This study investigates the educational opportunities, practices, and challenges faced by Students with Special Needs (SSNs) in mainstream Tamil-medium classrooms in the Kalpitty region of the Puttalam Education Zone. Using a mixed methods design, data were collected from 65 teachers, 5 principals, and 25 parents regarding 51 SSNs through questionnaires, structured interviews, and discussions. Findings indicate that 31% of students have intellectual or comprehension difficulties, 19% have speech impairments, 15% have hearing impairments, and 12% have visual impairments. Emotional factors moderately affected learning for 40.5% of students, while 25.4% demonstrated low classroom engagement. Implementation of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and teacher monitoring was mostly rated medium, and 40% of students had very low access to assistive technology. Principals and parents reported challenges including inadequate facilities, limited teacher training, low parental involvement, and social isolation. Despite these barriers, students received support through individual attention (25%) and praise for small achievements (34%), reflecting efforts to foster inclusion. The study underscores the need for targeted interventions, strengthened teacher capacity, improved infrastructure, and enhanced inclusive practices to ensure equitable learning opportunities and holistic development of SSNs in mainstream classrooms.

ABSTRACT How did the Anglosphere develop through wartime? This paper investigates the cultural educative practices and interactions between the US military and British society during the US deployments to Britain from 1942 to 1945. Specifically, it examines a 1943 training film for the US Armed forces, How to Behave in Britain (aka Welcome to Britain). The film was part of a broader outreach by US and British officials to socialise American soldiers to British society. Utilising ontological security and vicarious identity, as seen through the referents of race, gender/sex and political economy, the film and the broader setting of American troops stationed in Britain illustrates the crucial role of everyday routines for enacting the ontological securities of allies that, nevertheless, in a clash of manners and customs, created ontological insecurities at the same time. This paper suggests that the moral valence of routines for agents and groups may be better understood via the concepts of manners and customs. Thus a working through of tensions within the Anglosphere has implications for its development in the twenty-first century as well.

The development of a methodology for assessing inclusive practices in higher education

The purpose of this study is to examine the types of discourses employed by teachers from different subject areas in a primary school. Designed as a case study within the qualitative research paradigm, the study was conducted with ten teachers working at a public primary school in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Of these participants, eight were classroom teachers, one was an English teacher, and one was a psychological counselor. The teachers’ classroom dialogues were video-recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed deductively. The teachers’ discourses were analyzed using the coding framework of authoritative and dialogic discourses defined by Saglam and Kanadli. The code definitions provided in their framework guided the identification and categorization of discourse types within the classroom interactions. The results showed that classroom dialogues were mostly characterized by authoritative talk. In other words, teachers displayed a statistically significant tendency to use authoritative discourse more often than dialogic discourse. Further to that teachers’ classroom discourse patterns show relative consistency across different subjects, teaching experience, and interaction durations, indicating an overall tendency toward authoritative communication. Based on these findings, the study offers practical implications for improving classroom interaction patterns and provides recommendations for researchers and policymakers aiming to promote more dialogic and student-centered practices in primary education.

Patient-targeted smartphone applications for pain management: A review of brazilian app markets.

The influence of workplace experience and professional education on enhancing empathy among doctors, nurses and healthcare students: A comparative cross-sectional study.

Research on the integration of local culture into mathematics learning has gained growing international attention because of its potential to promote contextual, meaningful, and culturally relevant learning, yet systematic mapping of its scholarly progress and thematic directions is still limited. This study aims to examine the development, research trends, and institutional collaborations in culture integrated mathematics education over the last decade. A bibliometric analysis of 129 Scopus indexed journal articles published between 2015 and 2024 was conducted using VOSviewer 1.6.20 to visualize publication patterns, keyword cooccurrence structures, and collaboration networks. The results show a substantial increase in publications, particularly after 2018, with the highest output recorded in 2024. Thematic mapping identified three dominant clusters: culturally responsive pedagogical strategies, reinforcement of mathematical understanding through indigenous and local knowledge systems, and digital innovations such as augmented reality and STEM based tools supporting cultural preservation and learning. Indonesia emerged as the most prolific contributor, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom, indicating strong regional research engagement supported by international collaboration. Overall, the findings demonstrate the growing significance of culturally grounded mathematics education and provide an empirical foundation for future studies, the development of culturally responsive curricula, and policy formulation aligned with inclusive and multicultural educational practices.

ABSTRACT Dyscalculia, a specific learning disability in mathematics, is linked to deficits in executive functions, yet integrative studies in Arabic-speaking contexts remain scarce. This study examined working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility collectively in children with dyscalculia. Using 64 children (32 per group), advanced techniques including Ridge regression, PCA, and ROC analysis assessed these functions. Both groups demonstrated average intelligence (Raven’s Progressive Matrices), with the dyscalculia group showing profound mathematical deficits across nine arithmetic domains. Significant group differences emerged in all three executive functions (p < .001), with large effect sizes (d = -2.15 to −1.80; r = 0.80), extremely high predictive accuracy (ROC-AUC = 0.999, requiring replication), and significant correlations with mathematical performance (r = .32 to .62, all p < .01). Unexpectedly, no significant mediation was observed (ACME: p > .05), with dyscalculia exerting direct effects, and a significant interaction limited to cognitive flexibility (β = 0.62, p = .043). These findings contribute to understanding executive function architecture in dyscalculia and mark the first integrative analysis in an Arabic-speaking context. Results may support early diagnostic tools and targeted interventions addressing specific executive function deficits, offering potential advancements for educational practices in Arabic-speaking regions, though cross-cultural validation remains essential.

Teaching approaches to delivering pharmacy law content to pre-registration pharmacy students: a global systematic scoping review.

Indwelling tunneled pleural catheters (IPC) have transformed the management of malignant pleural effusions, offering outpatient placement and symptom relief without the need for repeated invasive procedures. Despite their widespread adoption and expansion to nonmalignant effusion management, practice patterns widely vary, and very little is described in the literature regarding patient education practices. A cross-sectional survey was distributed via the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP). The survey assessed demographics, procedural volume, placement techniques, and follow-up practices. Descriptive statistics characterized IPC practices. Among 104 respondents, IPCs were most commonly placed in procedure suites (81.8%). Local anesthesia was the most frequently used method (51.6%). Infection prevention strategies varied, with 94.4% using sterile barriers beyond the kit-provided drape and 24.7% administering IV antibiotics. Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) were involved in IPC management in 44.4% of practices, mainly for troubleshooting (87.8%) and patient education (78%), though less commonly for placement (22%). Patient education was provided in 95.7% of cases, typically by proceduralists (33.7%) or nurses (49.4%), using commercial videos (58.4%) and printed materials (57.3%). Despite the widespread use of IPCs, variability in placement, patient education, and follow-up remains. Standardized guidelines and research focusing on patient-centered outcomes, education strategies, and home care models are needed to optimize IPC management.

Purpose: This study explored the effectiveness of practical education on respecting and protecting life for nursing students and the process of expanding their awareness of life. Method: Qualitative content analysis was conducted on 750 life protection practice reports written by 50 first-year nursing students over a 15-week period, based on Kolb's experiential learning theory process. Results: The students' practical experiences yielded themes organized into three categories: “Protecting My Own Life,” “Respecting and Protecting Others' Lives,” and “Respecting and Protecting the Lives of Animals and Plants.” Conclusion: Through the practical process, the students expanded their concerns and actions to encompass all life, including themselves, others, animals, plants, and the natural environment, thereby cultivating an awareness of respect for life. Such experiences enhanced their respect for life and ecological sensitivity and made them aware of their responsibility toward others and environmental protection. In particular, life-protecting practices extended beyond the individual to the community level, confirming that this could have a significant impact on the formation of nursing students' bioethical awareness. Therefore, this study suggests the need to expand experience-based ethics education in nursing education programs.

This article provides an in-depth analysis of Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED) and Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS), highlighting their theoretical foundations, historical evolution, and contributions to the design of adaptive learning environments. Through a critical review of the scientific literature, the study demonstrates the ability of these technologies to model learners, personalize learning pathways, and enhance the quality of pedagogical feedback. The analysis also reveals a growing convergence between AIED and ITS, particularly with the rise of generative artificial intelligence, which is transforming modes of interaction and opening new perspectives for individualized learning. However, the study also identifies major challenges related to algorithmic bias, data privacy, and the risk of dehumanizing educational practices. These findings call for a rethinking of the integration of these technologies from an ethical, inclusive, and human-centered perspective. Thus, AIED and ITS appear to be promising levers for the renewal of educational practices, provided that they are designed and implemented responsibly.

The pedagogical integration of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Colleges of Education (COEs) has a cascading effect on educational practice across all levels of education. Despite various polices on ICT integration in teacher education, the pedagogical integration of ICT in CoEs remains inconsistent. This study investigated the effect of social, system and individual factors on the tutors' acceptance and actual use of ICT. The gap between acceptance and the actual use behaviour of tutors was also studied. Using a validated questionnaire, a random sample of 109 tutors was surveyed for the study. The result showed a significant gap between a high level of ICT acceptance (M = 4.49) and low actual use of ICT for instruction (M = 3.99; t = 8.661, p &lt; .001). A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that social influence, system characteristics, and individual differences account for 32.6% of the variance in ICT acceptance. Among these factors, social influence emerged as the most significant predictor (β = .561, p &lt; .001). However, social influence and individual characteristics accounted for 23.8% of the variance in actual use of ICT, but system characteristics had no significant effect. From the findings of the study, the provision of infrastructure and policy alone is not enough to drive ICT integration in CoEs, continuous professional development programmes, collaborative peer support and institutional support are recommended to bridge the gap between acceptance and actual use of ICT in teacher education.

This study critically examines the discourse of student agency presented in the OECD Education 2030 project and rethinks student-agency in art education beyond an anthropocentric perspective. Since the modern era, subjectivity has been viewed as a rational and autonomous center; however, such a view fails to explain the complexity and uncertainty of the contemporary world. To reconstruct agency from an alternative perspective, this study adopts Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Michel Serres’s concept of the quasi-object as its theoretical framework and analyzes Pierre Huyghe’s exhibition 《Liminal》(2025) to explore implications for learner subjectivity. The quasi-object shifts subjectivity toward a notion of ‘position’, wherein learners’ actions are redefined as relational and hybrid agencies that generate meaning through interactions with nonhuman actors. This perspective extends learner subjectivity beyond individual autonomy, emphasizing its expansion into a co-constituted existence emerging through human–nonhuman entanglements, and suggests a relational mode of being where ‘subjectivity’ and ‘inclusivity’ operate together. By rethinking student-agency as a dynamic concept moving through relational contexts, this study provides a theoretical foundation for alternative practices in art education that transcend the limitations of the modern subject.

Theory and practice in corporate finance education are often disconnected. Prior research on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in finance holds some potential, but the evidence for the influence of experiential, data-driven tasks on students’ conceptual understanding and data literacy remains under investigated. The study adopted Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and analyzed a PBL project using 59 accounting students representing equity analysts at a Malaysian public university to implement the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) on actual Bursa Malaysia event data. The study is qualitative in design. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise student endorsement of the project, and written reflections collected over five months in 2024 were analysed thematically. Two research questions guided the analysis: (1) how the project shapes students’ understanding of EMH and related corporate finance concepts; and (2) how it influences students’ data literacy, including their use of spreadsheets to analyse and interpret investment outcomes. Results demonstrate strong support for the intervention, with 91.5% of students recommending the project for future cohorts. Six themes were identified: authentic relevance, improved analytical skills and data-handling, theory-to-practice transfer, increased self-confidence and decision-making, stronger communication and collaboration, and perceived deficits in instructional scaffolding. Results show that a systematic interaction with real market data deepens conceptual understanding and enhances the competence of the quantitative evidence used, making visible the design features that can be improved. The study introduces an EMH-based PBL model for corporate finance modules and proposes design protocols for finance educators desiring to cultivate both technical proficiency and workplace skills through experiential techniques.

Religious harmony is an important foundation for social stability and national integration in Indonesia, which is known as a multicultural and multireligious country. This article aims to examine the strategic role of education in building inter-religious harmony through a literature study approach. Using a descriptive qualitative method, this study analyses various academic sources published in the last 10 years that discuss tolerance education, religious moderation, and multicultural education. The results of the study show that formal and non-formal education play a significant role in instilling the values of tolerance, mutual respect, and interfaith dialogue. The practice of interfaith education in elementary schools has proven to be effective in forming an inclusive character from an early age. In the context of Christian religious education, the values of love, forgiveness, and respect for human dignity are the basis of religious moderation that is relevant to a pluralistic society. However, the implementation of interfaith education still faces challenges such as ideological resistance, limited teacher training, and a curriculum that is not fully multicultural. This article recommends the development of an interfaith curriculum based on universal values, teacher training in a multicultural approach, and the integration of interfaith activities in the educational environment. Education that is designed in a contextual and reflective manner can be a transformative instrument in building a peaceful, equitable, and inclusive society.

ABSTRACT Introduction. Faculty in academic medicine face increasing clinical and research demands, often limiting time for professional development and identity formation as educators. The ACGME Clinician Educator Milestones offer a structured framework for reflection and self-assessment, but their usefulness for broader applications such as needs assessment and program evaluation remains unexplored. We examined the potential of a milestone-based survey to support program evaluation and needs assessment in faculty development, and to gather preliminary validity evidence for its use beyond self-reflection. Methods. We adapted the ACGME Clinician Educator Milestones into a 20-item survey across four domains: Educational Theory and Practice, Well-Being, Welcoming Learning Environment, and Administration. The survey was administered to three cohorts of interprofessional faculty development participants. Cohort1 (n = 6) completed the survey post-program; Cohort2 (pre n = 10, post n = 14) received an enhanced educator identity curriculum; Cohort3 (n = 27) participated in an international immersive program. Responses were rated on a 6-point proficiency scale. Descriptive statistics and MANOVA were used to analyze changes in self-assessed competence for Cohort2. Results. All cohorts used the full range of proficiency levels. Cohort2 showed significant improvement from pre- to post-program (Wilks’ Lambda = .123; F = 3.207; p = .038). Domains emphasized in the curriculum – such as teaching fundamentals and learning environments – showed the greatest gains. Lower scores were consistently observed in administration and change management. Discussion. Preliminary findings support the use of the milestone-based survey for program evaluation and needs assessment in faculty development. Improvements aligned with curricular emphasis suggest content validity, while similar results across culturally distinct cohorts support external validity. Further research is warranted to explore the relationship between self-assessed competence and educator identity formation as well as the validity of use beyond reflection.

The effect of educational streams on financial literacy in Sri Lankan university students is examined by comparing accounting and non-accounting undergraduates in this study. The study made use of a cross-sectional methodology that is recognised by a structured questionnaire encompassing three major variables, namely Financial Skill, Personal Financial Management, and Financial Literacy Awareness, administered to a total of 208 students, consisting of 104 accounting and 104 non-accounting students. The result from the Mann-Whitney U Test indicates that while accounting students indicated a consistently high mean ranking in respect of all three variables, none of these variables are significantly different from each other from a statistical perspective, following which the p-value is 0.127, 0.058, and 0.308, respectively. These outcomes underpin the statement that sleeper effects exist in respect of levels of financial literacy indifferent of educational streams, thus refuting the view that following an educational stream related to accounting would otherwise raise levels of financial literacy. This study contributes to the existing literature on financial literacy by highlighting the role of influences other than academic disciplines. It calls for targeted interventions in the form of practical financial education programs to address the deficiency in financial literacy. Future research might use individual characteristics and external factors, including family background and the availability of financial resources, to understand the determinants of financial literacy in diverse educational and cultural contexts.

In traditional childhood education models, children are often viewed as passive recipients of knowledge. Contemporary developmental psychology and educational research increasingly emphasize children's role as active meaning constructors. This paper employs Vygotsky's sociocultural theory as its core framework to systematically explore the theoretical foundations and practical pathways for transforming preschool education from a “transmission-reception” paradigm to a “participation-construction” paradigm. Research indicates that children's development occurs within social interactions and cultural contexts, with education's key role being to provide effective support within the “zone of proximal development.” This paper proposes and elaborates on four core educational pathways: interactive dialogue as a cognitive tool, scaffolding as developmental support, play as the dominant activity form, and the environment as the third teacher. Together, these pathways form an ecological educational system centered on children's active participation and social interaction, offering a systematic theoretical framework for reconstructing high-quality preschool education practices.

The emergence of generative AI, particularly language models like ChatGPT, has revolutionized educational practices by enhancing lesson planning and fostering critical thinking. This systematic literature review investigates the application of generative AI in creating effective lesson plans and its broader role in improving the educational process. By synthesizing findings from multiple studies, this research highlights AI's ability to personalize learning, provide adaptive feedback, and simulate real-world scenarios, which collectively promote analytical and reflective thinking among students. Additionally, the integration of ethical considerations in AI-supported education fosters responsible use and critical evaluation of AI systems. Despite its potential, challenges such as ethical dilemmas, dependency on technology, and algorithmic biases remain significant. This study underscores the transformative role of generative AI in modern education, offering practical insights and recommendations for integrating AI tools effectively. The findings contribute to understanding AI's impact on pedagogy, student engagement, and the development of higher-order thinking skills, emphasizing the importance of a balanced approach that aligns AI capabilities with human.