Cooperative Education Research Articles

Teaching Quality Assurance of Chinese-foreign Cooperation Education in Provincial Universities in Western China

Teaching Quality Assurance of Chinese-foreign Cooperation Education in Provincial Universities in Western China

Strategic Evaluation of China’s Foreign Assistance in Vocational and Technical Education: A Case Study of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

This study examines China’s foreign assistance and cooperation strategies in vocational and technical education (TVET) with a focus on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and associated projects. It highlights key initiatives such as the Punjab Tianjin University of Technology and the "Luban Workshop," which reflect China's commitment to advancing vocational education in Pakistan. Through a detailed analysis, the study identifies the effectiveness of these projects in meeting educational needs, the challenges faced, and the strategic alignment with broader initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Pakistan’s Vision 2025. Findings reveal that while significant progress has been made in improving educational quality and infrastructure, challenges remain in sustainability, market alignment, and support mechanisms. The study concludes with recommendations for enhancing future TVET projects, emphasizing the need for robust collaboration, sustainability, and flexibility to address emerging challenges. This research contributes valuable insights into international cooperation in vocational education and offers guidance for policymakers and practitioners involved in similar initiatives.

Сотрудничество психологов, педагогов и родителей в сопровождении школьников при подготовке к выпускным экзаменам

<p style="text-align: justify;">One of the functions of the psychological service at school is psychological support of graduates in preparation for examination. The results of the survey of students showed that one of the reasons for anxiety and even fear is the topic of the period of preparation for examination and the examination process itself. Together with subject teachers, programs were created, the essence of which is to take into account the psychological aspects of time planning and self-regulation, as well as the content of the preparation plans and stages of work with examination tasks for each of the academic disciplines to be passed by graduates. Another no less “problematic” topic for graduates is the nature of the attitude of significant adults to the way graduates prepare for examination. Within the framework of psychological and pedagogical support of schoolchildren in preparation for the external examination, meetings of psychologist with parents of graduates were held, which were also conducted with the use of interactive methods. Such cooperation of subject teachers, school psychologist and parents has received positive feedback from students of final grades after testing the proposed recommendations on trial tests.</p>

STEM Cooperating Teachers’ Professional Growth: The Positive Impacts of a Year-Long Clinical Residency Collaboration

Teacher residency programs integrate coursework with clinical practice in a year-long residency in which pre-service teachers work under the guidance of a cooperating teacher who has demonstrated excellence in teaching and mentoring. The purpose of this study was to examine the reasons for serving as a cooperating teacher and investigate how clinical residency pre-service teachers promote growth in the professional practice of cooperating teachers as teachers and teacher leaders. In this longitudinal qualitative study, we gathered data through semi-structured interviews and responses to survey questions over a five-year period. Ten STEM cooperating teachers (six female and four male) with 7 to 18 years of full-time teaching experience in biology, chemistry, or mathematics participated. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview transcripts and survey responses. The primary motivation for serving as a cooperating teacher was the desire to share experiences and support new teachers. Cooperating teachers described the following benefits: increased self-reflection and continuing reflective practice; meaningful collaboration with pre-service teachers; learned new teaching strategies to enrich their own teaching practice; improved communication skills; and the impetus to become teacher leaders. These findings support that clinical residency teaching programs are beneficial for STEM cooperating teachers and promote their professional growth.

The Third Plenum of the CCP Central Committee: Factors of Instability and Development Prospects

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee (June 15–18) was one of the central events in China's political life in 2024. The delay for more than six months in holding the plenum increased the sense of growing instability in China's development, caused by the slow economic recovery after the pandemic, as well as the high-profile resignations of Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Defense Minister Liu Shangfu. The technical postponement of the plenum disrupted the procedure for making the most important state decisions typical for the Soviet-type republics. The timing and agenda of the plenum reaffirmed the seriousness of the challenges faced by the Communist Party leadership in the economy and on the international arena. The Communist Party's search for a new model and a new theoretical concept of development is complicated by the need to take into account not only the constantly worsening international situation, the economic difficulties and socio-economic problems, but also the emergence of new productive forces and changes in the mode of production caused by the use of artificial intelligence, digital technologies, etc. The process of searching for new theoretical foundations continued at the plenum, the Decision of which formulated the main provisions for the development of China until 2029. Special attention was paid to the development of innovations, fundamental research, and the development of international cooperation in science and education in order to maintain high economic growth rates. Noticeably less attention was paid to solving social problems and social justice. An important direction of intra-party life was the continuing weakening of the role of the military in the leadership of the party and the political system of the PRC.

Differences in Language Communication Between Chinese and American Cultures

With globalization advancing, intercultural communication has become frequent, making language crucial for cultural exchange. As influential countries, China and the United States exhibit significant cultural differences in their communication styles. Chinese culture values politeness and subtlety, often favoring indirect expression, while American culture emphasizes direct and clear communication. These differences extend to non-verbal communication as well. Understanding and respecting these differences is essential for enhancing cooperation in politics, economy, and education. This paper explores the main differences in language communication between Chinese and American cultures, analyzes the misunderstandings and conflicts these differences cause, and proposes improvement strategies. The goal is to provide insights for intercultural communication, education, and training to cultivate global talents and foster a harmonious international environment. The paper is divided into five parts: the first introduces the relationship between language and culture and the cultural backgrounds of China and the United States; the second analyzes cultural differences in language communication; the third explores misunderstandings and conflicts; the fourth proposes strategies for improving intercultural communication; and the fifth summarizes the findings and suggests future research directions.

Support of Educational Associates and Self-Efficacy for Teacher Cooperation

The aim of this research is to determine the differences in the individual components of self-assessed self-efficacy for teachers' cooperation, taking into consideration whether educational associates provide them with adequate support in working with students with disabilities or not. In addition to the calculation of basic statistical parameters, in data processing, multivariate analysis of variance, t-test and discrimination analysis were used to calculate the differences between the observed groups. The obtained results show the presence of statistically significant differences in separate components of self-assessed self-efficacy for cooperation between teachers, taking into consideration whether educational associates provide them with adequate support in working with students with disabilities or not. The differences are evident both on the manifest and latent levels. However, the variables in which teachers who receive support from educational associates show a higher level of self-efficacy for cooperation mostly relate to administrative-organizational support and freedom of expression of opinion, so it is necessary to better conceptualize this cooperation and its components, as well as the factors affecting it. The contribution of this research is twofold. It consists in acquiring results that allow insight into the structure of self-assessed self-efficacy of teachers working in inclusive conditions in the area of one region in Croatia. On the other side, this work contributes to the interpretation of the possible connection between specific components of teacher self-efficacy for cooperation in inclusive conditions with factors that could influence it when it comes to the support of educational associates.

Mapping local suitability for STEM work-related experiential opportunities in Georgia

Internships, job shadows, cooperative education programs, and other forms of experiential education can play a crucial role in students successfully transitioning from their undergraduate program to a career pathway. We collectively term these opportunities as work-related experiential activities (WREAs). While valuable, students’ access to these experiences can vary based on multiple factors, including their own socioeconomic background, access to social networks, university programs, and geographic context. Little research has been done on the last of these factors, and this paper helps fill this gap by developing a geospatial WREA opportunity index for STEM related opportunities, using census and point-of-interest data to identify census tracts with the greatest rate of WREA opportunity and attractive amenities for students. To do so, we draw on surveys and interviews across multiple college campuses in Georgia, both to identify desirable characteristics for students and to catalog the WREAs they have participated in. This index highlights disparities across college campuses, particularly between those located in metropolitan Atlanta compared to those in smaller cities in the state. This tool provides a way to quantify and visualize those differences in ways that can support investment in programs that help bridge opportunity gaps for students.

Promoting institutional collaboration through a joint project-based learning course: a case study of upper secondary school and university students’ experienced relevance

There is a great need to develop research-based models for supporting collaboration between educational institutions. Collaboration models are needed, for example, to assist the transition from lower educational level to higher education or from higher education to working life. In this research, collaboration was conducted through a joint course between upper secondary school and university, which addressed global challenges by using a project-based learning approach. There is a shortage of research exploring students’ perceptions of collaboration. Therefore, the main purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore the relevance of the joint course for upper secondary school students and university students. The research was guided by the following research question: What kind of relevance did the students experience in the joint project-based learning course? The data were gathered using questionnaires, interviews, and reflective study reports. The data were analyzed via theory-based content analysis, where research-oriented relevance model was used as the analysis framework. The analysis framework enabled categorizing experienced relevance on individual, vocational, and societal dimensions. Altogether, the analysis produced seven relevance categories for upper secondary students and nine for university students. According to the analysis, upper secondary school students felt that the course offered the most on an individual relevance dimension, whereas university students experienced the vocational relevance dimension a the most diverse. As the main conclusion, this research produced new insights on the experienced relevance of upper secondary level and higher education cooperation from the students’ point of view. The acquired knowledge can be useful for everyone developing new cross-institutional collaboration models.

Digital twin technology training and research in health higher education: a review

Healthcare strives to ensure overall physical, mental, and emotional well-being for individuals while managing limited resources efficiently. Digital technologies can offer cost reduction, improved user experience, and expanded capacity. In addition, modern automation technologies, which were implemented in industrial control systems or industrial automation control systems, are essential for ensuring the availability of societies’ critical cyber-physical systems (CPSs) and the services they provide, such as healthcare. This narrative literature review produces information that can be applied when planning and implementing an interdisciplinary biomedical and health informatics (BMHI) master’s education focused on the challenges of digitalization in the health sector. The review results that virtual human twins (VHTs) are revolutionizing healthcare by addressing people’s complex medical problems with real-time monitoring and precision care while digital twin (DT) technology can make the hospital’s operational processes resilient and efficient. Thus, future BMHI education must address these technologies with a multidisciplinary approach, including computer science, information science, engineering, basic sciences, health sciences, socio-behavioral sciences, and ethical, legal, and policy aspects. Collected and cumulative data is essential for cognitive DTs. A prerequisite for this data is information sharing between different CPSs. Better information sharing and the development of scalable cognitive DTs and VHTs, the provision of critical services, quality, and cost-effectiveness, as well as health, safety, and resilience, will improve. Similarities between peoples’ health information exchange and information needed for ensuring the resilience of CPSs exist. Since humans are in many ways more complex than CPSs, security engineers have a lot to learn from VHTs in maintaining the resilience of CPSs. Cross-sectoral research and cooperation with different disciplines are essential for the progress of both human health and the resilience of CPSs. Along with interdisciplinary research cooperation, educational cooperation should also be intensified.

Exploration of Singing Teaching Methods in the Music Classroom

The purpose of this paper is to explore singing teaching methods in the music classroom. Firstly, an overview of singing teaching methods was given, including traditional and modern singing teaching methods and the current status of research at home and abroad. Then, it focuses on exploring four singing teaching methods in the music classroom: practical teaching method, situational teaching method, cooperative teaching method and game teaching method, and analyses their applications and effects in singing teaching. Then, through teaching practice and case studies, these four teaching methods were empirically studied and their teaching effects were evaluated. Finally, the research results of this paper are summarised and future research directions are proposed.

Research on the Dilemma and Path of Mental Health Education for College Students from the Perspective of Home-School Cooperation

With the development of society and the advancement of education, the state has increasingly emphasized the importance of mental health education for college students. Mental health education for college students serves as an effective vehicle for psychological education in universities, with family and school education being the two critical fronts. To ensure the smooth implementation of mental health education for college students, it is imperative for schools and families to collaborate and cooperate closely, thus effectively promoting the healthy growth and comprehensive development of students. Given the current challenges such as inadequate awareness of home-school cooperative education, lack of mechanisms for home-school cooperation, and a singular platform for home-school cooperation, we need to comprehensively improve the overall quality of mental health education by unifying the ideology of home-school cooperative education, establishing a sound mechanism for home-school cooperation, innovating the platform for home-school cooperation, and enriching the content of home-school cooperation.

Status and Prospects of Higher Education Cooperation between China and GCC Countries from the Perspective of the "Belt and Road" Initiative

GCC countries occupy a unique and indispensable position in the Belt and Road Initiative. It is crucial for China and GCC countries to foster humanistic exchanges and support talent development through cooperation in higher education. Since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, China-GCC higher education cooperation has made significant progress, including the initial establishment of cooperation mechanisms, the consolidation of historical foundations in humanities and social sciences exchanges, and the creation of new opportunities for collaboration in science and technology. However, compared to Western countries, China-GCC higher education cooperation remains relatively weak and has substantial room for development. Future efforts can elevate this cooperation by promoting joint educational programs, establishing higher-level mechanisms for humanities exchanges, and deepening collaboration in frontier fields.

A Summer Course in Cancer for High School Students - An Update on Lessons Taught and Lessons Learned.

Previous graduate students and postdoctoral associates from the University of Florida Health Cancer Center, in partnership with the University of Florida Student Science Training Program, implemented a cooperative learning curriculum, providing high school students with a broad overview of cancer topics over six weeks over the summer. However, the ongoing shift in education and training delivery initially necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to many discussions surrounding student autonomy and satisfaction. Furthermore, adapting hybrid and distance learning styles has notably influenced student-led collaboration and critical thinking skills. Here, we report on an update of experiences gleaned from the modified curriculum of this course to accommodate hybrid and cooperative teaching. This pre-post longitudinal observational study evaluated modifications to a cancer biology and therapeutics course. Student performance was assessed using surveys administered before and after the course to determine effectiveness. Student performance tracked over a 7-year period indicated improved cumulative grade averages after modifying the previous curriculum. Post-assessment analysis revealed significant improvements in student benchmark understanding, notably in their ability to define cancer in one sentence (p = 0.0407), identify cancer therapies (p = 0.0040), and recognize cancer hallmarks (p < 0.0001). An increased trend in median response to the likelihood of pursuing cancer research (p = 0.8793) and the possibility of pursuing cancer research (p = 0.4874) were also observed, although not statistically significant. Moreover, feedback from participating students indicated that "the educational activities at the end of class (e.g., escape room, case studies)" and "learning about cancer and getting to work in groups…" the curriculum fostered a positive educational learning environment. Students generally held a positive perception of the course. Post-assessment analysis revealed decreasing trends in students' perception of course difficulty compared to their expectations in the pre-assessment. Constructive feedback centered around fostering collaborative environments, with an observed increase in learner autonomy towards the end of the course, as evidenced by students' growing comfort in leading group case studies and conducting research on topics. We hope that future course directors engage actively and incorporate practical clinical examples for students, especially when introducing or discussing complex issues like cancer.

Advancing Whole-Book Reading Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools by Regional Instructional Cooperation: A Case Study of Yangzhong City in Jiangsu Province of China

For primary and secondary school students, enhancing reading skills at the basic education level is crucial for their lifelong linguistic and cognitive development. However, instructors may find reading teaching, particularly the teaching of whole-book reading, time-consuming and unproductive. This article is a case study of the possibilities of advancing whole-book reading education via regional instructional cooperation, citing the practices of Yangzhong City in China’s Jiangsu province as an example. It also highlights the implications of Yangzhong City’s experiences for popularizing regional instructional cooperation in Chinese language education across the nation.

Teacher instructional practices: untangling their complex relations with self-efficacy, job satisfaction, stress, and cooperation among mathematics teachers

BackgroundTeacher instructional practices play crucial roles not only in shaping the happenings in the classrooms but also in facilitating students’ understanding and success rates in mathematics. However, previous studies on teachers’ factors that bolster or undermine instructional practices often consider the influence of these factors on instructional practices in isolation.ObjectiveOn the contrary, we took an inclusive approach in the present study to quantify and disentangle the complex relationship between self-efficacy, job satisfaction, stress, cooperation, and instructional practices with a focus on mathematics teachers.MethodsWe used structural equation modelling to analyze the generated data from 1,304 Norwegian secondary school mathematics teachers.ResultsThe results showed that teacher self-efficacy contributes the most to teacher instructional practices through direct and mediating effects. It mediates the effects of stress and cooperation on teachers’ practices. The contribution of teacher cooperation to instructional practices supersedes teacher stress while the effect of job satisfaction is not substantial. Also, instructional practices that include frequent use of techniques of cognitive activation, clarity of instruction, and classroom management are more prevalent among female than male mathematics teachers in Norway.ConclusionBy implications, these findings revealed that teacher self-efficacy and teacher cooperation are prime factors which interventions could bring about the desired improvement in classroom practices among mathematics teachers.

The invisible evidence: Digital forensics as key to solving crimes in the digital age

Digital transformation rapidly changes how we live our lives in the post pandemic world. Unfortunately, digital technology is not limited to law abiding organisations and citizens. Criminal organisations and individuals are quick to identify new opportunities with new technologies, and digital transformation is dramatically changing the character of crimes, terror, and other threats. The fast emergence of new crimes is facilitated by possibilities brought by disruptive technologies such as AI, Internet of Things, drones, and cryptocurrencies that can be disastrous tools in the hands of criminals. Consequently, our society needs far better capacity to prevent and investigate criminal acts to protect organisations and citizens. This brings an urgent need to proactively reform digital forensics to significantly increase our capability to meet the strain on society brought by crimes evolving in the digital transformation era. The future of forensic science is already here, characterized by a mix of opportunities and challenges. It is essential to make it harder to effectively use digital technologies for criminal activities, while leveraging the possibilities of digital technologies by those affected, law enforcement agencies, business and organisations. As digital technologies continue to evolve, we need to stay up to date with the latest developments to effectively investigate and prosecute crimes in the digital age. There is an increased reliance on digital evidence, and the amount of heterogeneous digital evidence in criminal cases keep increasing. The forensic science techniques thus become more sophisticated and play an increasingly important role. However, the scientific area is extremely broad, and beyond the capability of most forensic science labs to keep up with the technology forefront development speed. Besides an urgent need to bring up the subject to the political arena, examples of how we can meet the challenges are discussed such as by extending our cooperation, encourage and facilitate cooperation for training and education to handle the extremely broad and rapid development, working out methods for explaining and visualising evidence for the treatment and legal values of digital evidence in prosecution, and cooperation between product developers and crime investigators for swift innovation of digital forensics tools and methodologies for quickly emerging threats. This paper will highlight specific examples where modern digital techniques are used to solve crimes in the physical world as well as crimes committed in the digital domain and discuss how “good AI” can be used to fight “evil AI” and finally touch on the sensitive balance between the increased power of the new digital forensic tools and private integrity.

European Universities, the Highlight of International Cooperation in Higher Education. The Romanian Perspective on EU-CONEXUS

Inter-university cooperation has always been a desideratum of higher education institutions. It has developed at a slower or faster pace, for different reasons, depending on the era. Gradually, this cooperation has become more complex, giving rise to a new concept – the internationalisation of higher education. Supported by the development of technology and the increasing liberalisation of borders, cooperation in education has evolved from bilateral agreements to consortia of universities and eventually to European universities. Created at the initiative of the European Commission in 2017, European Universities are transnational alliances that over the last four years have brought about a paradigm shift in inter-university cooperation. This paper aims to discuss the participation of the Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest (UTCB) in a European consortium, and its contribution to internationalisation at the institutional level. We will try to identify the advantages of being a member of this alliance, as well as the difficulties encountered throughout the cooperation and the means to overcome them.

Based on the integration of production and education, the path of school-enterprise cooperative education for engineering management specialty

Based on the integration of production and education, the path of school-enterprise cooperative education for engineering management specialty

Implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum in Strengthening the Profile of Pancasila Students in Class IV of SD Negeri 8 Juara Barat

This research aims to determine teachers' strategies in implementing the Merdeka curriculum in strengthening the Pancasila profile which teachers carry out in order to form character in students and the obstacles teachers face in strengthening the values of the Pancasila profile. There are phenomena or advantages of schools, namely; there is a character building program for students. The subject of this research is strengthening Pancasila values in students in the dimension of faith, devotion to God Almighty in class IV students at SD Negeri 8 Juara Barat. The method used in this research is a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. And using technical data analysis which includes observation, interviews and documentation. The results of conformity in the field concluded that the implementation of the Merdeka curriculum in strengthening the profile values of Pancasila was carried out through daily refraction and spontaneous refraction or replay. The refraction carried out can help develop students' character in accordance with the dimensions of the Pancasila profile elements. However, with the strategy implemented, there are several inhibiting factors experienced by teachers, namely; The number of obese students or classes, lack of use of learning media, family environment, and lack of teacher cooperation between students' parents. So these factors become obstacles for teachers in instilling character values in students in accordance with the Pancasila profile.