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The present research examined helping relations among Israeli Arab and Jewish parents by focusing on collaboration between parents and teachers, parental self-efficacy, and help-seeking orientations from teachers: autonomy, dependency, and avoidance of help-seeking. The difference between the two main forms of help--autonomy and dependence--represent different qualities of help which parents can obtain for their children. The current study included 121 Arab parents and 192 Jewish parents who have at least one child in elementary school. According to the regression analysis, Jewish parents reported using higher levels of autonomous help-seeking, while Arab parents reported using dependent and avoidant help-seeking orientations. Furthermore, for both Arab and Jewish parents, high levels of collaboration between parents and teachers increased their tendency to seek autonomous help from teachers. In addition, ethnicity (Arab/Jewish), parental self-efficacy, and collaborative relations between parents and teachers predicted parents' help-seeking orientation in diverse domains. This study highlights cultural differences regarding parents' engagement with teachers. Based on the positive contribution of parents' engagement in general, we recommend conducting a culture-specific intervention aimed at encouraging both parents and teachers to establish helping relations.

Previous studies have shown positive effects of self-assessment on L2 English learners' speaking performance, but it is unclear whether the same is true with peer assessment. Research is also scarce on the effects of such assessments on the learner's sense of autonomy. This study thus investigated the effects of self- and peer-assessment on L2 English speaking performance and learner autonomy. To take advantage of the information communication technologies in assessment, the online platform VoiceThread was used. While all participants received feedback from the same instructor, only the experimental group, known as the "online assessment group" used VoiceThread to narrate a self-assessment of their own uploaded speech videos and to narrate peer-assessments of their classmates' uploaded speech videos. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the 39 participants majoring in English at a 4-year college in Taiwan. Results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in both speech performance and sense of learner autonomy. In an open-ended survey, participants in the experimental group also expressed confidence that the online self- and peer-assessment helped them become better English speakers. These findings suggest that with proper guidance, L2 learners can become more proactive in improving their speech performance.

Autonomy in learning is obtained through an active process, in which students set learning objectives, monitor, regulate and control their knowledge, motivation and behavior, guided by the characteristics of the educational environment. We chose this topic because we believe that one of the objectives of universities is to train autonomous, emotionally and psychologically mature students, prepared for all the problems encountered in all areas of life. University lays the foundations for life skills. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the differences between the ways of self-regulation in learning depending on age. An instrument for measuring controlled regulation was applied, namely the SRQ-L questionnaire, which refers to the reasons why people learn. 144 female high school students and college students, aged 15 and 16, respectively 20 and 21 years old, both categories following a humanistic profile. The results showed statistically significant differences between the means of the groups of 15, 16, 20 and 21 years. Our results can be used in the education system in the teaching-learning process based on the students' needs.

There is a rich body of literature that details the effects of automated writing evaluation (AWE) on second language (L2) students. However, these studies mostly focus on the impact that automated feedback has on writing performance, i.e. that is, there is a dearth of research on its influence on affective factors. Hence, this study was conducted to fill this gap in the literature. The study explored the impact of Grammarly, a popular AWE tool, on English as a foreign language (EFL) students' foreign language anxiety (FLA) and learner autonomy (LA). EFL students in four separate academic writing courses (N = 58) taught by one of the researchers at a public Japanese university participated in the study. The students received training on Grammarly at the start of the Fall 2022 semester and were required to use the tool while editing their English writing during the 16-week course. Pre- and post-surveys were administered to measure the effects that Grammarly had on FLA and LA. Qualitative data in the form of written reflective reports was also collected from the participants to gain deeper insight into their perceptions of Grammarly to improve their writing. Results from the analyses indicated that Grammarly had a significant positive effect on both FLA and LA. The students also had largely positive perceptions toward Grammarly as an English writing tool. These findings have important implications for the L2 writing classroom and demonstrate that AWE can be used to reduce anxiety and promote autonomy among language learners.

This article reports on the results of a survey of Design and Technology educators, predominantly based in England that sought evidence of the extent to which the educators engaged with educational research more generally and also specifically within Design and Technology Education. The survey was sponsored by the professional Association of Design and Technology Education and was undertaken by its Design and Technology Research Steering Group. The survey collected demographic data on the roles and responsibilities of the survey respondents, the types and levels of education where they worked and length of experience in Design and Technology education. Questions explored the types of research of interest, confidence levels in accessing, using and undertaking research, the nature of support for engaging research that educators would welcome, how research was currently accessed, what the challenges and barriers might be and what would motivate educators to become more engaged with research. This article resorts on analysis of the data, drawing on Self Determination Theory and specifically concepts of competence, relatedness and autonomy. Findings indicated that respondents had a great deal of interest in principle, but that there were considerable barriers to engaging with research which impacted on competence, relatedness and autonomy. The insights provided will now be used as the basis for developing support for Design and Technology practitioners to engage with research at a variety of levels.

English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students' willingness to communicate (WTC) is required both in face-to-face (F2F) and online learning. While literature had extensively explored students' WTC factors in F2F learning, studies on students' WTC factors in online learning were still limited. Hence, this exploratory factor analysis (EFA) study aimed at investigating the interplays among learner agency, learner beliefs, growth language mindset, and teacher autonomy support as predictors of students' WTC in online learning by testing eight formulated hypotheses about the possible interplays. Using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), we carried out the study with 367 EFL students from several universities in Indonesia who had experienced online English classes and invited them to voluntarily respond to an online survey questionnaire using a Google form. The results demonstrated positive and significant relationships among the variables, indicating that learner agency, learner beliefs, growth language mindset, and teacher autonomy support are significant predictors of WTC in online learning. EFL teachers might use the results of this study as a consideration to proactively encourage students' WTC in online learning. Future research directions and other pedagogical implications are also discussed.

The outdoor inquiry has a significant meaning in learning biology, but it has a problem that is difficult to be frequently implemented in the school garden due to causes. On the other hand, alternative activities using the virtual world have been proposed, but due to a lack of reality and passive use, the continuity of the activities is low, and there are doubts about the effect on the affective domain. Therefore, this study developed a class program in which students directly construct a virtual world and explore living organisms using the digital twin platform. Also, researchers checked the changes in students' affective domain according to the application of the learning program. A teaching and learning strategy for learning biology was composed through the review of research and statistical analysis performed changes of the affective domain. The experimental group changed more positively than the control group in the affective domain of learning biology due to replicating the school garden so that living organisms can be explored indoors and outdoors. Consequently, class programs for learning biology can positively affect the learner's affective domain when it is provided with improved realism by digital twin, self-directedness, and autonomy to compare real space and object.

Justice issues in early childhood education contexts abound; these include substandard developmental opportunities and resource inequalities that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. However, "interpersonal" justice matters are often underexplored in both conceptual and empirical scholarship. It is essential to prioritize how children's voices and views of justice are engaged in their educational environments, alongside questions of which communities' views and values are endorsed. This article focuses on US reading intervention programs, where efforts are made to expand freedoms and develop literacy as a pathway to greater autonomy. To better understand justice requirements for children in these programs, the authors introduce the cases of Adriana, Jason, and Gisela (pseudonyms)--all participants in case studies of young children's motivation to read in mandated reading intervention programs. The children's accounts examined within this article suggest that their intervention programs may undermine their developing capacities for autonomy and violate their rights to an open future, specifically as related to an appreciation for reading.

As life course research has long recognized, work and careers are what Pearlin (1988; p.259) describes as "durable arrangements" that serve to "organize experience over time." However, understanding (a) the specific impacts of the alienations and contradictions of work and society under capitalism as well as (b) the analytic details of how the processes of learning are involved in the relationship of work experience and life course remain less well understood. An approached referred to as Mind in Political Economy is explained. It is based on a synthesis of several socio-cultural learning theories which allows the effective use of the concept of dramatic perezhivanie. This approach is then applied to a study of workplace learning in the context of a chemical production plant in Canada with a focus on the life history of one subject. It concludes that, based upon evidence of the realization of dramatic perezhivanie in relation to the contradictory object-motives of occupational autonomy/control as well as labour autonomy/control more generally, work-life learning in activity affected the quality of work experiences, the nature of development across employment history, and had carry-over effects beyond work. Moreover, it is shown that work-life learning could play a role in retrieving, reconstructing and making use of early life experience iteratively in the course of biographical meaning-making through the creation and refinement of biographical artefacts across the life course by a process of double stimulation.

This study was aimed at testing the hypothetical model, which included technology addiction, basic psychological needs, and social emotional learning skills (SEL). The study also examined whether there is a mediating effect of SEL in the relationship between basic psychological needs and technology addiction. For this purpose, data were collected from a sample of 592 participants [424 (71.6%) females and 168 (28.1%) males] aged between 18 and 27 years. Demographic Information Form, Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Inhibition Scale, Social Emotional Learning Scale-Young Adult Form (SELS-YF), and Technology Addiction Scale (TAS) were used to collect the data. Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data, and the results supported the hypothetical model. There was a negative correlation between technology addiction and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and SEL. There was a positive correlation between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and SEL. Another finding was that SEL indirectly effected the relationship between satisfaction of basic psychological needs and technology addiction. In addition, the model explained about 14% of the total variance in technology addiction.

Making initiatives and having ownership over one's learning is a key for applying and creating knowledge, acquiring new abilities, actively steering one's life and the engaging in change in society. Understanding the preconditions for such learning should be in the core of designing learning environments and the primary interest of frontline learning research. This study focuses on exploring students' sense of their learning agency in studying and the role of teacher and peer support in cultivating it. We examined how primary (grades 1-6) and lower secondary school students (grades 7-9) perceive their learning agency (LA), its relationship with the experienced teacher and peer support in studying. Also, differences between the girls and boys, and schools located in low and high SES neighborhoods was examined. We assessed the structure and level of learning agency by using a new measurement and explorative structural equation modeling (ESEM). Results show that learning agency consists of interdependent elements of motivation to learn, self-efficacy beliefs about learning and strategies for learning in meaning making, problem solving and scaffolding in studying. The experienced learning agency was related to social support experienced in several ways. Also differences in learning agency and social support in terms of grade level, gender and SES were detected. Results indicate that meaning making especially calls for intentional support from teachers in lower secondary grades and that girls and boys have partly different support needs in terms of cultivating strong sense of learning agency.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is a hot topic in the field of applied linguistics, and it is getting more and harder to downplay the significance of the so-called theory in the growth of second-language learners (Deci and Ryan, 1985, 2000, 2002). The current study tried to test the theory in the Iranian EFL setting by throwing light on the relationship between innate or basic psychological requirements of competence, relatedness, and autonomy and (intrinsic) motivation. This was done as a commentary on other research findings. 324 EFL university students from Iran were contacted to take part in the study. A standard questionnaire created by Agawa and Takeuchi (on the students' motivation for learning a second language and their innate needs fulfillment) was used to collect data for the survey-style study (2016). SEM, or structural equation modeling, was used to determine how well actual data matched hypothetical expectations. According to the SEM model suggested, there was a strong positive correlation between Iranian EFL learners' motivation and their competency demands. However, relatedness needs appeared to have less of an impact on students' motivation, while the satisfaction of autonomy needs was found to have either adverse or demotivating impacts on Iranian L2 learners' motivation. These findings can be applied to improve second language learners' motivation by posing engaging questions about the nature of the students' demands for autonomy, relatedness, and competence.

Learning analytics dashboard (LAD) development has been criticized for being too data-driven and for developers lacking an understanding of the nontechnical aspects of learning analytics (LA). The ability of developers to address their understanding of learners as well as systematic efforts to involve students in the development process are central to creating pedagogically grounded student-facing dashboards. However, limited research is available about developer perceptions on supporting students with LA. We examined an interdisciplinary LA development team's (IDT) perceptions of and intentions to support student agency, and the student-facing LAD development process. Qualitative content analysis supported by a social cognitive theory framework was conducted on interviews (N = 12) to analyze the IDT's perceptions of student agency. IDT members had differing conceptions of student agency but agreed that it manifests in strategic study progression and planning, as well as in active interpretation and use of LA-based feedback. IDT members had differing views on student involvement in the LAD development process. Communication challenges within an IDT and limited resources were mentioned, impeding development work. The results of this study highlight the importance of fostering communication among IDT members about guiding pedagogical design principles and the systematic use of educational concepts in LA development processes.

Belonging is a critical factor for supporting student success and well-being in school. Unfortunately, the work of fostering belonging at school for all students continues to face significant challenges. One reason is that the field of education is working from a limited conception of school belonging, based mainly in the discipline of psychology. Belonging is more than just a psychological sense--it is also a social, cultural, and even political process. In this article, Paul Kuttner explores six aspects of belonging that are underemphasized in the school belonging literature, arguing that we should think of school belonging as agentic, intersectional, systemic, political, place-based, and a right. Kuttner proposes a definition of belonging that encompasses these aspects and uses it to suggest future directions for research and practice.

The aim in this study was to identify predictors of teachers' and students' motivation and autonomy support in physical education. Ninety-four physical education teachers (26 female, 68 male) and 2127 students (1093 boys, 1026 girls, and 8 no gender specified) from 56 (42 public, 14 private) high schools all voluntarily participated in the study. The students' perceived autonomy support, the intrinsic motivation for physical education and teachers' perceptions of their own autonomy support in lessons and their motivations to teach were assessed. Pearson correlation analysis showed no relationship between teachers' perceptions of autonomy support and the students' perceptions of autonomy support. Regression analysis showed that: a) the students' perceptions of autonomy support were positive predictors of the students' intrinsic motivations, b) the assessment support sub-dimension of autonomy support was positive predictor of teachers' intrinsic motivations to teach in physical education. Given these findings, it becomes critical that PE teachers learn about the value of autonomy support and how to provide it during pre-service and in-service teacher education.

The use of digital tools forms part of any online educational context. When it comes to the training of future teachers, this point proves crucial in order to transfer this technology to classrooms. In addition to the above, incorporating this type of resources as a part of an active learning proposal will enhance their motivation, self-regulation and autonomy, in addition to having a possible effect on their academic achievement. This research refers to the evaluation of an active educational learning proposal in which a pre-experimental design was used without a control group to study the possible relationship between the use of digital tools and the academic achievement of the students. The sample consisted of 908 students divided into three academic years. The results show that the students who used more tools, actively participating in the proposed activities, obtained better final grades and better marks on the continuous evaluation activities, which they completed in a higher percentage (p<0.001). It was possible to conclude that the use of digital tools in an active learning proposal contributes to improving the academic achievement of future teachers, as well as student participation and involvement.

Research has demonstrated that racialized students experience additional stressors during post-secondary education compared to their white counterparts. These barriers can include added institutional barriers, lower representation among faculty, additional stress associated with cultural differences and stigmatization, discrimination, and racism. According to self-determination theory, students who experience an unsupportive or controlling environment are more likely to have lower basic psychological need satisfaction, lower academic motivation, and lower well-being. The current study aimed to examine whether white and racialized students would differ in their perceptions of need satisfaction and need frustration in their learning environment. Participants were undergraduate students (N = 712) from a large Canadian university. A one-way MANCOVA was performed comparing racialized and white students on basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration with gender as a covariate. Results suggested that racialized students perceived lower autonomy satisfaction, lower competence satisfaction, and higher relatedness frustration in their learning environment. These findings present important implications for higher education institutions. Institutions should recognize the diverse needs of their student population and ensure that learning environments are supportive of these needs, as they can have significant detrimental impacts on the overall well-being and academic success of these students.

Professional learning networks (PLN) in Higher Education represent new social configurations for networked workplaces in which education, research and innovation can be combined. Here academic staff engages with others outside of their everyday organisational community. This study identifies and conceptualizes essential behaviours that facilitators of professional learning networks use to promote value creation of various kinds. The two-phase study started with an empirical field study on the value creation stories of 11 participants within 3 professional networks to investigate essential facilitator behaviours. A panel study including 30 researchers, lecturers and practitioners representing a wide range of learning and innovation networks, was conducted to validate and enrich the findings derived from the field study. From the field study 54 facilitator behaviours were identified. The panel study raised 68 complementary statements on essential facilitator behaviours. Qualitative data analysis lead to five themes of facilitator behaviour. Facilitators? contributions to value creation in networked workplace contexts can be understood as the interplay of five foci of facilitative behaviour: 1. relationship, 2. space, 3. ownership, 4. direction, 5. result. Findings concerning facilitator behaviours are synthesised in an conceptualisation of the process dynamic of value creation in networked workplaces: The Facilitator Compass. This paper provides insight on what plays a major role in the success of professional networks: the way they are facilitated. While the role of a facilitator is acknowledged in literature and in practice, this study adds to the knowledge base by showing how academic staff can navigate for value creation in networked workplaces.

Despite progress in recent years, Japanese classrooms continue to present challenges for educators seeking to promote language learner autonomy. Adopting an action research/case study design, the present study explored how, in a 5-week student-led project, an intact group of learners could contribute to the development of their own autonomy. Data consisting of questionnaires, observation notes, video recordings, written reflections, and recorded group discussions were analyzed using inductive qualitative coding and descriptive statistics. The students chose to work together as a class, and negotiated and executed a plan of action. The narrative that emerged highlighted the importance of group dynamics in collaborative autonomy development. Student reactions to the project were largely positive, with indications that the project promoted metacognition and learner motivation. This study provides an example of one approach to involving Japanese learners in classroom management to promote a collaborative, interdependent movement towards autonomy.

Out-of-class resources offer a range of opportunities for language learning and teaching. However, teachers' integration of these resources into the Thai EFL context has received limited research attention. This mixed-methods study was conducted to explore how teachers incorporate out-of-class resources in their EFL classrooms, and conduct autonomy-supportive instruction in the Thai EFL context. The participants, English teachers based in Bangkok, Thailand, were purposively selected for the study. Data were collected through questionnaires, classroom observations, and in-depth interviews. The research findings indicate that teachers frequently and extensively rely on receptive-oriented resources, and foster a positive and supportive learning environment. However, the study highlights that teacher may need to actively teach learners how to employ learning strategies and evaluate out-of-class resources. It highlights putting more consideration into incorporating learners' perspectives into lessons, and encouraging reflection on the effectiveness of their own learning experiences to promote greater learner autonomy. The results obtained from classroom observations and interviews diverge from the findings of the questionnaire. This discrepancy leads to a pedagogical guideline highlighting the significance of incorporating learners' perspectives, promoting real-life application, developing self-directed learning skills and strategies, and adopting an active advisory role in learners' out-of-class language learning.

Advisors of student organizations face many challenges, including holding students accountable while respecting their autonomy, dealing with challenges of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and navigating their lack of training. Coupled with other professional obligations, it is common for advisors to feel stressed and under-prepared in their advising role. Given the increased interest in mindfulness, this article provides context on the practice of mindfulness meditation and explores how advisors can apply mindfulness principles in handling the challenges they face in their student organization advising role. Mindfulness meditation offers an opportunity for advisors of student organizations to incorporate best practices in reflection, emotional regulation, and handling uncertainty. Since the practice of mindfulness meditation requires no additional tools, costs, or formal training, it is a suitable option for busy professionals.

At the end of a two-year discussion about the value of homework in elementary school, the Seaview district decided to move away from the traditional model of homework, and introduced Wonder, Reading, and Play (WRaP) intended to be more equitable and authentic. A case study was conducted to assess the district's goals for and implementation of more equitable learning through WRaP. The experiences of stakeholders with regard to equity issues revealed success in reading due to an already established culture of reading. Lack of structure, consistency, and accountability in wonder, play, and content areas other than language arts resulted in limited success.

This study explores the perceived affordances and challenges of online teaching and learning among English instructors and students. Qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews from 8 online English instructors and 8 online English learners at a state university in Turkey. Using Nvivo software, content analysis was employed for data analysis. Results indicate a strong consensus among the instructors and students on the affordances and challenges of online language education. Participants view online education positively for its flexibility, accessibility, comfort, technology integration, cost-saving benefits, and opportunities for autonomy and individual development. However, concerns have also been raised about the sudden transition to online education, leaving both instructors and students feeling unprepared. Consequently, participants perceive online education as demanding and challenging. Identified challenges include difficulties in teaching language skills and using language teaching methods, lack of interaction and communication, inadequate technical infrastructure, limitations of the online platform, poor attendance and participation, insufficient teacher training, ethical concerns, large class sizes, limited online material infrastructure, low motivation and autonomy among students, and increased workload for instructors. These technical, pedagogical, and attitudinal issues collectively influence the overall perception and effectiveness of online teaching and learning. The findings underscore the need for comprehensive training, improved technical and material infrastructure, and a reevaluation of online course design to ensure a high-quality teaching and learning experience.

This study employed a descriptive correlational design to investigate the collaborative role of teachers' profiles, assistive technology utilization, and their impact on teaching exceptional learners in public schools. A convenience sample of 63 teachers who had experience teaching exceptional learners in self-contained and inclusive classrooms in Mandaue City, Philippines, was surveyed to understand the relationships between teachers' profiles, assistive technology utilization, and the impact on learners with exceptionalities. The findings revealed that teacher profiles, particularly educational attainment and income, influenced the perceived effectiveness of middle-to-high technology. Teachers reported that assistive technology positively impacted learners' participation, independence, and skills. Based on these insights, a profile-aligned matrix action plan is recommended to equip special education and inclusion teachers to choose and implement appropriate technologies aligned with exceptional learners' needs. With appropriate government support, the integration of teachers' competencies, technology utilization, and learners' outcomes can be optimized to improve exceptional education through a systemic, profile-aligned approach.

Learner autonomy has caught the attention of educators and researchers as one of the educational goals of the 21st century and as a factor that can affect second language learning. Efforts to foster learner autonomy in English classrooms have been ongoing. The study aimed to enhance learner autonomy of lower secondary school students. Thirty-nine Thai students voluntarily signed up for the course. The development of their autonomy was examined using three instruments. First, a questionnaire adapted from Murase (2015) was employed before and after the instruction. During the course, the students were asked to keep learning logs. Lastly, based on the questionnaire results, six students were selected to be interviewed after the instruction. The data from the three sources were analyzed and used to triangulate with one another. The project-based English instruction showed positive effects on learner autonomy. The questionnaire showed an increase in students' level of autonomy overall and in each dimension: technical, psychological, political, and sociocultural. The learning logs and interviews also showed signs of learning independence over time. These findings confirm that learner autonomy can and should be fostered in English classrooms.

In Thailand, 408 campuses of the Buddhist Scripture School provide education to orphans, minorities, and disadvantaged children. Approximately 34,000 students are enrolled on the campuses nationwide. These students were ordained as novices and monks. In addition to studying their religious curriculum, they take courses in the general education, including English classes, and can obtain a high-school certificate. However, learning is disrupted regularly due to duties in the Buddhist communities, serving as the officiants of ceremonies, including merit making, funerals, weddings, etc., so their English achievement may not be satisfactory. This qualitative research investigated circumstances, challenges, and approaches to inclusive English education for novices and monks by adopting a critical pedagogy as the theoretical and analytical framework and a phenomenological approach as the methodological framework. The researcher visited a rural temple school to observe classes, inspect documents, and interview students, teachers, and abbots. The results show that most students resided in temples where people speak the Khmer dialect, and there were not enough opportunities to use English. The number of monks had decreased because of migration. Teachers had added responsibilities. Inclusive English education could be achieved by revitalizing the local economy and establishing a mentoring program to motivate them and inculcate student agency.

This research employed a case study to examine motivational factors which influenced two learners' participation in course-adjunct English activities. The first participant was a high-motivation learner who joined many of the activities, while the second one was a low-motivation learner who rarely attended the activities. An in-depth interview was conducted with each of them to investigate the cases, and the interviews were described narratively. Three main motivational factors based on self-determination theory: autonomy, competency, and relatedness, were used as the framework for the analysis. The findings revealed that the high-motivation learner was clearly driven by intrinsic motivation, a sense of autonomy, mastery experiences in improving her own English proficiency, and feelings of relatedness in the learning context. The low-motivation learner, on the other hand, did not show a sense of autonomy. For him, scores were the main motive for completing the activities. If they had not been compulsory, he would not have joined the activities as he did not experience feelings of relatedness in the learning context. The findings implied that the two learners' motivational factors played a crucial role in their decision of whether or not to participate in course-adjunct English activities.

Research on student support in the global North indicates possible benefits of life coaching interventions in improving students' persistence and well-being. There is emerging research on life coaching interventions and their potential benefits in the South African higher education context, but empirical evidence is scarce. We report results from a longitudinal study that investigated a life coaching intervention to support students. The objective of the intervention was to harness students' agency proactively by equipping them with skills to improve their academic and non-academic lives. Data were gathered through one-on-one semi-structured interviews with ten students who had participated in the intervention. We used Archer's social realist concepts of structure and agency as our theoretical framework. The results indicate that the life coaching intervention enabled students to mediate academic and non-academic constraints. Concerning academic constraints, it helped students manage the transition from high school, including adjusting to a new workload, time management, learning to collaborate with their peers, and dealing with experiences of failure. Concerning non-academic constraints, the life coaching intervention helped students clarify their goals, increase their self-awareness, cope with negative emotions, and boosted their self-confidence and resilience.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, using ICT for teaching purposes has been the subject of a growing field of study in educational research. Thus, this systematic review aims to provide ESP practitioners with a current synthesis of the impact of blended learning on English for specific purposes (ESP) instruction. The current study systematically reviews and synthesizes studies related to blended learning and ESP with the aim of providing a comprehensive analysis of 28 research articles published across 2012-2022 and meeting selection criteria. Findings show that blended learning can foster university ESP students' language skills. The majority of studies stress that blended learning brings considerable benefits to their ESP learning, namely flexibility, autonomy, and collaboration. The findings also revealed that few students faced some challenges such as demotivation, procrastination, and technical issues. In light of these results, the review ends up with implications for ESP teachers and researchers.

Post-secondary students with learning disabilities like dyslexia experience a wide range of emotions related to classroom assessment, perhaps in part because assessment may feel unfair and undermine principles related to wellbeing. To mitigate negative emotions, researchers tend to focus on teaching students how to cope with test anxiety and exam stress or encouraging instructors to improve assessment formats. These approaches, however, do not attend to the psychological experience of assessment. The purpose of this study was to examine associations amongst perceived fairness, three basic psychological needs, and six discrete emotions in the domain of classroom assessment. Results of a parallel multiple mediator analysis showed that perceptions of fairness were positively associated with psychological need satisfaction. In turn, satisfaction of competence and autonomy were related to students' emotions; whereas, relatedness was not. We describe specific recommendations for supporting students' wellbeing in assessment with particular attention to nuances for students with dyslexia.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a statistically significant mean difference in various entrepreneurial tendencies (including the need for achievement, need for autonomy, creative tendency, calculated risk-taking, and internal locus of control) between student-teachers who have received university entrepreneurship education (Bachelor of Education in Commerce) and those who have not (Bachelor of Education in Adult and Community Education) at the School of Education, University of Dar es Salaam. The study focused on a total sample size of 36 participants, utilizing an independent sample t-test (two-tailed) to compare mean differences. Given the limited sample size, the study's findings are applicable only to student-teachers at the Bachelor's degree level at the School of Education, University of Dar es Salaam, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Mlimani Campus. Except for the need for autonomy, no statistically significant mean difference was observed among the target population. The study recommends further research to investigate the reasons behind the statistically significant mean difference in terms of the need for autonomy between recipients and non-recipients of university entrepreneurship education at the study location.

This study proposed and implemented a blended self-directed learning program for English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) college students beyond the classroom. Adopting a case study-mixed methods design, the study aimed to investigate (1) learners' engagement in the program, (2) the effects of the program, and (3) learners' perceptions of the affective, resource, and capacity supports offered by the program. Thirty-six students voluntarily participated in a 12-week self-directed listening program, which offered both in-person and online learning resources along with mechanisms designed to support students' self-regulated learning outside of the classroom. Data collection included (1) TOEFL listening pre-and post-test scores, (2) Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) preand post-test scores, (3) an English learning motivation questionnaire, (4) learning diaries, (5) activity participation records, (6) an end-of-program questionnaire, and (7) end-of-program interviews. The findings showed that participants perceived learning flexibility within the program as both a pivotal strength and a notable weakness. The participants, who generally demonstrated reactive autonomy, actually depended on, and expected various forms of external regulation to sustain their learning motivation. Also, the highly engaged learners had more growth in metacognitive awareness of listening than did less engaged ones. By engaging in self-directed learning, learners actively exercised their agency to (re)construct their personal language learning ecologies, a process that was found to require teacher guidance.

This paper analyses Japan's COVID-19 response drawing on a survey of more than 3200 prospective international students affected by the (colloquially named) #JapanTravelBan. The paper charts the evolution of Japan's COVID-19 response from the earliest border restrictions in February 2020 to the eventual blanket reopening to international students in Summer 2022. Subsequently, survey DATA provide evidence of (1) the drastic mental health effects for prospective international students during this time, (2) students' loss of agency due to the protracted uncertainty of both policy and communication from the Japanese government, and (3) potential damage caused to Japan's reputation as a study destination. Drawing on these findings the paper offers broader suggestions for appropriate student migration policymaking: greater transparency, attention to students' security throughout their study sojourn, an emphasis on stability, and resilience to crises.

Several philosophers and psychologists of education have taken the position that wellbeing should be at theheart of our educational system, if not its primary goal. The aim of this paper is to outline, question, andchallenge this position. It starts by discussing the main approaches that consider student wellbeing as theprimary goal of the educational system -- the propositions of positive psychology and those of certain educationalphilosophers and psychologists. It follows with an examination of some major social critiques of the idea ofwellbeing as a goal of schooling. Drawing mainly on Foucault, the paper questions the extent to which theaim of wellbeing contributes to normalization and hinders the possibility of self-government. The paperconcludes that wellbeing should not be conceived as a goal, but rather as an ongoing preoccupation of care forthe self.

This qualitative study examines the factors that facilitate or inhibit the academic identity development of four Vietnamese doctoral students in Denmark. Using the combination of Genetic method and Activity theory, the paper provides insights into the participants' experiences of becoming and being an academic, which is context-dependent and personal. The findings suggest that the sense of being academics was strengthened when doctoral students were empowered by their supervisors, and other members of the academic community validated their membership. The students also enacted their agency to move beyond the student role and establish a confirmed academic identity, though there were situations when their agency did not lead to desirable outcomes. The study is one among a few that incorporated the personal life history of doctoral students to examine their academic identity development, arguing for its inclusion to have a comprehensive picture of students' learning and the process of becoming an academic.

The scope of this study is to observe features of environmental autonomy support and to identify aspects of autonomy. To this end, a case study was designed and implemented in a state school in the western region of Mexico, with the participation of twelve secondary school pupils, ages 12 to 14, who attended a non-required 40-hour course using the autonomous learning approach. A research journal was kept tracking the whole process, gaining knowledge of autonomous learning and examining the phenomenon in a real-life context. The journals were analyzed with the help of Atlas.ti software, and the researcher made inferences from the resulting data, including environmental autonomy support as well as the reactions of the pupils to the autonomous learning process. The analysis of data reveals the language-learning context and its tendency to foster an autonomy-supportive atmosphere. Data seems to cast light on two major issues: the importance of fostering an environment that encourages autonomous learning-related behavior, and the necessity of providing appropriate scaffolding strategies to assist students in their development of autonomous learning. The study provides valuable insights into autonomy support and autonomous learning in education, but its limitations include a small sample size and potential challenges in generalizing findings to broader contexts.

Over the years, there has been a rising interest in combining debriefing teaching approaches and multimodality in classrooms to promote superior critical thinking, reflective thinking, and comprehension (Reyes-Chua, 2018). Such practices have also been instrumental in facilitating L2 learning and identity development (Johnson & Kendrick, 2017). Although most research has focused on the potential of multimodality in enhancing language learning and identity construction, only a handful of studies have investigated how debriefing teaching strategies and multimodal narrative tactics can empower adult minoritized L2 learners to confront racism and develop agency. Using ethnographic and action-based research data, this study examines the role of debriefing teaching strategies and multimodal narrative practices in developing agency, creating meaning, and addressing linguistic racism. The study took place in an intermediate ESL class in the Mid-South region of the USA. Over a period of ten weeks, students wrote ten multimodal narratives in shared Google Docs about their experiences with the English language. During debriefing sessions, they reflected on the narratives and addressed issues of racism by answering 'what,' 'so what,' and 'now what' questions. This study finds that learners can acquire language, develop agency, and confront linguicism through multimodal narrative practices and debriefing teaching strategies.

Most American classrooms employ a teacher-text-centered model of instruction that is misaligned with the developmental science of how children naturally learn. This article reviews that science and the origins of the common instructional model, including three modifications intended to make it work better (grades, age-graded classrooms, and high-stakes testing) yet which time has shown are problematic. Considering scientific theory change, I show how parallel circumstances exist between the situation in education today and pre-Copernican astronomy, building the case that education is now ripe for a paradigm shift in its instructional model, away from teacher-text-centered learning and to highly structured instructional environments that support self-construction through limited free choice. One proven model that responds to our world's contemporary needs is described, and a prescription is offered for how to bring about a paradigm shift in educational practice.

The motivational climate and student engagement within courses are important for instructors to consider during the instructional design process because they can affect student learning. To help instructors improve the motivational climate and student engagement within their courses, we implemented an affective assessment intervention within the first- and second-year courses in a US college of veterinary medicine. Based on the MUSIC Model of Motivation Theory, the intervention was administered near the end of the courses, and the results were presented to the course instructors in an attempt to improve the motivational climate within the courses the following year. The purpose of this article is to describe the intervention, present a case study based on one of the courses, and explain the lessons learned from implementing this intervention. The intervention involved administering an online questionnaire with affective items to students in 18 veterinary medicine courses over 2 years and sharing the results with the instructors. The assessment measured the motivational climate by assessing students' perceptions of empowerment/autonomy, usefulness, success, interest, and caring within their courses because these perceptions have been shown to be related to students' engagement. Based on the assessment results, the instructors made changes to their instruction the following year and students were surveyed again as the intervention cycle was repeated. One of the lessons learned was that the results from the student survey were useful to instructors; therefore, this freely available assessment tool may also be useful to other instructors in higher education.

Given the demands of modern working life, university studies should support students' life-long learning and agency. This article explores the types of agency learners from an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course described in interviews. The interviews were conducted in two groups in 2 consecutive years, in two stages: at the end of the EAP course as well as 6 to 7 months later. Through thematic content analysis, three types of agency were identified: instrumental agency, operational agency, and reflective agency. These types usually differed in terms of the contexts in which the learners placed the agency, the positions the learners took, and their descriptions of whether the agency continued or ended. Furthermore, individual learners often described different types of agency within the same interview. This highlights the messiness, fluidity, and dynamic changes in the ways of speaking as the key aspects when learners were authoring their agency. The findings are used to critically evaluate current higher education language teaching practices and discuss what kind of higher education language teaching challenges the students' answers reveal, particularly in regards to compulsory language studies for students of other fields.

This reflective essay discusses a course redesigned to enhance student belonging and the important role intentional use of technology plays in creating a belonging context. Before the redesign, some course elements aimed to create a belonging context by centering and valuing student choice, and through choice, respect of identity. However, there were gaps in the pedagogical tactics related to considering the students' psychological experience as part of the class. The course redesign focused on procedures that centered student agency and voice as the core of a class learning community. Technological refinements using an online discussion tool called CN Post, strategic uses of the course LMS, implementation of anonymous review using Qualtrics, and self-publication of a student written book using Pressbooks relied on brave space discussion and solidified a co-created, course throughline in which all student voices mattered and belonged, emotionally and intellectually, to class process and learning outcomes.

The current study was planned to find out if the use of blended learning as a combination of face-to-face instruction and mobile-assisted language learning using WhatsApp contributed to the vocabulary learning and autonomy of Iranian EFL learners compared to the traditional method. To assess their English skills, PET was given to 80 homogenous intermediate learners at the beginning of the study. The study's intended participants were fifty EFL learners with scores that were within the intermediate competency level. Then, the participants were divided randomly to experimental and control groups to see how successful blended learning vs traditional education is at improving learners' vocabulary knowledge. One-way between-groups analysis of covariance was run. On post-test scores, the findings indicated a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups. Another one-way between-groups analysis of covariance was performed to assess the impact of two distinct blended learning vs traditional teaching treatments on EFL learners' autonomy. In post-test results, a significant difference between the control and experimental groups' performance was observed. This study provided insights into how technology may be applied to teach language components and skills.

As a response to the increasing commercialization of postsecondary education, educators argue for a practice of care in education. Open pedagogy (OP) seems like an ideal practice where care, trust, and inclusion can be realized. OP is characterized as a democratic and collaborative pedagogical practice, in which students and teachers work to co-create learning and knowledge using openly licensed materials, open platforms, and other open processes. The purposes of this study were, first, to reveal ways students in postsecondary institutions perceive care and, second, to determine how students suggest OP can be used to create an open/caring learning process. A task-oriented focus group method engaged students from four teaching-focused institutions. The students created open cases on social issues for class discussion and reflected on care and OP processes in postsecondary settings. Using four elements of the ethics of care--attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and trustworthiness--as conceptual categories, the study examined students' experience of care and care in OP using affective coding and thematic analysis. The results showed that through OP, with teacher support and explicitly designed practices of care, students can assert their agency, have quintessential roles in creating and participating in highly relevant curriculum and importantly, care about others, and be cared for. OP is a process able to involve a diverse population of students and embody care as an all-encompassing practice.

When the "New York Times" released the 1619 Project in August 2019 it was met with enthusiasm and critical review. The outcome of the public debate, as of now, is mixed. Research is also mixed. Education findings suggests the project has the power to heal. Case study evidence indicates culturally centered approaches positively impact academic outcomes and mental health of historically oppressed peoples. By emphasizing and affirming African American experiences 1619 has potential to narrow the achievement gap and disrupt rising suicide rates. However, philosophy and psychology warn against overemphasizing culture. Excessive affirmation can cause groupthink. Continual praise aggrandizes the in-group to the detriment of individuality. Members are stripped of autonomy and the ability to function outside in-group norms and expectations. Experimental case studies show the power of in-group allegiance to become divisive and even predatory when interfaced with an out-group. The cultural (mis) attribution bias offers a window into the balance between the opportunity costs of too much culture and not enough culture. Too much culture strips away individual identity whereas not enough culture strips away group identity. Both are damaging. The project's embrace and criticism are expressive of the juxtaposition.

While project-based learning purportedly values student agency, supporting and managing this remains challenging. We conducted a design-based research study to understand how problem authenticity, and task and participant structures can contribute to students' framing agency, in which students make decisions that are consequential to their learning through ill-structured problem framing. We compared three semesters of an undergraduate engineering design project (cohort 1 n=70; cohort 2 n=70; cohort 3 n=66). Discourse analysis of team talk highlights how task and participant structures supported students in the first and third cohorts to display framing agency. In contrast, cohort 2 displayed high agency over task completion, which they had framed as well-structured. We discuss implications for designing ill-structured learning in terms of participant and task structure and problem authenticity.

Strengthening the agency of higher education students is one of the key objectives of higher education. Research has shown that the agency of higher education students can be significantly strengthened through different types of assessment feedback practices. However, the role of assessment feedback in strengthening the students agency is not fully understood in practice. While formative, student-centred feedback practices are becoming more common, summative, end-of-course, teacher-centred feedback practices are still prevalent in higher education. This study seeks to address the research gap of how university students perceive their agency to be constructed in the context of teacher-centred summative written and audio feedback. From these premises, the research question was designed: what kind of agency emerges from students' experiences of summative assessment feedback? The study was conducted as a qualitative online survey for university students (N=35) in Finland. The data was analyzed by means of qualitative systematic data driven content analysis. According to the results, students perceive the summative assessment feedback they receive from their teachers as a reflection of their own agency and how it is shaped. In the light of the assessment practices examined, students' agency was found to be reflexive, contradictory and incomplete. The results show that the recognition of the relationship between student agency and assessment feedback in higher education is important but still less well recognised. The results of this study are relevant for the development of assessment feedback practices that sustainably promote the construction of student agency in the context of lifelong learning and digitalisation of teaching in higher education.