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Education is identified as very critical to the achievement of the goals that were specified as strategic to Qatar’s socio-economic progress and development. At the core of the country’s policy plans is the need to develop human capacity as is highlighted in the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030. Not surprisingly, education has been identified as a strategic key to achieving the goals outlined in the QNV 2030. The present exploratory study employed a quantitative research design in order to investigate the factors that are likely to influence the educational aspirations of Qatari students. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Attribution Theory (AT), this study sought to examine students’ aspirations for post-secondary education in Qatar. Data for this study were collected using the Qatar Education Study (QES) survey, which is a nationally representative survey involving K-12 students in the State of Qatar. The analysis of this study’s data revealed that personal and household characteristics play an important role in shaping post-secondary educational aspirations of student participants, including age, nationality, education and employment status, as well as parental influence. Based on the study’s results, statistically significant associations were observed between personal and household variables and students’ aspirations for higher education. This study concludes with relevant recommendations and proposes future studies to explore the potential impact of individual aptitude and contextual factors on student future academic plans.

Service-learning is a community-based learning approach that bridges academic knowledge with practical application through purposeful exploration, action, and reflection. In addition to enhancing academic learning in various disciplines, service-learning cultivates students’ self-awareness, personal values, and social responsibility, preparing them with essential skills for life beyond the classroom. However, due to its experiential nature, service-learning presents challenges for effective assessment. This study provides a concrete example of student reflections structured by the Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, and Decisional (ORID) model in practice. Content analysis was implemented by examining undergraduate students’ end-of-semester reflection papers while volunteering during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The results showed that the model provided a guided and structured format for students to reflect on their service-learning, going beyond reporting on factual details to engaging in profound reflections on the emotional, cognitive, and prospective aspects. Moreover, with the solution aspect added to the model, students could express their creativity, articulating on innovative solutions they proposed to overcome challenges and how they turned the challenges into favorable outcomes. Clearly, the model stands as a powerful tool for educators, offering deeper insights into students’ authentic experiences, fostering comprehensive, critical, and insightful reflection, and thereby facilitating the effective assessment of experiential learning.

In the digital age, the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and higher education (HE) poses novel ethical considerations, necessitating a comprehensive exploration of this multifaceted relationship. This study aims to quantify and characterize the current research trends and critically assess the discourse on ethical AI applications within HE. Employing a mixed-methods design, we integrated quantitative data from the Web of Science, Scopus, and the Lens databases with qualitative insights from selected studies to perform scientometric and content analyses, yielding a nuanced landscape of AI utilization in HE. Our results identified vital research areas through citation bursts, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic clusters. We provided a conceptual model for ethical AI integration in HE, encapsulating dichotomous perspectives on AI’s role in education. Three thematic clusters were identified: ethical frameworks and policy development, academic integrity and content creation, and student interaction with AI. The study concludes that, while AI offers substantial benefits for educational advancement, it also brings challenges that necessitate vigilant governance to uphold academic integrity and ethical standards. The implications extend to policymakers, educators, and AI developers, highlighting the need for ethical guidelines, AI literacy, and human-centered AI tools.

Launched in 2014, Teach for Qatar (TFQ) is a local non-governmental organization under Teach For All (TFALL) that recruits and prepares graduates and professionals as teaching fellows in the Qatari government schools. This qualitative exploratory study used semi-structured interviews to identify TFQ Fellows’ challenges they faced and the resources available during their teaching in Qatar’s Government Schools. Findings indicate that these TFQ Fellows experienced similar challenges that TFALL participants face worldwide and regional, including unreal expectations, unexpected workloads, and unmotivated and unprepared students. It was reported that TFQ provides a comprehensive and valuable resource and support system that enabled these individuals to complete their 2-year commitment. The discussion offers additional insights into the TFQ program and how these findings might benefit teacher education programs and programs like TFQ.

While leadership development is acknowledged as essential for institutional growth in the higher education sector, it remains poorly understood and under researched both empirically and theoretically. Although knowledge in this area is growing in western contexts, there is little published data from the Arabic speaking world. This article addresses this gap by reporting on a Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) funded research project which aimed to explore academic middle leaders' experiences of leadership and leadership development in Qatar. Drawing on semi structured interviews with 17 academic middle leaders, an integrated systems model for understanding leadership development in Qatar is proposed, based on three inter-related systems: intrapersonal, relational, and institutional. This model has clear implications for future leadership development policy and practice, which it is argued needs to acknowledge the nuanced and complex leadership behaviours and interactions that are required to run academic departments successfully.

Service-learning is a community-based learning approach that bridges academic knowledge with practical application through purposeful exploration, action, and reflection. In addition to enhancing academic learning in various disciplines, service-learning cultivates students' self-awareness, personal values, and social responsibility, preparing them with essential skills for life beyond the classroom. However, due to its experiential nature, service-learning presents challenges for effective assessment. This study provides a concrete example of student reflections structured by the Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, and Decisional (ORID) model in practice. Content analysis was implemented by examining undergraduate students' end-of-semester reflection papers while volunteering during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The results showed that the model provided a guided and structured format for students to reflect on their service-learning, going beyond reporting on factual details to engaging in profound reflections on the emotional, cognitive, and prospective aspects. Moreover, with the solution aspect added to the model, students could express their creativity, articulating on innovative solutions they proposed to overcome challenges and how they turned the challenges into favorable outcomes. Clearly, the model stands as a powerful tool for educators, offering deeper insights into students' authentic experiences, fostering comprehensive, critical, and insightful reflection, and thereby facilitating the effective assessment of experiential learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the digital age, the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and higher education (HE) poses novel ethical considerations, necessitating a comprehensive exploration of this multifaceted relationship. This study aims to quantify and characterize the current research trends and critically assess the discourse on ethical AI applications within HE. Employing a mixed-methods design, we integrated quantitative data from the Web of Science, Scopus, and the Lens databases with qualitative insights from selected studies to perform scientometric and content analyses, yielding a nuanced landscape of AI utilization in HE. Our results identified vital research areas through citation bursts, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic clusters. We provided a conceptual model for ethical AI integration in HE, encapsulating dichotomous perspectives on AI's role in education. Three thematic clusters were identified: ethical frameworks and policy development, academic integrity and content creation, and student interaction with AI. The study concludes that, while AI offers substantial benefits for educational advancement, it also brings challenges that necessitate vigilant governance to uphold academic integrity and ethical standards. The implications extend to policymakers, educators, and AI developers, highlighting the need for ethical guidelines, AI literacy, and human-centered AI tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Assessment of the severity of substance use disorders (SUDs) in a culture-sensitive manner can help gauge the current condition of the substance user and assess change with time. The present study aimed to develop a scale for the assessment of the severity of SUDs in the Indian clinical context. Methods: Based upon the review of literature on previously available instruments and a consultative meeting of experts, a clinician-rated scale was developed that finally comprised 41 items. A briefer 5-item scale with current and lifetime versions was also developed. The scales were applied to patients with SUDs at six different clinical sites. Results: The instrument was applied to 720 patients (98.2% males, mean age: 34.6 years). The Cronbach’s alpha of the full scale was 0.852. The inter-rater reliability Pearson correlation coefficient of the full-scale was r = 0.821 (P < 0.001), and the intra-class correlation coefficient single measure was 0.800 (95% confidence interval: 0.724–0.956). A four-factor solution was suggested to be the most tenable. The mean application duration of the full scale was 13.4 minutes, and that of the briefer version was 2 minutes. Conclusion: This validated scale could be a potentially useful assessment measure for the severity of SUDs in the Indian context. The utility lies in the simplicity of administration and scoring and the balance between brevity and thorough assessment.

IntroductionCancer, particularly breast cancer, is a major contributor to mortality and a significant impediment to life expectancy. In 2020, breast cancer accounted for 11.7% of all cancer cases and caused approximately 685,000 deaths worldwide, surpassing lung cancer in prevalence. The study aims to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on breast cancer awareness among pharmacy students by comparing their understanding before and after the program.MethodA pre-post quasi-experimental study was designed to assess knowledge and awareness of breast cancer, breast self-examination (BSE) practices, and attitudes toward breast cancer among female university students in Karachi, Pakistan. Participants completed a pre-session questionnaire, attended an awareness workshop and video tutorial, and then completed a post-session questionnaire 2 weeks later.ResultsOf 1,200 participants, 1,015 of them completed both the pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Key demographic features included 83.9% of the participants being in the 18–24 age group, 26.8% being married, and only 14.2% having a family history of breast cancer. Before the intervention, 60.7% of the participants were not involved in regular breast self-exams due to a lack of awareness. Post-intervention results showed a significant increase in awareness, with 35.9% rising to 94.9%. The use of screening methods increased from 46.7 to 94.8%. Knowledge of breast cancer improved from 51.2 to 96.7%, and the general perception rose from 48.2 to 93.4%. Attitudes toward self-examination also shifted positively, indicating a significant change in perception.Interpretation and conclusionThe study concludes the baseline knowledge of breast cancer among female students was inadequate but improved significantly from over 40% to over 90% following the educational intervention. The intervention positively influenced the general perception and attitudes toward breast cancer. These findings highlight the need for regular educational sessions to enhance awareness, improve healthcare outcomes, and reduce mortality rates, particularly in developing countries.