Understanding how pre-service teachers conceptualize inclusive schooling is critical for effective teacher education. The present study examined how 455 pre-service teachers from eight Slovak universities perceive and prioritize eight distinct conceptualizations of an inclusive school, analyzing influences of professional specialization, study mode, and experience with diversity. A quantitative survey, utilizing ratings on a 6-point Likert scale and forced choice ranking, revealed "every child is valued" as the most preferred concept, signaling a strong normative commitment to individual children's worth. "Bottom-up inclusion," emphasizing practical, team-based approaches, also ranked highly. While no significant differences were found across teacher specializations or personal experience with diversity, part-time students showed stronger preference for "bottom-up inclusion" compared to full-time students, who prioritized "every child is valued". These findings suggest that professional experience may shape more practical conceptualizations of inclusion, underscoring the importance of structured reflection alongside practical experience in teacher education. Keywords: inclusive education, pre-service teachers, conceptualizations of inclusive schooling, quantitative survey

This study presents an analysis of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education research in the Philippines, drawing from 251 documents published between 1959 and 2025 retrieved from the Scopus database. Using data from the Scopus database and visualization tools such as VOSviewer, the study explores publication trends, intellectual structures, thematic patterns, and the evolution of research priorities over time. Results reveal a marked increase in scholarly output post-2010, peaking in 2024, coinciding with national education reforms, the COVID-19 pandemic, and advances in digital learning. The citation analysis shows a parallel rise in research impact, indicating increasing academic engagement and visibility. Co-citation mapping identifies two core intellectual traditions: empirical, data-driven methodologies centered on assessment and benchmarking, and constructivist learning theories grounded in pedagogical foundations. Keyword co-occurrence analysis yielded five thematic clusters: engineering education and development, student learning in digital environments, pedagogy and teacher preparation, emerging technologies in STEM, and instructional design systems. The overlay visualization underscores a clear thematic evolution from foundational teaching and curriculum concerns toward digital transformation, AI integration, and learner-centered innovation. The study further highlights the underrepresentation of regional State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), underscoring the need for more inclusive and decentralized research development. The findings suggest that STEM education research in the Philippines is transitioning into a mature, future-ready domain, increasingly responsive to both global trends and localized educational needs. Keywords: bibliometric analysis, co-citation analysis, digital learning, educational policy, STEM education

Gifted students gain the right to receive education outside of school at the Science and Art Centers (SACs) affiliated with the Ministry of National Education and begin to receive education in these institutions in Turkiye. However, after a while, it is seen that gifted students drop out of SACs. The purpose of this research is to examine the reasons why gifted students drop out of SACs. For this purpose, the study group consists of 26 primary and upper-secondary school students who were entitled to SACs in the Black Sea region, attended for at least one year and then dropped out. The study group was formed by criterion sampling. A semi-structured interview form consisting of four questions, one about demographic characteristics and three about opinions, prepared by taking expert opinion, was used as the data collection tool in the study. The obtained data were subjected to content analysis. Depending on the data obtained, student opinions were analyzed under three themes within the perspective of self-determination theory. Regarding SACs dropout, codes have been formed as differentiated education, teacher competency, deep learning, school time, compulsory attendance, and design SACs completely like a school. Keywords: gifted students, dropout, reasons, science and art center, self-determination theory.

Have you ever considered examining the connection between the educational process and the intellectual effort necessary for cognitive development? An interesting topic proposed to take a closer look at. More specifically, to see how education represents a whole complex of brain training, but also to identify the types of cognitive effort involved in this process, as well as how the character of the educable is shaped! On the other hand, an example is provided of how the process of simplification (usually a rather complicated endeavor) can lead to a shallowness of mind.

Due to the sudden closure of the university following a major earthquake, a mathematics education course was rapidly transformed into a fully online, technology-enhanced learning environment, offering a unique opportunity to examine how pre-service middle school mathematics teachers engage with mathematical modeling tasks within a flipped learning framework. Adopting a phenomenological approach, the research involves 51 pre-service middle school mathematics teachers enrolled in a mathematical modeling course in mathematics education. Data were collected through assignments, videos, reports from the Academic Learning Management System, GeoGebra records, and semi-structured interviews. The data obtained from the Academic Learning Management System and GeoGebra were analyzed via descriptive analysis, whereas the semi-structured interviews were examined via content analysis. Pre-service middle school mathematics teachers experienced difficulties in modeling competencies, particularly in applying subject matter knowledge effectively and integrating technology into the modeling process. Technology-enhanced learning environments emerged as a critical support mechanism for fostering the use of content knowledge and promoting mathematical modeling as a problem-solving approach. Structured guidance and the integration of interactive digital tools within flipped learning environments proved to be effective in addressing the challenges encountered during the modeling tasks. Keywords: flipped learning, mathematical modeling, online learning, pre-service mathematics teachers

Identifying elements that enhance student creativity is essential for effective educational design. The rapid adoption of digital educational technologies (DETs) has become a key factor in this process. This study aims to present causal evidence on the impact of teachers’ use of digital technology in education on the creative thinking of 15-year-old students in two countries, characterized by contrasting levels of digital technology integration in upper-secondary school. Propensity score analysis was applied to nationally representative PISA 2022 datasets of Singapore (n=6,606 students in 164 schools) and Morocco (n=6,867 students in 178 schools) to obtain causal estimates conditional on specified confounding factors. This causal inference method, which is infrequently employed in educational research, assesses interventions via observational data, considering temporal precedence, yielding less biased estimates by mitigating disparities between treatment and control groups. The findings showed that DET use at schools did not significantly influence students’ creative thinking in Singapore, and surprisingly, it significantly decreased Moroccan students’ creative thinking. Sensitivity analysis corroborated the robustness of the treatment effect estimates. The generalizability of the results is limited to the genuine educational contexts of the countries. The findings suggest that educational policymakers should be cautious about over-investment and over-reliance on digital technologies without carefully optimizing educational and curricular design for technology-enhanced creativity. Keywords: digital technology, creative thinking, propensity score matching, comparative analysis

This study investigates the level of teachers' moral capital, the factors influencing this perception, and strategies for its development. The research aims to determine teachers' moral capital levels, identify variables affecting their perceptions, and suggest improvements. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining both quantitative and qualitative data. Initially, quantitative data were collected from 291 teachers through the “Moral Capital Scale,” and later, qualitative data were gathered from 20 teachers via semi-structured interviews to deepen the understanding of the findings. The study population consists of teachers working in public schools in Gaziantep during the 2024–2025 academic year. The results show that teachers' perceptions of moral capital differ based on various personal and contextual factors. Key elements associated with higher moral capital perceptions include teachers' respect for their profession, commitment to ethical values, awareness of their role in students’ development, and their ability to serve as moral role models. Additionally, variables such as marital status, age, socio-economic background, and length of service at a school also influence moral capital perceptions. Based on these findings, several recommendations are made: increasing teachers' awareness of moral capital, developing empathy and moral sensitivity, adhering to justice and consistency, utilizing professional development opportunities, enhancing the school climate, and maintaining cultural values and traditions. These strategies aim to strengthen the moral foundation of the teaching profession and contribute positively to educational environments. Keywords: moral capital, teacher ethics, teacher morality

In the face of evolving geopolitical tensions, digital transformations, and the emergence of new civic challenges – such as Russia’s military aggression and the arrival of refugee communities – civic education in Lithuania has become a matter of renewed urgency. While traditionally centered on transmitting political knowledge, civic education increasingly plays a critical role in shaping civic virtues, values, and participatory attitudes. This research is dedicated to a question: how different models of civic education - liberal and communitarian - have influenced Lithuania’s civic landscape since independence, and how these frameworks respond to current societal needs? The study employs a comparative historical analysis of Lithuanian educational policies, civic participation trends, and socio-political contexts, tracing civic education’s evolution from the communitarian mobilization of the Sąjūdis era to a liberal emphasis on individual autonomy and legal-rational governance. Data is drawn from policy documents, curriculum reforms, and secondary analyses of civic engagement indicators in Lithuania from 1990 to the present. Findings reveal that while liberal models have institutionalized civic norms through rights-based education, they often fall short in fostering emotional engagement and community belonging. Conversely, communitarian models encourage solidarity and active citizenship but risk marginalizing individual freedoms. An integrative approach is proposed, combining liberal and communitarian elements to develop a civic education model aligned with Lithuania’s present context, aimed at enhancing democratic resilience, social cohesion, and a participatory civic culture. Keywords: civic education, communitarian model, individual autonomy, liberal model, Lithuania, social cohesion

This study advances a dual-analytical framework examining the heterogeneous associations between social media use and university students' academic adjustment within the Chinese cultural context, integrating Social Cognitive Theory and the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model. Through a mixed-methods approach combining variable-centered moderated mediation and person-centered latent profile analysis (N = 4,216), we identify two critical mechanisms: (1) social anxiety substantially mediates the relationship between social media use and academic adjustment, accounting for a significant proportion of this association, and (2) social self-efficacy moderates this statistical mediation pathway. Person-centered analyses reveal four distinct digital engagement configurations: high-intensity high-efficacy (36%), moderate-high intensity high-efficacy (28%), moderate-low intensity high-efficacy (20%), and low-intensity low-efficacy (16%). Profile-specific statistical mediation analyses demonstrate differential associations across profiles, with the strongest indirect relationship in the low-intensity low-efficacy group and the weakest in high-intensity high-efficacy users. These findings challenge uniform-effect assumptions by demonstrating how psychological resources co-occur with usage intensity to create distinctive associative patterns. While cross-sectional data preclude causal inference, results suggest theoretical and practical implications for understanding configuration-specific relationships between social media engagement and academic functioning. This dual-analytical framework advances theoretical integration of psychological mechanisms and configurational patterns in digital learning environments, potentially informing future longitudinal investigations of adaptation processes in educational technologies. Keywords: social media use, academic adjustment, social anxiety, social self-efficacy, person-centered analysis, cross-sectional design.

Individuals equipped with critical thinking skills are capable of evaluating the consequences of their actions in digital environments and ensuring their personal safety while actively using technology. This study aims to examine the impact of critical thinking practices on reducing the digital footprints of prospective teachers. The research was designed as a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group model. The study group consisted of 66 pre-service teachers enrolled in the fourth year of the Social Studies Teacher Education Program in Türkiye during the fall semester of the 2022–2023 academic year. Over a five-week implementation period, the experimental group (n=32) received critical thinking instruction aimed at minimizing digital footprints, while the control group (n=34) continued with the standard curriculum. Data were collected using the "Survey on Higher Education Students' Use of Digital Media," a semi-structured interview form, and a peer assessment form, all developed by the researchers. The findings revealed a statistically significant improvement in the experimental group regarding digital footprint reduction. Additionally, data obtained from the peer assessments and interviews supported the quantitative findings, demonstrating the positive impact of critical thinking practices. Keywords: critical thinking, digital footprint, pre-service teachers, social studies teaching