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As PhD candidates of geography and planning, we engage in a collaborative autoethnography to reflect on our experiences during a writing retreat. We explore the significance of material and immaterial spaces of the retreat and how these spaces impacted our academic writing. We emphasise the value of a collaborative and supportive learning environment that challenges the productivity-driven, neoliberal narrative imbued in academic writing. Drawing on our personal reflections of the retreat, we illustrate how writing retreats foster a "space" of support, facilitate academic writing competence, and expose participants to new avenues of learning. Using a grounded theory approach, we draw on Donna Haraway's situated knowledges as well as and Dooren Massey's theorisation on space, to examine our individual reflections and collectively discuss the intricate relationship between solitude and productivity in academic writing. Our findings delve into diverse experiences of material space (physical) and immaterial space (psychological and imaginative), as well as the negotiation of solitude-togetherness and speed-slowness interface within the retreat context. We argue for rethinking the notion of a retreat, envisioning it as a space that challenges the norms of academic productivity and fosters a more caring and interconnected approach to scholarly writing.

The current study explored how children's social interactions during a six-month period of school closures impacted the development of their social and emotional functioning on return to school. A sample of 81 primary school children (age 8-12 years) in Ireland completed measurements of social and emotional functioning before and after the school closure period, and a measure of the types of social interactions they experienced with parents, siblings, and peers, during school closures. Playing outside with friends, playing with siblings, and spending quality time with parents, protected children from declines in social and emotional functioning. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The social climate in the classroom can impact students' mental well-being, behaviour and peer-learning opportunities. This article describes one way that elementary teachers can understand students' social networks using a sociogram. Findings show variation in classroom cohesion and reveal groups of students who are at higher risk of social exclusion. Discussion of implications includes possible reasons for students' social exclusion and ways teachers might use information to improve the social climate in the classroom. This article focuses on the role of initial teacher education programmes in building teacher skills to develop a robust and positive social climate.

Frontline workers who offered essential services in different industries during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic faced enormous challenges. This study presents the outcome of a survey that investigates employees' sentiments, perceptions, and ergonomics in early childhood education while weathering the pandemic storms during in-person opening amidst the global health crisis. The results show that employees faced increased workload, psychological burden, and heightened uncertainty about health and social life as the pandemic raged. The teaching and non-teaching staff attributed the increased workload to additional paperwork requirements and worker shortages due to quarantine and self-isolation. Public health safety became a priority at the preschool to keep the students, staff, and their families safe. Despite the uncertain future, employees were resolute about career choices in early childhood education. The 'family advocacy' services, a unit that liaises with families to improve kids' learning outcomes, utilized virtual communication technology during the pandemic (e.g. Zoom and Microsoft Teams) to limit physical contact, which produced positive results, including significant improvement in productivity, performance efficiency, and quality. Most workers remained hopeful about overcoming the prevailing workplace challenges caused by the pandemic.

The purpose of this study was to explore self-compassion among K-12 music educators. Our sample consisted of 139 practicing K-12 music educators across the United States. Participants completed a modified version of the Self-Compassion Scale Long Form (Neff et al., 2021), which measured both positive (self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness) and negative (self-judgment, isolation, over-identification) aspects of self-compassion (Neff, 2003). Through one-way ANOVAs, we found significant differences between teaching experience and participants' scores for mindfulness, overidentification, self-judgment, isolation, and their overall self-compassion scores. We also discovered significant differences between age, over-identification, self-judgment, grade level taught, common humanity, and isolation.

This paper offers guidance for remote communication with young children based on an interpretive study of participants engaged in an online Theatre for Early Years (TEY) event, "Up and Down." Drawing on practices used for in-person performance, the theatre-makers engaged interactively with children aged 1 and 2 and their accompanying adults through a conference video call. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used as an approach to generate themes from observation, and interviews with the parents. Three master themes were generated: "Missing Live Performance, Unfiltered Response" and "Human Connection." The discussion was informed by relational pedagogies and the concept of cultural value. Those engaging with young children through video call software are encouraged to look for ways to create embodied, sensory, and 'magical' experiences; collaborate with the adults present; and take a strengths-based approach to the medium.

In the evolving landscape of education, understanding the experiences of Australian psychology educators in online programmes is crucial for enhancing educational strategies. The increased emphasis on psychology education, particularly online, post-COVID-19, highlights the crucial role of the degree meeting rising mental health needs. This is supported by the Australian governmental focus on STEM and employability, as psychology programmes equip students with essential skills for the workforce, necessitating strong tertiary programmes. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to explore the experiences and needs of Australian psychology educators teaching in online programmes in the last five years and to suggest strategies to address their perceived needs. A survey of 75 Australian online psychology educators revealed that while online teaching presented advantages for educators (e.g. autonomy, and motivation to learn new technologies), educators also found online teaching isolating and time-consuming. The challenges of engaging students online also emerged as a dominant theme. Additionally, the study highlighted the need for tailored support, specifically in the psychology discipline, with over 80% of the respondents agreeing that they could be better supported as online teachers. As the demand for online education grows, this study underscores the need for targeted support structures to empower educators, ensuring they continue to create enriched learning experiences for their students in virtual environments.

This study examines the relationship between reputational threat and altruistic behavior in children aged 6-11 and explores how social inhibition and group relationships affect this behavior. Study 1 involved 204 children and found that age and reputational threat influence altruism, with age 8 being a key turning point. Study 2 focused on 130 nine-year-olds and showed that children with low social inhibition engage in more altruistic acts, regardless of reputational threat. Study 3, with 151 participants, analyzed the effects of group dynamics based on left-behind status. Non-left-behind children preferred out-group altruism, while left-behind children showed in-group preference under reputational threat, with no difference in its absence. Left-behind children were generally more altruistic. The findings highlight age 8 as crucial for reputation strategies and suggest that reputational threat, social inhibition, and group dynamics shape altruistic behavior. This research offers insights into the positive qualities of left-behind children, informing their development and education.

This study presents a reduced version of the Perception of Family Support Scale (PFSS)--a measure of family support designed for research and clinical purposes--and examine construct validity, invariance, and reliability evidence for scores obtained from the instrument. Data collection occurred in 2019. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with college student samples from Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, and Turkey (N = 1,256), we identified an oblique three-factor model corresponding to the original scale's internal structure (e.g. affective consistency, family maladaptation, and family autonomy). We also found configural, metric, and scalar invariance, good reliability coefficients, and significant relationships with distress (e.g. depression, anxiety, and stress) across the four studied countries. These results indicate good validity evidence for using the brief version of the PFSS. Applications of the PFSS and implications of the current results are discussed.

Studies have demonstrated the presence of anxiety among undergraduate students. Some causal factors are academic, but many are non-academic. The pandemic changed the way education is delivered, requiring remote learning for all. This situation disrupted students' academic routines and presented significant learning challenges, causing anxiety. The pandemic also exacerbated the impact of non-academic factors, given the social distancing imposed. Based on a structural model analyzing 348 undergraduate accounting student responses, results show that a combination of academic and non-academic factors triggered anxiety among accounting students in the e-learning pandemic context. The items loading on the most important anxiety-inducing academic factor, namely teaching/learning challenges, suggest that the most basic teaching practices related to planning course workload and management should be considered in all circumstances and delivery modes. The paper offers academia ways to better prepare for the new learning modalities in accounting education or during a future pandemic.

Student engagement in the classroom is important for academic and future success. Many students with disabilities rely on classroom supports, such as assistive technology (AT), to access the curriculum and demonstrate their understanding. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many school districts to abruptly shift to emergency remote instruction. Numerous factors impacted the individual student experience and their classroom engagement. As engagement is vital for student success and well-being, this study aimed to gain a rich understanding of the student and caregiver experience during emergency remote instruction. Nine dyad pairs of AT student users with disabilities and their caregivers participated in semi-structured interviews. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), four superordinate themes were constructed to reflect participant responses. During emergency remote instruction, daily student occupations changed. Students reported feeling socially isolated and confused by the added school demands from the home environment and caregivers, and schoolwork was less meaningful. Students were forced to redefine what it meant to be a student. Future research should continue to use IPA methodology to generate a richer understanding of the student experience and to explore long term impact of emergency remote instruction on occupational participation.

Many children nowadays do not meet the recommended amount of physical activity during a day and are more sedentary, which is accompanied by decreased physical and social health, and well-being. For some children, the school can be the only outlet for playful and organised physical activity. Almost all children attend school for a large part of their day, which makes school an important context for fostering positive attitudes towards physical activity. The purpose of this study was to explore how children in low to middle school talk about physical activity during recess time. A total of 18 students were interviewed using a semi-structured approach. The results show that physical activity during recess is talked about as forming social groups and community and a way to counteract loneliness. There are also contextual categories and behavioural codes in children's talk about physical activity that shape their tendency to participate, be admitted in, and denied from physical activity during recess. The results highlight the power of language and how it can position and shape children's relationship with, and expected outcome of, physical activity. Conclusively, the study shows that physical activity affects children's social well-being and identity construction.

Urban universities with a predominantly commuting student population face distinct challenges in fostering social connections. Commuting students spend less time on campus and have fewer opportunities for organized and spontaneous social interactions with other students. The campus experience for commuter students tends to center around the classroom. Social connection is vital to various outcomes, such as persistence and well-being, and thus instructors need to find ways to promote different forms of interaction. This study uses focus groups and a survey instrument to examine student perceptions of the social benefits of collaborative active learning activities in a first-year introductory political science course. The data indicate that students positively assess their experiences with collaborative learning, highlighting its benefits on social connection and well-being.

This article examines the Asian diaspora experience from historical exclusion to the production of oppositional and alternative knowledges that count in education. The first section critically examines historical and contemporary discourses across disciplines on the construction of identity such as who is considered an Asian and Asian American, who comprises the Asian diaspora, and with what consequences. The second section explores theoretical frameworks proposed by scholars for deconstructing received knowledge about Asians as an ontological subject constructed within binaries and hierarchies and radical methodologies for research that speak to the lived diaspora experience. The third section presents Asian diaspora counterstories of resistance, activism, and advocacy and the production of transformative knowledges worth knowing in education. The article concludes with the hope that the Asian diaspora experience will open possibilities for Asian Diaspora Experience (ADE) as a field of inquiry in continuing the cultural and political work of social and educational change.

This study sought to understand the educational experiences of three Latina doctoral students that led to spirit murdering, that is, the racial violence that sought to kill their humanity. They examined their experiences of spirit murdering while attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution in the southwest, reflecting on the impact this had on their "bodymindspirit" and the ways in which they responded. The number of Latinas pursuing a post-secondary degree is growing exponentially, and the difference between their enrollment and degree attainment numbers is staggering. Literature has revealed that instances of stress, gender bias and role conflict, marginalization, and isolation have affected Latina students in academia. By analyzing the experiences of the study's participants, the authors offer their insight on how institutions (and in particular, HSIs) could better support Latina student populations.

This article reports on a knowledge synthesis study of three questions around Canadian K-12 students' sense of loneliness and belonging: What are the lived experiences of Canadian students with loneliness and belonging? What factors contribute to students' sense of loneliness and belonging in Canadian school contexts? What school educational practices and policies foster a sense of belonging in students in Canada? Utilizing a scoping review approach, the study synthesizes published knowledge on these three questions from scholarly peer-reviewed publications and documents published by Canadian educational organizations, provincial governments, and school board associations.

This study took a mixed-methods approach to investigate family language planning (FLP) in Hungarian families raising children in Australia. The study aimed to explore the complex factors impacting FLP and how families responded to the rapidly changing social conditions during the outbreak of Covid-19. The pandemic highlighted the shifting spatiotemporal dynamics of the family domain. Therefore, the project sought a holistic insight into the shifting family ecology, incorporating language use patterns, motivations, language maintenance and learning strategies and family well-being. Data were collected through an online survey (N = 80) and parental interviews (N = 13). The findings provide empirical evidence of the translocal and transnational dimensions of intergenerational language maintenance. The paper argues for an ecological approach in FLP, which recognises the complex social, affective and ideological dimensions of the family domain and the translocal aspects of language planning. As the results demonstrate, Hungarian families experienced the impact of Covid-19 in contrastive ways: for some, new opportunities arose to establish the home domain as a dynamic multilingual space; for others, the social isolation further reduced the space afforded to the heritage language. Therefore, agency was crucial for responding to these shifting circumstances.

This article examines interpreters' dilemmas and choices in the case of home-based aged care assessments of elderly migrants in Australia. Based on one-on-one interviews with professional interpreters, it specifically explores tensions between power, norms and interpreters' own positionings on intercultural communication problems. Data analysis identifies two overarching themes. First, the institutional regulations on engaging in 'small chats' with clients are reported to upset many elderly migrants, who are socially isolated due to limited English proficiency and are keen to talk to interpreters in their mother tongue. Interpreters' professionalism tends to be seen as a form of rejection by lonely elderly migrants, which in turn affects mutual rapport-building and communication success. Second, the combined effects of vulnerability and culturally-embedded fears of nursing homes are found to impact the level of honesty among older people during assessments. The problem tends to be exacerbated by the reported monocultural milieu of aged care assessments, posing dilemmas for interpreters, who are expected to remain neutral. The article concludes by highlighting interpreter-mediated encounters as three-way exchanges, and calls for a rethinking of the boundaries of interpreting and interpreters with specific attention to power differentials.

Although digital advances have enabled hundreds of universities to offer massive open online courses (MOOCs) to millions of students worldwide, the high dropout rate on these MOOCs indicates a disjunct between the potential of the offer and the success of its uptake. Many studies point to issues relating to interpersonal connection as a major factor in this disjunct. Interviews with students support the conclusion that lecturers' interpersonal tone is crucial to shortening psychological distance in pre-recorded videos. However, it is unclear how the interpersonal tone preferred by students can be realised discursively. This paper captures discursive instances by modelling an engagement framework and identifying particularly useful strategies through comparison of a high-rated and a low-rated engineering MOOC course delivered on Coursera. Findings show that in the high rated course the lecturer consistently anticipated students' state of mind and in response constructed a discourse that performed several interpersonal functions. On the other hand, in the low-rated course the lecturer mostly anticipated and addressed knowledge gaps and issues of difficulty, but not students' emotional responses, and so deployed far fewer interpersonal strategies in the lecture discourse. These findings shed light on how lecturers can use interpersonal language in pre-recorded lectures to improve student engagement.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic imposed social isolation measures, which impacted the child population, especially regarding physical and mental health aspects. Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sedentary behavior, cardiorespiratory fitness, immunoglobulin -A secretion, and anxiety symptoms in 267 children aged 6-11 years, eutrophic or overweight. Methods: Sedentary behavior was evaluated by the time of exposure to screens. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using the 6-minute run/walk test and immunoglobulin-A by salivary samples. Anxiety symptoms were reported by the SCAS-version for parents. Results: It was observed that after a period of confinement, overweight in children had a negative impact on cardiorespiratory performance and sedentary behavior. Differences were also observed in the concentration and secretion rate of SIgA in the overweight group compared to the normal weight group. Discussion: The return to face-to-face classes brought a high proportion of overweight students, who showed lower aerobic performance. Considering sedentary behavior, all groups presented values greater than 2 hours of daily exposure to screens. Translation to Health Education Practice: Special attention is needed from health professionals and teachers in relation to reducing sedentary behavior and improving cardiorespiratory fitness in schoolchildren.

Play can create a safe environment for children to escape from worries. The global COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders were stressful events for young children and families. This case study documents children's and parents' play, emotions and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Five mothers and their young children participated in our study, and we used the Parent Play Preferences Questionnaire (PPPQ), a semi-structured interview, and mother-child tasks for data collection in the Summer of 2020. Findings showed young children's daily activities and play changed, and both mothers and children experienced various emotions. Children were aware of the precautions taken to protect themselves from COVID-19, and they attempted to keep the play characters safe in their play. Children reported missing friends, school, playgrounds and playing with others. Our study highlights the importance of parent-child conversations and play to cope with unexpected events in children's lives and captures children's voices in early childhood education research.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has led educational institutions to shut down and adopt e-learning practices through computer-mediated communication. An unanticipated switch of online classes from face-to-face classes isolates students from social groups and teachers, causing online disinhibition. Therefore, this paper investigates factors influencing university students' toxic disinhibition behavior in online classrooms, WhatsApp groups, and Telegram groups. Also, social isolation has been used as a moderating variable to identify whether social isolation strengthens or weakens the proposed association. The research holds the basis of "Social Cognitive Theory" and "Theory of Planned Behavior." The data from 506 university students have been collected for analysis. The proposed framework and research hypotheses have been assessed via PLS-SEM using Smart PLS software. Findings from the study show that toxic behavior victimization, attitude, subjective norms, and behavioral control are factors that positively & significantly affect toxic disinhibition online. Furthermore, motives and self-efficacy showed an insignificant influence on toxic disinhibition. Additionally, toxic disinhibition significantly & positively affects toxic behavior. At last, social isolation is likely to have a moderation effect on the variables. Hence, the research yields guidance on reducing toxic disinhibition online. Further, implications and recommendations are discussed at the end of the study.

Studies on the COVID-19 pandemic highlight detrimental effects of social distancing on mental health. These effects were also observed among caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), who undergo particular challenges in this context. This study aimed to identify the coping strategies adopted by caregivers of people with IDD in the period of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and their relationship to signs of mental illness. Forty-eight caregivers of people with IDD who were users of a non-governmental organization for the assistance of people with IDD and their families in southeastern Brazil undertook an on-line survey. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, multiple regression, and the word cloud technique. Results indicate that most caregivers employed healthy coping strategies and used negative words to describe their feelings towards the pandemic. Confrontation, withdrawal, self-control, social support, acceptance, and escape correlated with psychological symptoms (stress, depression, or loneliness). Those symptoms were more prevalent among participants using escape as a coping strategy. These findings indicate that caregivers of people with National Deworming Day (NDD) used mostly positive coping strategies to face the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have contributed to the low prevalence of psychological burden in this population.

Using a mixed method approach, the study examined the emotional and academic adjustment to higher education amongst undergraduate students, in light of the Spring, 2020 COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The undergraduate students' social, emotional, institutional and academic adjustment, during the COVID-19 outbreak pandemic was compared with a database of undergraduates examined before the pandemic, which served as a control group. Four hundred and twenty-three undergraduates from 30 academic institutions in Israel participated in the study: 226 before COVID-19 and 197 undergraduates examined during the Spring, 2020 COVID-19 outbreak. The results indicated that undergraduate students during the Spring, 2020 pandemic had significantly lower academic, social, emotional and institutional adjustment compared with controls tested before the pandemic. In the COVID-19 sample, higher self-perception of satisfaction with life predicted better adjustment. Emotional stress as well as financial burden reported by undergraduates were associated with lower adjustment. Qualitative analysis revealed that social isolation was considered the most disturbing factor. Findings showed that there is a need to support students' social, emotional and academic concerns during COVID-19 and also highlighted the role of instructors' and support staff in particular.

In the literature, marginalisation is vaguely defined as a state, a process, or both. Qualitative research has indicated that many students experience temporary marginalisation at some point in school, suggesting that the phenomenon is best characterised as fleeting. This presents a challenge for researchers in terms of measuring marginalisation as a (more) fixed state, making it difficult to assess the scope of the problem. Data on students (grades 4-10; ages 10-16) from Programme for Learning Management (N = 122,756) were analysed across three measurement points (2015, 2017, and 2019). The Social Marginalisation Scale (SMS) was developed to specifically measure the social aspects of marginalisation on a scale [1-5]. It was subsequently divided into four equal intervals. It was estimated that 3-3.5% of the students experienced social marginalisation to a high or very high extent. The degree of social marginalisation was largely stable across measurement points, indicating that some students experience prolonged social marginalisation. Grade level and gender were both significant predictors, indicating that girls and younger students experience greater social marginalisation on average. A longitudinal study is recommended to identify student groups who experience prolonged social marginalisation.

Schools in New Zealand (NZ) have a range of disciplinary options when dealing with challenging behaviours, one of which is excluding students by way of stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions or expulsions. Following marginal downward trend from 2006 to 2015, the numbers of stand-downs and suspensions have been on the rise again since 2016 despite well-established evidence of strong links between poor academic achievement, educational exclusions and youth justice encounters. One of the key reasons cited by schools for excluding students in New Zealand is for continual disobedience (CD). According to the NZ Ministry of Education Guidelines to schools, behaviours must be persistent and set a harmful or dangerous example to other students to meet the criteria for CD, and it is up to schools to interpret these guidelines. This paper reports the findings from a national study in New Zealand, that sought to understand how the category of CD was interpreted in high schools and the type of behaviours they associated with this category. The findings highlighted the need to question the existence of this category (CD) in the guidelines, as it provides a carte blanche to schools to exclude students.

Immanent pedagogy reveals the structure of knowledge and also studies the structure of discipline. Immanent pedagogy is possible when we succeed in becoming and in becoming-other as a process of encountering and conjoining with others and with diverse ideas. Minority is one practice of becoming-other. It involves the ability to conceive the viewpoint of a real or imagined social standpoint, thus, minority is a political act that seeks to undermine the action of an oppressive power and to resist its vigorous authority. In this article we describe the creation of a learning space with young women in social exclusion through the practices of immanent pedagogy, becoming-other and minority. Through these practices we identified major preconditions for implementing immanent pedagogy with this excluded population. The article proposes a conceptual theoretical framework to illuminate the practical implementations that are essential for future educational work with populations in distress who experience social exclusion.

Objective: To examine the trajectory of anger and its psychosocial predictors (i.e., perceived social inequality, relative deprivation, and loneliness) as well as its association with anxiety and depression. Participants/Method: Students (N = 365) completed an online survey three times over a one-year period. Results: Three trajectories of anger were identified by growth mixture modeling: "low/stable" (i.e., a low and stable anger over time; 88.0%), "low/increasing" (i.e., a low level of anger with an increasing trend; 6.7%), and "moderate/decreasing" class (i.e., a moderate level of anger with a decreasing trend; 5.3%). A greater perception of relative deprivation, but not of perceived social inequality, was associated with the "low/increasing" class. A greater level of loneliness was associated with the "moderate/decreasing" class. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were higher in the "moderate/decreasing' and "low/increasing" class than in the "low/stable" class. Conclusions: These results suggest that interventions targeted at anger may benefit from addressing perceptions of relative deprivation and loneliness.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought abrupt changes and disruption to the lives of children and young people. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore how participants navigated national lockdowns (including school closures), social restrictions, and the reintegration back into pre-pandemic routines. Twenty children, young people and parents were purposively sampled from the Mental Health of Children and Young People's Survey, 2020. We identified three major themes through thematic analysis, with participants discussing (1) learning experiences, (2) emotions and coping, and (3) decompression and discovery. Experiences during the pandemic were highly variable. Participants emphasised the importance of social and familial connections, access to engaging learning environments, and structure/routine in promoting health and well-being.

This research focused on Black gay, bisexual, and queer men (BGBQM) and addressed the nuanced ways BGBQM experienced a sense of belonging within mentorship program settings, given their intersecting identities. Utilizing a novel research design that blended aspects of phenomenology and arts-based research, this study explored the following research questions: (1) How do BGBQM experience a sense of belonging in Black Male Initiatives (BMI) and Men of Color (MoC) mentorship programs? (2) What formative experiences do BGBQM develop in belonging to these mentorship program environments? Findings revealed approaches to how BGBQM experienced Blackness and queerness within mentorship programs in higher education settings. Being immersed in traditionally heteronormative enclaves, these men found solace in racial belonging yet experienced isolation due to their sexuality. This work provides key insight into addressing the pervasive ways mentorship programs need to dismantle heteronormativity and hypermasculine norms and ideals.

Teachers of Color experience isolation due to racial microaggressions and institutional racism throughout their careers, leading to trauma and higher levels of teacher turnover in the profession. In this study, we use the 'pedagogy of activism' and scholarship on microaggressions to explore how activist teachers of Color seek support to combat isolation and harm through participation in teacher activist networks. Using qualitative methods, we investigated the experiences of 26 activist teachers of Color from across the United States. We found that teacher activist networks were key to creating healing spaces for coping with the effects of microaggressions, and that the pedagogy of activism fostered agency to push back against racist policies and institutions. These findings have implications for sustaining diversity in the teacher workforce.

Music education involves elements of inquiry, discovery, explicit instruction and self-driven designerly ways of thinking that can lead to mastery and expertise. COVID-19 forced lecturers and teachers within a Higher Education music conservatorium to creatively adapt delivery with students for much of 2020. This qualitative study examined responses from (N = 32) participants including (n = 25 students and n = 7 teachers). The authors utilised questionnaires and extended responses to investigate innovative pedagogies and delivery modes that evolved during the pandemic in Victoria, Australia. Graduate teaching programmes shifted to fully online delivery for 20 months, one of the longest periods of societal isolation mandated worldwide. Data identified how teachers reinterpreted curricula and repositioned methods of teaching and assessment, fostering new learning experiences, creativity, self-reflection and problem-solving skills. Recommendations point to adaptive delivery and student engagement innovations. The authors outline how teachers can approach personal, collective and socio-cultural pedagogic approaches that enculturate students towards adaptable, creative and interdisciplinary thinking.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its rapid spread around the world, the normality of people's lives was disrupted. Education was not immune from this. In many countries, to limit the spread of the infection, students were required by the government to study remotely. This social isolation in a limited space generated concerns among educators about the quality of learning, notably through virtual platforms. However, this crisis also brought with it an opportunity for change for the better. Social distancing could allow for a 'reflective space' that extended students' learning beyond the physical space. This research paper explores how the disruption of the normality of our lives and the provision of reflective space might enrich religious education, both in terms of curriculum and pedagogy. I will analyse this issue philosophically in light of Hannah Arendt's concept of 'thinking'. This thinking refers to the quest for meaning which occurs when we withdraw ourselves from "inter homines esse" (being among humans) into a solitary realm. Drawing on Arendt's ideas, I argue that the reflective space enables us to reimagine religious education such that it better prepares students from across the cultural and religious spectrum for a democratic society.

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to determine the patterns of suicidal ideation among undergraduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State. Design/methodology/approach: The study examined the pattern of suicidal ideation among undergraduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design. The study population comprised all the 28,673 undergraduate students of the university out of which 800 students were selected by stratified random sampling for the study. A questionnaire was used in gathering data for this study. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, cluster and factor analyses. The study concluded that the patterns of suicide ideation among undergraduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University are passive. It is recommended that Obafemi Awolowo University students adopt the physical and online counselling services provided by the institution to aid their mental and psychological well-being. Findings: Findings revealed that the prevalence of suicidal ideation among the students was low (89.9%). Result also showed that pattern of suicidal ideation was passive (85.2%). In addition, result showed that social isolation (31.3%), hopelessness (29.4%), disappointment with school result (26.5%) and unmet expectation (12.9%) were possible factors of suicidal ideation among undergraduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Research limitations/implications: This study only established the patterns of suicidal ideation among students of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, without any reference to treatment of students with suicidal ideation. Since the patterns of suicidal ideation had been established, it is suggested that further research be conducted on the treatment and prevention of suicide among the students. Originality/value: The research was conducted by the researchers, and data were adequately collected and prepared following research ethics and guidelines. Results were presented as revealed by the analysis of the data.

The goal of the present study was to explore the relations between social avoidance, peer preference, loneliness, and social sensitivity among urban Chinese children. Participants were 951 children attending primary and middle schools from grade 3 to grade 7. Cross-sectional data were collected using self-report assessments and peer nominations. Results indicated that: (1) social avoidance positively predicted loneliness; (2) peer preference partially mediated the relation between social avoidance and loneliness; (3) social sensitivity moderated the mediating path through peer preference. The findings not only explain the mental health problems of avoidant children from the standpoint of social sensitivity and peer preference, but also have illuminating implications for guiding individual adaptation and mental health intervention.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of computer-assisted language learning on cultural adaptation and language learning in non-traditional classroom settings. Design/methodology/approach: The data of this study came from extended periods of observation, multiple rounds of semi-structured interviews and home visits. Using narrative inquiry, it analyzes an immigrant's journey of language learning and cultural adaptation within a virtual knowledge community. Findings: The findings of this study reveal the profound impact of virtual knowledge communities on enhancing second language learning and facilitating cultural adaptation. Originality/value: This study offers original insights by demonstrating the transformative power of virtual knowledge communities for the purpose of second language acquisition and cultural adaptation.

Objective: To identify the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation that would place university students at risk for mental health disorders. To explore the source of stressors and possible interventions that may benefit student mental health in a university setting. Participants: University students (n = 483) who had been learning remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A mixed-methods cross-sectional survey was administered in 2020. Results: Students were at an increased rate of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation as compared to the general population. Female gender, lack of social support, living alone, being a first-generation college student and COVID-19 were significantly associated with mental health disorders. Stressors were identified and categorized into themes and interventions were recognized that may improve student well-being. Conclusion: Students enrolled in university programs appear to experience significant amounts of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Additional mental health education, resources, and support is needed.

This study examines the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety and depression symptoms among college students, paying special attention to gender-related differences. To do that, we use data from a special survey applied to all students from one of Mexico's largest universities six months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was applied online through the university's IT platform, obtaining a response rate of 48.2% and a final sample of 66,067 students. We follow an empirical strategy commonly found in the literature that involves the use of a Negative Binomial Regression Model on two mental health scales: the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and the Zung Depression Scale. The loss of household income and the resulting necessity to participate in the labor market, as well as the lack of sufficient infrastructure to face confinement and online study, were identified as the two main pathways via which the COVID-19 pandemic harmed the mental health of college students. Although female students presented higher rates of anxiety and depression and were more affected by the vulnerable economic and labor conditions of their families, male students were more affected by the lack of availability of space and equipment to attend online classes at home. Since the most economically disadvantaged students experience higher rates of anxiety and depression, particularly among women, this could have medium and long-term effects in terms of economic and gender inequality. These findings highlight the need for specific prevention and intervention initiatives to alleviate anxiety and depression.

On the one hand, studies of African international students in China document their instrumental role in "telling China's story and spreading China's voice" while, on the other hand, this research indicates how their lived experiences are shaped by racialisation and exclusionary practices in social life. However, there remains surprisingly little scholarship exploring ways of reducing inter-group stereotypes and racial divides so as to further Sino-African diplomatic relations over the long term. Drawing primarily upon an in-depth interview with Alex - a 23-year-old Burundian international student in China, this paper employs Freire's central concepts of dialogic practices and critical consciousness to examine how he established dialogues with villagers in rural areas in an effort to alter relations between two ethnic groups. The case study of Alex and his daily racial encounters highlights how African students are agentic in disrupting racial discourses. We further argue that dialogue, as a method to read the world in a Freirean sense, can contribute to increased tolerance and understanding.

The paper analyses an institutional approach and international faculty responses to implementation of social-distancing measures during COVID-19 on a residential campus of an international university in Kazakhstan. Terror-Management Theory is used to interpret the behavioral responses of the faculty. The theory predicts three types of international faculty responses to the conscious fear of death from COVID-19--death avoidance, death acceptance, and death negation. These responses determine the extent of compliance with social distance-control measures. In addition three anxiety-buffering mechanisms proposed by the theory--commitment to particular worldviews, self-esteem enhancement and maintenance of social connections--serve as factors of variation in responses. Implications are drawn from the results about the relevance of the theory to the analysis of campus population responses to COVID-19-control measures on domestic and international campuses. Recommendations for university administrators at international universities are made about managing the three types of responses.

Early marriage and pregnancy hinder global commitment to attain gender parity in education. This article discusses educational challenges experienced by parenting college students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. The study qualitatively assessed the effects of COVID-19 on the National Teacher Colleges' learning environment. On the reopening of schools after the lockdown, colleges were overwhelmed with an increased number of students who returned either pregnant or with young babies. Colleges were not prepared since pregnancy in college is prohibited through denial of on-campus accommodation and other services. Pregnant students were stigmatized, shunned and blamed for having engaged in immoral sexual behaviour and punished for their indiscretions. Pregnant and abandoned is structural gender-based violence that manifests in the physical, emotional, economic and social violence faced by pregnancy and parenting students, the young mothers are abandoned by their families and partners, and are denied child support and other student services. Future studies need to investigate the effects of such tormenting experiences of being abandoned on the academic performance and future parenting decisions of such girls.