aimed to compare current opinion of participants in environmental sustainability. After a short notification in the print medias and websites; students, teachers, and local people expressed their interested and joined in an environmental sustainability workshop organized in the Department of Education, Assam University, Silchar, India. Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis H test used to assess the mean differences in the opinion of the participants in environmental sustainability. It resulted that the participants who were actively participated have no differences in their opinion in skills and competencies in mitigating climate change, adapting climate risk management, managing waste, adapting sustainable human settlements and using sustainable transport, and developing skills of reducing CO2 emissions, and conserving energy and ecosystem, & educating people.

Background: While there is now considerable evidence in support of a relationship between executive function (EF) and academic success, these findings almost uniformly derive from Western and high-income countries. Yet, recent findings from low- to -middle-income countries have suggested that patterns of EF and academic skills differ in these contexts, but there is little clarity on the extent, direction and nature of their association. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the contribution of EF to pre-academic skills in a sample of preschool children (N = 124; M[subscript age] = 50.91 months; 45% female). Setting: Two preschools were recruited from an urban setting in a community with both formal and informal housing, overcrowding, high levels of crime and violence, and poor service delivery. Three preschools were recruited from rural communities with household plots, a slow rate of infrastructure development, reliance on open fires for cooking, limited access to running water and rudimentary sanitation. Methods: Pre-academic skills were assessed using the Herbst Early Childhood Development Criteria test, and EF was assessed using the Early Years Toolbox. Results: Although EF scores appeared high and pre-academic skills were low (in norm comparisons), EF inhibition ([beta] = 0.23, p = 0.001) and working memory ([beta] = 0.25, p < 0.001) nevertheless showed strong prediction of pre-academic skills while shifting was not significant. Conclusion: While EF is an important predictor of pre-academic skills even in this low- and middle-income country context, factors in addition to EF may be equally important targets to foster school readiness in these settings. Contribution: The current study represents a first step towards an understanding of the current strengths that can be leveraged, and opportunities for additional development, in the service of preparing all children for the demands of school.

This work provides inspiration to foster Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in teaching practices related to waste management. Problem-Based Learning is about providing a learning environment where students can work practically and theoretically with problems of relevance for society. In this learning process, students themselves will define societally important problems and direct the problem identification, problem analysis, and problem-solving processes. The PBL approach at the engineering and technical faculties at Aalborg University acts as a case of inspiration to exemplify how the structure of a problem-based project can foster students' competencies and agency to contribute to a circular economy related to waste.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a high level of scientific illiteracy and mistrust that pervades the scientific and medical communities. This finding has proven the necessity of updating current methods used to expose undergraduates to research. The research in traditional course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) is limited by undergraduate time constraints, skill level, and course structure, and consequently it does not attain the learning objectives or the high-impact, relevant studies achieved in graduate-level laboratories using a cyclic trainee/trainer model. Although undergraduate independent study (ISY) research more closely matches the structure and learning objectives of graduate-level research, they are uncommon as professors and universities typically view them as a significant time and resource burden with limited return. Cyclic independent study-assisted CUREs (CIS-CUREs) combine many positive aspects of ISY graduate-level research, and CUREs by pre-training ISY research lead to facilitate CURE proposal and project semesters in a cyclic model. The CIS-CURE approach allowed undergraduate students at Stetson University to perform and disseminate more rigorous, involved, long-term, and challenging research projects, such as the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. In doing so, all students would have the opportunity to participate in a high-impact research project and consequently gain a more comprehensive training, reach higher levels of research dissemination, and increase their competitiveness after graduating. Together, CIS-CUREs generate graduates with higher scientific literacy and thus combat scientific mistrust in communities.

This study seeks to identify Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) principles for producing Digital Storytelling (DS) in Investigation Group (IG) among Brazilian basic education students, based on socio-scientific themes. This investigation used qualitative research. The methodological path consisted of developing IG activities aimed at promoting and integrating RRI skills via DS construction by the students. Data were collected using a field diary, video recordings of the IG meetings, and the DS themselves. We observed that RRI axes are directly and indirectly addressed by DS, and seemed to be mostly articulated by elaborating and presenting the narratives within the IG. With the strategy of integrating DS into RRI practices, students took an investigative stance that brought school activities closer to making real changes in society. Communicating student production during and after completing the DS reinforced articulation between RRI and DS.

Contributions: This article explores the impact of environmental education interventions about e-waste recycling and management practices as well as about the energy usage of data centers (DCs) into the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) university curricula. Intended Outcomes: An education program was implemented aiming to raise awareness about energy conservation, attitudinal disposition, and e-waste management practices of ICT students in a Greek University. Methodology: The results were derived from the processing of two questionnaires (pretest and post-test data), which were distributed during two lectures on sustainability and green information technology at a two-week interval. Findings: The findings of the study prove that although the majority of the ICT students had a deficient level of knowledge of e-waste recycling and energy usage in DCs, they showed a significant increment of knowledge and awareness regarding them. Moreover, it was observed that the direct effect of the educational intervention on the intention of the students to engage in e-waste recycling was significant. The research also revealed that ICT students showed a positive perception and attitude toward e-waste recycling and recognized the positive financial effect of the proper e-waste recycling and management after the educational intervention.

This study explores the experiences of project-based learning (PBL) experimentation in Chinese high schools, especially the feedback that Chinese students have for better practicing PBL in China. We conducted a case study at two Chinese high schools in an intermediate city, Suzhou, which started their first PBL practice. The two high schools were chosen because of their unique initiative to mix visually impaired students (VIS) and ordinary students in a PBL course, which focuses on "designing accessible garbage bins for VIS." Interviews and observations were conducted. All data are anonymized. After two rounds of thematic sorting and coding of the qualitative data, we found that the PBL course helped students develop two aspects of the civic participation dimension of core competence: social responsibility and problem-solving. Students learned to empathize with VIS to understand their needs and to build a more feasible and usable garbage bin. This study provides instructional recommendations in terms of how to better utilize the pedagogy of PBL in Chinese K-12 schools, particularly to support teachers to facilitate students' development of core competence and learning of inclusion, social responsibility, and sustainability by using the PBL technique.

In a small village in the Ecuadorian Andes called Racar, plastics are intimately woven into social and ecological structures. These entanglements move beyond human control and generate toxic dependencies between humans, plastics, and others. This requires a pedagogical shift in how early childhood educators understand and respond to plastics. Drawing on field research with educators in Racar, this paper attempts to interrupt human-centric discourses of the child as separate from Andean ecologies and resituates childhoods as differentially embedded in complex place relations.

In this research, it was aimed to determine science students' awareness on waste management. Eleven students studying in the first year of the Science Education Department participated in the research. The screening model was used in the research. The data were collected through scientific newspapers prepared in line with the Scientific Newspaper Preparation Instruction within the Scope of Waste Management. In the five sections of the instruction, students were asked to prepare scientific newspapers that they will support with written explanations and drawings on recovery, reuse, recycling, plastic bag usage, and zero waste within waste management. The data were analyzed by using content analysis. As a result of the research, it was understood that a significant part of the students was aware of the effects of education, research, and project activities on recovery, reuse, recycling, plastic bag usage, and zero waste practices within the scope of waste management, and the place and importance of the individual in waste management. On the other hand, it was understood that most of the students were not aware of the basis of waste management practices as the waste types, the separation of wastes at the source in accordance to their types, and throwing the wastes into the appropriate waste bin for their types.

The Zero Waste Project is likely to solve waste problems. This research aims to specify the opinions of teachers regarding Turkey's Zero Waste Project (TZWP). This study was carried out in the 2019-2020 academic year, with 126 participating teachers working in various disciplines, such as science, math, and social sciences, in the primary and secondary public schools. The semi-structured interview was used as a method in this research that covered qualitative data techniques. The obtained data was studied by using descriptive analysis. However, this study's findings suggested that most teachers did not know anything about the project implemented for four years. It was seen that teachers were not well-informed about or ignorant of zero waste. The educators are needed to achieve the goals of TZWP. Thus, it is suggested that environmental education be included in various disciplines and raise environmental awareness among individuals should become one of national education's primary objectives. It is a must, too, for all teachers and teacher candidates to develop environmental awareness.

This study is a case study that investigates the perceptions of preschool children about the causes, consequences, and solutions to environmental problems. A total of 41 children participated in the study. The data were obtained by using the draw and explain the technique, which included 3 different drawings and telling the children about the causes, consequences, and solutions of environmental problems. In the analysis of the data, the content analysis method was used. As a result of the research, it was found that the preschool children's perceptions were limited; however, as the age group grows, it has been determined that the icons used in the pictures related to the causes, consequences, and solutions of the environmental problems vary. It was revealed that the children associate the causes and consequences of environmental problems with pollution and the ways of solving environmental problems with the prevention/elimination of this pollution. It has been observed that the number of children related to the destruction of nature and irresponsible consumption of natural resources with environmental problems is very limited. In order to improve children's perceptions of environmental problems, it is suggested that teachers and parents should give more space to activities and games related to the environment in daily flow.

The purpose of this study is to examine changes in pre-service science teachers' entrepreneurship mindsets during engineering design-based activities. A holistic single-case study was used in the study. Twenty-eight pre-service teachers carried out engineering design-based activities (five weeks, 20 hours) in the science teaching laboratory practices course. The pre-service teachers' use of Entrepreneurship Mindsets (EM) in solving the water pollution problem during engineering design-based activities was examined in this study. Data were collected via engineering design challenge worksheets and public service announcements. The data were analyzed with the Extended KEEN Student Outcomes (eKSOs) rubric. Frequency tables were created in line with the sub-dimensions of EM (curiosity, connections, creating value, communication, character, and collaboration). As a result of the research, it was found that the pre-service teachers mostly used curiosity, connections, and creating value during the water treatment and wastewater assessment plant design process. Engineering is an important context for the development of EM as it creates various contexts that contribute to the development of these mindsets in pre-service science teacher education.

This research was carried out with the aim of examining the opinions of teachers about classroom rules in basic education in terms of various variables. The research data were obtained through interviews with 60 teachers. In the research, why the classroom rules are necessary in basic education, what the classroom rules are that they care about the most, what the methods they use while teaching the rules to the children, what the classroom rules are about health, safety, cleanliness, learning environment, communication and social relations are examined. According to the results obtained, it was determined in line with the opinions of the teachers that the classroom rules in basic education are necessary for classroom management, quality education, character education and effective communication. It has been revealed that the methods that teachers use most while teaching the rules are modelling, drama and expression. It has been determined that hygiene, self-care and healthy nutrition are at the forefront in the classroom rules determined by the teachers regarding health. It has been determined that classroom safety, not harming peers, and avoiding dangers are primarily stated in the classroom rules determined by the teachers regarding safety. Classroom cleaning, throwing garbage in the trash, personal cleaning and hygiene are at the forefront in the classroom rules determined by the teachers. Communication, physical conditions, use of materials and student participation were frequently emphasized in the classroom rules determined by the teachers regarding the learning environment. It is important to have a say, to listen, to be respectful, to empathize and to be kind in the classroom rules determined by the teachers regarding communication. In addition, being tolerant, peer relations, sharing, group work and play come to the fore in the classroom rules determined by the teachers regarding social relations.

The present research aims to ascertain the views of the people in Russia, about their levels of awareness in terms of hygiene and personal care for protection against the coronavirus. Data for this research were collected through an online questionnaire developed by researchers using a quantitative research approach. A total of 439 people living in different districts of the Russian Federation were involved to the research based on simple random sampling. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages. Results revealed that the participants paid attention to not having close contact with other people to protect themselves against the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also revealed that they wash their hands after visiting the toilet and stand one meter away from other people. It was also found that television is the mass medium through which they follow the information on personal care and hygiene-related to the COVID-19 pandemic most frequently.

Privatization has grown tremendously in the field of education in India to meet the growing demands for education in society. Privatization of education refers to the transfer of provision of education from the state to private providers with the overall policy goals- (i) Increasing access to and participation in basic education, (ii) Improving learning outcomes and overall efficiency and (iii) Improving equity in educational opportunities (Pedró, et al., 2015). School Education plays an important role in shaping the future of the nation by facilitating all-round development of the student. Keeping in view the increasing popularity and rapid growth of a number of private schools and contributions it made to society also comes with its problems. It is equally important on pragmatic grounds to examine the move towards privatization and its problems. In light of this, the present paper attempts to analyse the problems and prospects of privatization of school education as perceived by parents, teachers and students with special reference to Churachandpur District, Manipur.

In this study, the purposes of this research were to study and compare knowledge about waste and sewage management, environmental ethics and environmental volunteers using question and problems-based learning, before and after class of undergraduate students, to compare knowledge about waste and sewage management, environmental ethics and the environmental volunteers of undergraduate students with different gender and Grade Point Average (GPA). The sample used in the research were 111 undergraduate students being selected by purposive sampling who were enrolled in the course control waste and sewage in the 1st semester of the academic year 2019. The research tools were a learning activity plans on solid waste and sewage management using question and problems-based learning, knowledge test on waste and sewage management, environmental ethics test and environmental volunteers test. The statistics used in the research were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, including hypothesis testing using t-test, F-test (One-Way MANOVA, One-Way MANCOVA) and Univariate Test. The results showed that: (1) The undergraduate students had an average score of knowledge about waste and sewage management, environmental ethics and environmental volunteers in the posttest was higher than the pretest statistical significance (p < 0.05); (2) There was no different of knowledge score of waste and sewage management, environmental ethics and environmental volunteers of undergraduate students with different gender (p > 0.05); (3) There was statistical significant different of knowledge score of waste and sewage management, environmental ethics and environmental volunteers of undergraduate students with different Grade Point Average (GPA) (p < 0.05).

The higher educational institutions and universities were forced to be shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and came up with an alternative to resume the teaching-learning process via a digital mode of education. Due to many shortcomings in the digital mode of education, it is now necessary to reopen educational institutions. As students are important stakeholders, the views and suggestions are necessary before actually taking a decision on reopening the educational institutions. With objectives on reopening of educational institutions, modification in the course curriculum due to many problems faced by students during online teaching-learning process, health and safety protocols to be followed, etc, 21 questions are designed. Likert scale is used in data collections and analysed using various statistical tools. The students have different views on the reopening of the institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The practical or project-based course curriculum irrespective of offline or online mode of teaching is suggested by most of the students. On the health and safety protocols, the percentage of students giving priorities for creation of disinfection room, hand sanitization station entry and common places and regular health checkup are 74.82%, 80.69% and 74.48%, respectively. On the issue of the health and safety rule implementation, 92.4 % of students committed to pledge to adhere to the health and safety protocols, but 72.9% of students expressed that it would be difficult to enforce health and safety measures to the students inside the institution.

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of project on children's attitude toward environmental balance. This study is a qualitative study using a holistic single case study design involving "compost cases", at a kindergarten in Perak, Malaysia. The participants consisted of a focus group of 18 children and an educator. The data was obtained through triangulation results from unstructured interview, observation, and unofficial documents such as children notebooks, sketches, and pictures of investigative activities. The findings showed that the children understand the negative impact of using chemicals on Earth. The finding also showed that children able to give suggestions on producing compost, burying food scraps in the soil and use the compost dining set for banquet to deal with waste management problems. In addition, the finding showed that children able to classify waste materials which is easily decompose for compost production. The finding also showed that activities project able to develop entrepreneurial attitudes in children to sell the product produced. The valuable experience through observation and hands-on activities from early childhood will help the continuity of learning process throughout their lives.

The aim of the research was to reveal the school management process during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was designed on the basis of case study in qualitative research paradigm. Maximum variation sampling was used in the study. As such, 15 school principals with various years of experience, serving at various school levels were included in the study. Data was obtained from a semi-structured interview form with 11 items. Inductive analysis was utilized in data analysis. The primary finding of the study was the precautions taken by school principals during the pandemic. These are physical precautions, informative precautions, and productive precautions. Another finding was that school principals made their best effort to fulfill their duties and responsibilities in-school, out of school, and regarding their leadership roles. Lastly, school principals problems mainly revolved around two groups: the resources of the school and students, and the decisions made, regarding educational and instructional processes.

Since contemporary learning theories, strategies and models offer the interdisciplinary approach, educators need new pedagogical alternative ways to attain it in practicum. For this reason, the current research aimed to illustrate how to intertwine mathematical modeling with an environmental issue that recruits waste management (e.g., reuse-recycle-reduce) to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Through a case study research, 6 seventh-grade students (3 females and 3 males; aged 13-14) voluntarily participated in the research. The researchers videotaped and analyzed all interactive learning processes to elicit the students' environmental dialogues. The results indicated that the interdisciplinary mathematical modeling afforded the students to acquire the targeted environmental concepts/issues and somewhat supported their arguments. Since the current research illustrates an alternative pedagogy to integrate science/environmental education into mathematics, it may be used to facilitate dissemination and applicability of the STEM education.

The purpose of this article was to find out social challenges learners residing in informal settlements in Katima Mulilo Town face. Informal settlements crop up as people move from rural settings to urban areas as they seek better facilities, a process known as urbanisation. However, not all who migrate into urban areas end up getting the required facilities. This result in some finding residence in informal settlements where conditions are deplorable and as a result brings some social challenges to learning. This article's objective is to explore the social challenges learners residing in informal settlements face in learning. The article also seeks possible ways to deal with the social challenges in order to make learning possible. To come up with response to the questions, the study adopted a qualitative research approach. Instruments used to generate data were observation and interviews. To support the data generated from the participants, the learners, the social capital theory and urban theories were used. Some of the social challenges found to impede learning include poverty, flooding, expensive water and electricity bills, limited sewage disposal system, unfair relocations, poor sanitation, unemployment and high crime rate. Solutions were also suggested on how to overcome these challenges.

This qualitative interpretive study carried out with four EFL teachers in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course at a private university in Bogotá, Colombia addresses the disconnect that exists between curricular content and the life of students in education. From our understanding of literacy as a sociocultural practice, we proposed a pedagogical approach that immersed teachers and students in community explorations to study local issues informed by different disciplines. Therefore, this study describes the ways teachers designed and implemented curriculum using community assets (Kretzmann & McKnight, 2003) to develop student agency. The issues addressed by students in their inquiries included improving civic practices in the cycling route; fostering river preservation; environmental issues with garbage in Bogotá; and possibilities to access higher education for young populations in Colombia. Using a grounded theory approach, we collected and analyzed data from class discussions, curricular units, semi-structured interviews and class observation. Findings reveal that community explorations fostered students' agency towards studying social issues and promoted the construction of context-embedded opportunities for learning using students' realities and topics of local relevance (Canagarajah, 2005). The target language was used to reflect, pose problems, produce texts and participate in social reflections within an academic environment.

The following paper discusses the implementation of context-based learning to introduce the concepts associated to chemistry of cleaning in high-school students. The methodology proposed in Chemie im Kontext was followed and adapted with project-based learning to ensure key concepts were assimilated and related to students' everyday life. In such a way, the focus was drifted to a student-oriented approach in which students used the scientific method to inquire about the way in which cleaning products work from a chemical perspective. A collaborative approach was conducted to deliver a scientific poster that portrayed their work.

Medical personnel need to learn occupational safety knowledge in clinical workplaces, not only to ensure their own safety, but also to further ensure patients safety. Based on Human-centered artificial intelligence (HAI) technology, this study will provide HAI-based occupational safety training system for two training topics, Needle Stick/Sharps Injury (NSSI) prevention and appropriate Clinical Waste Management (CWM). From April 2018 to December 2021, this clinical occupational safety HAI training is used by 342 medical personnel (doctors and non-doctors). This study aims to investigate the learning performance and effectiveness including decreasing anxiety and increasing mastering level of users. This study shows that, for the first-time and feel-friendly users of this HAI training system, not only can they achieve significant learning improvement, but they can also effectively decrease their anxiety and increase their mastery level of clinical work safety knowledge and skill. In terms of learning performance and effectiveness, this study found that doctors are significantly benefited by the HAI training system in contrast to non-doctors.

Our study explored current environmental sustainability practices of U.S. camps as well as the motivations and barriers influencing integration of sustainable operational approaches. Using a web survey of camp organizations in Spring 2021, we identified participation in sustainable actions across five broad categories: waste management, sustainability education and communication, natural resource and wildlife conservation, energy and water consumption, and purchasing and procurement. Many camp organizations already engaged in sustainable practices--especially with respect to waste management and sustainability education--but almost all camps wanted to do more. Camp organizations placed higher priority on environmental and social motivations for sustainability than economic reasons. The largest perceived barrier to sustainability was inadequate financial and/or technological resources, though lack of awareness and capacity-building assistance were also constraints. Results highlight strong interest in sustainability across the camp industry and reveal multiple ways to realize that potential.

The Pacific Crest Trail is a National Scenic Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada. Use of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) has increased in the past 20 years. It is important to understand how an increase in use can impact the environment and sustainable practices, land management practices, and the hiker experience. Participants included 15 land managers in California and 25 thru-hikers who completed the PCT. In-depth interviews were conducted, and participants were asked questions about hiker interactions, trail angels, land manager interactions, and the permitting process. Data were transcribed verbatim and coded by three independent coders to reach a 90% inter-rater reliability. Emerging themes included: human impacts, permitting and education, and rule enforcement. Hikers also talked about the benefits of in-person education and the need for consistent communication between thru-hikers and land managers. Recommendations for sustainable practices include improvements to the permitting system, education, enforcement, and communication.

ePortfolios are considered the eleventh high-impact practice (HIP) by the AAC&U (now the American Association of Colleges and Universities). They have been widely implemented in the humanities but remain underutilized in STEM fields. The benefits of engaged learning, metacognitive awareness, and professional identity development in those programs that use them suggest that students who are not exposed to them are missing out on a valuable pedagogical practice. Participating in multiple HIPs, and even combining them, has been shown to benefit students, particularly those who are first-generation, low-income, minority, and members of other traditionally underrepresented student populations likely to switch out of STEM into other disciplines and whose college attrition rates are higher. We demonstrate the affordances of ePortfolios for promoting equity, engaged learning and professional identity development in STEM. Drawing on published research, our own and others, we show how ePortfolios in the context of inclusive teaching practices can ameliorate some of the causes of attrition or lack of engagement of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. We conclude with a research agenda to encourage further study into the potential affordances of ePortfolios for promoting engaged learning and professional identity development in STEM.