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Studies commonly measure the challenges of caring for autistic adolescents and young adults, but scarcely explore the positive aspects of the caregiving experience. This study employed an equal-status concurrent mixed methods approach to quantitatively assess predictors of positive aspects of caregiving and qualitatively examine 174 caregivers' perceived rewards, or positive aspects, of caring for autistic adolescents and young adults (ages 16-30 years). Results from multiple regression analyses suggest that youth's helping behavior most strongly predicted positive aspects of caregiving, and youth receiving more services and caregivers' greater report of social support and use of religious, acceptance, and instrumental support coping also significantly predicted greater reported positive aspects of caregiving. Findings from a phenomenologically informed thematic analysis suggest that caregivers find reward in witnessing youths' progress and joyous qualities, in the caregiver-youth relationship, and in caregivers' own growth. Mixed methods findings highlight that positive aspects of caregiving likely extend caregivers' self-development and may be relationship-specific. Study findings offer a strengths-based framework that highlights the positive aspects of caring for autistic adolescents and young adults. We contribute to the research in defining factors related to positive aspects of caregiving, which may inform future work and contribute to caregiver well-being.

Research suggests that psychological factors are related to persistence in science, especially for underrepresented students; however, most psychological instruments have been validated through studies conducted at predominately White institutions. In the current study, we report reliability estimates for measures of science identity, science motivation, and science self-efficacy with a sample of undergraduate college students from a Hispanic Serving Institution (N = 309). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were estimated with Cronbach's alpha and intra-class correlation coefficients, respectively. We report Cronbach's alpha values separately for male (N = 152), female (N = 152), Hispanic (N = 111), and White (N = 115) students. We also examined whether there were statistically significant differences in the Cronbach's alpha values between these groups. The results demonstrated good to excellent reliability estimates for internal consistency ([alpha] ranged from 0.89 to 0.96) and test-retest reliability (ICC ranged from 0.76 to 0.80) for all groups. There were no significant differences in Cronbach's alpha values between students identifying as male versus female or between Hispanic and White identifying students. We conclude by urging science education researchers to examine, report, and interpret reliability estimates for their measures for each dataset.

Metacognition is defined as a higher-order thinking skill that enables individuals to monitor, control, and regulate their thinking and behavior. In education, this skill is important, as learners need to self-regulate their learning behaviors for successful lifelong learning. Thus, it is essential for educators and learners alike to know their metacognitive skills. Researchers can assist in this endeavor by developing sound and valid quantitative measures for psychological phenomena such as metacognition. No measure is more commonly used for this purpose than the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI). In the present study, the International Group on Metacognition validated the MAI employing a standard, international Spanish with a robust sample of 12 Spanish-speaking countries and 1,622 undergraduate university students. Results revealed a solid final baseline confirmatory factor analysis model for all 12 countries that supports the original two-factor structure reported in English-speaking samples from the United States. Additionally, multigroup measurement invariance analyses revealed that although five parameters varied slightly across some countries, chi-square difference tests indicated that the comparison model with these constraints freely estimated was not significantly better than the fully constrained null model, supporting measurement invariance across countries. Thus, our version of the MAI using standard, international Spanish is a valid and reliable tool for measuring metacognitive awareness in Spanish-speaking countries.

Carolina Sitges,1,2 Olga Velasco-Roldán,1,3 Jaume Crespí,1 Nuria García-Dopico,1 Joan Segur-Ferrer,1 Ana María González-Roldán,1,2 Pedro Montoya1,2 1Research Institute of Health Sciences (IUNICS) and Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), Palma, Spain; 2Departament of Psychology, UIB, Palma, Spain; 3Departament of Nursing and Physiotherapy, UIB, Palma, SpainCorrespondence: Carolina SitgesResearch Institute of Health Sciences (IUNICS), University of Balearic Islands (UIB), Carretera de Valldemossa km 7.5, Palma, 07122, SpainTel +34 971-259-885Fax +34 971259501Email carol.sitges@uib.esBackground: Evidence-based clinical guidelines consider physical exercise one of the best nonpharmacological interventions for low-back pain (LBP), but it is necessary to clarify the exercise-induced hypoalgesia effect of different modalities of exercise in chronic pain populations.Purpose: This study focused on exploring acute changes in tactile and pressure-pain perception and lumbar strength and flexibility in patients with nonspecific chronic LBP (NSCLBP) after performing one of three 20-minute physical exercise modalities.Methods: A total of 81 patients with NSCLBP were pseudorandomly distributed into three groups of 20-minute physical exercise — 1) aerobic (n=21, mean age 42± 9.72 years, nine men), 2) stretching (n=21, mean age 40± 11.37 years, ten men), and 3) strengthening (n=20, mean age 35.80± 11.56 years, ten men) — and 4) a control group (n=19, mean age 38.64± 10.24 years, eight men), and completed self-reported questionnaires during the same period. Tactile and pressure-pain thresholds and isometric lumbar muscle endurance and flexibility were assessed before and after this brief exercise-based intervention.Results: All groups were comparable in terms of sociodemographic and clinical data, cardiovascular capacity, and self-reported data onphysical disability, mood, motivation, psychological response to stimulus properties of physical exercise, and physical activity enjoyment. Our analyses revealed higher tactile sensitivity (p< 0.001) and pressure-pain thresholds (p< 0.001) at the forefinger than other body locations. We also found lower pain sensitivity (p=0.010) and pressure pain–intensity ratings (p=0.001) and higher lumbar flexibility (p< 0.001) after intervention. After calculation of absolute pre–post differences, higher tactile sensitivity was observed at the gluteus medius muscle than the erector spinal muscle only after aerobic intervention (p=0.046).Conclusion: These results add some evidence about different modalities of exercise-induced hypoalgesia in NSCLBP. However, the fact that we also found improvements in the control group limits our conclusions.Keywords: low-back pain, exercise therapy, aerobic exercise, flexibility

During the last decade, a growing interest in open educational resources (OER) has developed among educational researchers worldwide. This trend involves the examination of possible effects over diverse learning domains such as the development of literacy and digital skills in the context of the fourth industrial revolution. To address this matter, a systematic literature review was conducted using PRISMA processes on 62 research articles published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals indexed in two major academic databases (Scielo and Scopus). Data collected during this literature review showed certain conditions that must be met to ensure a successful learning setup when OER are involved. Moreover, qualitative analysis revealed that certain attributes of openness are often more influential than others in the development of adequate literacy skills for the artificial intelligence era; also, there is an overall positive perception, from students and teachers alike, about the introduction of the attributes of openness and open materials into learning practices.

This essay documents approaches to growing honors affiliate faculties through community and university partnerships. The need for new strategies to prepare non-traditional faculties is shown by evidence that the student population is changing and by the critical responsibility honors programs have in the mentorship of diverse students. Professionals, local experts, student affairs administrators, and international scholars can make valuable contributions to honors programs and colleges, given their practical insights and hands-on experiences. Methods for selecting, recruiting, and integrating affiliate faculty into honors education are also shared. The authors cite examples of successful collaborations with community leaders, officers in multicultural affairs offices, and staff members from study abroad programs. The authors underscore the need for faculty development programs, flexible and attractive honors teaching assignments, and meaningful support by campus leadership to improve affiliate faculty scholarship and teaching.

Reasoning for complexity is a fundamental competency in these complex times for solutions to social problems and decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the validity and reliability of the eComplexity instrument by presenting its psychometric properties. The instrument consists of a Likert-type scale questionnaire designed to measure college students' perceptions of their mastery levels of complex reasoning competency as well as the subcompetencies that comprise it. The instrument was applied to higher education students in different countries of Latin America and Spain. The questionnaire articulates four types of thinking: systemic, scientific, critical and innovative and consists of 25 items. The methodology used was instrumental and psychometric, which seeks to demonstrate the validity and reliability of the eComplexity questionnaire. The results obtained from the research were as follows: The exploratory factor analysis indicated a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index (KMO) > 0.80, a significance of p< 0.05 and a Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.93. Likewise, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis was carried out and was possible to corroborate the internal structure validity of the instrument. In addition to Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, McDonald's Omega, and Guttman's Lambda coefficients were calculated to calculate reliability. With the results obtained it was possible to conclude that the instrument is valid and reliable, can be used in various university contexts to support integrated training necessary to address current challenges and contribute to educational research. It is recommended for future studies that the research can be expanded by using an instrument that can move from perceptual terms to measuring levels of complex reasoning mastery, but it is valuable to contrast with the students' perception to have a broader vision.

During times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the evaluation of educational programs becomes crucial for making evidence-based decisions. This study aims to validate and pilot an assessment instrument tailored to evaluate an innovative national reading program in Chile, particularly during the critical phase of post-pandemic educational recovery. The focus of this study is to encompass three key areas: a. assessing reading proficiency in first-grade students, b. examining the utilization of technology and reading materials in early childhood education, and c. gauging the comprehension and utilization of program information by all stakeholders involved. The research design is grounded in a research and development (R&D) approach employing a mixed-method model. We engaged 11 experts in the field to assess the questionnaire's validity using the Delphi method, administered to a representative sample. Subsequently, through confirmatory factor analysis, we established the construct validity of the questionnaires, revealing goodness-offit indices such as comparative fit index (CFI) scores ranging from 0.90 to 0.92, a root means square error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.08, and Tucker-Lewis's index (TLI) values between 0.88 and 0.90. Reliability analysis yielded robust outcomes, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging between 0.89 and 0.93 for the questionnaire and McDonald's omega coefficients ranging between 0.92 and 0.93. Our study confirms the validity of the questionnaires, positioning them as dependable tools for evaluating the national reading literacy development program in Chile. These validated instruments hold the potential to facilitate further research endeavors and inform the formulation of effective public reading policies in Chile and beyond, across diverse educational landscapes.

Homelessness among at-risk transitional age youth is an increasingly growing crisis impacting college-aged students across the United States. Thankfully, along with interest in their local community's success, universities have the necessary resources that may offer a unique solution to this crisis. This study describes the pilot of a collaborative effort among a local youth shelter, mental health center, and a private university that provides housing and a college education simultaneously for college students experiencing homelessness and evaluates whether students who participate in such programs experience and maintain increases in life satisfaction, wellbeing, and resilience. Data were collected from a total of seven college students over a period of four years for this longitudinal study, yielding limited but encouraging results about the pilot process and the potential for an expansion of the project. Students were asked to complete surveys that assessed resilience and life satisfaction using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (2003) and the Satisfaction with Life scale (International Wellbeing Group, 2013). Results showed students in the program presented similar scores as the general population (Zimmermann et al., 2020). Scores of well-being and resilience fluctuated; however, over time student wellbeing and resilience increased overall. Students participating in this comprehensive program achieved stability, safety, an increased standard of living, and connection. Results suggest that universities have the resources and networks to provide wrap-around services to students facing homelessness, increasing overall life satisfaction and resilience, and improving the likelihood of graduation.

Australian academics are being squeezed from all sides, facing ever-intensifying bureaucratic expectations around research output, coupled with increased teaching commitments and mounting administrative duties. These demands are occurring in an environment where most academics are still employed under traditional arrangements whereby, notionally, 40 per cent of their workload is allocated to research, 40 per cent to teaching and the final 20 per cent to service or administration. Such figures are no longer -- and perhaps never were -- a realistic representation of average workloads. This paper discusses how Australian academics in the discipline of English have been working within and around the 40/40/20 model, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their workload. Discussion here is built on interviews with English academics, but the same concerns are applicable across the tertiary sector because employment conditions tend to be standardised at the institutional level rather than at a disciplinary level.

Complex thinking competency enhances the high cognitive capacities necessary for the future of education. This study aimed to analyze these capacities through its sub-competencies (critical, systemic, and scientific thinking). We worked with the Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining methodology, with an original database of class data of 33,319 unique students, 46 different variables, and a random identification number. The variables were sociodemographic information, academic information, subject admission, competencies, and activities. Statistical analyses identified correlations between competency and sub-competencies. The findings show that (1) critical thinking is strategic in the development of complex thinking and its sub-competencies; (2) Development of Critical Thinking skills early in the curriculum can lead to a cascade effect, enhancing competence and sub-competence development; and (3) an overall performance encompasses the semester results. The study is of value to the academic, technological, and social communities to provide opportunities for the design and implementation of challenging scenarios for the future of education.

The modern Industrial Revolution has ushered in a wave of technological advancements, including the proliferation of over 20 billion digital identities associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) devices worldwide. Amid this complexity, IoT has emerged as a beacon of hope, offering multitudinous solutions from the perspectives of school management, instructors, and learners. The prime objective of this article is to review the current state-of-the-art in IoT and education specifically in areas like remote laboratories, improved learning, and school management. The implemented method is systematic literature review of IoT technology's practical applications and case studies to meet these key educational stakeholders' unique needs. The studies focus on remote labs, learning experiences, and campus administration. This comprehensive analysis gathered data from sources like Scopus and WoS and summarized insights from 122 articles. These cases encompass the foundational principles of IoT, its diverse applications in higher education, its challenges, and future avenues for research. Our findings indicate that (a) the implementation of IoT-based remote laboratories has transformed engineering education by enhancing the safety and operational efficiency of labs, improving students' comprehension of complex concepts, and facilitating a more interactive and engaging educational experience, (b) the integration of IoT systems within educational settings has profoundly enhanced both teaching and learning experiences by creating interactive, immersive environments and significantly improving student engagement and understanding through personalized and hands-on learning approaches, and (c) the integration of IoT technology within educational administration has significantly advanced the digitalization of traditional school management systems, enhancing administrative efficiency in areas such as schedule management, student records, and financial operations through automation, thereby streamlining processes and enhancing responsiveness in educational institutions. However, it must be noted that the current infrastructure, particularly in public universities, often falls short of fully harnessing IoT technologies to optimize the learning experience. Investments in infrastructure, teacher training, and curriculum design are imperative to fully leverage IoT's benefits for education.

The evolving Metaverse in Higher Education (HE) in Mexico can enrich pedagogy, facilitate skills development, and improve students' learning experience. This research aimed to identify the factors guiding the adoption of the Metaverse in a Business School in Mexico. A survey analysis was conducted to gauge insights from stakeholders on the Metaverse in HE. A total of 117 respondents, comprising students, professors, and staff members, completed the 21-item questionnaire. To determine the relationship between data, a quantitative analysis was performed using a structural equation model (SEM), and a path analysis was computed to illustrate the relationship among the adoption components of the UTAUT model. The study found no correlation between age, gender, and previous experience toward adopting the Metaverse. On the other hand, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions significantly impact the stakeholders' attitudes toward adopting this technology. The research reveals that a practical learning exercise in the Metaverse improved student knowledge acquisition. Implementing this model is to be at the service of concerned HE authorities to create an adequate environment for adopting the Metaverse in Universities in Mexico.

This multimodal/multimedia discourse analysis explored institutional practices regarding native and non-native English speaker teachers in five language centers in Medellín, Colombia, as reflected in interviews with coordinators and teachers, language centers' websites, social media, and recruitment materials. Data were analyzed using content and multimodal discourse analysis. Findings unveiled that, in general, these language centers favor native English speaker teachers and discriminate against non-native English speaker teachers in multiple ways, as the former are privileged in job searches, are asked fewer hiring requirements, have more room for negotiation, earn higher salaries, and enjoy more perks.

In the field of complexity, new methodologies emerge, such as horizon architecture, which help to focus solutions that can be integrated to foster innovation in university education. Technologies are also opening up opportunities for training, such as virtual and augmented reality. This article aims to answer the question: What innovations do postgraduate students perceive in environments using horizons architecture to integrate virtual reality? In this project's training experience for students, the horizons architecture strategy was implemented with virtual reality resources and emerging technologies. The present research was conducted with a mixed methodology, using a concurrent triangulation design. The participants were chosen from a sample for non-probability convenience. Three instruments were administered to 99 graduate students in Humanities and Education: i) a semi-structured questionnaire with demographic data and interests in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ii) a semi-structured questionnaire on students' perceptions of learning and innovative projects, and iii) a validated Likert-scale questionnaire on elements and types of educational innovation. Virtual and augmented reality supported the distance education modalities and project presentations. The results show that: (a) open and systemic innovation, (b) creation of new products and services, (c) the potential of horizons architecture strategy, (d) motivation boosted by virtual and augmented reality, and (e) critical aspects of integrating virtual and augmented reality (technical and academic). It is concluded that horizons architecture with virtual reality in university education encourages complex reasoning and invites the search for new solutions. The challenge is to train citizens with critical, scientific, systemic, innovative and entrepreneurial thinking, who are also empathetic, cooperative and committed to sustainable development. This study may be valuable to teachers, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers interested in innovative educational environments and technologies, especially those in graduate education.

Previous research has underscored the negative effects on students of the abrupt shift to online delivery of education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Positive education applies the principles of positive psychology to education, which highlights the importance of students' well-being and fosters holistic development. This study investigated whether students' well-being at the start of the semester can predict their academic engagement mid-way through the semester. We collected data on students' well-being and academic engagement in two waves; first, at the beginning of the semester (Time 1) and then 3 months in the semester (Time 2). We tested the students' general well-being and the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment (PERMA) elements at Time 1 with their academic engagement in terms of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive facets at Time 2. Our results show that general well-being at Time positively predicts their total academic engagement and all engagement facets. However, among the PERMA elements, the Meaning element is not correlated with students' engagement or any of its facets. We also tested whether there was a significant change in student well-being and engagement from the start of the semester and midway through. We found that there is a significant small increase in well-being and engagement. Our findings suggest the importance of well-being as a potentially positive resource for students where students with better well-being tend to be more academically engaged. Educational institutions may consider fostering student well-being in their goals to improve the academic success of students.

As marginalized graduate students and faculty, we have stories to tell about our experiences within school psychology. Many of these stories center our oppression, trauma, and exclusion but some of them also center our joy and resistance. The purpose of this collaborative autoethnographic project was to create a counterspace in which we, BIWOC faculty and graduate students, could come together to engage in storytelling and build community amongst one another as a way to survive and thrive in academia. As a result of the counterspace, we are able to provide critical feedback and recommendations for school psychology programs to better support marginalized students and faculty. And we also offer critical hope and knowledge to marginalized graduate students and faculty who are currently in the field.