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While there is a substantial body of leaving care research, the theorization of care leaving has been more limited. Only a few studies have incorporated a life course perspective, mainly in Global North contexts where life course perspectives may differ significantly from those in the Global South, including Africa. Drawing on findings from a feasibility research study, this paper contributes to the emerging international literature on theorizing care leaving by applying a life course perspective to the experiences of youth leaving care in four African countries. The paper highlights how life course can be a useful conceptual framework for understanding the experiences of care leavers with an emphasis on four core concepts: biography, linked lives, waithood, and agency. Implications for policy and practice are outlined with a focus on interdependence, participatory practice, biography, and cultural transition planning alongside efforts to redress systemic, oppressive barriers facing care leavers in society.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fast-tracked the development of digital applications and inspired everyone to adapt to the technologies to curb the spread of outbreak. As this crisis intensifies, the rapid usage of digital devices and apps has echoed the serious concerns about civil liberties, privacy, and data protection. Considering the situation, this research aimed to explore the internet using habits of the youths of West Bengal, a state in eastern India, during COVID-19. Besides, the paper explored their experiences of using various digital applications, the fundamental digital literacy and how safely they protect data from breaches. Thus, the paper presents the results by conducting an online survey among the youths in West Bengal. The result, from 215 participants, highlighted that the increased use of these digital applications has not matched the demand for digital privacy literacy among the young generation of the state. While this pandemic has raised their concerns over digital privacy and data protection, yet they do not undertake any strong protection mechanisms to safeguard them digitally. Besides, this paper suggests suitable plans to raise awareness among this generation and form a healthy digital citizenship with a proper regulatory framework as it is the need of the hour.

Evidence-based library and information practice (EBLIP) provides school librarians a systematic means of building, assessing, and revising a library program, thus demonstrating a school library program's worth to the larger school community. Through survey research collecting both qualitative and quantitative data, 111 public school librarians in Texas shared the extent to which they applied components of EBLIP to practice, the extent to which they shared EBLIP data and with whom, and the extent to which formal LIS education has supported their applications of EBLIP. Findings indicate the large majority of respondents engaged in some form of EBLIP, typically referencing professional journals, standards, and guidelines; informally collecting evidence from stakeholders; and writing mission statements. Few respondents, however, engaged in the complete process. With the intent of gaining, increasing, or securing something, respondents were most likely to share goals and data with administrators and teachers than with other stakeholders. Despite so few respondents' engaging in the complete process, approximately half expressed the belief that their LIS programs contributed to their understanding of EBLIP.

This paper engages with digital urban futures prospectively, departing from most existing geographical work that has tended to explore the future retrospectively. I do so by first discussing a methodology that is sensitive to the meanings and significations of the future as well as future‐making as an active process, or as 'practised'. I argue that such an orientation is necessary to challenge the established view of the future as an endpoint or as a priori in social and cultural geography and, correspondingly, invite a more processual and emergent understanding of the future as multiple, never complete and always becoming. Using the example of Singapore's Smart Nation initiative, I then show how this methodological approach can be employed to study the way urban dwellers encounter, engage and evaluate possible futures in their everyday spaces and lives. Focusing on futures prospectively is significant insofar as it directs attention to their relationality and open‐endedness, which, in turn, provides the latitude to consider and construct different forms of futures. Beyond the methodological contribution, this paper offers an epistemological intervention that not only unpicks how knowledge about the future is currently produced in the literature but also multiplies our ways of studying futurity and future‐making. This paper engages with digital urban futures prospectively, departing from most existing work that has tended to explore the future retrospectively. Using the example of the E‐Payments programme in Singapore, I show how a prospective methodological approach can be employed to study the way urban dwellers encounter, engage and evaluate possible futures in their everyday spaces and lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational thinking (CT) has the potential to enhance learning when integrated into mathematical classroom activities. Teachers are being asked to include CT concepts in their core disciplines; however, there is an open question as to how best to equip teachers to integrate CT into their practice. Oftentimes teacher candidates enter math and science methods courses with emerging ideas of what CT might be but little formal experience with the construct (Yadav et al., 2014). Relatively little is understood about the most effective ways to support candidates' understanding of CT, and how to support them in integrating CT into disciplinary instruction. In this paper, we describe a novel method of introducing teacher candidates to CT through a five-lesson module within the context of an existing pre-service teacher math and science methods course. We use an Experience First, Formalize Later format inspired by Stats Medic (2018) to help develop teacher candidates' intuitions around CT primarily through firsthand experience and the roles it can play in their math and science classrooms. This paper presents the instructional materials for this innovative approach for integrating CT into a pre-service mathematics and science methods course. We will also present data from teaching these materials with a cohort of 14 teacher candidates. Collectively, this work contributes a novel strategy for integrating CT into pre-service methods courses and contributes to our understanding of the relationship between CT and the existing disciplines of K-12 math and science, especially as seen by teacher candidates entering the profession.

This paper draws on Bakhtin's (1981) notions of discourse and ideological becoming to investigate how adolescents' experiences with young adult literature and other texts might inform their thinking around issues of social justice. We engaged in a number of activities with the young adolescent participants: thought maps, illustrations of poignant scenes, written accounts of personal experiences, and focus group interviews. Using these activities as our data for this paper, we explain how the young adolescent participants called upon discourses of social justice to engage in the process of ideological becoming. Thus, the paper concludes that texts have the potential to affect students' ways of thinking and being in profound ways.

The First 1000 Days (the period from conception to a child's second birthday) is an important developmental period. However, little is known about experiences of parents with refugee and migrant backgrounds during this period. A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Publications were identified through searches of the Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Scopus databases, critically appraised, and synthesised using thematic analysis. A total of 35 papers met inclusion criteria. Depressive symptomatology was consistently higher than global averages, however maternal depression conceptualisations differed across studies. Several papers reported changes in relationship dynamics as a result of having a baby post-migration. Consistent relationships were found between social and health support and wellbeing. Conceptualisations of wellbeing may differ among migrant families. Limited understanding of health services and relationships with health providers may impede help-seeking. Several research gaps were identified, particularly in relation to the wellbeing of fathers, and of parents of children over 12 months old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A positive childbirth experience promotes women's health, both during and beyond the perinatal period. Understanding what constitutes a positive childbirth experience is thus critical to providing high‐quality maternity care. Currently, there is no clear, inclusive, woman‐centered definition of a positive childbirth experience to guide practice, education, and research. Aim: To formulate an inclusive woman‐centered definition of a positive childbirth experience. Methods: A six‐step process was undertaken: (a) Key concepts associated with a positive childbirth were derived from a rapid literature review; (b) The key concepts were used by interdisciplinary experts in the author group to create a draft definition; (c) The draft definition was presented to clinicians and researchers during a European research meeting on perinatal mental health; (d) The authors integrated the expert feedback to refine the working definition; (e) A revised definition was shared with women from consumer groups in six countries to confirm its face validity; and (f) A final definition was formulated based on the women's feedback (n = 42). Results: The following definition was formulated: "A positive childbirth experience refers to a woman's experience of interactions and events directly related to childbirth that made her feel supported, in control, safe, and respected; a positive childbirth can make women feel joy, confident, and/or accomplished and may have short and/or long‐term positive impacts on a woman's psychosocial well‐being." Conclusions: This inclusive, woman‐centered definition highlights the importance of provider interactions for facilitating a positive childbirth experience. Feeling supported and having a sense of control, safety, and respect are central tenets. This definition could help to identify and validate positive childbirth experience(s), and to inform practice, education, research, advocacy, and policy‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a national study commissioned by Tennis Australia to assess the positive role that sport, specifically tennis, has on the lives of LGBT+ people in Australia. It explores specifically the role of tennis in building social solidarity and community capital through leisurely and organised sporting activities. Theoretically, this paper is anchored in the work of Putnam, where we demonstrate how sport promotes and bridges social capital. Scholarship that explores how sport can be a source of celebration and enjoyment for LGBT+ people remains underexplored. To gain comprehensive insights into the perceptions and lived experiences of LGBT+ tennis players, we employed a qualitative research design drawing on the methods of semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observation. In total 27 interviews were conducted, 3 focus groups and over 50 hours of observations at various LGBT+ tennis clubs and tournaments in Sydney, Hobart, Perth and Melbourne. Our paper makes a significant contribution to scholarship by assessing the ways in which sport can advance inclusion efforts for LGBT+ people, and positively impact their lives and overall wellbeing. Our research clearly indicated that those who play tennis reported improvement in their mental and physical health whilst also enhancing their social capital.

Background: A move beyond static and representational accounts of science learning and becoming through relations is needed. Purpose: In this paper extra-learning activities in science offered by a community organization to an elementary class over one academic school year are assessed in light of their contributions to science learning and becoming. The latter is explored through a theoretical grounding and focus on the entanglements of bodies, materials, and affect. In doing so, the paper speaks to the affective turn in science education. The study is grounded in a non-representational and subjective reading of the work affect is doing yet also attends to the role of materials and bodies within that process, speaking to materialism, embodiment, and dignity. Sample: One elementary school class, participating in a one-year long activity assumed by a community organization (CO). Design & Method: Data was collected through a video ethnography of the science activities assumed by the CO. Through interaction analysis, telling moments of joint-engagement in science were analysed by centering body-material-affect entanglements. By juxtaposing these moments with background information from interviews of the teacher and the instructor, a bricolage of data sources led to narratives presented as three stories. Results: Making evident entanglements through three stories, the paper offers insights into ways non-representational embodied and material forms of learning and becoming can be studied and documented and the insights they might offer into understanding learning and becoming in science. The stories speak to the kind of work entanglements make evident in terms of lived affect in science but also moments of relations between participants and dignity affirming or undermining work in science learning and becoming. Conclusion: More studies are needed to engage with body-material entanglements in and through affect and report on the manner affect supports dignifying forms of engagement with science.

This paper reflects on the recounts of a group of 'old boys' about their transition from elite schools to university. Analysis of semi-structured interview data reveals that this transition was not always straightforward. Although educational background has traditionally determined access to, and progress through, university, this paper details the challenges that confronted a group of old boys as they negotiated a landscape that did not align with the positionality they had assumed in their schooling. Defining this as a 'bubble bursting' moment, the participants relay how negotiations of their positionality provoked a reflexive accounting of what to keep and what to reject in the formation of undergraduate identities. The discourses that surround the educational choices made by elite school students indicate how tightly bound notions of achievement and academic excellence define expectations and concomitant senses of Self. Exposure to a larger, and more diverse student population, as well as changed social strata, resulted in the questioning of the elite school environment and the preparation that it provided. This paper explores a currently under-theorised aspect of the literature to detail how the emotions and feelings that elite school alumni experience frames the transition to university.

The complexity of interdisciplinary research, including the time needed to understand multiple approaches and develop skills, within a university structure organised in disciplines, means that interdisciplinary research can be difficult for a developing researcher. However, early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) are key to the future of interdisciplinary research. This paper asks, 'Why and how do EMCRs become interdisciplinarians?' It draws on analysis of interviews supplemented by ethnographic observations from a research project exploring the development of interdisciplinary expertise in universities. This paper outlines six common intersecting career pathways through which EMCRs come to work across disciplines. The diverse and often ad hoc nature of interdisciplinary research careers implies that support systems, resources and training need to be adaptive and flexible.

The paper presents results of a phenomenological longitudinal qualitative study undertaken with mentors associated with the Big Brothers Big Sisters programme in the Czech Republic. Ten mentors were interviewed during the first month and after 5 and 10 months of their mentoring involvement employing phenomenological in-depth semi-structured interviews. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was subsequently applied using QSR NVivo software for data analysis. This paper reports the findings of an IPA analysis of one of the central theme of mentors' experience, common to all interviewed mentors: initial motivation to volunteer in formal youth mentoring relationships (FYMRs). The findings of the IPA analysis are discussed using the framework of self-determination theory (SDT) with its continuum of autonomous and controlling motivations. As a result, we argue that the initial motivations of mentors can be assessed according to the level of autonomy in mentors' motivation, in other words, congruence of their motivations with the authentic self. We argue that the level of congruence of mentors' motivation with the authentic self can be considered as the quality feature of the mentors' motivation. We conclude that, in theory, this feature has an impact on the subsequent dynamics and perceived satisfaction of formal youth mentoring relationships. We recommend that the mentors' motivation, and specifically, the level of autonomy in mentors' motivation to volunteer with socially disadvantaged children be assessed in mentoring programmes as a qualitative feature in mentors' training and recruitment.

Nature connection has been found in previous research to be a predictor of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. For this reason, efforts to build children's nature connection through a variety of avenues, including environmental education, have been explored by practitioners and researchers alike. In this paper we undertook a purposive literature search of research looking at factors associated with children's nature connection. The resulting synthesis of 28 studies found demographic, dispositional, affective, familial, environmental, and experiential factors that are associated with children's nature connection that will be of interest to educators, parents, researchers, and policy makers. Recommendations are made for the implementation in environmental education programmes and beyond, in order effectively mobilise an integrated response that will foster a sustained connection to the natural world.

This qualitative study involves six lecturers who have supervised students with disabilities. Participants were purposively selected and interviewed telephonically using semi-structured interviews. The study adopted a thematic data analysis approach to identify patterns in supervision experiences. The paper problematises a deficit approach that is dominantly adopted to identify and design programmes and manage students-at-risk. The analysis of the supervision of postgraduate students-at-risk is framed within the Humanising pedagogy which advances the accommodation of students' unique needs to develop their capacities for success. This theoretical framework is not adopted much in the open and distance learning context at postgraduate level and the use of supervisors' insights adds new knowledge to the field that is dominated by students' experiences. The study established that students do not communicate their disabilities to supervisors timely for early intervention, supervisors are responsive to students' challenges which include difficulties in academic writing and limited access to research resources and technologies, and supervisors experience systemic challenges in acquiring assistive technology for students with disabilities. This study proposes a humanised supervision model that advances disability inclusivity.

This study was designed considering the necessity of a questionnaire (validated on Romanian population and built after consulting the available papers on the subject) for evaluating the resilience of adolescents. It was focused on further developing the ARES ("Adolescents' Resilience Evaluation Scale", built in 2018 as a pilot-study, with 62 subjects). This new form (ARES-i25) includes new theoretical aspects, new items and it was completed by 423 subjects. Using factorial exploratory analysis, five factors (which explained 72,1% of the variance of resilience) were identified: tenacity and self-efficiency; self-confidence; learn from life experiences; rapid recovery after trauma; social and familial resources. The reliability was proven by its internal consistency ([alpha]= 0.83 on a general level, and subscales 0.71<[alpha]> 0.89), while its concurrent validity was proven by 0.05 0.75 (comparing the results to those of BRS - Smith et al., 2008) thus proving the adequate psychometric qualities of the new form of ARES-i25. Future studies will focus on extending the sample and on applying ARES-i25 in other countries and creating programs for developing resilience.

Internationally, there are concerns that more needs to be done to address the inequalities in participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects at the degree level. In response, research focused on better understanding what influences young people's STEM participation has focused on a range of factors. This paper contributes to the existing research with an analysis of how "science capital" and "STEM identity" relate to STEM participation. We draw on data from 3310 young people aged 21-22 who had undertaken an undergraduate degree, 523 of whom studied a STEM subject. We found that science capital and STEM identity were statistically significantly related to studying a STEM degree (with science capital being weakly and STEM identity strongly associated with STEM study at university). Adopting a Bourdieusian lens, we discuss what our findings mean for higher education and what more could be done to support students, especially those who are currently under-represented in STEM, such as through better recognising and developing their science capital and supporting their sense of belonging in STEM.

This paper reviews prior applications of co-production principles and their potential impact on the mental health and wellbeing of care leavers. There is minimal research available on care leaver narratives of their experiences and consequent mental health and wellbeing needs. This paper explores the relevance of different, sometimes opposed, approaches to co-production, the knowledge which can be gained about the mental health and wellbeing needs of care leavers, and finally the potential for lifelong learning through co-production with care leavers. A systematic review was selected to draw conclusions about how the method of co-production could improve awareness of and provisions for care leaver mental health and wellbeing. This review included 14 sources with a total of 541 participants. Following a rigorous systematic review on these themes, conclusions were drawn suggesting that co-production involving care experienced individuals, whilst faced with a range of considerations to ensure success, can have largely positive impacts on care leaver mental health and wellbeing and is therefore a recommended methodology.

There is a gap in research on how best to support exercise in moderate to severe MS. The objective of this study is to share perspectives of people living with MS and physiotherapists on their experiences in a randomized clinical trial of online physiotherapy vs. an active comparator. Semi-structured exit interviews were conducted with volunteer participants from the online and comparator arms of the trial, and focus groups were held with study physiotherapists. Transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Perspectives from participants with MS yielded three themes: usability of their program, utility of their program, and motivation to participate. Visual and dexterity impairments limited the usability of the online program. Having an opportunity "to be pushed" was valued by participants in both trial arms. Motivation to exercise was variable, and participants desired periodic face-to-face contact with their physiotherapists. Perspectives from trial physiotherapists yielded similar and complementary findings concerning usability and utility. Participants with MS and physiotherapists found the online physiotherapy platform useful for supporting exercise, yet they identified some limitations. As the appeal of online platforms has increased since the pandemic, it will be important to consider the needs of people with moderate to severe MS. NCT03039400. People with moderate-to-severe MS and physiotherapists involved in a clinical trial found online physiotherapy useful for supporting exercise. Physiotherapists and participants using the online program desired improved platform accommodations for people living with MS with visual and dexterity impairments. Physiotherapists and people living with MS from both the online exercise program and comparator groups perceived a need for more face-to-face contact and opportunities to build therapeutic alliance. Perspectives from prescribing physiotherapists and people living with MS about supporting exercise online may have practice implications during and post-pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portfolios are used in midwifery education to provide students with a central place to store their accumulative evidence of clinical experience for initial registration in Australia. Portfolio formats can be paper-based or electronic. Anecdotal discussion between midwifery students in Queensland debated the best format to document the requirements for the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) standard 8.11. Midwifery students using paper-based portfolios envisioned that an ePortfolio would be streamline, simple, safe to use, and able to be used anywhere with WIFI, while some students using an ePortfolio expressed a desire to have a paper-based portfolio as a hard copy. This situation called for evidence of a comparison to resolve the debate. The aim of this study was to investigate midwifery students' experiences of the benefits and challenges between paper-based and ePortfolios when compiling evidence to meet the requirements for initial registration as a midwife in Australia (ANMAC, 2014). • Each type of portfolio had challenges and benefits. • Portfolio completion is time consuming, and stressful due to the need for verification of evidence. • Students require early and regular feedback on portfolio development. • National standards are required for consistency in documentation across universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies suggest that deviations from proper authorship practices are commonplace in medicine. The aim of this study was to explore experiences of and attitudes towards the handling of authorship in PhD theses at medical faculties in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Methods: Those who defended their PhD thesis at a medical faculty in Scandinavia during the second half of 2020 were offered, by e-mail, to participate in an online survey. Survey questions dealt with experiences of violations of the first three of the ICMJE authorship criteria and misuse of authorship order in the thesis articles, as well as respondents' attitudes to these matters. Both questions with fixed response alternatives and questions with free-text responses were used. Quantitative data were analysed statistically using the Table functions in SPSS 25 and Chi-2 tests. Free-text responses were analysed qualitatively using manifest content analysis. Results: 287 valid questionnaires were returned (response rate: 34.1%). Almost half (46.0%) of the respondents reported that the ICMJE authorship criteria were not fully respected in at least one of the papers in their thesis, while a vast majority (96.7%) found it important that authorship is handled according to the ICMJE authorship criteria. 24.4% reported inadequate handling of authorship order in at least one paper. The qualitative results provide a wide spectrum of examples of how the ICMJE authorship criteria are circumvented. Conclusion: Despite increasing educational efforts to reduce deviations from good research practice at Scandinavian universities, the handling of authorship in medical papers remains problematic.

In this paper, we reflect on Luisa Marco-Bujosa's paper, "Soul searching in teaching science for social justice: an exploration of critical events through the lens of intersectionality." Our goal is to offer the reader a deeper understanding of the principles and epistemologies of Afrocentric schooling that were foundational to Faith's intersectional experience as she taught science for social justice. We then consider Faith's experiences in light of these refined understandings.

Drawing on communities of practice and social cognitive learning theories, this paper explores language teachers' beliefs, knowledge and practices concerning the provision of high-quality education to learners with specific learning difficulties in various educational settings around the world. The data sample for this paper comprises qualitative data (videorecorded interviews and teaching resources) collected from six teachers working across various educational settings (primary, secondary, college and university) across several geographical areas (Europe, Middle East, and Southeast Asia). Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the data. The findings suggest that teachers continue to experience challenges in educating learners with specific learning difficulties regardless of the educational setting. Limited opportunities for receiving specialised training in this area have been identified by several teachers as one of the key factors affecting the quality of their practice. The change in the mode of instruction from face-to-face to online was not always reported as negatively affecting the quality of educational provision to learners with specific learning difficulties. Technology-assisted online lesson delivery was seen as being advantageous to learners with some types of learning difficulties. Findings from this paper can be useful to teacher-practitioners and teacher-educators who are interested in improving the quality of language education for learners with specific learning difficulties.

The principal objective of this study was to profile qualitative research in social sciences through a comprehensive examination of 10,637 documents. An analysis on how scholars from central/peripheral countries included in the qualitative research citations/publications is presented. Central/peripheral distinction is used to determine the trends in the globalization of qualitative research. With the comprehensive examination, this paper will shed light on the discussion of the patterns of globalization in qualitative research. Science mapping technique among bibliometric methods was employed. This paper is based on studies that published in journals that use the English word/term "qualitative" in their titles. The data for this study encompassed 10,637 documents published between 1995 and 2019 by 16,884 authors. Our findings reveal that qualitative research continue to be mostly North America- and Europe-centered initiatives. A similar situation is also observed for the most cited publications and the affiliated institutes of their authors. The studies focus primarily on the individuals' self and social experiences, social psychology, and their knowledge, attitude, and behaviors in education. The most cited publications and the institutions with the highest number of publications are all North America- and Europe-centered. Another finding is that six of every 10 qualitative research are about medical sciences.

Gamification possesses a great potential to shape human behaviors and performance. However, the mixed results in gamification research suggest the need to develop a thorough understanding of the mechanistic underpinnings of gamification. Although self-determination theory (SDT) provides a solid theoretical framework to achieve such purposes, it has been mostly applied superficially, limiting its potential to significantly impact gamification research and practice. This paper suggests that SDT, particularly three ideas in SDT -- a continuum of motivation, the mutually supportive nature of basic psychological needs, and the functional significance of an event -- have not been fully explored in gamification research and practice. Attention to the three ideas and relevant SDT literature will advance gamification research and practice in the following ways. First, the idea of continuum of motivation can serve as a powerful framework to conceptualize gamification. Second, the ideas of mutually supportive nature of basic psychological needs and the functional significance of an event can help us develop a nuanced instead of simplistic approach to gamification design. Finally, the three ideas suggest important research directions that have yet to be fully explored in current gamification research.

This paper presents an overview of the arts-based methodology used in a research project that aimed to explore the impact of the lived experiences of racism on 10- and 11-year-old children in the United Kingdom. The research responds to the relative lack of literature concerning the racialised experiences of young children. We discuss how we developed the arts-based method of body mapping as an ethical approach to foregrounding the children's voices. We consider that this approach contributes to knowledge and understanding about exploring the nuanced and complex relationship between the children's external worlds and their internal feelings, and supporting them to process and communicate this. We suggest that the method presented is transferable, and present our ethically engaged, arts-based planning framework that can be used if others wish to adopt this way of working.

Abstract Since Bitner's (1992) introduction of the servicescape concept, many conceptual and empirical studies have been conducted. Even though a relatively solid theoretical base has been established, the nature of the concept has not been updated with contemporary views on theories explaining behavior of consumers, employees and other stakeholders. Hence, the current study scanned the literature on servicescape and relevant concepts in order to update servicescape. The review of literature resulted in a new term, experienscape that is enhanced with the organizational culture of hospitality and the inclusion of employees, as both internal customers and service providers, as well as other stakeholders. For a comprehensive understanding of experienscape, a multidisciplinary approach is proposed by integrating views and theories from marketing, human resource management, organizational behavior, psychology, social psychology, communication, architecture, environmental design, and other related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shares my former literacy learner and friend - Marie's journey - and my own. We explore critical approaches to education and beyond and how they offer a potential space for transformation not just for the learner but for the teacher. The ripple impact has supported us on our journey across nearly two decades. Our relationship was forged by a learner driven, and socially empowering model (Freire, 1993; Barton et al 2003; Duckworth, 2013, 14; Duckworth and Smith 2017, 2018) which takes into consideration the cultural, psychological and educational factors related to the Learners and their lives and driven by creating critical spaces for organic transformative tools for consciousness-raising (Freire 1995) and a caring space where hope can act as a change agent that fuelled our life. In this paper we argue that the aforementioned encourages dialogic communication between teachers and literacy learners whereby learners, teachers and communities can share stories, ask questions, analyse and subsequently work through effective and meaningful strategies to take agency over their lives, enhancing their situation and empowering them in the public and personal domains of their journeys.

I approach this paper from a critical retro-reflective stance, which explores borders both physical and educational through my pedagogical experiences in a high school in India, home experiences in the geographical borderlands of Nepal and India, and my current work in Nepal and the United States. All of the anecdotes or data originate from my personal experiences that include my siblings, friends, neighbors, teachers, and students. Through these anecdotes, I attempt to show how multiple facets of border pedagogy influence what happens at the socio-psychological level and in science teaching and learning contexts. Critical retro-reflective pieces presented in this paper exemplify complex nature of complementarities and contradictories of identity, pedagogy, history, economics, culture, and experiences in classrooms, communities, and other cognitive spaces. Furthermore, what possibilities of border pedagogies and spaces exist that enhance science teaching and learning for equity and social justice. In the context of science education, there have always been struggles to find legitimate teaching and learning environments in which students are encouraged and supported to challenge dominant ways of knowing and understanding. Therefore, retro-reflective approach allows me to examine how geographical borders, in this case Nepal-India, and science classrooms as intellectual borders, present opportunities and struggles to deconstruct oppressive systems and reconstruct possibilities for socially just science learning spaces. The process of reflection aids in reexamining my own relationship to culture, language, history, and local economy with science education.

How children experience the major transition from pre-school to compulsory schooling influences their immediate and future success and wellbeing. This complex process of change and adaptation is impacted by school readiness policy drivers, which prioritise children's performance and achievement. Pedagogic and curriculum progression shifts from play to work, with structured and adult-led activities. These factors contribute to the schoolification of early childhood education, and construct school readiness as an attribute of the child. This paper reports findings on how six children experienced transition and school readiness as they move from Maternelle to Year 1 in an International school in Belgium. Multimodal and multivocal methods of data collection were used to provide child participants with accessible ways of expressing their perspectives of the lived experience of transition. The children perceived the major transition being from play to work and understood that they were expected to be ready for this change. From a socio-cultural perspective, this paper argues that school readiness cannot be assessed at a specific point in time, but should instead be viewed as the lived experience of children that begins before, and continues well beyond the transition. Children are expected to adapt to multiple changes in curriculum and pedagogical practices, as well as changes in cultural, temporal and material contexts. It is recommended that critical questions about how school readiness is constructed should take account of children's perspectives and experiences of transitions.