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We analyze here the online and face-to-face teaching of mathematics and statistics at the university level and compare the results of students from two courses of applied mathematics. We examine the influence of online teaching on the performance of students with the help of grades from five consecutive years. A questionnaire on satisfaction with online teaching was also administered to the students. We show that online teaching has a positive impact on the successful results of students if we provide them with video recordings created for all lectures and seminars. We present some opinions of students on this type of teaching.

This study is a mixed design study on a sample of 87 respondents to a questionnaire in the Information Studies and Library Science program in Brno that identifies their attitudes towards hybrid teaching. Hybrid teaching is understood as synchronous education with the choice of participating in an online or face-to-face educational session. The students declared that they prefer this form of education and wish to continue using it long term. The study shows that students in the online environment prefer more passive and individual forms of educational interaction because they are connected to such education and can concentrate on it. The study offers a basic description of the phenomenon and identifies further areas for developing educational approaches and activities.

Digital storytelling (DST) is one of the alternative teaching methods and previous research shows its positive impact on students' motivation and learning outcomes, especially in humanities subjects. In vocational subjects such as economics, the effectiveness of this method is questionable. 856 respondents aged 15 to 19 from six business academies in the Czech Republic took part in the testing, which focused on the effectiveness of digital storytelling in economics. This paper presents other possible factors that may have influenced students' performance in the post-test. A comparison of the results from the pre-tests and post-tests of the experimental and control groups showed that the students from the experimental group reached higher mean values in the post-test than the students from the control group. It was also found that in the group that used digital storytelling, the year of study and the initial knowledge of the students assessed in the pre-test influenced the mean post-test scores. On the other hand, the factor of students' gender was not demonstrated. At the end of the testing, a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate students' views on digital storytelling and their preferences for teaching methods.

This abstract presents a research study that investigates the effects of technology integration (TI) through digital gameplay on English as a foreign language (EFL) college students' behavior intention. The study employs a mixed-methods research design, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods. The quantitative phase involves a pre- and post-test design, measuring the behavior intention of EFL college students before and after engaging in digital gameplay activities. The qualitative phase involves in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to gather students' perceptions and experiences with using digital gameplay in their language learning process. The findings reveal that TI through digital gameplay positively influences EFL college students' behavior intention, including their motivation, engagement, and self-efficacy in language learning. The qualitative data provide insights into students' perceptions of the benefits and challenges of using digital gameplay, highlighting its potential for improving language skills, fostering social interaction, and promoting autonomous learning. The implications of the study suggest that incorporating digital gameplay in EFL college classrooms can be an effective approach to enhance students' behavior intention and contribute to their language learning outcomes. This study contributes to the existing literature on TI in language education and provides practical recommendations for educators and policymakers to leverage digital gameplay for enhancing EFL college students' behavior intention.

The article describes a study carried out on pupils aged 12-13 with no prior programming experience. The study examined how they learn to use loops with a fixed number of repetitions. Pupils were given a set of programming tasks to solve, without any preparatory or accompanying instruction or explanation, in a block-based visual programming environment. Pupils' programs were analyzed to identify possible misconceptions and factors influencing them. Four misconceptions involving comprehension of the loop concept and repeat command were detected. Some of these misconceptions were found to have an impact on a pupil's need to ask the computer to check the correctness of his/her program. Some of the changes made to tasks had an impact on the frequency of these misconceptions and could be the factors influencing them. Teachers and course book writers will be able to use the results of our research to create an appropriate curriculum. This will enable pupils to acquire and subsequently deal with misconceptions that could prevent the correct understanding of created concepts.

The primary aim of this paper is to present the key elements that characterise online course design, addressing the process of designing, implementing, and evaluating an online course for Bachelor's degree students that focuses on developing their academic writing skills. These skills are essential for university students as they provide the knowledge necessary to express themselves effectively, analyse texts, think critically, cite correctly, and avoid plagiarism. Academic writing is also the foundation for responsible research practice. The Research Integrity Competency Profile Model, which includes four main areas, namely values and principles, research practice, publication and dissemination, and violations, was created prior to the design of the course and the skills students need to acquire at the Bachelor's level for successful academic writing were identified. A small private online course was carefully designed in 2020. It consisted of a variety of assignments, including interactive elements such as quizzes, videos, and work in international interdisciplinary groups. The participants of the course were 36 students from Slovenia, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. The course lasted four weeks and covered topics such as literature analysis, writing a research paper, avoiding plagiarism, paraphrasing, and citation styles, among others. The course was launched in 2021 for two consecutive instances. The participating students evaluated the course positively, describing the assignments as motivating, useful, and well-structured. However, they concluded that they need more practice in this area, and we suggest that a university course be established to provide all students with the necessary academic writing skills.

Teachers' communication skills are integral to classroom management skills. If teachers implement effective communication skills and appropriate communication strategies, they are more likely to support learner autonomy, engagement, self-concept, well-being, or responsibility and succeed in behaviour management. This study examines student teachers' awareness and use of communication strategies to address common disruptive learner behaviours. Although the participants showed limited ability to support learners through communication, they were more likely to identify effective communication responses than to produce them themselves. The study unveils that student teachers in the last year of a graduate program cannot respond to disruptive behaviour without communication roadblocks. They need to develop communication strategies to address disruptions in the classroom, while supporting learner engagement, motivation, self-concept, and autonomy. These findings correspond with other research studies that show a lack of opportunities to develop communication skills during preservice teacher education.

Children's literature can become one of the means of shaping personal identity, including gender socialization. The main characters portrayed in a book can become a kind of gender role model. The study examines gender themes in Czech books for children of younger school age that have been awarded the Golden Ribbon and Magnesia Litera prizes. The selected books (n=15) were analysed through quantitative content analysis and qualitative thematic analysis. The main findings include the fact that 596 different characters (as well as 29 main characters among them) are represented from a position of gender imbalance (boys and men are represented twice as often as girls and women). In other similarly focused research, the gender imbalance in the number of literary heroes did not have an effect on readers' popularity or the impact of reading on readers, regardless of their gender self-identification. From the results obtained, therefore, we do not conclude on social discrimination, since from a gender perspective we do not encounter any erosion of respect for any individual.

An ever-increasing trend of early foreign language teaching requires adequate responses to the university training of future kindergarten teachers. However, research in this area, including policies, suggests that the situation is not entirely satisfactory. This paper aims to determine the level of preparation of future teachers for teaching English to pre-primary children at individual universities in the Czech Republic. It presents findings obtained through quantitative content analysis of the syllabi of eight universities that provide education in the field of teacher training for kindergartens and focus on the preparation of future teachers for English tuition. The results show that courses for English tuition in kindergarten are not implemented by every university. Universities differ in their emphasis on foreign language tuition in kindergarten, which is reflected in the number and content of provided courses.

The priority goals of the development of Czech higher education include ensuring the quality of its activities, improving the availability and relevance of flexible forms of education, and increasing efficiency in teaching and research. Several professional articles evaluated educational efficiency, but the proposed models did not include unemployed graduate students. The paper assesses education efficiency at public universities in the Czech Republic in 2020-2021 using an extended Data envelopment model with undesirable outputs, non-proportional and non-radial measures of distance from the efficient frontier. The influence of selected economic, social, regional and institutional factors on education efficiency is estimated by a panel regression model using the Feasible generalized least squares method. The results document the level and development of education efficiency and find insufficient reduction of unemployed graduates as a critical problem of inefficiency. More prominent universities achieve higher education efficiency. The main statistically significant factors influencing changes in education efficiency are population density, the unemployment rate, the location of the university in larger urban centres and the number of students per university employee.

This study compares the mental health literacy (MHL) of university students in China and the Czech Republic. MHL refers to the ability to recognize mental health problems, adjust one's mental state and seek professional assistance. The study recruited 358 Chinese university students (244 female and 114 male) and 282 Czech university students (247 female and 35 male) and collected data through online questionnaires using the O'Connor's MHL Scale. The results indicated that Czech students had a significantly higher level of MHL compared with Chinese students based on the total score and other subscales. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of MHL on a global scale and the potential of cross-cultural comparisons to promote MHL and improve mental health outcomes. The disparity in MHL between the two countries highlights the need for increased mental health education and resources in China. Further research is needed to explore the cultural and educational factors contributing to the difference in MHL between China and the Czech Republic.

Performing a stay in a country where the L2 is the official language can provide the perfect immersion for L2 development (traditional study abroad). In the case of English learners, internationalization and the role of English as a lingua franca make it unnecessary to perform the stay in an English-speaking country. Hence, an increasing number of students decide to study abroad in countries where English is used as a lingua franca (ELFSA). This study compares a group of Catalan/Spanish undergraduates learning English in a traditional study abroad setting (n = 31) to one doing so in ELFSA countries (n = 20) in order to examine differences concerning (a) reading comprehension and fluency, (b) receptive and productive vocabulary, and (c) L2 use. Participants were administered a reading text, the Updated Vocabulary Levels Test, a written task, and a questionnaire before and after their sojourns. Findings indicate that, subject to individual differences, both contexts provide similar outcomes in reading and vocabulary, and opportunities for L2 practice.

Based on contemporary theories of participation, attitudes toward Adult Learning and Education (ALE) are considered crucial determinants predicting adults' involvement in further education. However, their investigation is usually not empirically systematic and theoretically grounded. For this reason, the article analyses attitudes to ALE based on a novel approach -- the triadic model of culture by Lizardo. We present a conceptualisation of attitudes to ALE, inspired by this model, distinguishing between (1) public, (2) personal declarative, and (3) personal non-declarative dimensions of attitudes. Based on that, we show the empirical results of a representative survey among adult population (25-69 years) in the Czech Republic (n = 1200). In this regard, we map differences in attitudes between participants and nonparticipants and results of a cluster analysis to identify main groups with similar attitudes toward ALE. Our findings confirm the employed theoretical concept and identify significant differences between participants and nonparticipants. Beyond that, we identify four clusters of adults with distinctive attitudes of which all contain a different mixture of participants and nonparticipants: (1) adults with positive attitudes; (2) adults with personal obligations toward ALE; (3) adults who see the public value of ALE; (4) adults with negative attitudes.

We tested the broad generality of a model for predicting 9th-10th grade students' STEM career expectations by age 30, focusing on hard science, mathematics and engineering professions only, known for driving innovation, research and development. The model's predictors included "motivation to learn mathematics", "gender", and "math classroom environments" (disciplinary climate, teacher support and instructional strategies fostering conceptual understanding). We used data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022. Four countries were selected based on the percentage of students expecting STEM careers, representing high vs. low groups (Qatar and Morocco vs. Czech Republic and Lithuania, respectively). Analysis began with computing correlations between the variables, followed by path analyses for each country to determine both direct and indirect effects of the predictors on students' STEM career expectations. We found that motivation to learn mathematics not only directly predicted STEM career expectations but also mediated the influence of the remaining variables: "gender" (boys show higher motivation to learn math), and "math classroom environments" (students in well-disciplined math classes with supportive teachers who employ instructional strategies fostering math reasoning also demonstrate higher motivation to learn math). Remarkably, our model consistently demonstrated robustness across all four countries, despite their significant economic, ethnic, and religious diversity. Theoretically, the model reveals that 9th-10th grade students' transitory long-term STEM career expectations are shaped by their interest in mathematics, their perceived importance of the subject, confidence in their self-efficacy to succeed in math tasks, perceptions of classroom disciplinary climate, teacher support, and their exposure to instructional strategies aimed at enhancing math reasoning. Practically, it suggests widespread potential for informing interventions aimed at increasing student motivation to pursue STEM careers through improved mathematics education practices.

The article presents the results of a 2022 study involving students training to be civic studies teachers. Three research goals were set: to determine which gender and family stereotypes burden the interpretation of a photograph; to identify qualitative differences in the perception, analysis, and interpretation of the photograph depending on the form of the questions asked; and to gain respondents' feedback on the test. The test used a computer and was based on a family photograph and a series of questions. Three methods of data collection and analysis were used (audio recording analysis, eye-tracking, interview). The study found that future teachers are substantially influenced by gender stereotypes in Czech society. It also confirmed the importance of didactic structuring when analysing iconographic material. The findings show the importance of gender-sensitive education and the development of didactic skills for interpreting visual texts as part of undergraduate training for future civic studies teachers.

This paper addresses the inclusion of Ukrainian schoolchildren who were forced to leave their homes because of Russian military aggression. The research is aimed at identifying the specifics of the inclusive process regarding the children of war and analyzing the features that are different compared to traditional approaches to the inclusion of forced migrants. Building upon the results of a focus group study, the article emphasizes the importance of consolidating the potential of specialists of Ukraine and the Czech Republic in the context of the integration of traditions and innovations of both countries to overcome the difficulties of educational inclusion of Ukrainian schoolchildren - forced migrants.

The aim of this study is to analyse the implementation of inclusion policy in primary education in the Czech Republic using the arena of discursive construction by the main actors and also the impact on the acceptance of inclusion. For this purpose, we use a qualitative research strategy based on situational analysis methods -- the so-called maps of discursive arenas. The study describes two arenas of inclusive education between 2005 and 2020. The turning point came in 2015, when inclusion legislation was accepted. The study results suggest that both arenas are linked by two main opposing discourses. The Special Education Discourse argues that it is more effective when children of a similar level of abilities are educated together; the Inclusive Education Discourse strives to reduce segregation and isolation of pupils with various kinds of disadvantages. Both discourses tend to polarise the inclusion debate. One of the main reasons for this polarisation is that the state is failing to create a functional platform for communication which could help overcome the conflict.

Geospatial technologies have revolutionised the field of hazard research as well as geography field-courses, providing powerful tools to analyse and visualise geospatial data for decision-making purposes. This paper presents a case study of Paper2GIS, an application for field data collection tested during an international field course in Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland. The field course was designed to expose students to the practical application of interdisciplinary geospatial technologies in hazard research. Students experienced geological/physical geography field mapping as well as data collection using Paper2GIS. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of Paper2GIS in facilitating hazard research with a participatory component, as well as the simplification of data collection during geography field courses. Paper2GIS proved to be an effective tool for enhancing collaboration, data visualisation, and decision-making. The findings provide valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and educators looking to incorporate low-tech geospatial technologies into their work.

The study of variables related to the use of ICT in the classroom is a topic of interest that has been frequently researched. In this paper, after examining the importance of teacher training in explaining the use of ICT in the classroom, we focused on analysing the weight of variables related to teaching practices and the organisational context of schools, which are variables that are less frequently addressed in the literature. To do so, a secondary analysis was carried out using data provided by the Teaching and Learning International Study (TALIS 2018). Specifically, we worked with a sample of 3,918 principals and 64,899 teachers from a total of 3921 schools in 21 countries. A multilevel binary regression model with random intercept, fixed coefficients and a two-level structure with teachers at level 1 and schools at level 2 was used. The results indicate that the presence of ICT in the classroom is associated with self-efficacy in teaching and the cognitive activation of students and with the organisational aspects of the school, which are scarcely addressed by the existing literature on this topic of interest, such as school climate, educational innovation and cooperation among teachers. Based on these results, we reflect on possible ways to promote the use of ICT in the classroom.

The present study aimed to explore lived experiences of Czech adolescents with a focus on mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet the study objective, the qualitative analysis employed focus group interviews with 12 selected adolescent participants. The participants described a wide array of behavioral changes, feelings, experiences, and opinions related to their mental health and well-being across a wide range of contexts. The thematic analyses revealed 23 specific factors characteristic to the context of the response to the pandemic emerged within the context of school and study, followed by the context of families, peer and social interactions, as well as the situation of coronavirus and pandemic in society. The specifically emerged themes were described as potential factors leading to aggravating or mitigating mental health problems in reference to already published findings. The results can potentially draw implications for public health policy in the event of the reemergence of potential societal threats.

Women's academic careers are shorter, slower, and progress less than those of men. We investigated gender differences in thinking about leaving an academic career across career stages. Our analysis of data from an online survey of academics in the Czech Republic (1657 individuals) showed that in men, the trajectory of such considerations gradually decreases after obtaining a Ph.D. (except for 6-10 years post-Ph.D.), while in women it starts to drop significantly only after earning associate professorship and even then the decrease is less steep than for men. In both men and women, differences in thoughts of leaving across career stages were explained mostly by biological age and salary but in women, leadership position was also an important factor. Surprisingly, neither in men nor in women were differences in thinking about leaving explained by job satisfaction. Our findings imply that for women, achievement of a leadership position is more important with respect to thoughts of leaving than for men and that career age is for women less important than academic rank. We suggest that gender differences in trajectories of thinking about leaving may be linked to different perceptions of career prospects, especially at the career stage of 11 + years post-Ph.D.

This study describes the case of a student with congenital intestinal perforations and her experience with inclusive education in the Czech Republic. She is also a sister of an identical twin with cerebral palsy. The data were gained from semi-structured interviews and bio-graphical narratives of the student during her studies at the grammar school and from her parents. Van Manen's analyses of lived experiences was used to identify important themes for each participant. The overarching themes present in their narratives concerned Lucy's future and the choice of the most appropriate educational environment. The parents' narratives focused more on barriers to inclusive education, benefits of inclusive environments, medical and educational care and family support based on close cooperation with school. For Lucy, the dominant theme was being a sister with a less severe disability and caretaking of her sister. In addition to enhancing the understanding of different needs of a student with congenital malformations and her parents' experiences with inclusive education, it helped us to explore how the specific sibling's constellation within her family and school contexts impacts her personal perspective on life, driven strongly by a wish for independence.

Current policies in education that support school choice can be a threat but also an opportunity for rural schools that are often at risk of closure or amalgamation/consolidation. Studies from Western Europe found two types of schools using the 'capitals' of the rural environment in different ways: 'community' and 'magnet' schools. Our mixed-methods study enriches the discussion on successful rural schools, considering both the school leadership strategies and the situation in the local quasi-market of schools in a post-socialist central European country, Czechia. In the first step, using data from all Czech rural elementary schools, we identified schools that were in demand by local and out-of-catchment-area students. We performed a detailed qualitative analysis of 13 selected case schools and their local quasi-markets in the second step. The usefulness of the analytical distinction between rural schools oriented towards the needs of the local community and those that use rural capital to meet the needs of liberal middle-class families is demonstrated. At the same time, there is a group of rural schools that try to balance the interests of both groups. The article presents vignettes of three such schools. The key feature of these 'catch-all' schools is negotiated innovation (i.e., sustainable change communicated with local actors and enabling the coexistence of tradition and innovation). Our study provides a deeper insight into the community/magnet typology, building on the perspective of a different part of Europe. It brings important insights for educational policy and the leadership of rural schools.

Graphomotor and handwriting disabilities (GD and HD, respectively) could significantly reduce children's quality of life. Effective remediation depends on proper diagnosis; however, current approaches to diagnosis and assessment of GD and HD have several limitations and knowledge gaps, e.g. they are subjective, they do not facilitate identification of specific manifestations, etc. The aim of this work is to introduce a new scale (GHDRS--Graphomotor and Handwriting Disabilities Rating Scale) that will enable experts to perform objective and complex computer-aided diagnosis and assessment of GD and HD. The scale supports quantification of 17 manifestations associated with the process/product of drawing/handwriting. The whole methodology of GHDRS design is made maximally transparent so that it could be adapted for other languages.

The present study tested the developmental links between maternal closeness and support and measures of depression and anxiety symptoms, and whether these links were conditioned by pubertal status. It was hypothesized that pubertal status (early) would potentiate the negative links (stronger relationships) between maternal positive parenting and developmental changes in internalizing problems in comparison to youth who mature on time or late. Four waves of self-report data were collected from 340 Czech female adolescents (Mage = 12.34 years, SD = 0.87 at W1), from 6th and 7th grades, including BMI, pubertal development, maternal closeness and support, as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms. Analyses included one-way ANOVAs by grade cohort, BMI, and pubertal status, as well as cross-lagged panel model tests, with follow-up multi-group tests. Results provided evidence of bidirectional effects between closeness and support with developmental changes in depressive symptoms, and some evidence of the same in anxiety symptoms. Multi-group tests provided no evidence of moderation effects by grade cohort, BMI groups, or pubertal status. Findings provide important evidence of how positive parenting predicted developmental changes in internalizing problems, only six months apart; they also provided important evidence that neither BMI nor pubertal status moderated the parenting-internalizing problems links.

Effective practices for supporting families with autistic children ensure a match between their needs and the expectations and competencies of the clinician. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) services are a common provision for serving autistic individuals. However, in regions where ABA is in its infancy, like the Czech Republic and North Macedonia, culturally relevant resources, regulations for practice, and standardized coursework are missing. In their absence, it is necessary to investigate the degree to which practitioners in the regions are meeting the behavioral needs of families. Assessing this match can set the stage for establishing more stable and effective services in the areas, as well as neighboring countries with similar historical foundations. Therefore, a survey was conducted to examine the perceptions of caregivers and trainers (those who self-identified as providing support to families with autistic children). A total of 233 caregivers and 204 trainers participated. Analysis of the survey responses verified the lack of behavioral knowledge on the part of the trainers, the apparent lack of access to ABA services for families in both regions, a potential misalignment between family needs and training targets, and the disparities between the two countries. The information evaluated here can be used to guide preservice training, dissemination efforts, and regulations surrounding behavioral practices.

Purpose: Currently, owing to the influence of rapid globalisation, the issue of international and cross-cultural implementation of cross-cultural relationships is being widely discussed. This is also related to the readiness of graduates for international cooperation. The objective of this qualitative study is to identify and compare the requirements of company representatives from the Czech Republic -- the Vysocina Region and Austria (Region Upper Austria) regarding the readiness of graduates to entering the workforce and the intercultural differences between the relevant regions. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 20 Czech and Austrian companies from the relevant regions participated in the research. The results were obtained through in-depth guided interviews and a comparative method. Findings: The qualitative study has theoretical implications in the context of new findings in the field of research. It contributes to the knowledge relating to the preparation of graduates for entering the workforce, and in the context of intercultural development, it extends this knowledge with the identified weaknesses of the mentioned preparation at the level of Czech or Austrian education. Originality/value: The most effective and probable approach to enhance the development of cross-cultural competences in particular appears to be the integration of new techniques and content of education in the form of new subjects in cooperation with academics and practitioners from the particular country. Collaboration with these experts can build students' knowledge and skills from an intercultural environment to the highest degree possible.

Linguistic diversity at Czech schools has increased in the last decade, and it has become a new everyday reality. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of studies investigating lived experiences with managing multilingualism at schools. Our study examines schools as multilingual social spaces in which the visible language choice on signs reveals the language regime based on ideologies and policies. We contextualize our study according to top-down language policy, and the essential theoretical concepts such as social space or language regime are explained. The linguistic landscapes at schools (so-called schoolscapes) are analysed and interpreted to capture schools as multilingual social spaces. The focus lies on: (1) displayed languages; (2) authorship of the object: (3) location of the object. The data from schoolscaping are complemented by interviews with school principals, who are responsible for language choice decisions. The investigation took place in four schools, where multilingualism plays an essential role. The results indicate that despite the multilingual reality and the promotion of multilingualism by anchoring it in the agenda of inclusive education, language homogenization is operative in schools. Our results are relevant for exploring the linguistic environments and language regimes at schools and reveal possible explanations for linguistic homogenization.

The aim of the research was to investigate the methods used by preschool student teachers when developing their educational programmes at pre-primary level (ISCED 02). Data were collected between 2020 and 2021 using a questionnaire with 355 part-time students from nine universities across the Czech Republic. Most of the respondents were also working as preschool teachers while studying for a bachelor's or master's degree in preschool education. The research not only highlighted different approaches to curriculum planning but also that many of the respondents preferred an approach characterised by child-centredness and teacher autonomy. However, the research also found that many respondents still plan educational content a long time in advance of their teaching and without considering the current needs and interests of children. Curriculum design and content in Czech preschools is in a process of transformation and the authors discuss the need for a more principled and consistent approach in support of high-quality provision.

Wireless remote microphones (WRM) are used as secondary assistive listening devices for students with hearing aids or cochlear implants to limit the negative effects of noise and distance for understanding speech. WRM technology is not yet widespread in the Czech Republic. The aim of this study was to use teachers' perspectives to compare the benefit of WRM in different situations and settings for students who are DHH. A final sample consisted of 36 teachers who had experience with and without WRM with their particular student. Bayesian statistical methods were used to analyse the data. When using a WRM, teachers reported better overall student responses, greater engagement of the students in the classroom, better management of multiple instructions and a reduction of the students' need to ask questions and the confusion of similar-sounding words. The WRM technology might help to mitigate the effects of hearing loss and advance equal opportunities in education. The use of these technologies should thus be more supported among Czech students, their caregivers and teachers.

Although motivation is an extensively discussed topic, minor languages deserve more research attention. This qualitative multiple case study explores motivation to learn Czech as a second language in Beginners' Czech language courses for Erasmus students in the Czech Republic through the lens of the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), searching for the critical motivation sources in this type of setting. The data were collected in language learning journals, two semistructured interviews, and a final questionnaire. Five cases were chosen to demonstrate the key sources of motivation. In the profiles, the ideal L2 self, closely tied to the sojourn in the country, and the L2 learning experience in the language course were the most prominent components of the L2MSS. The data also suggested a possible role of the multilingual self. Finally, the paper presents pedagogical implications suitable for this type of course and broader instructional contexts.

Labeling of gifted pupils can negatively affect the life path of gifted individuals. The study explores whether and how a teacher can label gifted pupils when applying educational strategies based on internal differentiation. We focused on formally identified intellectually gifted pupils (age 7-12) educated in (mainstream) elementary schools in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). Qualitative data were collected through classroom observations and teacher interviews. We observed 24 gifted pupils and 15 teachers from 12 schools. We identified five main types of educational strategies leading to inappropriate labeling, such as Tasks for Quick-witted, Challenges, Boffins Goes to Competition, Teacher's Assistant, and Individual Projects. The "inappropriateness" of these strategies consisted of the significant preference and presentation of gifted pupils, in the useless and overused selection of gifted pupils, and the rigidity of the applied strategies. The paper seeks to highlight the existence of a paradoxical phenomenon whereby, when teachers are maximally interested in promoting giftedness, the stagnation of gifted pupils and other pupils in the class occurs. The study concludes with recommendations for eliminating inappropriate labeling of gifted pupils.

We analyze the role of institutional founding conditions and institutional legacy for universities' self-representation in terms of diversity. Based on 374 universities located in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Poland, we can differentiate between a more idealistic understanding (logic of inclusion and equality) and a more market-oriented understanding (market logic) of diversity. Our findings show that the founding phase has no significant effect on the likelihood of a university focusing on a market-oriented understanding of diversity--however, we observe an imprinting effect with respect to the adoption of a diversity statement in general and an equity-oriented statement. Moreover, our findings show that there is a socialistic heritage for universities in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that is at work and still influences universities' understandings of diversity today.

Environmental literacy is represented by levels of environmental knowledge, attitudes, sensitivity and environmentally responsible behaviour. In this study, the relationship between these components of environmental literacy and their relationship with possible determinants (gender, outdoor activities) were tested. An analytical tool developed by the author was applied and the data were analysed by Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results of the study provide evidence of a relatively close relationship between environmental attitudes, sensitivity and responsible environmental behaviour. Similarly, a significant link between environmental literacy and outdoor activities was also demonstrated. In the case of gender, differences in Attitudes, Sensitivity, Behaviour and Outdoor Activities were identified, with girls achieving higher values.

A deeper understanding of the pre-primary teacher's profession is made possible by the use of pictures in pedagogical research, i.e. the hermeneutic analysis of symbols visually representing this profession. The study seeks comprehension through quantification of the thematic motifs in the students' pictures (n = 132) as well as a detailed qualitative analysis of selected artefacts (n = 8). An interesting tension arises from the juxtaposition of the authors' descriptions and the expert team's interpretations. Thus, aspects of the profession that are at first glance absent from the research, such as spirituality, love, atmosphere, colour, airiness and horizon, emerge.

The article discusses the risks involved in identifying gifted students in mathematics in the school environment. Although the theory of gifted students is widespread and available today, school practice shows many cases of gifted students who have not been identified in the school environment. The reasons for this are various. The article will present the theory related to this topic. The research was conducted as two case studies using qualitative research methods. Semi-structured interviews with parents and pupils were used, and the pupils were observed for a long time by the researcher. In the first case, it was a mathematically gifted pupil with dyslexia, and in the second case, it was a mathematically gifted pupil with an extremely high IQ. The result of the study was to find out in which moments the school did not provide support to the pupil in the two cases mentioned and what kind of help the pupil would appreciate at school. Both pupils were involved in a 1-year intervention in which the intention was to cultivate their mathematical thinking and expressions with the help of appropriately chosen tasks. The stated findings are important for practice and discussion about the training of future mathematics teachers, for which consistent professional training focusing, among other things, also on the education of gifted students is essential. Both case studies are part of long-term research dealing with the identification of gifted students.

This international, phenomenological study involved marginalised individuals who completed higher education despite their socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Two subsamples included first-in-family college graduates; 16 Roma professionals in the Czech Republic and 29 Native American academics across the United States. Due to the assimilationist legacy and class privilege underlying the respective educational systems, the participants' education-driven social mobility trajectories entailed particular struggles. However, the participants were able to reinterpret and transform selected factors inherent to the disadvantageous sociocultural contexts of their working class or even underclass backgrounds into sources of resilience. Although the historically embedded sociocultural and political contexts pertaining to each population impacted these sources, patterns shared across participants regardless of their diversity are highlighted. This study develops a deep understanding of crucial interest to educational practitioners and policy-makers. Marginalised minority members can also benefit from learning how differentiated and distinctive meaning systems associated with social mobility trajectories can hinder/facilitate resilience.

Under the tendency of the marketisation of tertiary education, universities/colleges and governments across the world have increasingly regarded international education as an education services export sector. Vietnam has always been regarded as a country of importing rather than exporting international education. Nevertheless, more and more evidence shows that Vietnamese tertiary education institutions are increasingly successful in recruiting international students. To gain further insight into international students in Vietnam, we conducted a survey with 49 tertiary education institutions in Vietnam. Our findings reveal that while most full-time international students in Vietnam are intra-regional (i.e., coming from Asian countries), short-time international students are both intra-regional and extra-regional. Using a Bayesian analysis as a method, we found that, first, the main concerns of international students in Vietnam do not revolve around academic-related factors; and second, the success of Vietnamese tertiary education institutions in attracting international students was mainly associated with operation-related factors.

Digitisation represents one of the key directions of adult education and training in the post-COVID-19 times, but direct empirical evidence of its scope among learners is rather scarce after 2021. Therefore, the general aim of this article is to investigate the current state of the use of online learning platforms and resources in adult education and training throughout Europe. For this purpose, we utilise data from a dedicated survey in the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (n = 4,000) from 2022, which cover a wide range of digitalisation as measured by the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). Our findings are consistent with DESI in the overall levels of online learning across the four countries. Beyond this, we provide two main findings. First, the patterns of digitalisation are different in formal (FAE) and non-formal adult education (NFE). We identify two corresponding modes of platformization based on how and how much online learning platforms and resources are used. Second, factors of participation in online learning differ in some regards from factors of participation in AET in general. Therefore, online learning seems to constitute a new layer mediating participation in AET, possibly introducing new forms of inequalities.

In the Czech Republic there has been a growing interest in education in nature ["výchova v prírode"] in connection with accreditation as a field of study. Outdoor experiential educator Jan Neuman, who died in April 2021, was instrumental in the development and formalisation of Czech education in nature programmes over the past 50 years. The aim of this review is to highlight the culturally unique, holistic and multi-disciplinary approaches of the concept of education in nature within the Czech environment, comparing this term with outdoor education internationally. Such cross-referencing of different cultural and indigenous variants aims to enhance outdoor physical activity opportunities in natural environments. We define education in nature in the Czech Republic and highlight the historical development of education in nature, with a focus on "turistika" activities, summer camps ["tábory"], and holistic dramaturgy approaches that elaborate on the cultural heritage and unique Czech approach to education in nature.

The authors of this article investigate the economic knowledge of Czech high school students using a database of 18,589 participants from the 2019 to 2020 Czech Economics Olympiad. Czech high school students show solid comprehension of basic economic concepts and principles of international economics but understand substantially less about microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. The authors demonstrate that some prevalent features of students' economic knowledge found in other countries are also present in the Czech Republic, including a gender gap. Their analysis confirms problematic aspects of the Czech education system identified in prior studies, including large differences in education quality across types of schools and regions.

An accurate assessment of cognitive abilities in populations that differ from the majority in cultural and linguistic characteristics is one of the main challenges in cognitive testing. Previously developed methods for assessment of the validity of cognitive scores in individuals with diverse backgrounds, such as the Culture-Language Interpretative Matrix (C-LIM), have not been empirically substantiated. We tested the applicability of the C-LIM in the European context, by comparing selected test scores from the Woodcock-Johnson-IV Test of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-IV) between Roma children aged 7-11 years (n = 399) and their counterparts from the normative population (n = 131). The largest differences were detected in WJ-IV tests requiring abstract reasoning and manipulation with complex signs. Furthermore, the C-LIM did not reliably discriminate between our groups and its use appears to be inappropriate for making diagnostic decisions about children from populations that do not traditionally rely on processes such as categorical thinking, abstract reasoning, and generalization.

Nonfiction has long been left out of the discourse on literacy and little is known about the affective experiences that children seek when they choose to engage with facts via reading and otherwise. We have conducted an interview study in which children of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in Czechia (N = 20, age 9-11) reflected on the world of facts as a springboard for affective engagement. Bespoke creative props were developed for the study. First, children made collages of their real-world interests and then reflected on the different activities (e.g. reading, viewing, talking, playing) through which they nurture these interests. Second, children engaged in the design of an imaginary nonfiction book on a topic of their choosing, a process that involved laying out a double page, leafing through sample books, and sorting picture cards representing different book design features. We present the interview toolkit and its holistic rationale and offer two contrasting case studies of children whose engagement was characterised respectively by a 'learning' and 'wonder' focus. Their differences showcase the interview toolkit's flexibility for further research and practice and expose the underexplored complexity and diversity of children's nonfiction experience.

This multi-sited ethnographic study explores how pre-service teachers (PSTs) address pupil diversity during their practicum at lower secondary schools and how this is facilitated by their participation in university courses. This investigation's focus on diversity is grounded in the concept of differentiated instruction. We found out that university teaching contributes to PSTs having a positive approach towards pupil diversity and that in their practicum PSTs succeed in taking the needs of certain groups of pupils into account in the classroom. However, PSTs take the needs of pupils into account unevenly and tend to homogenise their teaching on their practicum, to which the university curriculum also contributes by not being sufficiently experience-based and not providing a systematic framework for addressing the needs of all pupils in the classroom.

The study presents the basic features of the Philosophy for Children (P4C) pedagogical approach and asks about the experiences of Czech primary school teachers in using it. The empirical investigation of qualitative design is based on interviews (n = 4) and their analysis using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) method. The results point to the benefits of incorporating P4C into the primary school curriculum, especially in the development of children's thinking, communication and social skills, in the transformation of the teacher's role into a facilitator and in the deepening of teacher--student relationships into a partnership.