Academic buoyancy in EFL learning: A mixed-methods study among Chinese private university students.

The expansion of hybrid and remote work arrangements continues to reshape contemporary work, yet the experiences of early-career professionals within these contexts remain underexplored. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 16 early-career professionals working across remote and physical settings, this study examines how individuals, at the start of their careers, experience and interpret hybrid work. The findings reveal two analytically distinct yet interconnected premises: experiences of situational detachment associated with feelings of insecurity, alongside the perception of home as a refuge that affords focus and autonomy. Our analysis identifies challenges faced by early-career professionals when working remotely, particularly in sustaining relationships with their immediate managers and colleagues, interpreting expectations and accessing informal learning and developmental opportunities. Together, these findings illuminate how hybrid work simultaneously enables and constrains early-career professionals’ learning, identity formation and sense of belonging. By foregrounding the lived experiences of individuals entering professional roles, the study extends qualitative research on hybrid work and highlights the importance of social interaction, visibility and organisational support in shaping early-career development in hybrid work contexts.

This study employs an exploratory netnographic research approach to explore how educators in K-12 and higher education settings publicly engage with artificial intelligence (AI) on TikTok as a professional learning network, with an emphasis on supporting students with disabilities. Using deidentified, publicly accessible video data, 209 videos were qualitatively coded, and statistical analysis of thematic coding frequencies identified five overarching themes. These included: (1) AI as a Pedagogical and Productivity Tool for Educators, (2) AI for Personalization, Inclusion, Access, and Student Support, (3) AI Literacy, Ethics, and Societal Implications, (4) AI in the Workforce and Skill Development, and (5) AI Tool Demonstrations. The findings explore ways in which educators and students, especially those in secondary and higher education environments, are using TikTok as an informal professional learning network where AI tools, ethical considerations, and inclusive practices are shared and debated, contributing to emerging scholarship at the intersection of AI, special education, and digital educator culture. These insights and findings aim to better understand how educators and students develop shared knowledge in AI in algorithmically mediated public spaces.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is among the most prevalent life-threatening complications in intensive care units (ICUs), with continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) being the primary mode of renal support for haemodynamically unstable patients. Despite the technical complexity of CRRT, formal training programmes for ICU nurses remain inconsistent across healthcare settings. This study explored the informal training experiences of critical care nurses managing dialysis-dependent patients in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. A qualitative descriptive design was employed, guided by reflexive thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 purposively sampled ICU nurses with direct CRRT management responsibilities across healthcare facilities affiliated with King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa. Data were analysed through six iterative phases of thematic analysis. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of King Faisal University. Four overarching themes were generated: (1) "Figuring It Out on the Floor", nurses described learning CRRT management primarily through observation and immediate bedside practice; (2) "The Colleague Is the Textbook", experienced peers served as informal educators, transmitting practical knowledge through demonstration and narration; (3) "Anxiety Behind the Machine", nurses articulated persistent fear of error that gradually transformed into competence through repeated exposure; and (4) "Gaps the System Does Not See", participants identified a systemic absence of structured CRRT training and called for formalised competency frameworks. Critical care nurses in this setting rely heavily on informal, peer-mediated learning to acquire CRRT competencies in the absence of standardised institutional training. These findings highlight an urgent need for structured simulation-based CRRT education, written protocols, and competency assessment frameworks. Nursing leaders and ICU educators must recognise and address the informal learning burden carried by frontline nurses to safeguard patient safety and support workforce development. Not applicable.

ABSTRACT A substantial proportion of older adults continue to live offline despite accelerating digitalization. In Ireland in 2025, 34% of adults aged 75 years and older had never used the Internet. Yet, the experiences of those who live their lives offline, particularly their perspectives on social participation, lifelong learning, and autonomy, remain under‑examined. This Research Note presents findings from seven qualitative interviews conducted in summer 2021 with adults aged 65 years and older who self‑identified as Internet non‑users. These ‘offliners’ described meaningful social participation through in‑person groups, community activities, volunteering, and regular telephone contact, alongside informal lifelong learning embedded in everyday interactions and interests. Participants did not perceive personal benefit in adopting digital technologies for social or learning purposes. Dissatisfaction was expressed as essential public and commercial services shifted to digital‑by‑default delivery following lockdowns associated with COVID-19. Offliners reported reduced independence when required to rely on family members for online transactions, as well as feeling disadvantaged by online‑only discounts and reduced availability of counter or telephone services. These findings lend support to an overlooked issue in social and educational gerontology: while offline social and learning practices can support healthy aging, digitalization may create new forms of exclusion for those who do not, or cannot, engage online. The study highlights the need to recognize Internet non‑use as a legitimate aging pathway and underscores the importance of maintaining equitable non‑digital service channels to support autonomy, agency, and quality of life in later years.

This study examined the mediating role of science attitude in the relationship between informal science learning opportunities and conceptual understanding in biology among Grade 10 students in Manay North District, Davao Oriental. It specifically described students’ engagement in everyday and school-led science learning, their self-directed efforts and anxiety towards science, and their reported conceptual understanding in biology. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design with mediation analysis was employed. The participants were 110 junior high school students from five integrated schools, selected through universal sampling. Data were gathered using adapted, expert-validated and pilot-tested Likert-scale instruments that measured informal science learning opportunities, science attitude and conceptual understanding in biology. Descriptive results showed high levels of engagement in informal science learning opportunities (M = 4.08, SD = 0.60), science attitude (M = 4.02, SD = 0.47) and conceptual understanding in biology (M = 3.94, SD = 0.72). Correlation analysis indicated significant positive relationships among the three variables. Informal science learning opportunities were positively associated with conceptual understanding in biology, and science attitude was also significantly associated with conceptual understanding. Mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of informal science learning opportunities on conceptual understanding through science attitude (estimate = 0.179, p < .001). The direct effect remained significant (estimate = 0.552, p < .001), indicating partial mediation. These findings suggest that students’ attitudes towards science may help explain the association between informal science learning experiences and biology conceptual understanding. The study highlights the relevance of everyday and school-led science learning experiences in supporting students’ engagement with biology and indicates the importance of fostering positive science attitudes among junior high school learners.

ABSTRACT Purpose Video blogs, commonly called vlogs, are increasingly popular tools for informal digital learning of English (IDLE), offering learners multimodal, interactive, and culturally embedded learning experiences. This has prompted growing scholarly interest in vlog-assisted informal language learning (VAILL). Nevertheless, little is known about how learners engage with vlogs or what motivates such engagement. This study addresses that gap by developing and validating two vlog-specific measurement instruments: the VAILL-Use scale (VAILL-U) and the VAILL-Motivation scale (VAILL-M). Design/Methodology/Approach A two-phase mixed-methods design was employed. Phase 1 involved generating initial item pools based on a review of existing instruments and data from semi-structured interviews with 14 Chinese EFL learners. In Phase 2, the team used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of data from a survey of 487 Chinese EFL learners to establish the factor structure, reliability, and validity of both scales. Findings The validated 13-item VAILL-U was found to have three dimensions: content consumption, interactive participation, and language application. The validated 14-item VAILL-M had four dimensions: authenticity, expertise, interactivity, and cultural immersion. Both instruments exhibited strong internal consistency, construct validity, and convergent and discriminant validity. Originality/Value Theoretically, this study advances IDLE research by moving beyond the broad receptive-productive dichotomy to offer a more nuanced, tool-specific framework for understanding learner engagement in VAILL. Practically, the validated instruments provide researchers and educators with reliable tools to assess and support learners’ VAILL and provide actionable insights for the design of digital language-learning environments that support learner-driven IDLE practices.

ABSTRACT While digital technologies are recognised as catalysts for language development, research predominantly focuses on well-resourced contexts, leaving a gap in understanding multilingual acquisition in non-Western, resource-constrained settings. This study addresses this gap through a nine-month longitudinal case study of two 5- to 6-year-old (male and female) Persian-speaking multilingual children in Iran, examining how family scaffolding support structures mediate informal digital language learning (IDLL). Drawing on sociocultural theory, we collected data from mothers through demographic profiles, semi-structured interviews and monthly reflective diaries, which were evaluated using reflexive deductive-inductive thematic analysis. Findings reveal that parents and older siblings serve as critical sociolinguistic mediators, employing affective, cognitive and technical scaffolding to navigate tensions between local linguistic traditions and global digital influences. Notably, the home emerges as a site of ‘digital transnationalism’, where families bypass local educational constraints to nurture multilingual identities through intergenerational and peer-led scaffolding. This exploratory study challenges the techno-centric assumption that digital materials alone suffice, instead positioning the family unit as a crucial facilitator of a child's multicultural development. These insights offer valuable perspectives for understanding informal language acquisition in other non-Western contexts, advocating a shift to prioritise the sociocultural dynamics of early digital engagement.

ABSTRACT Despite growing interest in program evaluation within art museums, existing studies have yet to examine evaluative practices and capacities in relation to the broader organizational and extramural conditions shaping their development and enactment across a national museum sector. This paper addresses this gap by presenting findings from a national landscape study of evaluation practices and capacities across Canada’s largest publicly funded art museums. Guided by a sector-specific conceptual framework, the study draws on interviews with practitioners responsible for, engaged in, or knowledgeable about evaluation within their institutions. Overall, the interview findings reveal uneven but developing capacity across the sector, with practitioners generally better equipped to use evaluation findings and engage in informal, output-oriented formative inquiry than to independently design and carry out systematic, outcome-oriented studies. The findings further demonstrate that evaluative practices and capacities were influenced not only by practitioner expertise, but also by broader organizational and extramural conditions, including leadership backing, institutional culture, accountability expectations, and the availability of resources and supports. Taken together, the study contributes new empirical insight into how program evaluation is enacted across a national art museum sector and offers transferable implications for strengthening evaluation capacity within museums and related informal learning settings.

This study examines Roblox as an informal social learning environment for the development of English vocabulary among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students in Indonesia. Using a descriptive qualitative design, data were collected from 35 active Roblox users via open-ended questionnaires, supplemented by field notes and interviews, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The analysis identified key themes, including contextual vocabulary acquisition, willingness to communicate, socially mediated learning strategies, linguistic challenges, and informal learning orientation, as well as three learner profiles: language-focused learners, hybrid learners, and incidental learners. The findings suggest that vocabulary acquisition occurs through contextual use, repetition, and the negotiation of meaning during authentic interactions, rather than through explicit instruction. Participants reported increased confidence and reduced anxiety, as the non-evaluative environment encouraged spontaneous communication. Although the use of slang and fast-paced interactions initially posed challenges, participants learned to adapt by interpreting meaning from context, modelling their peers, and using strategies such as asking for clarification. These processes enabled sustained interaction and supported the development of resilience in communication.

Family visits to museums provide opportunities for children to engage with science topics through shared exploration and conversation. These discussions can be shaped by proximal social factors such as how many people are in the child’s group during the visit and how much parents extend conversations after the visit. We surveyed children between the ages of 4 and 9 immediately after visiting a dinosaur exhibit at a children’s museum. One week later, parents completed an online survey reporting post-visit conversations, children’s dinosaur-related activities, and parents’ support for science. Children’s reported interest in dinosaurs was related to the composition of the visiting group, with lower interest among children who visited in adult-dominant groups compared with balanced or child-dominant groups. Additionally, children whose parents reported higher amounts of post-visit talk also reported greater interest and engagement with dinosaur-related activities. No age differences were observed across measures of interest or engagement. These findings suggest that proximal social contexts during and after museum visits are associated with variability in children’s science interest and curiosity. Implications for informal learning environments and family engagement in science are discussed.

ABSTRACT Multilingual communication represents critical infrastructure for tourism competitiveness, yet theoretical frameworks inadequately explain how linguistic competence operates in peripheral destinations with limited formal education and shifting power dynamics. This ethnographic study examines multilingual communication practices among tourism stakeholders in Moyo Island, Indonesia, through six-month fieldwork involving 25 stakeholders and 40 tourists. The research addresses four theoretical gaps: linguistic capital operation without formal credentialing systems, Communication Accommodation Theory application in multilingual contexts, technology-human integration, and communication dynamics under asymmetric power relations. Empirically, stakeholders deploy sophisticated multilingual strategies positioning English as lingua franca while incorporating Japanese, French, and Sumbawa elements. The study demonstrates that multilingual capabilities generate satisfaction differentials and economic advantages, understood primarily through qualitative mechanisms of cultural mediation, relationship building, and identity negotiation. These mechanisms are grounded in empirical findings presented in the Results section, from which four theoretical contributions emerge inductively and are developed in the Discussion. These contributions converge toward ‘Dynamic Linguistic Capital Theory for Tourism’, providing conceptual tools for understanding multilingual communication in contexts characterized by informal learning, linguistic diversity, technological mediation, and shifting power relations.

ABSTRACT Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a public middle school, this article examines how rural migrant children use platformized media (short-video apps, social media, and mobile games) under restrictive school governance to negotiate marginalisation and resist school norms. Against dominant accounts that cast online engagement primarily as distraction, the analysis shows how specific genres of online content, peer circulation, and platform affordances provide resources for tactical classroom resistance, alternative recognition, informal learning, and aspirational self-fashioning, while also exposing youth to algorithmic visibility hierarchies and precarious forms of attention. The findings highlight the ambivalence of platformed resistance: agency is exercised within, and partly captured by, commercial infrastructures and disciplinary regimes that shape what can be seen, valued, and monetised. This study contributes to sociological understandings of digital inequality, youth resistance, and working-class educational experience in the platform era.

ABSTRACT This essay examines a local LGBTQ center's youth Drop-In program as a site of public pedagogy, queer joy, and queer world-making. Drawing from nearly a decade of hybrid longitudinal engagement, the author shows how Drop-In enables youth to build community, safety, and identity in ways unavailable within formal schooling. Guided by six principles of public pedagogy, the analysis illustrates how the space enacts political commitments; contrasts with conventional educational structures; attends to youths' life-scapes; integrates popular culture with identity exploration; fosters democratic deliberation; and foregrounds the interplay of culture, power, and politics. Narrative vignettes demonstrate how youth engage in collective decision-making, embodied joy, artistic expression, mutual care, and resistance to cisheteronormative pressures that shape their schools and broader sociopolitical environments. The author argues that such programs serve as vital spaces of informal learning, revealing how queer youth craft possibilities, resilience, and joy in rural and semirural contexts. The essay urges scholars to more fully engage community-centered and queer-organized spaces as consequential pedagogical sites and offers methodological reflections for researchers working alongside organizations that serve marginalized populations. Ultimately, the program shows what becomes possible when learning, love, safety, and queer world-making converge beyond the walls of schools.

ABSTRACT This study examined how heads of schools acquired leadership competencies for leading schools in Tanzania rural settings. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative research approach with a descriptive case study design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. Purposive sampling was employed to select 14 heads of schools. Data were thematically categorized, coded, and analyzed verbatim. The findings revealed professional storytelling, utilizing life experience, engaging in professional development opportunities, and active engagement with staff and students were employed to acquire leadership competencies. Thus, the government should strengthen both informal and formal learning to increase leadership capacity for leading schools.

ABSTRACT The possibility of learning anytime and anywhere has accelerated the importance of informal learning spaces (ILS) at universities. A study at four European universities examined (1) the usage of ILS on and off campus for different learning activities, (2) differences between sociodemographic groups with regard to the perceived satisfaction of ILS for focused and collaborative learning activities, (3) the influence of sociodemographic factors as well as availability and accessibility of ILS on student satisfaction with campus, and (4) perceived barriers in context of available and accessible ILS. Methodologically, a mixed-methods approach was integrated combining a quantitative student survey with qualitative focus groups. Quantitative data from 932 participants reveal that sociodemographic aspects, like gender, age, study degree or facing personal challenges, do not influence perceptions of satisfaction with ILS for focused and collaborative learning activities. As a key finding from the student survey, it can be summarized that availability and accessibility of ILS contribute positively and significantly to student satisfaction with campus. Beyond construction and design improvements of ILS, insights from qualitative focus groups with students and lecturers state especially the importance of organizational aspects, like providing better information and communication to enhance the availability and accessibility of ILS on campus.

Nanotechnology involves manipulating matter at the nanoscale (approximately 1–100 nm), where materials often exhibit properties that differ from their bulk forms. Nanomaterials are widely used in medicine, energy, environmental applications, and other fields. Despite its scientific and societal importance, integrating nanoscale science and technology (NST) into secondary education remains challenging. Constraints include limited curricular time, insufficient teacher preparation, and students’ difficulties in understanding scale and size-dependent phenomena. This study describes the development and evaluation of a hybrid Nano Escape Room (Nano EsRm) designed as an informal learning environment for introducing key NST concepts. Grounded in the Six Strands of Science Proficiency framework, the activity integrates gamification, hands-on experiments, digital guidance, and collaborative puzzles. It addresses central nanoscale ideas, including size and scale, size-dependent properties, characterization methods, graphene structure, and real-world applications. Data from 176 students and 49 teachers indicate high student interest and perceived learning gains, with moderate support for conceptual understanding. Teachers evaluated the experience positively, identified the targeted nanoscale concepts, and expressed strong willingness to implement the activity in their classrooms. The findings suggest that structured, game-based informal learning environments provide an accessible approach for introducing complex nanoscale concepts in secondary education.

Anatomy education has historically prioritized cognitive knowledge acquisition and technical skills, such as spatial awareness and manual dexterity. Noncognitive attributes, essential for early-stage learners, such as social skills, motivation, emotional intelligence, self-regulation, self-efficacy, and resilience, have remained comparatively underappreciated. These attributes are rarely explicitly cultivated within anatomy curricula, yet, they are expected and reinforced through both formal and informal learning experiences and the broader educational environment. Increasingly, noncognitive attributes are recognized as foundational to professional identity formation and predictive of academic, clinical, and workplace success. This review explores the development of noncognitive attributes in anatomy education within established psychological frameworks. It considers how the learning environment and student support can be optimized for promoting development of student motivation, resilience, and self-regulated learning. The role of culture and curriculum design in fostering the acquisition of noncognitive skills is discussed, highlighting the importance of active, authentic, and inclusive practices and the integration of diverse perspectives and teaching methods into anatomy curricula. Finally, we discuss how assessment, feedback, and reflective practices can support development of noncognitive skills. These practical insights are delivered through a theoretical lens, offering strong evidence-based support for anatomy educators who wish to intentionally cultivate noncognitive attributes within their classroom.

ABSTRACT This study examines how adversity in post-conflict Syria has generated alternative forms of educational practice, knowledge production, and collective solidarity. Moving beyond resilience frameworks that risk individualising systemic crises, the paper analyzes how Syrian students, educators, and communities have created community-led schools, informal learning networks, and digital platforms as acts of resistance against the destruction of formal education systems. Drawing on transformative learning theory and critical pedagogy, the study argues that these grassroots educational initiatives represent a form of ‘knowledge born from struggles insights, skills, and adaptive capacities that emerge from navigating extreme challenges’. The paper challenges deficit-oriented narratives of crisis-affected education, demonstrating instead how Syrian communities have reimagined learning through culturally embedded practices and solidarity networks. The findings suggest that education in crisis settings functions not merely as a service to be restored but as a site of political and social transformation. The study calls for greater recognition of community-driven educational models in global policy frameworks, advocating for approaches that center local agency rather than external intervention.

ABSTRACT This study examined preschool children’s science experiences using the Child Observation in Preschools (COP) measure across 60 Head Start classrooms with 307 children. Research Findings: Science instruction was infrequent, occurring in less than 20% of observed periods and significantly less than English Language Arts or mathematics activities. When science occurred, it predominantly happened during whole-group instruction. Children showed medium engagement levels (47% of science periods), primarily through parallel rather than collaborative interactions. Science experiences were largely passive, with 80% of children listening to teachers rather than actively engaging with materials or peers. Language interactions were overwhelmingly teacher-directed, with children listening rather than discussing concepts collaboratively. Individual children’s science experiences varied considerably, with some receiving multiple opportunities while others received few or none. Practice or Policy: These findings reveal significant missed opportunities for science learning in preschool settings. Teachers may benefit from professional development focused on recognizing and creating informal science learning opportunities throughout the day, particularly during center time and outdoor activities. Programs should emphasize hands-on, inquiry-based science experiences that promote higher child engagement and peer interaction rather than passive whole-group instruction.