The global shift towards Competency-Based Education (CBE) highlights an increasing emphasis on equipping learners with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for adaptability, employability, and lifelong learning. Central to this agenda is career guidance, which helps learners connect competencies to future educational and occupational paths. In Kenya, the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) was introduced in 2017 to replace the 8-4-4 system, incorporating "career and life skills" as a cross-cutting competency. However, the integration of career guidance remains inconsistent, mainly due to deficiencies in teacher preparedness, resource limitations, and policy ambiguities. This study, based on a desktop review of global and Kenyan literature, examines teacher preparedness to incorporate career guidance into CBE. The findings reveal that while international models such as Finland’s transversal competencies and U.S. Career and Technical Education programs demonstrate successful alignment, Kenya faces challenges in professional development, assessment alignment, and systemic coordination. The lessons suggest the need for sustained teacher training, explicit curriculum–career mapping, resource provision, and employer engagement. The paper concludes that integrating career guidance within CBE is crucial for fostering learner agency, career maturity, and transition readiness, and recommends targeted reforms and further research to enhance practice in Kenya.

This study examines an inclusive education course’s impact on 111 Arab-Israeli preservice teachers’ attitudes and practices. Given the limited research on this population, it addresses a gap in understanding how cultural context influences teacher preparation. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the research investigates how attitudes influence inclusive practice intentions. Results reveal significant positive attitude shifts toward inclusion and diversified teaching methods. Participants prioritized academic and behavioral domains, indicating a nuanced understanding. This study contributes to research on Arab-Israeli preservice teachers’ inclusive education responses, offering insights for teacher preparation.

This study analyzes the impact of Serve the City Kenya’s (STC Kenya) visit to G.K. Prison in Nairobi on volunteers’ attitudes and perceptions regarding social responsibility and environmental practices. The visit, conducted on December 4, 2024, sought to assess how engagement with inmates influences volunteers in line with Serve the City International’s core values, which include humility, compassion, courage, respect, love, and hope, while exploring how volunteerism can foster sustainable environmental behaviors within correctional facilities. Using a pre- and post-visit quantitative survey design, data were collected from 20 volunteers, with 12 pre-visit and 10 post-visit responses analyzed. Findings revealed that 75% of volunteers reported increased empathy, open-mindedness, and appreciation for others' dignity following the visit. Additionally, over 80% agreed that inmates would benefit from environmental education and that small, consistent actions can promote sustainability. The study concludes that volunteerism in prison contexts not only enhances participants’ personal and moral growth but also creates pathways to promote environmental stewardship as part of inmate rehabilitation. Recommendations include integrating environmental education into volunteer programs and expanding partnerships between correctional institutions and community-based organizations for sustainable transformation.

While studies have linked culturally responsive teaching to positive student outcomes, developing teachers’ dispositions and practice for culturally responsive teaching remain challenging. This study investigates the antecedents and conditions that facilitated increases in culturally responsive dispositions among middle school teachers following the summer of 2020. Using survey data from 533 middle school teachers and follow-up interviews with 15 teachers, the study explores changes in teachers’ personal commitments to culturally responsive teaching and examines factors influencing their increased attention to race and equity. The findings have implications for developing teachers with the commitments to advance equity and inclusivity in schools.

This study investigates the perspectives of pre-service and newly qualified elementary teachers on the use of comics in science education. Drawing on interviews with 19 participants, it reveals positive views of comics as engaging and inclusive tools that support conceptual understanding and student competencies. However, their effective use is seen as dependent on careful pedagogical planning and contextual adaptation. Participants identified external barriers, such as limited resources, curriculum constraints, and time pressure, as well as internal challenges, including traditional beliefs and insufficient training. The findings highlight the need for investment in teacher education and resources to support meaningful comic integration.

Little is known about how postsecondary students experience instructors’ disclosures of mental illness and/or neurodiversity in the classroom. This exploratory study queried students’ ( n = 330) understandings of how these revelations shaped their perceptions of disclosing instructors, behavioral intentions, and attitudes toward mental illness. Most students reported that instructors’ disclosures had positively influenced their perceptions of these educators and their attitudes toward mental illness. In addition, lower mental health stigma predicted more positive perceptions of, and behavioral intentions toward, these instructors. Implications for instructors, students, and postsecondary institutions are discussed. Study limitations and suggestions for further research are also delineated.

This mixed-methods study examined the impact of Transcendental Meditation (TM) on stress and burnout among bilingual teacher-leaders. Sixty-two educators were randomly assigned to TM or waitlist control groups. Quantitative results showed significant reductions in emotional exhaustion, perceived stress, and mood disturbance for the TM group. Qualitative findings, interpreted through Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth framework, revealed that meditation enhanced access to cultural assets (i.e., familial, linguistic, and resistant) that supported well-being. Rest emerged as a form of resistance. This study expands CCW theory and offers evidence for the effectiveness of culturally responsive wellness practices in sustaining educators of color.

This paper explores the lived experiences of six South Asian Bangladeshi and Indian international doctoral students using a phenomenological approach, guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (EST). The study has one central research question: How do South Asian Bangladeshi and Indian international doctoral students experience their transition to higher education institutions in the U.S.? The findings identified four themes that influence the lived academic experiences of these students. The study underscored the institutional commitment to integrating the experiences of these marginalized student subgroups, developing relevant measures that address their specific needs, and fostering an inclusive campus climate.

This qualitative study examined factors influencing teacher retention in the post-pandemic context using hope theory. Participants were tenured elementary teachers who intended to remain in the profession. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed using deductive coding aligned with Snyder’s components of hope: goals, pathways, agency, and support. Findings indicated that all components of hope were present across narratives of increased and diminished hope. Teachers shared long-term goals, described strategies for navigating barriers, emphasized professional agency, and highlighted collaborative grade-level teams. Implications highlight the value of strengthening goal-setting practices, flexible pathways, collaboration, and autonomy to support teacher retention during ongoing and future challenges.

Past research typically assumes that an instructor is either a high school or college instructor, but not both. However, some educators work across institutional levels, teaching dual enrollment courses or holding positions in both high school and college. To better understand these educators, we conducted a qualitative study on their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). Here, we discuss our qualitative survey, data collection, coding, and major themes from these educators’ self-reported practices. We conclude with a practical suggestion to reframe our view of PCK as collective knowledge within an educational ecosystem rather than an individual teacher’s responsibility.