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This article explores contemporary models of the development of methodological competence, focusing on the needs of IT discipline teachers. The challenges in implementing these features within modern educational conditions are identified, underscoring the necessity for creating innovative teaching methods adapted to the requirements of IT teachers. By analyzing current trends in the educational environment, the authors highlight key stages in the continuous education system for teachers, including the mastering of basic education, adapting young teachers, and fostering their professional development. The article reveals the actual possibilities of developing the methodological competence of teachers as an ongoing endeavor to elevate their professional pedagogical culture. In the article, the authors propose a conceptual model within the domain of education, serving as the basis for constructing an efficient mathematical model which is specifically designed to create individualized learning trajectories for IT discipline teachers with the focus on managing the process of methodological competence development during the synthesis of training courses. The authors propose an innovative approach to teacher retraining, centered around individualized needs and abilities, with the aim of enhancing the quality of education in the field of information technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of transversal competencies, in interaction with professional competencies, is essential for individuals to adapt to change and live meaningful and productive lives. The aim of this study was to explore the mutual interaction of six transversal competencies—civic, digital, entrepreneurial, global, innovation, and research, as well as their respective sub-competencies—and propose possible approaches to how this dynamic of interaction can be applied to facilitate the development of transversal competencies. A sample of students (N = 1575) from 21 universities in Latvia completed a self-assessment survey evaluating multiple behavioural indicators for each transversal competence and sub-competence. The results revealed that civic competence was evaluated significantly lower than other competencies, and, for most transversal competencies, sub-competencies associated with active and systematic collaboration and networking received lower evaluations. A network analysis showed that the community involvement sub-competence of the civic competence and the initiative and critical thinking sub-competencies of the innovation competence had the strongest links to the other measured sub-competencies on average. The results suggest that the development of initiative and cooperation-and-collaboration-related and network-building skills are likely to have a systematic positive effect on the development of a wider set of transversal competencies and the professional autonomy of students in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Mathematics (STEAM) education, an educational approach that is steadily expanding and bringing positive results within various scenarios, is successfully implemented and promoted in various countries. However, it has often been noted in the specialized literature that the incorporation of the arts into STEAM proposals is often at the service of the other disciplines, in that authentic artistic content is scarce or non-existent. It is therefore necessary to ascertain the place of the arts within this approach, so as to move towards their inclusion in an authentic manner. Thus, with the aim of knowing the characteristics of STEAM educational proposals and determining the impact of integrated STEAM education on the development of artistic competencies, this study presents a systematic review of STEAM proposals within Primary and Secondary Education. The results show the very limited impact of this approach on arts education; although the evaluation of artistic competency development has had positive impacts, it has been contemplated in very few studies. Our conclusions reflect on some necessary considerations with which to achieve an authentic and meaningful integration of the arts within STEAM education, opening the door to a conversation on what was previously a gap in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores contemporary models of the development of methodological competence, focusing on the needs of IT discipline teachers. The challenges in implementing these features within modern educational conditions are identified, underscoring the necessity for creating innovative teaching methods adapted to the requirements of IT teachers. By analyzing current trends in the educational environment, the authors highlight key stages in the continuous education system for teachers, including the mastering of basic education, adapting young teachers, and fostering their professional development. The article reveals the actual possibilities of developing the methodological competence of teachers as an ongoing endeavor to elevate their professional pedagogical culture. In the article, the authors propose a conceptual model within the domain of education, serving as the basis for constructing an efficient mathematical model which is specifically designed to create individualized learning trajectories for IT discipline teachers with the focus on managing the process of methodological competence development during the synthesis of training courses. The authors propose an innovative approach to teacher retraining, centered around individualized needs and abilities, with the aim of enhancing the quality of education in the field of information technology.

The development of transversal competencies, in interaction with professional competencies, is essential for individuals to adapt to change and live meaningful and productive lives. The aim of this study was to explore the mutual interaction of six transversal competencies—civic, digital, entrepreneurial, global, innovation, and research, as well as their respective sub-competencies—and propose possible approaches to how this dynamic of interaction can be applied to facilitate the development of transversal competencies. A sample of students (N = 1575) from 21 universities in Latvia completed a self-assessment survey evaluating multiple behavioural indicators for each transversal competence and sub-competence. The results revealed that civic competence was evaluated significantly lower than other competencies, and, for most transversal competencies, sub-competencies associated with active and systematic collaboration and networking received lower evaluations. A network analysis showed that the community involvement sub-competence of the civic competence and the initiative and critical thinking sub-competencies of the innovation competence had the strongest links to the other measured sub-competencies on average. The results suggest that the development of initiative and cooperation-and-collaboration-related and network-building skills are likely to have a systematic positive effect on the development of a wider set of transversal competencies and the professional autonomy of students in the long term.

(1) Background: Dealing with students' maladaptive behaviour in the classroom, such as verbal aggressive behaviour, is challenging, particularly for novice teachers. They often encounter limited opportunities for training and practice in handling such incidents during their pre-service education, rendering them ill-equipped and uncertain when confronted with instances of verbal aggression during their initial teaching experiences. This article reports on the design and validation of a verbal aggression management competence model to guide and substantiate novice teachers' immediate reactions. (2) Methods: The model's construction and validation processes were informed by a dual-pronged approach, encompassing a literature analysis to explore theoretical concepts and semi-structured interviews involving 32 educational experts to validate its practical applicability. (3) Results: The design and validation processes resulted in a comprehensive competence model consisting of concrete steps to be taken during or immediately following an incident and overarching attitudes to be adopted throughout the incident managing process. (4) Conclusions: This study contributes a structured framework to empower novice teachers, offering tools to address verbal aggressive behaviour within the classroom environment. Furthermore, it highlights the potential of incorporating this model into teacher education programs, facilitating the competence development of future teachers, and fostering conducive learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work proposes a structural model highlighting the research skills of undergraduate students. Due to the stages in their research project implementation, mentoring students becomes a crucial initiative in higher education institutions. Despite substantial progress in the literature linking mentoring and skills development, there is a lack of greater emphasis on research skills, especially for undergraduate students facing research work for the first time. Consequently, the direct relation between mentoring and research skills may not be straightforward. Thus, driven by social learning theory, the proposed model highlights the mediating effects of information literacy constructs and competency development on the relationship between mentoring and research skills. An empirical study of 539 participants via Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling supports six of the seven hypothesized paths. Three major theoretical contributions arise from the findings. Firstly, mentoring improves information-seeking skills and information-sharing behaviors and facilitates students' competency development due to the technical knowledge transfer from the faculty mentor to student mentees. Secondly, information literacy constructs and competency development promote research skills, emphasizing that students with those behaviors and capacities will achieve enhanced research skills. Finally, our findings suggest that mentoring does not directly translate to improved research skills; instead, information-seeking and sharing behaviors and competency development fully mediate such a link. Thus, mentors must shape these behaviors for mentoring to develop students' research skills. Theoretical and practical insights are outlined from these findings for university leadership to inform the design of mentoring initiatives for undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Mathematics (STEAM) education, an educational approach that is steadily expanding and bringing positive results within various scenarios, is successfully implemented and promoted in various countries. However, it has often been noted in the specialized literature that the incorporation of the arts into STEAM proposals is often at the service of the other disciplines, in that authentic artistic content is scarce or non-existent. It is therefore necessary to ascertain the place of the arts within this approach, so as to move towards their inclusion in an authentic manner. Thus, with the aim of knowing the characteristics of STEAM educational proposals and determining the impact of integrated STEAM education on the development of artistic competencies, this study presents a systematic review of STEAM proposals within Primary and Secondary Education. The results show the very limited impact of this approach on arts education; although the evaluation of artistic competency development has had positive impacts, it has been contemplated in very few studies. Our conclusions reflect on some necessary considerations with which to achieve an authentic and meaningful integration of the arts within STEAM education, opening the door to a conversation on what was previously a gap in the literature.

To meet the changing competence requirements for employees in engineering professions, education and training need to adapt accordingly. Learning factories offer various possibilities to design or integrate practice-oriented learning into training measures. Whether this approach in fact facilitates learning and competence development is rarely investigated. For this reason, the objective of this scoping review is to analyze and summarize the existing empirical findings on learning success and competence development in learning factories regarding their evaluation methods and results. Following standardized guidelines (PRISMA, JBI) for scoping reviews, 12 databases were researched. The literature screening led to the identification of 24 publications included in the final analysis. The results indicate that a variety of evaluation methods are used to assess learning and competences at learning factories and that criteria of all four competence facets (professional, methodological, social, and self-competence) can be enhanced at learning factories in general. As many of the identified studies show potential for improvement regarding the quality of the used methods and analysis of results, further studies on these topics are needed. Evaluations should be integrated into all training measures at learning factories to ensure learning success and competence development and to be able to readjust design, structure, and didactics where necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Dealing with students’ maladaptive behaviour in the classroom, such as verbal aggressive behaviour, is challenging, particularly for novice teachers. They often encounter limited opportunities for training and practice in handling such incidents during their pre-service education, rendering them ill-equipped and uncertain when confronted with instances of verbal aggression during their initial teaching experiences. This article reports on the design and validation of a verbal aggression management competence model to guide and substantiate novice teachers’ immediate reactions. (2) Methods: The model’s construction and validation processes were informed by a dual-pronged approach, encompassing a literature analysis to explore theoretical concepts and semi-structured interviews involving 32 educational experts to validate its practical applicability. (3) Results: The design and validation processes resulted in a comprehensive competence model consisting of concrete steps to be taken during or immediately following an incident and overarching attitudes to be adopted throughout the incident managing process. (4) Conclusions: This study contributes a structured framework to empower novice teachers, offering tools to address verbal aggressive behaviour within the classroom environment. Furthermore, it highlights the potential of incorporating this model into teacher education programs, facilitating the competence development of future teachers, and fostering conducive learning environments.

This work proposes a structural model highlighting the research skills of undergraduate students. Due to the stages in their research project implementation, mentoring students becomes a crucial initiative in higher education institutions. Despite substantial progress in the literature linking mentoring and skills development, there is a lack of greater emphasis on research skills, especially for undergraduate students facing research work for the first time. Consequently, the direct relation between mentoring and research skills may not be straightforward. Thus, driven by social learning theory, the proposed model highlights the mediating effects of information literacy constructs and competency development on the relationship between mentoring and research skills. An empirical study of 539 participants via Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling supports six of the seven hypothesized paths. Three major theoretical contributions arise from the findings. Firstly, mentoring improves information-seeking skills and information-sharing behaviors and facilitates students’ competency development due to the technical knowledge transfer from the faculty mentor to student mentees. Secondly, information literacy constructs and competency development promote research skills, emphasizing that students with those behaviors and capacities will achieve enhanced research skills. Finally, our findings suggest that mentoring does not directly translate to improved research skills; instead, information-seeking and sharing behaviors and competency development fully mediate such a link. Thus, mentors must shape these behaviors for mentoring to develop students’ research skills. Theoretical and practical insights are outlined from these findings for university leadership to inform the design of mentoring initiatives for undergraduate students.

To meet the changing competence requirements for employees in engineering professions, education and training need to adapt accordingly. Learning factories offer various possibilities to design or integrate practice-oriented learning into training measures. Whether this approach in fact facilitates learning and competence development is rarely investigated. For this reason, the objective of this scoping review is to analyze and summarize the existing empirical findings on learning success and competence development in learning factories regarding their evaluation methods and results. Following standardized guidelines (PRISMA, JBI) for scoping reviews, 12 databases were researched. The literature screening led to the identification of 24 publications included in the final analysis. The results indicate that a variety of evaluation methods are used to assess learning and competences at learning factories and that criteria of all four competence facets (professional, methodological, social, and self-competence) can be enhanced at learning factories in general. As many of the identified studies show potential for improvement regarding the quality of the used methods and analysis of results, further studies on these topics are needed. Evaluations should be integrated into all training measures at learning factories to ensure learning success and competence development and to be able to readjust design, structure, and didactics where necessary.

Competence in “Cultural awareness and expressions” requires very stimulating activities for its development, and cinema can be used as an interesting enhancer of educational action. The educational potential of the so-called movie-induced tourism, which has increased in recent years thanks to the impact of major productions such as The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars or Game of Thrones, could bring extra motivation when developing any competency including the aforementioned one. This article aims to suggest some keys on film tourism as a didactic resource and how destinations might capitalize on it through entrepreneurship. In doing so, educational establishments located within film destinations can carry out projects in this sense to work on the competence of “Cultural awareness and expressions”. Thus, an example of didactic programming will be offered based on the creation of new tourist businesses to take advantage of Lord of the Rings saga filming in San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (Vizcaya, Basque Country, Spain).

In the beginning of 2015, a consortium consisting of 13 Danish municipalities with 240 schools, almost 80,000 students and 10,000 professionals together with a university based research institution and a competence development center launched the school development project “Program for Learning Leadership.” The project provides data for teachers and school leaders in order to support pedagogical practices and school leadership. It also provides research based competence development packages with professional teams organized in professional learning communities as the central target group for receiving research results and transforming these results into professional practice. Based on a quantitative survey performed in 2015 and repeated in 2017, the project shows that school data and competence development can support positive school changes and improve teachers’ professional self-evaluation, and that competence development should focus on professional teams (professional learning communities) rather than on individual teachers. However, it is still too early to identify the effects for students’ learning and development achievements.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) provide opportunities for learners to benefit from initiatives that are promoted by prestigious universities worldwide. The introduction of MOOCs in 2008 has since then transformed education globally. Consequently, MOOCs should be acknowledged as a pedagogical innovation and recognized as change agents and facilitators in the transition of opening up education, in the transition from traditional campus education to open online learning arenas, which increases learners’ access to and equity in lifelong learning. There is a need to consider MOOCs as a natural part of universities’ course offerings and business models and to recognize MOOCs as valuable for learners. Furthermore, MOOCs should be regarded as valuable learning and educational initiatives in the same way that journals and books are recognized. Learners should be able to take MOOCs either at their own university or from other providers. Moreover, MOOCs should be valued in policies, strategies, and action plans, and they should be included in processes of quality enhancement and quality assurance. This paper points out the merits of the innovative use of MOOCs in higher education. In this qualitative literature research, a content method analysis was conducted through a systematic review of the literature. Through the findings from the literature research it is suggested that MOOCs could be permanent change agents that boost innovation in higher education learning arenas. In particular, the findings revealed the benefits of MOOCs in various areas, such as lifelong learning, professional competence development, validation of learning, and degree recognition, in addition to clarifying several business models of higher education.

Competence in "Cultural awareness and expressions" requires very stimulating activities for its development, and cinema can be used as an interesting enhancer of educational action. The educational potential of the so-called movie-induced tourism, which has increased in recent years thanks to the impact of major productions such as The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars or Game of Thrones, could bring extra motivation when developing any competency including the aforementioned one. This article aims to suggest some keys on film tourism as a didactic resource and how destinations might capitalize on it through entrepreneurship. In doing so, educational establishments located within film destinations can carry out projects in this sense to work on the competence of "Cultural awareness and expressions". Thus, an example of didactic programming will be offered based on the creation of new tourist businesses to take advantage of Lord of the Rings saga filming in San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (Vizcaya, Basque Country, Spain). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the beginning of 2015, a consortium consisting of 13 Danish municipalities with 240 schools, almost 80,000 students and 10,000 professionals together with a university based research institution and a competence development center launched the school development project "Program for Learning Leadership." The project provides data for teachers and school leaders in order to support pedagogical practices and school leadership. It also provides research based competence development packages with professional teams organized in professional learning communities as the central target group for receiving research results and transforming these results into professional practice. Based on a quantitative survey performed in 2015 and repeated in 2017, the project shows that school data and competence development can support positive school changes and improve teachers' professional self-evaluation, and that competence development should focus on professional teams (professional learning communities) rather than on individual teachers. However, it is still too early to identify the effects for students' learning and development achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]