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This study considers the experience of education abroad alumni through a social justice lens. We leverage literature that places systemic change at the fore, underscoring the importance of addressing deeply ingrained attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions that perpetuate systemic inequalities or hinder progress. Practitioners and scholars have called into question the problematic, essentialist roots of study abroad while advocating for increased accessibility to education abroad. Building upon this priority, this article is oriented with a critical consciousness framework. The findings show the profound transformative impact of the study abroad experience on the personal lives of alumni, the level of career integration in their professional development, and the direct correlation between program design as it relates to social justice orientations. This project addresses a gap in the scholarship by focusing on longitudinal, qualitative data for action and the influence of alumni in increasing access to education abroad for the next generation.

This paper investigates the integration of blockchain technology into core systems within institutions of higher education, utilizing the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework as a guiding framework. It supplies definitions of key terminology including blockchain, consensus mechanisms, decentralized identity, and smart contracts, and examines the application of secure blockchain across various educational functions such as enrollment management, degree auditing, and award processing. Each facet of the NIST Framework is utilized to explore the integration of blockchain technology and address persistent security concerns. The paper contributes to the literature by defining blockchain technology applications and opportunities within the education sector.

Educators who work with playful approaches in teaching often use methods inspired by art-based learning. The aim of the study was, therefore, to investigate how pedagogics of art-based learning can contribute to the pedagogics of playful learning in a way that neither compromises essential values of art, nor the values of play. The study included two steps. First, we analyzed 70 didactic designs developed and tested in 2021 and 2022 in the in the Danish Playful Learning Project (PL). Second, we conducted a collaborative in-depth analysis of 6 additional playful learning designs, also developed and tested in the PL project. The study indicates that art-based skills are an important prerequisite in order to realize the potential of art-based learning as well as playful learning. However, a focus on art-based skills can lead to a more entrenched perspective that interferes with the focus on open-ended processes and experimentation that are found within playful learning.

Scholars suggest that culturally responsive instructional supervision (CRIS) is an important component of equitable teaching practices in schools. This fictional case study details the experiences of a fifth-grade team who, along with their principal and their instructional coach, perform a discourse analysis of their own mathematics lessons to diagnose the equity gaps in their teaching and make necessary adjustments. The case narrative highlights the need for equitable teaching practices in the mathematics classroom and the potential needs of school leaders as they work to create more equitable learning environments in their schools through the use of CRIS.

This qualitative descriptive study examined the process of purpose development of nine (seven females, two males; M[subscript age] = 20.2, age range 18-21 years) college students who completed interviews in fall 2017 and spring 2019 at a private university. Across the two time points, participants engaged in an iterative process that led them to refine (i.e., narrow or specify) or redefine (i.e., change or adapt) their purpose or ultimate aims. Participants used the time between interviews to restructure their purpose in a way that integrated their experiences until they believed their purpose was best aligned with their skills, values, and interests. More specifically, consensual qualitative research analysis revealed seven themes that suggested ways in which participants acted to refine and/or redefine their purposes: (1) clarifying definition of purpose; (2) engaging known strengths or skills; (3) exploring new activities or experiences; (4) identifying a beyond-the-self intention that aligned with their purpose; (5) discerning the fit between their passions and interests with their circumstance or plans; (6) determining whether their strengths and skills aligned well with their purpose; and (7) integrating their passions into their beyond-the-self intention. A supplemental theme was added that outlines researchers' observations about the features of participants' purpose.

Recognition that schools should be responsive to children who are impacted by adversity and trauma is burgeoning internationally. However, consensus regarding the necessary components of a trauma-informed school is lacking. This research developed expert-informed and internationally relevant best-practice trauma-informed principles for schools. A four-phase methodology included (i) identification of school-relevant trauma-informed practice programs, (ii) inductive thematic analysis of the main concepts underlying programs, (iii) phrasing of draft Principles and (iv) Principle revision and finalisation via a two-round Delphi survey with international experts. Excellent agreement by experts on the importance of all Principles was achieved (round 1 [greater than or equal to] 86.4%, 2 [greater than or equal to] 92.3%). The final 'International Trauma-Informed Practice Principles for Schools' (ITIPPS) include four Overarching (A-D) and 10 Practice Principles (1-10). Summarised, these include that the school: (A) is student focussed; (B) models compassion and generosity; (C) is understanding and responsive; (D) incorporates recognition of their First Nations peoples in the school's ethos: (1) prioritises safety and wellbeing; (2) models positive relationships; (3) provides a positive culture and connects; (4) consults and collaborates; (5) supports vulnerable students; (6) teaches social and emotional learning; (7) provides trauma-informed practice training; (8) is predictable yet flexible; (9) identifies and nurtures strengths and (10) reflects, changes and grows. The ITIPPS provide clear guidance for education sectors, schools and other settings about appropriate learning environments for children and young people impacted by trauma. Research is now underway in Western Australian schools to pilot test the feasibility and impact of using the ITIPPS within a framework (thoughtfulschools.org.au) to establish trauma-informed schools.

A community of practice (COP) can offer learning and support as a group of people who come together to share concerns, best practices, or new knowledge about some shared interest or passion. However, creating or joining a COP may present challenges, especially for those whose networks are relatively undeveloped. In this article, we define a COP and share how vicarious learning and crowdsourcing, as pragmatic, relational, and information-gathering processes, offer important benefits to teaching and learning COPs. After discussing how vicarious learning and crowdsourcing can be extended within a COP, we offer specific theory-to-practice learning ideas and suggestions. We end the article with brief insights for other management educators about our own COP experiences.

The manufacturing industry in Europe is currently enfacing one of its greatest challenges due to the emission reductions needed to reach carbon neutrality by the middle of this century. The European Union’s Energy Efficiency Directive and Green Deal will force manufacturing industries to significantly reduce their present energy consumption, but at the same time sustain their competitiveness globally. Here we use the Latvian manufacturing industry as a case to analyse how different macro-level factors have affected its energy use and how the industrial energy efficiency has progressed during the last decade. We apply the Log-Mean Divisia index decomposition method to decompose the energy use in the manufacturing subsectors over the period of the past ten years from 2010 to 2019. The findings unravel the key driving factors of industrial energy consumption, which could serve as a valuable basis for effective energy efficiency policymaking in the future. The results show that energy consumption trends differed across industrial subsectors and the effect of industrial energy efficiency improvements was more pronounced in the period following the entry into force of Energy Efficiency Law in Latvia. Significant increases in energy consumption are observed in the two largest Latvian manufacturing subsectors, such as the non-metallic minerals production sector and the wood processing sector, where the current pace of energy efficiency improvements cannot compensate for the effect of increasing industrial activity, which increases overall industrial energy consumption. The results suggest that the Latvian manufacturing industry is at the crossroads of the sustainability dilemma between economic gains and energy saving targets.

It is the responsibility of each member state of the European Union, to prepare a national energy and climate plan and set achievable climate targets and meaningful measures and policies to achieve the targets set. Annex 4 of the Latvian National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030 (hereinafter – NECP) provides an overview of policies and measures to achieve the climate targets. The NECP does not provide information on the impact of the policies or which measures are more important and which are less crucial Similarly, the measures in Annex 4 of the NECP were not determined by industry experts but by ministry officials, therefore, it is not clear whether the proposed measures will achieve the set climate targets, a point also made by European Commission in its evaluation report on NECP. The aim of the study is to develop a tool for the early assessment of the impact of energy and climate policy measures. The study developed a methodology to pre-assess the impacts of the policies identified in the NECP, impacts were described by measures effectiveness and stage of development. With this methodology, it is possible to assess the impact of energy policies using indicators to characterize the effectiveness of the policy and the level of development. The study confirmed that both the multi-criteria analysis and composite index method can be used as methods. The results showed that high impact measures were related to the promotion of energy efficiency in buildings, but low impact measures were comprehensive horizontal measures such as measures related principle ‘energy efficiency first’ and review of energy efficiency obligation schemes. The indicators with the highest impact on sustainability rate were possible side effects and transparency of policies.

Preventing young people's cigarette smoking is a major public health priority, and smoking is especially prevalent in vocational schools. Well-enforced comprehensive school tobacco policies accompanied by preventive efforts show potential to reduce smoking, but the implementation process is crucial to achieve the intended effect. We investigate whether and how implementation fidelity of a multi-component smoking prevention intervention impacted student smoking outcomes after 4-5 months among students in Danish vocational education and training (national age range 15-65 years, mean 25.6) and preparatory basic education (national age range 15-25 years, mean 17.6) institutions using questionnaire data from a cluster-RCT. The intervention included a smoke-free school hours policy, educational curriculum, and class competition. We calculated an overall implementation fidelity measure combining staff-reported school-level delivery (fidelity) and student-reported receipt (participation, responsiveness), and used multilevel regression models to analyze associations with smoking outcomes (smoking daily, regularly, and during school hours). We supplemented the analysis with restricted cubic spline regression. Additionally, we stratified the analyses by school types and analyzed associations between implementation fidelity of the separate intervention components and smoking outcomes. High implementation was associated with lower odds of regular smoking (OR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.18-0.78) and smoking during school hours, but not daily smoking, and these associations varied between the school settings. When analyzed separately, implementation fidelity of the components did not affect the outcomes significantly. Our findings underline the need to support the implementation process of school tobacco policy interventions to ensure the intended effects of reducing students' smoking.

The paper presents research from a Danish large-scale and collaborative initiative for systematically developing teacher education 'Teacher education as a laboratory for developing excellent teaching and education' (LULAB). Framed by this initiative, local teacher educators and student teachers are, in collaboration with teachers and students from partner-schools, experimenting with developing, analyzing, and sharing teaching approaches in teacher education. Hence, LULAB is an institutional strategic top-down initiative aimed to support the development of professional skills among student teachers and teacher educators, with supportive leadership for bottom-up changes from the microlevel projects. Inspired by design-based research, the findings are used iteratively to inform the organization of LULAB. Data are collected following a sequential mixed methods strategy, with questionnaires and multiple qualitative data. Findings from the first year of the LULAB initiative indicate a growing awareness among teacher educators about the co-developing role of student teachers being something distinctive for LULAB. Both teacher educators and student teachers emphasize their perceived professional outcomes. The student teachers refer in particular to insights from being invited into the machine room of teacher education and inspiration for their future work as teachers. However, there are also challenges involved in developing a culture of inquiry, and possibilities for support from the leadership looking forward are discussed.

Abstract Achieving net-zero climate targets requires some level of carbon dioxide removal. Current assessments focus on tonnes of CO2 removed, without specifying what form these removals will take. Here, we show that countries’ climate pledges require approximately 1 (0.9–1.1) billion ha of land for removals. For over 40% of this area, the pledges envisage the conversion of existing land uses to forests, while the remaining area restores existing ecosystems and land uses. We analyse how this demand for land is distributed geographically and over time. The results are concerning, both in terms of the aggregate area of land, but also the rate and extent of land use change. Our findings demonstrate a gap between governments’ expected reliance on land and the role that land can realistically play in climate mitigation. This adds another layer to the observed shortcomings of national climate pledges and indicates a need for more transparency around the role of land in national climate mitigation plans.

The authors investigated the outdoor physical play of Norwegian first graders in after-school programs using a study that viewed play from the children's perspective. The authors identified three themes of the physically active play they observed--"playing with friends," "no one decides," and "I can do it." Their findings highlight the dynamic importance of such play, especially of child initiation in play and of playing with other children. The physical outdoor play fostered fun and playful interaction, leading both to improved communication and movement capabilities. The authors discuss their findings in relation to Scott Eberle's theoretical understanding of play, findings that indicate the complex conditions that support and extend children's play in after-school programs and the need to recognize them.

The Microbiology Concept Inventory is an assessment tool derived from the fundamental statements created by the American Society for Microbiology. This two-tier, multiple-choice question inventory requires students to choose the most correct answer for each question and provide a brief justification of their reasoning. Educators can utilize this tool to identify common misconceptions held by students and adjust curriculum to address and prevent the persistence of student misconceptions. Over the course of 5 years, the Microbiology Concept Inventory was annually administered to undergraduate students enrolled in entry-level, mid-level, and senior capstone microbiology courses at a mid-western rural university. Analysis was completed to compare course, year, majors and minors, gender, ethnicity, and cumulative GPA. Results of this study showed a significant difference in Microbiology Concept Inventory scores between students with high cumulative GPAs (3.5-4.0) and students with comparatively lower cumulative GPAs (2.5-2.99, 3.0-3.49). Results between the other demographic categories revealed statistically different scores in favor of white students, but no differences in scores between genders. The results suggest evidence of ethnic bias, but no gender bias as measured by the Microbiology Concept Inventory. Additionally, significant differences in scores across cohorts are indicative of improvements in the curricula due to prior targeted changes. Analysis of concept inventory results can guide curriculum changes for course instructors. Implementation of curriculum changes can enrich students' academic success.