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Due to its constructivist nature, interdisciplinary teaching appears ideal for increasing students' interests in subjects (Brassler, 2020; Kramer & Wegner, 2021). Although many argue in favor of a more comprehensive implementation of interdisciplinary teaching in schools, many practical barriers arise during the realization that need to be resolved following the design-based research approach (DBR) (Kramer & Wegner, 2022b). Especially at the upper secondary school level, implementation seems to be difficult. The question arises of how interdisciplinary instruction can be usefully implemented in the upper grades. As a first potential solution, interdisciplinary project days were developed in the subject combination of biology and physical education and evaluated with the help of an initial study. The prototypes developed increased both students' situational interests and their perceptions of the utility value of the subjects involved (Kramer & Wegner, 2021; 2022a). However, the implementation process could be optimized, as it currently depends on reducing other school subjects. Therefore, following the iterative cycle of DBR, a new prototype was developed involving interdisciplinary units within the regular subject lessons. The second prototype was empirically evaluated with a control-group design. In contrast to the first prototype, only descriptive trends were found, indicating that the interdisciplinary units trigger situational interest and stabilize individual interest. However, this cannot be supported statistically. Due to a high data dropout, the sample size should be increased, and the trends should be further investigated. In terms of practical feasibility, the second prototype has an advantage as it does not require any cancellation of subject lessons. However, implementing a second subject may reduce the time available for subject-specific content.

Attachment theory proposes that young children's experiences with their caregivers has a tremendous influence on how children navigate their social relationships. By the end of early childhood, intergroup contexts play an important role in their social life and children build strong ties to their ingroups. Although both domains relate to the same psychological processes--children's affective ties to others--surprisingly very little research has addressed how children's attachment relates to their intergroup attitudes and behavior. In this study, we investigate the link. For that purpose, 5-year-old children (n = 100) first underwent the German Attachment Story Completion Task (GEV-B). Then we allocated children into minimal groups based on T-Shirt color and assessed their intergroup attitudes and intergroup behavior. Results showed that while most children showed a strong and robust ingroup bias in their attitudes and behavior, children with an insecure-ambivalent attachment representation treated in- and outgroup similarly. Overall, this study provides novel perspectives on the relationship between children's attachment representation and their interactions in the social world.

In sparse data meta-analyses (with few trials or zero events), conventional methods may distort results. Although better-performing one-stage methods have become available in recent years, their implementation remains limited in practice. This study examines the impact of using conventional methods compared to one-stage models by re-analysing meta-analyses from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in scenarios with zero event trials and few trials. For each scenario, we computed one-stage methods (Generalised linear mixed model [GLMM], Beta-binomial model [BBM], Bayesian binomial-normal hierarchical model using a weakly informative prior [BNHM-WIP]) and compared them with conventional methods (Peto-Odds-ratio [PETO], DerSimonian-Laird method [DL] for zero event trials; DL, Paule-Mandel [PM], Restricted maximum likelihood [REML] method for few trials). While all methods showed similar treatment effect estimates, substantial variability in statistical precision emerged. Conventional methods generally resulted in smaller confidence intervals (CIs) compared to one-stage models in the zero event situation. In the few trials scenario, the CI lengths were widest for the BBM on average and significance often changed compared to the PM and REML, despite the relatively wide CIs of the latter. In agreement with simulations and guidelines for meta-analyses with zero event trials, our results suggest that one-stage models are preferable. The best model can be either selected based on the data situation or, using a method that can be used in various situations. In the few trial situation, using BBM and additionally PM or REML for sensitivity analyses appears reasonable when conservative results are desired. Overall, our results encourage careful method selection.

Background: Beliefs are a complex research construct with deep connections to innumerable different research areas and agendas. Engineering education researchers are increasingly studying beliefs, and synergy across these efforts can lead to a greater impact in translating beliefs research into educational practice. Purpose: Our purpose was to enable any researcher in engineering education to productively research beliefs as a construct. Specifically, we aimed to synthesize the different purposes for studying beliefs, and the extent to which researchers have operationalized beliefs. Scope/Method: We conducted a systematic scoping review of beliefs following the PRISMA protocol. We extracted and mapped data from the 79 academic included manuscripts. We performed additional analysis using both inductive and deductive coding methods to synthesize how beliefs have been researched. We included studies about the beliefs of engineering students in post-secondary education beyond the four most popular types of beliefs (i.e., self-efficacy, mindset, epistemic, and goal orientation beliefs). Results: Given the diverse nature of beliefs in engineering education, we found that the findings of the included studies could not be coherently synthesized. Instead, we present (1) a synthesis of researchers' purpose(s) for studying beliefs, and (2) a detailed representation of the many ways in which researchers have operationalized beliefs using different theories and methodological approaches. Conclusions: We recommend that researchers studying beliefs work to align their stated purpose for studying beliefs with their research contribution and build understanding of how beliefs ultimately relate to behavior. We also identified an opportunity for researchers to carefully and explicitly operationalize beliefs as a research construct.

This study used a cluster randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of two approaches to increasing middle school students' science learning when using an inquiry-based science curriculum. Eighty-nine schools, with 253 teachers and 20,591 students, were randomly assigned into one of three conditions: (a) a treatment condition in which the textbook curriculum was modified based on three principles of cognitive science coupled with teacher professional development (PD), (b) a second treatment condition in which teachers received PD designed to improve their knowledge of the science content, and (c) a business-as-usual control group. The cognitive science treatment had a small but statistically significant positive effect on content learning, with a stronger impact on students of higher prior achievement. Compared to business-as-usual, the intervention to increase teacher content knowledge had no impact.

Health professions education (HPE) research in the General Practice domain (GP-HPE) is vital for high-quality healthcare. Collaboration among GP-HPE researchers is crucial but challenging. Formulating a research agenda, involving stakeholders, and fostering inter-institutional collaboration can address these challenges and connect educational research and practice. We used Q-methodology to explore perspectives on GP-HPE research of participants from all Dutch postgraduate GP training institutes. Participants individually sorted statements based on the relevance of future GP-HPE research for educational practice. Data analysis comprised inverted factor analysis, rotation, and qualitative interpretation of configurations of all statements. The National Meeting on Educational Research took a participatory approach. We included 73 participants with diverse involvement in GP-HPE research. We identified five distinct perspectives, each representing a research focus area for developing and innovating GP education: the clinician scientist, the socially engaged GP, the specific GP identity, the GP as an entrepreneur, and the GP engaged in lifelong learning. The resulting five perspectives align with General Practice hallmarks. Q-methodology and a participatory approach facilitated collaboration among stakeholders. Successful inter-institutional collaboration requires a common goal, neutral leadership, participant commitment, regular meetings, audit trail support, process transparency, and reflexivity. Future research should address evidence gaps within these perspectives. Using Q-methodology turned out to be valuable for compiling a national research agenda for GP-HPE research. The research process helped to cross boundaries between researchers in different institutions, thus putting inter-institutional collaborative advantage center stage. Our approach could provide a conceivable procedure for HPE researchers worldwide.

Violence is a major public health problem globally, with the highest rates in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the Americas and southern Africa. Parenting programmes in high-income countries can diminish risk for violence, by reducing risk factors such as child aggression and harsh parenting, and increasing protective factors such as child cognitive development and school readiness. However, there is critical need to identify low-cost programmes with replicable benefits that work in real-world LMICs contexts. A three-arm, randomised, single-blind trial evaluated effects of two low-cost, group-based parenting programmes recommended for LMICs (ACT: Raising Safe Kids; DBS: dialogic book-sharing) on child aggression (primary outcome), child development, parenting, maltreatment, and stress. Participants were 369 children with medium-high levels of aggression (mean age 3.1 years at baseline) in poor households. Interventions were implemented in city health and education services in southern Brazil. Maternal reports, filmed observations, child tasks, and hair cortisol were assessed at baseline, 1-month post-intervention, and 8-month follow-up. Intention-to-treat analyses compared each of ACT and DBS with a control group. Three hundred sixty-eight (99.7%) participants completed follow-up assessments 8 months after the interventions. There was no effect of ACT (standardised mean difference, SMD 0.11, 95% CI - 0.05, 0.27) or DBS (SMD 0.05, 95% CI - 0.11, 0.21) on the primary outcome of child aggression. ACT reduced harsh parenting behaviour post-intervention (SMD - 0.23; 95% CI - 0.46, 0.01), but not at follow-up. DBS improved book-sharing practices at both time points (e.g., maternal sensitivity at follow-up SMD 0.33; 95% CI 0.08, 0.57). There were no benefits of either programme for other parenting, child development, or stress outcomes. Two parenting programmes in Brazil had small effects on parenting practices but did not reduce child aggression or several other important risk/protective factors for violence. Effective early interventions that reduce violence in real-world LMIC settings are highly desirable but may be challenging to achieve.

Predetermined professional development (PD) programmes delivered by external experts are the usual approach to enhancing the teaching of physical education (PE) in disadvantaged school contexts. This generally does not result in sustained learning and development once the PE professionals withdraw. Addressing the lack of teacher- and context-driven PD, we propose an evidence-based, collaborative, and transformative PD approach that involves teachers themselves in designing, implementing, and evaluating ongoing learning opportunities suited to their context. To enable teachers to improve their practice in a sustainable manner, we adopted a participatory action learning and action research design, using qualitative data generation tools. With this article we report on the first cycle, namely that of action and reflection, where teachers generated and analysed qualitative data to identify their learning needs. Four themes emerged, namely (1) the need to interpret and adapt the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) (2); ability to teach PE in their specific low-resource context while; (3) generating support from colleagues and management, and (4) coping with systemic issues impacting on their teaching. We discuss the implications of these needs for the continuing PD of teachers.

Decades of research related to the experience of postsecondary students who are adults, work full-time, or have other life roles have not led to agreement in the field regarding who is a "nontraditional" college student. This study leverages nationally representative data to illuminate shifts in this student population in the 21st century and builds a picture of their demographics, financial aid receipt, and academic experiences. Our results suggest that, in order to capture the diversity of the 21st century students and ubiquity of students with multiple life roles, we need to carefully define this student population; the use of the term "neotraditional" would better capture the central place of students with varying life circumstances in contemporary higher education. Our descriptive analyses illuminate the implications of different definitions of neotraditionality, the landscape of neotraditional student enrollment, differences in aid receipts, and changes among this population in the past two decades. We discuss the importance of how researchers, practitioners, and policymakers define this student population and the implications of such definitions for serving this population in higher education.