Learning Community Research Articles

Entering the agricultural education professorate: Hiring authorities’ perceptions of tenure-track faculty needs

The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the competencies needed by first-year, tenure-track faculty in the profession of agricultural education and its related specializations (i.e., teacher education, Extension education, leadership development, and agricultural communication) as perceived by hiring authorities. The expert panel was composed of 31 individuals across 25 states who were hiring authorities of agricultural education faculty. At the completion of the third round, there were a total of 52 competencies that reached consensus with the panel. The competencies were situated into three thematic categories: (a) professional skills, (b) technical skills, and (c) personal attributes. A visual framework, including the competencies, categories, and subcategories is presented. We recommend that this framework be used by graduate programs of agricultural education and related specializations as a potential framework for evaluating their programming. The time is ripe for a profession-wide conversation around the development and preparation of future faculty, and how to establish a community of scholars. Future research should be conducted to examine the best practices, such as mentorship and collaboration, to sustain and support faculty over their career and how such practices may be effectively implemented across the agricultural education professorate.

Challenges in building scholarly knowledge graphs for research assessment in open science

Abstract Open science has revolutionized scholarly communication and research assessment by introducing research data and software as first-class citizens. Scholarly knowledge graphs (SKGs) are expected to play a crucial role in generating research assessment indicators being able to aggregate bibliographic metadata records and semantic relationships describing all research products and their links (e.g., citations, affiliations, funding). However, the rapid advance of open science has led to publication workflows that do not adequately support and guarantee the authenticity of products and metadata quality required for research assessment. Additionally, the heterogeneity of research communities and the multitude of data sources and exchange formats complicate the provision of consistent and stable SKGs. This work builds upon the experience gained from pioneering and addressing these challenges in the OpenAIRE Graph SKG. The aim is twofold and broader. First, we identify obstacles to the creation of SKGs for research assessment caused by the state-of-the-art publishing workflows for publications, software, and data. Second, we describe repurposing SKGs as tools to monitor such workflows to identify and heal their shortcomings, taking advantage of tools, techniques, and practices that support the actors involved, namely research communities, scientists, organizations, data source providers, and SKG providers, to improve the Open Science scholarly publishing ecosystem.

Incremental Growth through Professional Learning Communities of Math Teachers Engaged in Action Research Projects

This study investigates the experiences of a professional learning community (PLC) composed of six secondary math teachers enrolled in a graduate math methods course. Through the discussion of educational texts and collaborative inquiry, the teachers identified classroom challenges they aimed to address through individual action research projects. The PLC provided a supportive environment for teachers to share their processes, receive peer feedback, and collectively reflect. This study underscores the value of action research and PLCs in driving educational improvement. By engaging in structured inquiry within a collaborative setting, teachers gained insights into pedagogical issues, developed targeted incremental interventions, and contributed to the broader discourse on math education pedagogy. The collaborative PLC model facilitated reflective practice, challenged assumptions, and empowered teachers as agents of change. Implications for teacher professional development, instructional practices, and future research directions are discussed.

Facilitating conversations about race: staff views on the importance of accountability and trust in a student-led project

ABSTRACT Significant conversations provide a private and safe space for teachers to develop their thinking about teaching and learning. These conversations are important to academic development but may be limited by their privacy, although Roxå & Mårtensson noted that it was possible to create a culture which led to extended networks. This study explores how the concept of such conversations can be developed further to contribute to institutional change and the development of inclusive learning communities. Led by students of colour, a project, ‘The Big Change’, was designed to provide an empowering space for open and non-judgemental conversations between students and staff about the experiences of student of colour in a modern university. The paper explores the experiences of the staff (N = 15) who participated in online focus groups in which they explored their experiences of the project and the complexities of vulnerability and public discourses. Within these focus groups we provided a space for conversations in which trust and accountability were identified as key factors for meaningful change, particularly in a sensitive area of work such as anti-racism. This approach, based on student-led interventions plus safe conversations, provides a model for facilitating cultural change within higher education.

Cultivating a female presence in the early eighteenth-century learned community

Cultivating a female presence in the early eighteenth-century learned community

Managing Personalization and Collaboration in Education: A Systematic Review of Educational Practices

This systematic literature review analyzes 20 carefully selected documents from the Scopus database. This study explores ways that align with Islamic educational management's principles to balance personalized learning outcomes and community empowerment in academic settings. The selection of documents is based on relevance to the focus and recent developments in Islamic education. The qualitative analysis method uses thematic coding and VOS Viewer. The analysis results indicate that Islamic approaches like collaboration, reflection, and feedback can achieve balanced learning outcomes. Collaborative filtering helps select learning materials according to student's needs, while reflection and feedback strengthen positive interactions and ukhuwah within the learning community. In addition, computer-based learning and e-learning allow students to learn at their own pace. A flexible curriculum allows for adjustments to students' interests by the principle of taysir (making it easy). These findings recommend that educational institutions integrate a multifaceted approach to create an inclusive, adaptive, and Islamic-oriented learning environment.

A. B. Ranovich’s “Essay on the History of Ancient Hebrew Religion” in the Context of Disputes about the Formation Stage of Ancient Eastern Societies (Late 1930s – Early 1940s)

The article analyzes the materials of the discussion of the monograph by A. B. Ranovich, “Essays of the History of the Ancient Hebrew Religion”, submitted in 1939 for defense as a doctoral thesis. These materials, previously held in the archives of the USSR Higher Attestation Commission, have not been widely circulated in the scholarly community. It is imperative to introduce these materials into academic discourse to aid in the study of the development of Soviet historical science. The materials shed light on A. B. Ranovich’s role in advancing the Soviet model for studying early Christianity. They reveal that his initial attempt to obtain the degree of candidate of sciences was unsuccessful in 1935, and he finally attained the degree in 1938. In March 1939, he successfully defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences at a meeting of the Academic Council of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. Moreover, the materials illustrate the intricate process of forming the Soviet canon of formation theory and the functioning mechanisms of the community of Soviet historians of antiquity. Specifically, Ranovich’s defense of his doctoral dissertation highlights the conflict between Moscow and Leningrad scholars, with both organizational and conceptual dimensions. The critique of Ranovich’s dissertation by V. V. Struve brings to light a new stage of debate on the formational affiliation of ancient Eastern societies, a fundamental question for Soviet historical science in the 1930s. This debate aligns with the longstanding dispute between Academician N. M. Nikolsky and V. V. Struve, wherein the deputy editor-in-chief of JAH took the position of Academician N. M. Nikolsky.

Letters of Historians of the 2nd Half of the 20th Century as a Channel of Scholarly and Business Communications (Based on Letters from Siberia to the Capital)

The article analyzes the letters of specialists in Russian history of the 17th – 19th centuries who sent correspondences to their colleagues in Moscow. The reason these letters are being analyzed is because, due to the distance and communication methods available at the time, correspondence was the main way for Siberian scholars to communicate with the representatives of the important scientific centers, to stay updated on the latest research trends and discoveries. During this era, authors were comparatively unrestricted in their statements, and their internal and external interactions were diverse and significant. Historians from Siberia and Moscow used to correspond on scientific and organizational matters through letters. The topics of discussions included participation in scientific conferences, invitations, opportunities for business trips, publications, cooperation, and reviews. The scholars shared their professional thoughts, ideas, and plans, characterized the sources they found and analyzed, expressed hypotheses and explained preliminary conclusions, reported the outcomes of research, and sometimes talked about the progress in their research projects and the development in their understanding of scientific problems. The letters often described events in the scientific careers of the authors. The content and emotional tone of the correspondence were significantly influenced by the author's character and relationship with the addressee. The letters often contained information of both scientific and personal nature. Sometimes, Siberian scientists requested assistance and help from their colleagues from the capital. The article concludes that letters were a reliable and effective communication channel among the professional community of historians. They were used to convey scientific, business, and occasionally personal information. The recipients of these letters were typically scholars from Moscow who were older in age and higher in status. As a reference group, they played a significant role in determining the specifics of the letters addressed to them.

Digital academic platforms: Case studies of CEE (Hungary and Slovakia)

Present study evaluates the prevalence and academic usage of digital academic platforms exemplified by private universities across Hungary and Slovakia, assessing how these platforms are integrated into academic practices and highlighting certain variations in technological adoption within the CEE region. After the setting up of the relevant typology and by utilizing a dual-methodological approach, the regional e-visibility of the leadership of certain faculties is examined, while specific user motivations are also explored in a narrower sense through domestic questionnaire-based studies within Hungary. Firstly, by analyzing the use of certain i) academic social netowrking sites (hereinafter ASNSs); ii) author profiles linked to publishers; and databases without social functions at private universities and juxtaposing these with the experiences of Slovak institutions, the research highlights how these platforms are utilized to enhance research visibility and academic networking. Secondly, findings are meant to indicate that while DAPs are widely valued for facilitating scholarly communication in Hungary, localized academic cultures and individual motivations significantly shape their application.

Twelve tips for creating a works in progress conference that builds capacity for educational scholarship and creates a scholarly community

Educators have implemented various strategies to build capacity for education scholarship, and often, these strategies focus on a specific set of interested individuals. We perceived a need for a strategy to engage a health professions education community with peer support. The purpose of these 12 tips is to describe an approach in place for nearly two decades that concurrently advances education scholarship and fosters a community that welcomes novices to experts. The approach is based on principles that not only build capacity and community but also stress the importance of alignment with the institution’s missions. The tips guide setting up, conducting, and sustaining such an approach.

An Examination on the Planning and Practice of Bilingual Education in Primary and Secondary Schools in Taiwan

Over the past few years, several reforms in language education have been outlined to implement the full-scale bilingualization of the education system in Taiwan. Among the 3392 public primary and secondary schools, nearly one-third of them have been implementing bilingual education in certain subjects. The vast majority of these schools have adopted Immersion, CLIL, or EMI as models for bilingual education. It has been argued that these exotic models cannot be “transplanted” to the education context of Taiwan, and he proposes the FERTILE model. Adopting this model as the theoretical framework, this qualitative study aims to examine how school practitioners plan and practice bilingual education in Taiwan. Data were collected through the document analysis of the progress reports from thirty-five primary and secondary schools and three focus group discussions (FGDs) with nine subject teachers. The findings show that the participants made considerable efforts to construct a bilingual environment and have an identical understanding about the strategies for bilingual instruction that emphasize subject knowledge and students’ comprehension. However, the participants experienced a diverse ecology of bilingual teacher learning communities and received differential support from the principals. Qualified and stable teaching manpower was identified as the key to sustain bilingual education. Implications to different education stakeholders are also discussed.

Reflecting on Current State and Future Research of Empathy Assessment and Development within the Game- Based Learning Community

There are decades of growing interest in social-emotional learning (Muravevskaia, 2023; Hoffman, 2009). According to the founders of the SEL concept, Cherniss, Goleman, et al. (2006), SEL is “the process of acquiring a set of social and emotional skills—self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making within the context of a safe, supportive environment.” One of the most popular SEL frameworks is CASEL (2003), which includes five aspects: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, decision-making skills, and relationship skills. The social awareness aspect includes competencies related to empathy: (taking others’ perspectives, demonstrating empathy, and showing concern for the feelings of others). Empathy is widely used and mentioned in SEL and other literature across the research fields of game-based learning, design research, social psychology, neuroscience, affective computing, artificial intelligence, educational technologies, and others. Design thinking methodology and user experience research claim empathy is the first step in user research and developing multiple tools and measures (Dorst, 2011; Wright, 2008). Virtual reality is suggested as an “empathy machine” and promoted as a good tool for empathy development (Ventura, 2020). Affective computing works on modeling and measuring empathy in artificial agents to create systems that would scaffold the learning experience using SEL components (Gebhard, 2021). Empathy games are emerging as a new separate sub-domain (Muravevskaia,2023). Such situation multiplies many different definitions, methodologies, and measures for empathy. Such an active and divided interest in empathy across different domains can cause potential research confusion and challenges for educational technology and game-based research communities. We invite the GBL Research community to gather together as an interdisciplinary community to be able to discuss what empathy means for our community, how we define it and which methods use, which role it plays in the GBL, and which emerging future research in this area we envision together.

The impact of generative AI on the scholarly communications of early career researchers: An international, multi‐disciplinary study

AbstractThe Harbingers study of early career researchers (ECRs), their work life and scholarly communications, began by studying generational—Millennial—change (c.2016), then moved to pandemic change (c.2020) and is now investigating another potential agent of change: artificial intelligence (2024–). We report here on a substantial scoping pilot study that looks at the impact of AI on the scholarly communications of international ECRs and, extends this to the arts and humanities. It aims to fill the knowledge gap concerning ECRs whose millennial mindset may render them especially open to change and, as the research workhorses they are, very much in the frontline. The data was collected via in‐depth interviews in China, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Spain and (selectively) the United Kingdom/United States. The data show ECRs to be thinking, probing and, in some cases, experimenting with AI. There was a general acceptance that AI will be responsible for the growth of low‐quality scientific papers, which could lead to a decline in the quality of research. Scholarly integrity and ethics were a big concern with issues of authenticity, plagiarism, copyright and poor citation practices raised. The most widespread belief was AI would prove to be a transformative force and would exacerbate existing scholarly disparities and inequalities.

Field‐specific gold open access dynamics in the Chinese mainland: Overviews, disparities, and strategic insights

AbstractGold Open Access (OA) journals are crucial for scholarly communication, highlighting the need for a thorough evaluation of their academic influence on different research fields. This study leverages the InCites platform to examine article‐level characteristics relating to 22 Essential Science Indicators (ESI) research fields, with a focus on the dynamics of gold OA articles, including gold OA uptake in the Chinese mainland and gold OA adoption in the domestic English‐language academic journal publishing of the Chinese mainland. The findings reveal that disparities in gold OA adoption across 22 ESI fields are more pronounced in the Chinese mainland compared with the world scenario. In the Chinese mainland, there is a significant polarization in gold OA publishing volumes across different ESI fields, particularly in Chemistry, Clinical Medicine, and Engineering. This study builds on the understanding of OA citation advantage (OACA) by incorporating gold OA publishing volume into a two‐dimensional framework, resulting in the development of a “distance” metric. It further categorizes gold OA citation effects into four quadrants: positive citation effects (quadrants A and B) and negative citation effects (quadrants C and D), based on category normalized citation impact (CNCI) and journal normalized citation impact (JNCI) indicators from the InCites database. The findings underscore the importance of developing tailored strategies to address field‐specific challenges and promote gold OA dynamics in the Chinese mainland; while prioritizing high‐quality gold OA journals is essential for fostering gold OA development in the rest of the world.

Professional experience of Chinese international pre-service teachers in Australia’s early childhood education: professional learning and belonging

ABSTRACT International pre-service teachers (PSTs) can struggle to engage with Professional Experience (PE) communities in an Australian Early Childhood Education context. This qualitative case study examines three first-year Chinese international PSTs’ PE in different early childhood settings in Australia. Framed by Bourdieu’s analytical concepts, this paper explores Chinese PSTs’ culturally shaped understanding of PE and mentoring expectations, showing how this dimension of their habitus is differentiated and differentiating. We argue that with a supportive learning community, the rich cultural and linguistic repertoire of international PSTs can add to capital and funds of knowledge of Australian Early Childhood Education.

Use of Social Media and Artificial Intelligence Tools by Online Doctoral Students

Our paper aims to explore how doctoral EdD students in their thesis stage made use of digital technologies, social media (SM), and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. In this study, AI does not involve data on the use of the new generation of AI, which has been introduced in more recent years after this study took place. This paper refers to a 2nd stage qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews collected from research undertaken in 2018 into student use of digital technologies in an online professional doctorate programme. The original study utilised an exploratory case study approach, an online survey (n = 28), and a series of semi-structured interviews (n = 9). This study will add further qualitative findings and perspectives to those that emerged in the previous study. This study will help to provide new insights into the interview data that was used to inform the initial paper resulting from the research in 2018. We argue that the unique characteristics of online doctoral students as both individuals and learners determine the popularity of some digital tools and that, in order to make the best use of the full range available they need to develop new skills and a better understanding of the pedagogy associated with those digital tools and the value they can add to an educational context. This can be achieved through the provision of more systematic coaching and support systems. This in turn will contribute to enhancing students’ feelings of belonging to a real academic learning community and their self-confidence and autonomy as online learners in general and in their performance in a Viva in particular.

In between the neoliberal reality and the humanities imagination: a narrative inquiry of an English major’s identity construction in China

ABSTRACT This study reports an ethnographic case study of a Chinese female English major of a working-class background – Faye (pseudonym) and her English learning and use experience in an elite community in the Chinese context. Drawing on the data collected from a 13-month longitudinal inquiry, the study employs Darvin and Norton’s [2015. ‘Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics.’ Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35:36–56. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000191] model of investment to explore her identity transformation through English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) practices. Findings suggest that Faye’s investment in EFL practices appeared to transform with her evolving perceptions of EFL learning and imagined identities, which were shaped largely under the influence of neoliberal and humanities discourses. The study argues for a critical interrogation of the impact of neoliberalism on EFL learning and humanities education, cautioning against its tendency to constrain identity potentials and sustain structural inequalities. Pedagogical implications are suggested at the end of the article.

Building Inclusive Learning Communities in Multicultural Classrooms: The Role of the CTL Model in Learning Interpersonal Skills

This study explores the effectiveness and challenges of implementing the Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) model in multicultural classrooms, particularly focusing on its impact on interpersonal skills development. The primary aim is to investigate how the CTL model enhances student engagement by connecting academic content to real-world contexts and to identify the barriers that impede its effective application. This research utilized a qualitative approach with a case study method to examine the application of the CTL (Contextual Teaching and Learning) model in building inclusive learning communities and fostering interpersonal skills in multicultural classrooms. The data collection techniques used in this study included interviews, observations, and document analysis. The findings indicate that while the CTL model significantly enhances student engagement and fosters the development of interpersonal skills, its implementation is fraught with challenges. Key obstacles include insufficient teacher training, misalignment with existing curriculum standards, limited resources, and institutional barriers such as rigid schedules and lack of administrative support. Despite these challenges, the research highlights the importance of sustained professional development and a supportive learning community to overcome these barriers. By addressing these issues, educators can better leverage the CTL model to create inclusive and effective learning environments. Overall, this study underscores the potential of the CTL model to transform teaching practices and improve student outcomes in multicultural settings. It calls for a concerted effort to provide the necessary support and resources for educators to implement the CTL model successfully, thereby enhancing educational experiences and fostering inclusive learning communities.

Diversity and Grit: First-Generation College Students in Online Degree Programs

ABSTRACT First-generation college students (FGCS) show self-determination and resilience as they seek to become the first within their families to earn a higher education degree. Colleges are beginning to recognize these strengths as they recruit and keep a diverse student population, particularly within the expanding online degree programs. For better insight into FGCS experiences online compared to students enrolled in traditional degree programs, researchers examined a secondary dataset from an anonymous undergraduate survey conducted at a 4-year public university. Among 412 survey respondents who identified as first-generation, 71 were enrolled in online degree programs. This study examines scores on the Grit-S and Social Support scales and student use of campus resources. Results highlight online students’ pattern of self-reliance over seeking outside support. They also had less connection to campus resources. Increased social support can enhance their sense of belonging to the learning community as online FGCS. Improving support for online students starts with collaboration between educators and administrators. Focusing on increasing academic confidence we can develop opportunities for online students to connect virtually with tutors, mentors, peer study groups, and faculty.

What Does It Mean to “Misuse” Research Data?

ABSTRACTIn this panel, we will discuss how “data misuse” is understood across different disciplines, and in particular digital curation, critical data studies, scholarly communication, and algorithmic fairness. The audience will be invited to contribute to the discussion by reporting on their own experience with data misuse, and brainstorming potential interventions to prevent misuse. Controversial reuses of open research data are emerging, including exploitation of marginalized communities, geo privacy violations, and perpetuation of harmful stereotypes. Incidents of data misuse hinder scientific progress and erode public trust, yet defining misuse remains challenging as one community's misuse might be another's best practice. The development of a shared framework to understand when, how, and why misuse of research data occurs can help science stakeholders decide when and how to release crucial research data, evaluate the potential for misuse, and tailor documentation of research data to prevent misuse. Our goal for this panel discussion is to take us a step closer to the development of such a theoretical framework for defining data misuse.