Educational Practice Research Articles

A journey of collaborative inquiry: perspectives from preservice and cooperating music teachers in Korea

ABSTRACT Executing a successful teaching practicum is closely related to effective collaboration between preservice and cooperating teachers. Thus, this study implemented and investigated collaborative inquiry between preservice and cooperating music teachers in Korea. The results showed that the preservice music teachers played an important role in theoretical application based on their recently acquired knowledge, whereas the cooperating music teachers challenged their thinking by offering practical perspectives grounded in their experiences. The different roles enabled the connection of theory to practice in music education and the active participation from both groups. In addition, sufficient time for the preparation of instructional strategies and shared visions positively affected the equally important roles between the preservice and cooperating music teachers, whereas lack of time and opportunities to reflect on teaching practices after lesson implementation hindered collaborative inquiry. These findings support the previous literature, which suggests that collaborative inquiry could be an effective tool for teacher collaboration, by applying collaborative inquiry to the specific context of collaboration between preservice and collaborating music teachers.

Communication strategies for healthcare providers to enhance vaccine discussions with vaccine-hesitant patients

This study examines vaccine hesitancy as an emerging public health concern that undermines the efficacy of vaccination initiatives. Healthcare providers play a crucial role in addressing vaccine hesitancy; however, many lack effective communication strategies. This study developed evidence-based communication guidelines to assist healthcare providers in discussing vaccines with hesitant patients. Drawing on Bourdieu's theoretical framework, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten vaccine-hesitant parents and ten paediatricians in Nigeria. Through reflexive thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, this study uncovers power dynamics, legitimacy struggles, and cultural capital's significance in vaccine conversations. The findings reveal that hesitant parents question the legitimacy of vaccine recommendations, feeling marginalised yet constrained by societal norms of responsible parenthood. Similarly, healthcare providers' reliance on biomedical expertise often proves insufficient without rapport building, cultural competency, and addressing patients' unique knowledge assets. The findings of this study contribute to communication theory, medical education, and clinical practice by advocating for power-conscious, dialogue-based strategies to promote vaccination amidst uncertainty and scepticism.

Unravelling epistemic injustice in medical education: The case of the underperforming learner.

Epistemic injustice refers to a wrong done to someone in their capacity as a knower. While philosophers have detailed the pervasiveness of this issue within healthcare, it is only beginning to be discussed by medical educators. The purpose of this article is to expand the field's understanding of this concept and to demonstrate how it can be used to reframe complex problems in medical education. After outlining the basic features of epistemic injustice, we clarify its intended (and unintended) meaning and detail what is required for a perceived harm to be named an epistemic injustice. Using an example from our own work on introversion in undergraduate medical education, we illustrate what epistemic injustice might look like from the perspectives of both educators and students and show how the concept can reorient our perspective on academic underperformance. Epistemic injustice results from two things: (1) social power dynamics that give some individuals control over others, and (2) identity prejudice that is associated with discriminatory stereotypes. This can lead to one, or both, forms of epistemic injustice: testimonial and hermeneutical. Our worked example demonstrates how medical educators can be unaware of when and how epistemic injustice is happening, yet the effects on students' well-being and sense of selves can be profound. Thinking about academic underperformance with epistemic injustice in mind can reveal an emphasis within current educational practices on diagnosing learning deficiencies, to the detriment of holistically representing its socially constructed and structural nature. This article builds upon recent calls to recognise epistemic injustice in medical education by clarifying its terminology and intended use and providing in-depth application and analysis to a particular case: underperformance and the introverted medical student. Equipped with a more sophisticated understanding of the term, medical educators may be able to re-conceptualise long-standing issues including, but also beyond, underperformance.

Students Perceptions Towards Relevance of Tertiary Education

This research examines students' perceptions of higher education's broader benefits beyond job skills. It emphasizes societal advantages like environmental awareness, well-being, and civic engagement. Focused on 98 international business students at UiTM, it aims to understand factors affecting their self-esteem, particularly the link between academic prowess, social skills, and views on higher education's practical value. The study reveals strong ties between academic ability, social skills, and the importance ascribed to higher education, stressing the need for a holistic educational approach. It suggests future research areas to deepen understanding of tertiary education's relevance and societal impact. Additionally, it proposes ways for institutions to enhance students' appreciation of university education, fostering active engagement and community contribution. Overall, the research contributes to understanding the multifaceted significance of higher education, emphasizing the importance of considering academic and social competencies for informed decision-making and effective educational practices.

Impact of medical bloggers’ activities on the prevention of disease risk, public, population and individual health: the opinion of social media users

Due to the high information and communication importance and potential of the medical blogosphere in the formation of health literacy of the population, there is the increased need to study the opinions of Russian social media users on the impact of the content of medical blogs on personal and public health. Aim of the study was to find out the opinion of social media users on the extent to which the activities of bloggers specializing in public health and health care topics influence the prevention of major non-communicable and infectious diseases, public and personal health, within the changing boundaries of medical knowledge broadcasting (using sociological methods). Material and methods. The authors conducted a quantitative sociological survey of 178 respondents - users of social media: 55 (30.9 %) women and 123 (69.1 %) men about visiting blogs specializing in public health and healthcare. The collection of information was carried out by e-mailing a questionnaire developed by the authors, and analyzed the answers to questions from active blog users through a Google form in April – May 2023. Results. The study results of the impact of bloggers’ activities on personal and public health, including those related to the quality of medical information disseminated in social media, are described. Respondents believe that medical bloggers have a greater impact on public health than personal health. At the same time, according to the respondents, the spheres of influence in the field of public health do not coincide with the spheres of influence in the field of personal health. Thus, 74.7 % of respondents believe that medical bloggers have an impact on maintaining a healthy lifestyle of the population, prevention (61.8 % of all respondents think so) and treatment of infectious diseases (61.2 %). The requirements for the quality of information provided by bloggers are considered. Based on the analysis of Russian and foreign scientific literature, the authors developed a graphical diagram of the effect of dissemination through the blogosphere of information in the field of health care and disease prevention. Conclusions. The content published on medical blogs affects the health literacy of the population. That is why, medical blogs can be seen as a social determinant of health, because health blogs can be the key to the success of disease prevention and control efforts for public health maintaining. For organizing a communication intervention of medical personnel in social media to inform the population about methods for preventing the risk of developing major non-communicable and infectious diseases and increasing the level of health literacy of the population, medical blogs can and should be used to inform and educate patients as part of general or targeted multimodal educational practices or as a means of delivering electronic content. The risks of publishing inaccurate information in the blogosphere must be considered, whereby patients can easily become misinformed, which can have serious consequences for their health, and even increase their risk of mortality. To make the best use of the blogosphere, it is necessary to solve the problems of content accuracy and increase the level of professionalism of bloggers who write on medical topics. They need to be professionally trained to work for health, contributing to the prevention of the risk of developing major non-communicable and communicable diseases, improving the health of the population through education, and raising the level of health literacy. It makes sense to assess the success of the communicative intervention of doctors in social media and their management of the training of medical bloggers as a personnel determinant of public health, since it will depend on the personnel potential of the healthcare sector.

Enhancing English Language Review Sessions with Concept Mapping: A Junior Middle School Study

This study delves into the effectiveness of concept mapping as a pedagogical tool in the context of junior middle school English education. It contrasts the traditional review methods commonly employed in the classroom with innovative, visual learning strategies, specifically focusing on the use of concept maps. Through a carefully structured quasi- experimental design, the research was conducted across two parallel classes, enabling a controlled comparison between traditional teaching methodologies and the concept mapping approach. The primary aim was to assess the impact of concept mapping on students' academic performance, particularly in areas such as vocabulary acquisition, grammar understanding, and text comprehension skills. Additionally, the study sought to evaluate how concept mapping influences student engagement and enthusiasm for learning English. The findings from this research are quite revealing, demonstrating that students exposed to concept mapping showed significant improvements not only in their academic performance but also in their overall engagement with the learning material. These improvements were observed across multiple dimensions of language learning, including enhanced vocabulary retention, a deeper understanding of grammatical structures, and improved ability to comprehend and analyze texts. Such outcomes suggest that concept mapping, as a visual learning tool, can play a transformative role in educational practices, especially in the context of language learning. By leveraging the visual and interactive nature of concept maps, educators can create more dynamic and effective review sessions. This approach not only facilitates a deeper understanding of the material but also promotes greater retention of the English language among junior middle school students. The study underscores the potential of integrating visual learning strategies into traditional educational paradigms, offering a compelling case for the adoption of concept mapping as a standard practice in English language teaching and learning.

Philosophical hermeneutics and scientific and pedagogical activities

Importance. Maintaining a continuous, equal dialogue between teachers and philosophers is one of the conditions for achieving the main humanitarian and educational goal – the upbringing of a spiritual and moral, comprehensively developed, socially responsible personality. Scientific and pedagogical activity is based on a certain system of philosophical and ideological ideas, principles and ideals that enrich and stimulate the development of educational thought and practice. Currently, the experience of philosophical hermeneutics, one of the directions of Western thought, is in great demand in educational practice. Hermeneutical theories influence the formation and formation of a special science – pedagogical hermeneutics. The principles of hermeneutics are increasingly being used as a theoretical and methodological basis for discussing and critically comprehending traditional pedagogical problems, such as methods of teaching and upbringing in the field of social sciences and humanities, assessment of the quality of education, the content and meaning of pedagogical activity. The ideas and positions of hermeneutics resonate in discussions about qualitative research. Hermeneutics helps to comprehend the genuine difficulties of interpretation that each individual faces in everyday life and professional activities. The purpose of the research is to reveal the possibilities of applying the experience of philosophical hermeneutics in the structure of scientific and pedagogical activity. To achieve this goal, the characteristic features and principles of hermeneutics as a philosophical tradition are considered, the cognitive potential of the hermeneutical approach in scientific and pedagogical practice is clarified.Materials and Methods. The following methods and approaches are used: 1) using the comparative historical method, the process of formation and development of philosophical hermeneutics is revealed, its conceptual evolution is analyzed; 2) the fundamental method of interpretation is used to work with texts of prominent representatives of philosophical hermeneutics; 3) the application of an interdisciplinary approach is due to the combination in the study of various fields of knowledge: philosophy, pedagogy, linguistics, psychology; 4) on the basis of a systematic approach, an analytical description of the applied aspect of philosophical hermeneutics for pedagogy is provided. The historical and philosophical reconstruction of the ideas and principles of hermeneutics was carried out on the basis of the works of F. Schleiermacher, W. Dilthey, M. Heidegger, G.-G. Gadamer. The specificity of the hermeneutical methodology is comprehended against the background of the positivist methodology opposite to it.Results and Discussion. The cognitive potential of the hermeneutical approach in scientific and pedagogical practice is considered. It is noted that this approach provides the teacher with an understanding of the meaning of key educational terms, which helps to avoid situations of conceptual confusion in pedagogical communication. Understanding and interpretation can cause certain difficulties for students themselves when they relate to the content of various texts. In such cases, the teacher should find out the causes of the difficulties that arise, and help the students overcome them. It is emphasized that hermeneutics forms a specific style of thinking with a clearly pronounced anti-positivist orientation. The widespread opinion about the teacher as a subject of educational activity and the bearer of genuine knowledge, which he must “put into the heads” of students, in hermeneutics gives way to the idea of learning as a process of mutual creativity, cooperation between the teacher and the student. The role of the teacher is reduced to creating conditions that ensure the “merging of horizons” of participants in pedagogical activity. Hermeneutics stimulates the formulation of questions aimed at understanding the meaning of educational activity, it clarifies the degree of involvement of the teacher in the realization of this meaning. Starting from the idea of ontological inclusion of a person in a cultural and historical tradition, hermeneutics makes it possible to understand to what extent prejudices determine our behavior and thinking, and how this circumstance affects interpersonal relationships. The hermeneutical approach makes it possible to interpret educational activities based on the idea of the uniqueness of pedagogical experience. The use of the hermeneutical method assumes that the teacher-researcher associates himself not with an impartial observer, but with a full participant in the dialogical search. Thanks to the joint efforts of the researcher and other participants in the hermeneutical conversation, meaning and understanding merge.Conclusion. It is shown that the problem of interpretation, considered in the framework of educational activities, is of a practical nature. Modern philosophical hermeneutics, having made an ontological turn, overcomes the Cartesian view of the abstract opposition of subject and object, tradition and reason, which prevails in “modernist” pedagogy. Teachers can benefit from the analysis and development of the most important ideas and provisions of hermeneutics for their application in scientific and pedagogical activities, as it helps to realize their own prejudices, questions initial interpretations, strengthens the position of self-reflection regarding the educational process.

Fostering humanization in education: a scoping review on mindfulness and teacher education

The humanization of education is increasingly invoked as a counterpoint to the overly technical and instrumental view of education that has developed in recent decades. In this article, it is intended to contribute to identify ways toward education humanization through teacher education. As the research on humanization of education at the empirical level remains vague, studies on mindfulness in teacher education are taken as a first means of operationalizing research into the conditions of fostering reflection on the humanization of education in teacher education. As a step along this path a scoping review was conducted to map research on mindfulness in teacher education and its relationship with the humanization of education, guided by questions such as how MBAs have been conceptualized and their role in humanizing teacher education. The scoping review allowed the identification of 21 articles which were charted according to analytical frameworks regarding: the mindfulness conceptualization, chosen research paradigms, and the role given to mindfulness in teacher education. Findings suggest that the way mindfulness is conceptualized in research makes an essential difference in acknowledging its instrumental and/or transformative role in education. Transformative approaches may bring an added educational value, addressing the subjective, reflective, and critical dimensions of teacher education. From this point of view, mindfulness-based education practices could be a promising pathway to inform empirical research on the humanization of education through teacher education.

Occurrence of dissolved organic matter in storm-drain inlet sediments and its implication for urban stormwater infrastructure sustainability

In the context of climate change, the effective management of carbon in urban stormwater infrastructure (USI) become increasingly crucial. Research indicates that dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a significant role in the carbon cycle within USI. However, there is a lack of comprehensive information regarding the occurrence of DOM in urban storm-drain inlet (SDI) sediments. This study was undertaken to examine the land use type-related distribution of DOM in SDI sediments, and then provide the suggestion for urban infrastructure sustainability. There are three findings: (1) The characteristics of DOM in SDI sediments, including content, hydrophilicity, molecular weight, and functional groups of aromatic rings, exhibited variation with land functional type; (2) Urban SDI DOM had low humification, and was primarily originated from autochthonous sources, with the proportion of humic-like components close to or exceeding 50%; and (3) SDI sediment DOM was likely to have different characteristics from road dust and stormwater due to microbial activities over dry season. Based on these findings, measures for urban stormwater infrastructure sustainability are proposed, including properly road sweeping, frequently SDI sediment dredging, decreasing in emission from industrial activities, promoting local educational practices, and limiting improper organic waste disposal. These results have implications for the management of stormwater-related carbon and provide valuable insights for the development of sustainable practices for urban ecosystems.

Rosbercon Girls' Grammar School: the adoption of innovative educational practices in early 20th century Australia

PurposeThis paper explores the context within which experimental, pedagogically progressive schools were established in Australia during the first decades of the 20th century.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a case study of the establishment of Rosbercon Girls’ Grammar School. It draws on educator accounts, archival documents and contemporary literature to provide a brief narrative of the events leading to the opening of the school; to sketch the family of educators who were pivotal in making it a reality; and to identify key aspects of the social and legislative context that made such an initiative possible.FindingsRosbercon was established at a time when a modest school could be established relatively easily by a small group of educators with a shared vision. The early 20th century was a moment of national optimism in Australia, where an appetite for new educational ideas created a climate in which innovative educators found fertile soil for their pedagogical experiments and adaptation of emerging ideas from around the world. Their efforts were facilitated by an emerging global network of personal interactions, professional learning, professional associations and educational literature.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the relative lack of scholarly examination of the origins of Rosbercon Girls’ Grammar School, an institution that previous authors have identified as Australia’s oldest experimental school. The case study also contributes to a broader appreciation of the trajectory of progressive education during the early 20th century.

The social role of educational guidance: Challenges and prospects

The aim of the research was to study the role of counselor in school today, and specifically: to present the educational practice of career guidance, as well as point out the prospects and challenges faced by the supervisor in the daily school. Thus, the problem that gave rise to the featured article was: The counselor is leading actor or supporting role in the school? Thus an analysis must consist of the theoretical Chalita (2005), Grinspum (2003), Luck (2001), Pimentel (2006) Urbanetz (2008), among others, to underpin and support this work. Armed with this benchmark, we set up the development work, through an exploratory approach - qualitative. Reaching the conclusion, based on the context presented one of the challenges currently presented to this work is to find support outside the school, to carry out the rescue work of the student's world of drugs, violence, social and family which influences the school environment. It is an arduous task but not impossible for this professional education.

Bridging Theory and Practice: Using Goal Systems to Spark Professional Dialogue and Develop Personal Theories

School-based mentors play a key role in the learning processes of student teachers. Ideally, they facilitate student teachers to scrutinize their approaches and underlying assumptions, and link these to theoretical notions. In this study we investigated how three mentors used a goal-system representation (GSR) tool in their mentoring conversations. The GSR tool is essentially a visual reflection of the student teacher’s personal theory regarding classroom practice. It was developed at our teacher training institute to help our students see the personal relevance of research literature and theory and apply it to their lesson plans, to bridge the gap between educational theory, their vision of good teaching and their educational practice. In three explorative case studies, we show how mentors use the GSR tool and to what extent they support three levels of personal theory development: sharing, investigating and transforming. In all cases, student teachers could relate their practices to theoretical notions, giving access to their mentors for further questioning of their sense-making of the situation. Mentors successfully use these opportunities for personal theory development in various ways. We conclude that the GSR tool functions as a boundary object between theory and practice and between institute-based and school-based teacher education.

Reconceptualization of curriculum studies: A brief history and personal memories

The article presents a brief history of the reconceptualization of curriculum studies based on documents and my own memories. Reconceptualization has had a significant impact on understanding the curriculum not only as goals and instructional actions followed by evaluation but as a complicated, interdisciplinary conversation. Reconceptualization originated in the USA in the 1970s, when a new generation of curriculum researchers challenged the dominant Tylerian perspective on curriculum.The first years of reconceptualization were, however, turbulent. Reconceptualists presented critiques of managerial perspectives in curriculum theorizing but, according to critiques, had no clear theory to replace the mainstream. In the 1980s and 1990s, reconceptualist scholars focused on understanding curriculum, presenting extensive pieces of work, such as Pinar’s and his colleagues’ book titled Understanding Curriculum. Also, William Doll made a significant impact on describing the postmodern context for education and curriculum. During the last 20 years, reconceptualization has taken steps towards discourses with the educational practice. This same perspective is also evident in the Finnish research on curriculum studies. In addition to being a complicated conversation, education should focus on promoting autobiographical and identity-related processes. Arts is often proposed as a context for expanding imagination and creativity. Despite the general practical perspectives, reconceptualization is still a critical movement against simplistic, technocratic models in which curriculum is prescribed and measurable learning objectives dominate.

Exploratory Factor Analysis of Influences on Social Integration and Religious Practice Among Catholic Students: Evidence from Hanoi- Vietnam

The study contributes to the existing knowledge by introducing how various factors determine religious commitment and practices among Catholic students in Hanoi, Vietnam, an under-studied region in academic literature. In this gap, the research study investigates the impact of social support networks, cultural identity, educational environment, and social integration on the students’ religiosity. The study method is justified, as the researcher employed a well-constructed questionnaire based on previous literature and expert consultations. Thus, the collected data from a stratified random sample of 200 university students in Hanoi over 2020-2022 was analyzed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The study's findings show a positive relationship between social support networks, cultural identity, educational environment, and the dependent variable of religious commitment to the students. Moreover, there is a positive relationship between the dependent and independent variables, as noted in the first significant correlation. These results help bridge the gap and provide practical implications for educators and religious leaders in approaching Vietnamese youth. This can assist their overall spiritual health and help them engage effectively in religious and educational practices in Vietnamese society.

What does it mean to be aphasia aware? An international survey of stakeholder perspectives and experiences of aphasia awareness

ABSTRACT Background Over the past two decades, “aphasia awareness” has been studied across 19 countries and five continents. Despite international efforts, awareness of aphasia has remained persistently low and little consideration has been given to what it actually means to be “aphasia aware”. In order to raise awareness of aphasia, it is first necessary to understand how key stakeholders perceive the topic, and their experience of raising awareness of aphasia and the factors which may enable or hinder success. Aims To explore international stakeholder: (1) perspectives on aphasia awareness, (2) experiences of delivering aphasia awareness campaigns; and to identify (3) barriers to, and facilitators of, successful aphasia awareness raising activities. Methods & Procedures Two cross-sectional, international, online surveys were conducted. Survey 1 was conducted with people living with aphasia (PLWA: people with aphasia, family members, friends, carers). Survey 2 was conducted with people who work with PLWA (workers: clinicians, researchers, volunteers, consumer organisation representatives). The surveys contained 31 and 25 questions respectively across four topic areas: demographics, perspectives on aphasia awareness, experiences of running aphasia awareness campaigns, and barriers to, and facilitators of, raising awareness. Closed and open-ended responses were elicited. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis. Outcomes and Results A total of 105 PLWA and 306 workers, from 39 countries, completed the surveys. More than 90% of participants considered aphasia awareness to be “very” or “extremely important”, primarily due to the communication and information barriers faced by people with aphasia daily. Participants reported that being “aphasia aware” meant knowing: that aphasia does not affect intelligence (PLWA), and how to communicate with a person with aphasia (workers). In total, 15% of PLWA and 31% of workers reported they had previously run an aphasia awareness campaign. Barriers to campaign success included insufficient resources (e.g., funding, time) and lack of experience and specialised skills (e.g., health promotion). Key facilitators included people living with aphasia (including celebrities) sharing their stories and being key members or leaders of the campaign. Conclusions “Aphasia awareness” was considered essential by all participants. To enhance aphasia awareness misconceptions and stereotypes about communication disability must be challenged and practical education on how to communicate with a person with aphasia provided. These results lay the foundation for developing an international aphasia awareness campaign. Future research is needed to identify campaign priorities and to co-design the campaign.

Exploration and Practice of Course Ideological and Political Education in Clinical Skills Training Courses

The effective integration of ideological and political education with medical professional courses is one of the most important contents of medical teaching reform. It is a process of organic unity of knowledge transmission and value guidance, and is the key to the implementation of the Healthy China strategy and the "moral education". This study analyzes the necessity of carrying out ideological and political education in clinical skills training courses, and combines the characteristics of clinical skills training courses to integrate ideological and political education from the aspects of revising experimental teaching objectives, optimizing experimental teaching content, innovating practical training teaching methods, and improving experimental evaluation mechanisms. The aim is to carry out ideological and political education with professional knowledge, achieve the subtle integration of ideological and political education into the brain and heart, and guide medical students to establish a correct outlook on life Values, cultivate students' patriotism, national confidence, and professional spirit of respecting life, advocating medical ethics, selfless dedication, and overcoming obstacles, so that students can learn and apply what they have learned.

The Adultcentrism Scale: A Potential Contributor to Advancing Children’s Participation Rights in Nordic Contexts

The question that the authors of this article are collectively concerned with is as follows: how is it possible to protect children without disempowering them? To this end, the authors work to change adultcentric scholarly and social norms that justify rationales that marginalize children. The article begins with a theoretical overview of childism, in its transformative sense, with special attention to how childism relates to intersectional analyses. In doing so, age is highlighted as an axis of marginalization with reference to adultcentrism. After that, the centrality of analyzing and problematizing adultism in educational research and practice is discussed. The discussion is followed by a presentation of the published results of ‘The Adultcentrism Scale’ research tool developed at the University of Bergamo and the University of LUMSA-Rome. The research tool is used to evaluate the presence of adultcentric bias in adults in relation to children and can be helpful to understanding the psychological dimensions of educational relationships. Finally, the conclusion offers suggestions for how the research tool might be a useful example to raise awareness of adultcentric bias, promoting reflections that can lead to age-inclusive transformations. Overall, then, the article initiates a pertinent dialogue for advancing children’s participation rights in Nordic research and society.

Self-efficacy mediates the effect of professional identity on learning engagement for nursing students in higher vocational colleges: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundLearning engagement is a crucial predictor of academic achievement. It is essential to understand the factors influencing learning engagement among nursing students, especially from the learner's perspective, which is notably scarce but vital for designing effective educational interventions. ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between professional identity and learning engagement for nursing students in higher vocational colleges. DesignA cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted. SettingThe study was conducted in four higher vocational colleges located in Guangdong Province, China. ParticipantsA total of 944 first- and second-year nursing students participated in the study between October and November 2022. MethodsData were collected with questionnaires on general information, professional identity, self-efficacy, and learning engagement and analyzed with SPSS 26.0 and PROCESS v4.1 (Model 4), exploring relationships among professional identity, self-efficacy, and learning engagement through Pearson correlations, multivariate regression, and mediation analysis with 5000 bootstrap samples. ResultsThe participants exhibited moderate levels of professional identity (85.37 ± 13.52), self-efficacy (25.58 ± 5.74), and learning engagement (71.26 ± 16.17), which were all significantly correlated with each other (P < 0.01). In the model of the mediating effect, professional identity directly (β = 0.811, t = 27.484, P < 0.001) and indirectly [β = 0.112,95%CI (0.074–0.154)] significantly predicts college students' learning engagement; professional identity has a significant positive predictive effect on self-efficacy (β = 0.182, t = 14.459, P < 0.001) and self-efficacy significantly predicts learning engagement (β = 0.614, t = 8.292, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the direct effect of professional identity on learning engagement (0.699) and its mediating effect (0.112) account for 86.19 % and 13.81 % of the total effect (0.811), respectively. ConclusionParticipants exhibited moderate levels of professional identity, self-efficacy, and learning engagement. Professional identity and self-efficacy are interconnected and positively correlated, influencing learning engagement among nursing students, which highlights the need to foster these qualities to enhance education and future practice.

PERAN LEMBAGA PENDIDIKAN DALAM MENGHASILKAN LULUSAN BERKUALITAS DAN BERDAYA SAING TINGGI

This research aims to investigate the role of educational institutions in producing quality and highly competitive graduates. The main focus of this research is to analyze the strategies and policies implemented by educational institutions to improve the quality and competitiveness of their graduates in the job market. This research method involves surveys, interviews, and documentation analysis of several higher education institutions and secondary schools. This research is directed at evaluating the curriculum, teaching methods and supporting facilities provided by educational institutions in creating a learning environment that is conducive to the development of skills and knowledge relevant to the demands of the current job market. Apart from that, this research will also assess the effectiveness of internship programs, collaboration with industry, and career support provided by educational institutions to their students. It is hoped that the results of this research will provide in-depth insight into the efforts of educational institutions to produce graduates who not only have academic competence, but also practical skills and a strong understanding of industry needs. It is hoped that the implications of these findings can become the basis for improving educational policies and practices in order to increase the quality and competitiveness of graduates in this era of globalization.

Developmental differences in children and adults' enforcement of explore versus exploit search strategies in the United States and Turkey.

Across development, as children acquire a deeper understanding of their environment, they explore less and take advantage, or "exploit," what they already know. Here, we test whether children also enforce exploration-oriented search behaviors onto others. Specifically, we ask whether children are more likely to encourage a search agent to explore versus exploit their environment, and whether this pattern varies across childhood (between 3 and 6 years). We also ask whether this pattern differs between children and adults, and generalizes across two different sociocultural contexts-Turkey and the United States-that differ on dimensions that might relate to children's decisions about exploration (e.g., curiosity-focused educational practices, attitudes toward uncertainty avoidance). Participants (N=358) watched an agent search for rewards and were asked at various points whether the agent should "stay" (exploit) in their current location, or "go" (explore) to a new location. At all points in the experiment, children enforced exploration significantly more often than adults. Early in the agent's search, children in the US enforced exploration more often than children in Turkey; later in the search, younger children (from both sociocultural contexts) were more likely to continue enforcing exploration compared to older children. These findings highlight that children are not only highly exploratory themselves, but also enforce exploration onto others-underscoring the central role that exploration plays in driving early cognitive development across diverse sociocultural contexts. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The current study examined developmental and cross-cultural differences in children and adults' enforcement of explore-exploit search strategies. Children in the US and Turkey enforced exploration more than adults, who enforced exploitation more often; results were generally consistent across cultures with small differences. Mirroring developmental changes in children's own search behavior; the tendency to enforce exploration decreased between 3- to 6-years of age. Findings underscore the central role of an "exploration mindset" in children's early decision-making-even when exploration has no direct benefits to the child themselves.