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Online Arabic learning presents several challenges, one of which is the ineffective utilization of learning media. This study aims to describe the tendency of Arabic learners through the Dars Arabi YouTube channel video media and the relationship between the learner's propensity and the variables of gender, age, and educational background of Dars Arabi channel users. This study uses a descriptive statistical method. The sample selection was taken randomly from as many as 160 people from a population of around 17,800 YouTube channel subscribers. This study's findings indicate that the tendency of online Arabic learners is at a moderately average level. This study also shows no statistically significant difference between trends in YouTube channel users and the variables of gender, educational background, and users' age. This study's conclusion shows the importance of using YouTube media to learn Arabic with content that is fun and can be enjoyed by all groups of society in a relaxed manner.

During early adolescence, individuals can refine their use of cognitive reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy while experiencing instability of psychological well-being through changes to positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction. This scoping review aimed to identify and summarise the key findings from studies that have examined early adolescent cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being. Using Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review methodology, this review yielded 63 studies; 58 studies found a positive relationship between cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being. Most studies that examined age found no association between the frequency of reappraisal use and age. Findings connected to sex differences and contrasts between discrete emotions were inconsistent. The positive association between cognitive reappraisal and well-being indicates that cognitive reappraisal should be actively promoted in youth contexts. Future research should specify the direction of this relationship, how it develops and how effective the relationship is across sexes and discrete emotions.

Expansion in higher education and changes in student profiles have led to an increase in non-linear trajectories that do not fit into a time frame considered standard. However, universities continue to establish success and failure parameters relating to performance indicators that do not consider the heterogeneity of trajectories. The theoretical perspective on which we base our work is the complexity approach, which resituates what we understand as a trajectory of success (and failure), incorporating a broader view to better understand how students navigate through higher education. Based on research on university dropout and changes of trajectory, we present the results of a study carried out using sequence analysis in face-to-face and online universities. The research question on which this study focuses is whether, given the context of greater heterogeneity and complexity, there could be a greater similarity between the students' trajectories in face-to-face and online modalities in relation to complex trajectories. The results show that complex trajectories are very present in both modalities, and differences are observed according to students' gender and age. A key conclusion is the discussion on how we consider success and failure student trajectories in the contemporary university taking into account the perspective of complexity.

Early school leaving (ESL) is considered one of the most serious problems in the functioning of European education systems. In particular, Spain has traditionally exhibited one of the largest ESL rates in Europe. This study aimed to shed light on the role of the month of birth as a factor conditioning the probability of ESL. Using high-quality census data and a regression discontinuity design, we documented that Spanish males from lower social strata born before the school-entry cut-off are substantially more likely to be observed as early school leavers than their counterparts born after that date. We do not find such effect among females or males from other social strata. Overall, educational policy should target more seriously the inequalities associated with the month of birth as they do not vanish before affecting relevant decisions such as leaving education early, at least for males from lower social strata.

This study aims to analyse the impact of demographic and educational factors on in digital upskilling. We address the relationship between digital skills, critical thinking skills and the student learning experience in courses with embedded upskilling programs. Statistical analysis and exploratory research are used to analyse the data collected by the digital fitness app developed by a global company leading digital talent transformation. Our research identified the following demographic indicators that have influenced individuals' digital upskilling: Gender, Race, Residency, Pell-eligibility, Age, in addition to six academic indicators including department, major, class level, first-time freshman, High School GPA and ACT score. Discussion of findings and future research directions would lead to novel research articles focusing on longitudinal studies to assess digital skills. Also, this study shows the need for a new assessment tool to expand the scope and the sample size of the study. This article provides a valuable guidance for policy makers, higher-education institutions, educators, students, and employers, who are looking for digital talent or skill sets needed for digital transformation. The main contribution lays in data collection and analysis. This is the first study using a globally accepted digital talent assessment tool to collect data at a minority serving institution.

Do older community college students build momentum toward graduation differently than their younger peers? One-third of students in community colleges are 25 years of age or older, and these students tend to have lower rates of graduation than their younger peers. Yet, we know little about how the factors that influence college graduation differ across the wide range of ages found among community college students. Using multilevel statistical models to analyze data for Ohio's community colleges, we investigate how the relationships between early academic momentum and the likelihood of completing a postsecondary credential vary by age. We disaggregate results by gender in light of prior evidence of differences in the educational experiences and outcomes of adult men and women. The measures of momentum, all observed in the first year in community college, include credits earned, credit success rate, enrollment continuity, passing college-level math, and passing college-level English. The college graduation outcomes, observed over six years, include earning a postsecondary certificate, earning an associate degree from a community college, and earning a baccalaureate degree from a four-year institution. We find some differences and some similarities in how older and younger students build momentum toward a postsecondary credential, and how these patterns differ for men and women, revealing fruitful opportunities to strengthen the outcomes of older students.

It is important that students across university disciplines and class years explore their attitudes about ageism, aging, and older adults. Yet few if any ageism interventions in academic settings are directed at business students, instead targeting disciplines such as health sciences. In this paper we offer requisite detail of ageism workshops we developed for use in an undergraduate entrepreneurship course, including discussion of our results. Business curricula at the university level can serve to reinforce age gaps through the study of functional areas such as marketing (target market segmentation) and finance (retirement planning). In entrepreneurship, stories of youthful startups persist despite recent findings that strongly reject the notion that youth is a key trait of successful entrepreneurs. In the context of workplace ageism, ageism interventions, and age in entrepreneurship, we modified the Disrupt Aging curriculum offered by A.A.R.P., which facilitates an examination of one's personal attitude about age and aging. Our twist was to focus the curriculum on entrepreneurship and have our students work in groups with an entrepreneur from the Baby Boom generation. This innovation to our curriculum provides promising evidence of effectiveness as measured in pre- and post-workshop attitudes about ageism and entrepreneurship.

The mental lexicon changes across the lifespan. Prior work, aggregating data among individuals of similar ages, found that the aging lexicon, represented as a network of free associations, becomes more sparse with age: degree and clustering coefficient decrease and average shortest path length increases. However, because this work is based on aggregated data, it remains to be seen whether or not individuals show a similar pattern of age-related lexical change. Here, we demonstrate how an individual-level approach can be used to reveal differences that vary systematically with age. We also directly compare this approach with an aggregate-level approach, to show how these approaches differ. Our individual-level approach follows the logic of many past approaches by comparing individual data as they are situated within population-level data. To do this, we produce a conglomerate network from population-level data and then identify how data from individuals of different ages are situated within that network. Though we find most qualitative patterns are preserved, individuals produce associates that have a higher clustering coefficient in the conglomerate network as they age. Alongside a reduction in degree, this suggests more specialized but clustered knowledge with age. Older individuals also reveal a pattern of increasing distance among the associates they produce in response to a single cue, indicating a more diverse range of associations. We demonstrate these results for three different languages: English, Spanish, and Dutch, which all show the same qualitative patterns of differences between aggregate and individual network approaches. These results reveal how individual-level approaches can be taken with aggregate data and demonstrate new insights into understanding the aging lexicon.

Age at autism diagnosis is associated with sex assigned at birth (hereafter, "sex"), such that girls/women are more likely to be delayed or "missed" entirely in the diagnostic process compared to boys/men. Later diagnosed individuals, especially girls/women, demonstrate increased anxious/depressive symptoms. Data on autistic youth from clinic-based (n = 1035; 22.9% assigned female) and sex-balanced research-based (n = 128; 43% assigned female) samples were probed via regression-based mediation models to understand relationships between diagnostic age, sex, and symptoms of anxiety/depression. We hypothesized diagnostic age would mediate the relationship between sex and anxious/depressive symptoms. In both samples, later diagnostic age predicted greater anxious and depressive symptoms, and sex did not directly predict anxious symptoms. In the clinic-based but not the research-based sample, individuals assigned female at birth were later diagnosed than those assigned male, and there was a significant indirect effect of sex on anxious and depressive symptoms through diagnostic age, such that those assigned female and later diagnosed experienced greater symptoms. Within the research-based sample only, sex predicted depressive symptoms. The present study provides an important impetus for further evaluating the implications of diagnostic timing, enhancing tools for recognizing autism in individuals assigned female at birth, and grounding research with real-world ascertainment strategies.

This study examines the perception of international students regarding their satisfaction with administrative services while studying in Türkiye. Internationalization stands as a pivotal policy within Türkiye's higher education framework. In addition to the services students receive at the academic level, the quality of administrative services significantly influences overall student satisfaction. Understanding student satisfaction with public services from their application process to their departure is crucial for identifying and addressing any existing issues. In this context, a survey was conducted with 250 international students at Bartin University. The results indicated general satisfaction with administrative services among participants, with notable variations in responses based on gender, age, prior experiences with administrative issues, and the presence of close relatives or acquaintances in Türkiye. In addition, interviews revealed that the primary causes of administrative difficulties stem from language barriers, procedural complexities in documentation, and associated costs.

Higher education students, formally adults, are nevertheless subject to adultism. The co-authors of this article--the director of the Students as Teachers and Learners (SaLT) program and three undergraduates who have worked in pedagogical partnership with faculty through SaLT--discuss how this program counters adultism on three levels: conceptually, structurally, and personally/interpersonally. We conclude with implications of this work for others interested in creating structures, practices, and relationships that counter adultism in higher education.

This paper provides a thorough examination of the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly ChatGPT and other AI language models, in the realm of education. Drawing insights from existing literature and a novel study on educator perspectives, the paper delves into the potential advantages, ethical dilemmas, and factors shaping educators' attitudes towards AI integration in education. AI language models have the potential to revolutionize educational content creation, personalize learning experiences, and streamline assessment and feedback processes. These capabilities hold the potential to enhance teaching and learning outcomes while catering to the diverse needs of students. However, ethical concerns loom large in the adoption of AI in education. Bias in generated content is a chief concern, as it can perpetuate societal biases and lead to unfair treatment or the dissemination of inaccurate information. The solution lies in rigorous data curation to ensure equitable educational experiences for all students. Moreover, the potential for generating inappropriate or misleading content poses a significant ethical challenge, impacting students' well-being, civic understanding, and social interactions. Safeguards must be implemented to detect and rectify biased or inappropriate content, fostering inclusive and unbiased learning environments. Transparency emerges as a crucial ethical consideration. The opacity of AI models like ChatGPT makes it difficult to comprehend their decision-making processes. Enhancing model interpretability and explainability is vital for accountability and addressing embedded ethical issues. Privacy concerns related to data collection and usage are emphasized in the literature. Clear policies and guidelines must govern data collection, use, and protection, ensuring data is solely employed for educational purposes and maintaining robust data security measures. Our study expands upon these insights by exploring socio-demographic factors, motivations, and social influences affecting educators' AI adoption in higher education. These findings inform institutions on tailoring AI integration strategies, emphasizing responsible usage through training, and assessing the impact on learning outcomes. As educational institutions increasingly embrace AI, including advanced models like GPT-4, a cautious and thoughtful approach is vital. Balancing potential benefits with ethical challenges ensures that AI enhances teaching and learning while upholding fairness, equity, and accountability. In summary, this paper illuminates the potential of AI in education, accentuates ethical concerns, and highlights the significance of understanding educators' perspectives. Collaboration between educators and policymakers is essential to navigate the complexities of AI integration, ensuring that education remains a realm of equitable, efficient, and accountable learning experiences.

Volunteers are noteworthy youth development professionals in the 4-H program whose training translates into practices that promote positive outcomes among young people they serve. This study explored how contextual and programmatic factors were associated with volunteers' practices of the essential elements with youth. Programmatic influences included breadth of volunteer training, tenure in 4-H whereas gender and age were contextual factors. Results supported associations between breadth of volunteer training and the essential element of mastery; this effect was not found with other essential elements. Also, volunteers' tenure in the 4-H program moderated the relationship between breadth of training and practices promoting mastery, with stronger association between training breadth and mastery for less seasoned volunteers. Moreover, among volunteers reporting greater breadth of trainings in the past year, men reported greater levels of facilitating independence than women, an effect not found across the whole sample. Our findings suggest mastery as a relevant essential element retained in training and applied in 4-H volunteers' practice. Implications are discussed regarding volunteer training content and promotion of responsibilities for both new and seasoned volunteers, as well as consideration for possible effects of differences in gender role expectations influencing the practice of promoting certain essential elements.

There is an increasing interest in the integration of computational thinking (CT) in the K-12 curriculum. By integrating CT into other disciplines, the aim is to equip students with essential skills to navigate domain-specific challenges. This study conducts a systematic review of 108 peer-reviewed scientific papers to analyze in which K-12 subjects CT is being integrated, learning objectives, CT integration levels, instructional strategies, technologies and tools employed, assessment strategies, research designs and educational stages of participants. The findings reveal that: (a) over two-thirds of the CT integration studies predominantly focus on science and mathematics; (b) the majority of the studies implement CT at the substitution level rather than achieving a transformation impact; (c) active learning is a commonly mentioned instructional strategy, with block-based languages and physical devices being frequently utilized tools; (d) in terms of assessment, the emphasis primarily lies in evaluating attitudes towards technology or the learning context, rather than developing valid and reliable assessment instruments. These findings shed light on the current state of CT integration in K-12 education. The identified trends provide valuable insights for educators, curriculum designers, and policymakers seeking to effectively incorporate CT across various disciplines in a manner that fosters meaningful skill development with an interdisciplinary approach. By leveraging these insights, we can strive to enhance CT integration efforts, ensuring the holistic development of students' computational thinking abilities and promoting their preparedness for the increasingly interdisciplinary domains of digital world.

A study on the digital wisdom of primary school teachers in Penang, Malaysia was conducted with 372 participants. A research questionnaire was used to collect data, and the findings suggest that most teachers moderately practice digital wisdom in their classrooms. The study also found that digital status has a significant but weak relationship with digital wisdom, while age has a significant and moderate relationship with it. However, there is no significant relationship between school location and gender with the practice of digital wisdom. Experience has a significant and moderate relationship with digital wisdom, while education level has no relationship. Overall, the results provide insights into teachers' digital wisdom levels and how they relate to demographic profiles.

Digital technologies have become a part of everyday life, taking center stage. It has dominated people's lives and changed the way they live life. The task of protecting and raising awareness of children from the negative effects of the digital age, which especially affects the psychological, physical, social and cognitive development of children, is again on the family, school and society. For this reason, this study aims to define the concept of digital literacy for today's children by presenting a different perspective and inspiring new research to be conducted. In the study, the literature review model, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. Articles, theses, dissertations, professional publications, research and research reports on the subject were examined. In the findings section of the study, the importance of the child and the family raising him/her, the digital age and its impact on education, the importance of digital literacy in education, and the advantages and disadvantages of digital literacy are discussed. In conclusion, in order to shape the future of societies with solid foundations, it is very important to teach children digital literacy skills, which also means understanding technology and using it appropriately, in the light of customs and traditions.

The COVID-19 epidemic has impacted higher education institutions across the country by switching traditional teaching practices to online learning. The attitudes of students towards elearning are essential to research in order to determine the extent to which successful implementation of online learning. Thus, this research aims to evaluate the attitudes of Indonesian students towards e-learning throughout the pandemic. The study adopted a quantitative research approach through a survey questionnaire. The attitude of students was evaluated using the attitude scale towards e-learning. The questionnaire comprised 20 items assessing students' attitudes towards remote learning. A questionnaire was distributed to 342 (255 female and 87 male) undergraduate students who took online courses at an Indonesian state university. The statistical analyses including descriptive statistics, t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used in the present study. The results suggested that students' e-learning attitudes tend to be neutral. The ttest and ANOVA indicated that there was no statistically significant gap in students' attitudes with respect to gender, daily internet usage time or level of COVID-19. Meanwhile, age, study year and personal computer ownership exerted a statistically significant impact on e-learning attitudes. Teachers can better prepare for the adoption of online learning during COVID-19 and beyond by using the valuable insights provided by the findings.

The recent complexity of the university system, with diverse academic trajectories and varying socio-demographic characteristics of students, has led to increased access for historically underrepresented students. This has resulted in a rising number of adult learners, students with external responsibilities and individuals returning to education. However, despite this enhanced access, it remains unclear whether it has improved graduation. This uncertainty stems from the fact that students' social circumstances and external responsibilities differ significantly based on when they enter university. From a life course perspective, the aim of this paper is to explore the interactive effects of age at university entrance and employment status on the probability of graduating of an entire cohort of new students who entered the Catalan Higher Education System in 2012 (N = 29,463). The results show an interaction effect between age and employment status on the probability of graduation where working decreases the probability of graduation among students younger than 42 years old. Conversely, the negative impact of employment on university graduation diminishes among students entering university at an older age. This underscores the importance of adopting a life course perspective to comprehend students' educational experiences and outcomes within higher education.

Previous research has supported selecting development-matched targets rather than age-matched targets to teach play skills to children with autism spectrum disorder. However, few studies have been conducted, and replications and extensions of this research are needed. The current study replicated Pane et al. (2022) by comparing the acquisition of development-matched and age-matched play targets when teaching play skills to four children with autism. No contrived prompts or consequences were used to teach play skills in either condition. Extensions included identifying targets via a newer version of the Developmental Play Assessment, targeting different play categories, assessing additional imitation skills, and conducting a caregiver assessment to identify socially valid toys, play actions, and vocalizations based on each participant's common experiences and preferences as well as their caregiver's values and preferences. As in Pane et al., participants demonstrated a higher level of scripted play actions in the development-matched condition.

Purpose: This study describes participant diversity in Williams syndrome (WS) intervention studies. Methods: A literature search was conducted to identify prospective treatment studies including participants with WS. Data was extracted on the reporting of and information provided on age, sex, cognitive ability, socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity. Results: Eleven eligible articles were identified. Reporting rates of demographic factors varied considerably, with the highest rates for age and sex (100%) and the lowest reporting rates for race (18%) and ethnicity (9%). Combining demographic data from the two studies that reported on race and/or ethnicity (n = 33), 88% of participants were White. The combined participant mean age was 20.9 years. Conclusion: There is a low frequency of reporting on several demographic factors including socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity in WS intervention studies. There is a need for increased representation of racial and ethnic minority groups, older participants, and more cognitively impaired patients in WS research.

Symmetry studies in autism are inconclusive possibly due to different types of stimuli used which depend on either local or global cues. Therefore, this study compared symmetry detection between 20 autistic and 18 non-autistic adults matched on age, IQ, gender and handedness, using contour integration tasks containing open and closed contours that rely more on local or global processing respectively. Results showed that the autistic group performed equally well with both stimuli and outperformed the non-autistic group only for the open contours, possibly due to a different strategy used in detecting symmetry. However, there were no group differences for the closed contour. Results explain discrepant findings in previous symmetry studies suggesting that symmetry tasks that favour a local strategy may be advantageous for autistic individuals. Implications of the findings towards understanding visual sensory issues in this group are discussed.

Math development in children relies on several underlying cognitive functions, including executive functions (EF), working memory (WM), and visual-motor abilities, such as visual-motor integration (VMI). Understanding how these cognitive factors contribute to children's math performance is critical to supporting math learning and long-term math success. The present quasi-experimental waitlist control study (N = 28) aimed to (a) examine the unique contributions of EF, WM, and VMI to math abilities among children ages 5-8 years old with neurodevelopmental difficulties; (b) determine whether a math intervention (the Mathematics Interactive Learning Experience; MILE) that supports these cognitive processes was effective when modified to be delivered to small groups in a school setting, and (c) examine whether any participant characteristics, such as age or IQ, were correlated with post-intervention math score changes. At baseline, participants' math scores were significantly below the normative mean in all math content areas (ps < 0.01). EF, WM, and VMI were highly correlated with math ability; however, verbal WM was the only unique predictor of math ability in regressions analysis. Compared to a waitlist control group, children in the immediate MILE intervention group achieved significantly greater math gains overall. When all children who ultimately completed the intervention were considered together, significant improvement was observed in more than half of math content areas. Furthermore, at the individual level, 85.7% of participants showed reliable change in at least one math content area. Implications for supporting math learning in children with neurodevelopmental difficulties are discussed.

Given that inhibition interacts with visual temporal processing (VTP), the past evidence regarding the influence of VTP on the Chinese character reading of children with dyslexia may not disclose the whole picture without considering inhibition. Thus, the present study is among the first to investigate VTP and cognitive inhibition as well as their relationships to Chinese character reading. We compared the performances of 62 Chinese-speaking children with dyslexia in primary school (n = 62, M[subscript age] = 11.36 years) on VTP and inhibition tasks to those in a chronological-age-matched group (CA; n = 62, M[subscript age] = 11.57 years) and reading-level-matched group (RL; n = 62, M[subscript age] = 8.98 years). The results revealed that children with dyslexia performed worse than both the CA-matched and RL-matched groups in VTP and inhibition after controlling for age, nonverbal intelligence, and attention. Moreover, the relationship between VTP and Chinese character reading was moderated by inhibition in children with dyslexia. VTP is positively related to Chinese character reading, but this relationship is observed only at higher levels of inhibition. Our results suggest that inhibition plays a potential role in VTP and Chinese character reading, especially for those with dyslexia whose proficiency in inhibition is not as intact as that of typically developing children.

Prospective memory helps us to remember to perform tasks in the future. Prospective memory can be either time or event based. The goal of this study was to determine time- and event-based prospective memory in autistic adults across the life span. Autistic (n = 82) and non-autistic (n = 111) adults, aged between 30 and 86 years, performed the lab-based Amsterdam Breakfast Task, and several naturalistic prospective memory tasks. Preregistered analyses (AsPredicted #34249) were performed using classical frequentist as well as Bayesian statistics. On none of the prospective memory tasks, group differences were observed. Our results show no effect of age on naturalistic tasks, but age did affect our lab-based measure, indicative of the age paradox often described in non-autistic adults. Moreover, we found evidence for a parallel age-related effect of lab-based and naturalistic prospective memory in autistic and non-autistic individuals.

Despite initiatives by key actors in the last two decades, Early Childhood Development in Ghana, measured by physical, cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional development of children up to 8 years of age, remains poor. This study aimed to assess Ghana's Early Childhood Development (ECD) status and determinants by analyzing the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2017/18 data. Among the 3801 Ghanaian children (35-59 months; 1880 males), 42.7% were developmentally on track in literacy-numeracy, 93.6% in physical, 68.2% in social-emotional, 82.3% in learning, and about 67% in at least 3 of the 4 domains. Multiple logistic regression analyses suggest a positive association between ECD and female sex of children, their age, mothers' attendance in any ECD programs, mothers' educational qualification, and household wealth. On the other hand, evidence of a negative association was observed between ECD and child disability, stunting status of children, maternal disability, the number of days children were left alone for more than an hour, and residence in a rural area. The level of maternal education may be implicated in ECD policies as it affected several ECD domains.

Phonological awareness (PA) is an important predictor and outcome of reading. Yet, little is known about the reciprocal relation between PA and reading across development without consistent reading experience (e.g., as a result of limited access to quality education and late enrolment in school). We tested the hypothesis that variable reading experience in childhood influences neural activation in regions involved in language and reading processing--left frontal and temporoparietal cortex. Sixty-nine primary-school children (M[subscript age] = 10.4) from rural low-literacy communities in Côte d'Ivoire completed a PA task while undergoing functional near-infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging (fNIRS) neuroimaging and a reading battery. We observed differences in left inferior frontal and bilateral temporoparietal activation for younger versus older children with similar reading skills, suggesting neural activations for phonological processing depends on the age when children have reading experience. Without consistent access to quality education, children may miss out on reciprocal interactions between phonological processing and reading shaping language processing in the brain.

To estimate the distribution of the number of acquaintances of the members of a society, the network scale-up method asks survey respondents about the number of people they know with features for which national statistics are available. While many features have been used for this purpose, first names have been suggested to produce particularly low levels of transmission error and recall bias. For this method to be precise, a set of names needs to be selected for the survey that jointly represents the population in relevant variables such as gender or age. This article provides a solution approach to finding the optimal set of names. This can be applied to any population for which a joint distribution of first names and relevant variables is available. We show that our approach successfully provides sets of names closely mirroring the population distributions for six countries with different name statistics.

Dropout is a problematic issue in education due to its high prevalence and impact on students and society. In fact, it can limit students' future options, and it involves a substantial cost for public budgets in most countries. This is not an easy problem to solve, since student dropout is a complex decisional process involving such factors as personal and contextual characteristics, educational variables, and psychosocial aspects. Very few studies have examined whether sociodemographic and psycho-educational variables affect educational dropout at different academic levels. For this reason, the present study aims to provide a better understanding of the role of several variables (age, academic results, gender, sexual orientation, academic help-seeking, academic self-efficacy, and planning as a strategy to cope with academic stress) in educational dropout thoughts in a sample of 759 students resident in Spain (age: M = 22.91, 74.0% women). Regression analyses showed that dropout thoughts were significantly predicted by academic results, planning, sexual orientation, academic self-efficacy, and academic help-seeking. Agreements and discrepancies with previous research are discussed. The results of the current study can be used by educators, policy makers and institutions to develop programmes to reduce student dropout by enhancing self-regulated learning strategies.

Computational Thinking (CT) is essential for developing creativity, problem-solving, and digital competence in the 21st century. Coding tools like robotic toys and tablet apps have become popular in early childhood education to support CT development, but there is a debate on which tool is more effective. Little evidence exists on the effect of coding on children's Social-Emotional Competence (SEC), which is crucial for lifelong development and extends beyond cognitive development. This experimental study aimed to compare the effectiveness of two 9-week programs on promoting 73 preschool children's CT and SEC, one using coding robots and the other using coding apps. The results showed that children who participated in the Coding Robot Program had higher CT scores than those in the Coding App Program, after controlling for age, gender, family socioeconomic status, and baseline CT scores. While the SEC scores showed no substantial disparities between the groups, it was revealed that the initial performance levels moderated the intervention effects on emotional regulation and overall SEC. This suggests that the Coding Robot Program could be especially advantageous for a subset of children who initially have difficulties with emotional regulation and social skills. Implications of this study are presented for research and practice.

How horizontal stratification in education influences marriage expectations is less known. Using data from the 2009 Beijing College Students Panel Survey and a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, this study examines whether university quality impacts students' intended age at marriage. Results show that attending a tier 1 university, relative to a tier 2 university, delays a students' intended age at marriage by around 12 months in China. This delaying effect is estimated to take place through different romantic cultural resources and career resources universities provide. The findings demonstrate the causal effect of horizontal stratification in higher education on college students' marriage plans. What postpones their marriage plans is not only university attendance but also which university to attend.

Prominent theories of reading development have separately emphasized the relevance of children's skill in learning (Share, 2008) and lexical representations (Perfetti & Hart, 2002). Integrating these ideas, we examined whether skill in learning lexical representations is a mechanism that might explain children's reading development. To do so we conducted a longitudinal study, following 139 children from Grades 3 to 5. In Grade 3, children completed measures of word reading and reading comprehension and again at Grade 5. In Grade 4, children read short stories containing novel words; they were later tested on their memory for the spellings and meanings of these new words, capturing orthographic and semantic learning, respectively. Using multiple-mediation path analysis, we tested whether children's skill in learning orthographic and semantic dimensions of new words was a mediator of individual differences in each of word reading and reading comprehension. In models controlling for nonverbal ability, working memory, vocabulary, and phonological awareness, we found two clear effects: individual differences in orthographic learning at Grade 4 mediated the gains that children made in word reading between Grades 3 and 5 and individual differences in semantic learning at Grade 4 mediated gains in reading comprehension over the same time period. These findings suggest that children's ability to learn lexical representations is a mechanism in reading development, with orthographic effects on word reading and semantic effects on reading comprehension. These findings show the power and the specificity of children's capacity to learn in determining their progress in learning to read.

The adoption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Ghana has raised a lot of public concerns and mixed feelings among some Ghanaians. Our present study, therefore, explored the current knowledge of the general public on GMOs, their perceptions, and factors that influence their understanding of GMOs. A total of 200 Ghanaians were interviewed using an online semi-structured questionnaire to solicit information on their knowledge of GMOs. The findings of the study showed that most Ghanaians (183 out of 200) are aware of GMOs. Age and level of education significantly influenced consumers' awareness of GMOs. The results also revealed that most of the participants have a medium to a high level of knowledge of GMOs; however, limited information about GMOs is available to the public. About 61% of the respondents are willing to consume GMOs when made available in Ghana. Also, the findings of the study showed that the respondents would prefer GM-labelled products. The educational level of the respondents significantly influenced their knowledge and understanding of GMOs. The study recommends that scientists and various media platforms provide a platform to address the concerns of the public on GMOs and occasionally engage them in GMO-related issues and their role in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition.

Population aging presents opportunities and challenges for higher education. Increasingly, age-diverse student populations are entering into or returning to postsecondary education; meanwhile, campuses are workplaces where faculty and staff are aging-in-place. Yet, age bias and discrimination continue to exist in institutions of higher education. As encouraged by the Age-Friendly University (AFU) initiative, higher education should foster age-inclusive environments. However, empirical measures are needed to document what it means to be age inclusive. To this end, the present study used the Inventory and Campus Climate Survey (ICCS; Silverstein et al., Silverstein et al., The Gerontologist 62:e48-e61, 2022), based on social-ecological theory, to assess age-inclusive practices and awareness of these practices across seven campus domains, along with personal beliefs regarding age inclusivity, as predictors of perceived age-friendliness. AFU network institutions in the U.S. (23 campuses) provided data from a total sample of 1549 faculty, 2582 staff, and 2700 students. Confirmatory Factor Analysis established the proposed structure of the Age-Friendliness and Personal Beliefs scales of the Campus Climate Survey. Model testing revealed that campus constituents, regardless of role, were largely unaware of age-friendly practices reported by campus administrators, and that the degree of fit between actual practices and constituents' awareness of them predicted perceptions of age inclusivity. Constituents differed in their assessment of which age-friendly practices most contributed to their own sense of age inclusivity, with physical environment playing an important predictive role across all groups. The findings indicated that, even among institutions that endorse AFU principles, there is an overall disconnect between practices and perceptions that can impede the impact of age-inclusive efforts for age-diverse individuals who might benefit from them.

Given the need for a swift, systematic way to identify students with internalizing and externalizing behavior patterns to connect these students with appropriate supports, we present new findings of the Student Risk Screening Scale--Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE). In this article, we examined (a) factor structure of the SRSS-IE and (b) the extent to which measurement invariance holds across gender, special education status, race, and ethnicity, as well as time point (fall, winter, spring) within each school level (elementary, middle, high). The sample includes 124 schools from four U.S. geographic regions in their first year of implementing the SRSS-IE collected over a 10-year span. Using confirmatory factor analysis procedures accounting for the nesting of students within teachers' classrooms, we confirmed a two-factor structure (internalizing and externalizing) and determined three items may be removed from the instrument while maintaining adequate model fit, pending replication with schools in later stages of screening implementation. All model comparisons between configural, metric, scalar, and strict models met invariance criteria within a time point. Longitudinal models also met these invariance criteria. We discuss educational implications, limitations, and directions for future research.

Background: People with intellectual disabilities may experience frailty earlier than the general population. This scoping review aimed to investigate how frailty is defined, assessed, and managed in adults with an intellectual disability; factors associated with frailty; and the potential impact of COVID-19 on frailty identification and management. Method: Databases were searched from January 2016 to July 2023 for studies that investigated frailty in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Results: Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria. Frailty prevalence varied between 9% and 84%. Greater severity of intellectual disability, presence of Down syndrome, older age, polypharmacy, and group home living were associated with frailty. Multiagency working, trusted relationships and provision of evidence-based information may all be beneficial in frailty management. Conclusion: Frailty is common for people with intellectual disabilities and is best identified with measures specifically designed for this population. Future research should evaluate interventions to manage frailty and improve lives.

The presence of cyberspace in the lives of young people is such that we can no longer distinguish between online and offline spheres. They live a process of onlife development that is not always equitable in terms of gender. This paper aims to account for the online behaviour of Spanish adolescents according to gender and age, the decisions they make when constructing their virtual identity, and the effects that this has on them. A quantitative study has been carried out at a national level (N=2,076, 12-18 years old) following a non-experimental ex post facto design by means of a survey study. The results show that there are gender differences in the preference for one or other social network. A high percentage of girls make different choices when it comes to their online presence. Unlike boys, girls state that their virtual self and their behaviour significantly influence the opinion that they have of themselves and their need to feel integrated. In conclusion, the decisions that adolescents make when creating their virtual selves do not only have negative consequences derived from poor management, but are also plagued by mandates and stereotypes that determine how they should be and what they should do online; something that is especially pressing for girls.

In the current digital age, the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into teaching practices has become a determining factor in learning quality. The teachers' digital competence issue has come back to the forefront because of the schools' closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study aims to assess the sense of competence in terms of ICT use of a sample of 260 secondary school teachers in the Directorate of Education in Rhamna, Morocco, by adopting a quantitative methodology. Our findings suggested that only 26.1% of the individuals in our sample reported they feel effectively competent. The pandemic made a significant change in teachers' perceptions of the importance of ICT integration and training in the field. Moreover, a cross-analysis highlighted significant relationships between the sense of competence in terms of ICT use and six independent variables: continuous training, learning readiness, gender, age, teaching experience, and school subject. Our findings would be helpful for policymakers to guide educational policies by focusing on ICT continuous training to enhance teachers' digital competence.

This study examines science, mathematics, and classroom teacher candidates' attitudes towards mistakeinstant feedback. A total of 531 undergraduate students from different universities in Türkiye participated in the study. "Mathematics and science teachers' attitude scale towards mistakes and instant feedback to mistakes" (MST-AS) was used to collect data. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA tests. A statistically significant difference between the external and internal attitude dimensions, along with the departments' overall attitude scores, was found. Based on a Tukey's Post Hoc test significant differences were determined between science and mathematics teacher candidates, and between mathematics and classroom teacher candidates in their overall scores, in favour of the science and classroom teacher candidates. The differences among the attitudes of the teacher candidates according to their grade level and achievement was not statistically significant. To better understand the attitudes of teacher candidates, more in-depth or longitudinal studies can be conducted on the variables correlated with high and low attitudes.

This study aims to reveal the astronomy-related self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers studying science education, primary school education, and social studies education programmes. The study is conducted using the survey design, a quantitative research method. The study sample consists of 322 pre-service teachers in their third or fourth year of a science education, primary school education, or social studies education programme at a university in Turkey's Central Anatolia Region during the 2016 fall semester. The Astronomy Teaching Self-Efficacy Belief Scale developed by Günes was used as the data collection tool. SPSS 22 was used to analyse the data, and the analyses benefited from descriptive and inferential statistics. Based on the findings, the pre-service teachers' total scores for astronomy self-efficacy showed no significant difference in terms of certain variables (i.e., gender, age, year, and having taken a previous astronomy course). However, significant differences were found regarding self-efficacy scores in terms of the programme and having taken part in astronomy and sky-gazing activity. Concerning the obtained results, the following suggestions can be made: pre-service teachers should be actively involved during the astronomy course, and their classroom management experiences should be promoted to improve their astronomy self-efficacy belief levels.

This is a longitudinal study to investigate whether there is a correlation between the methods for completion of homework and the incentive levels with academic achievement. The method adopted in this study is the t-test statistical analysis to assess the relationship between the use of compulsory homework on achievement and the influence of intervening and moderating variables. The findings are as follows -- Cohort 1 which completed homework in the traditional pen and paper style (with a mean of 13.278) performed better than the Cohort 2 which completed homework online They also performed better than Cohort 2 which completed homework online (with a mean of 11.851). Cohort 3 that had no incentive and subsequently no compulsion to do the homework (with a mean of 11.851) performed better than Cohort 2 which completed homework online (with a mean of 9.658).

From a young age, children's math achievement is influenced by individual factors, such as math anxiety. While math anxiety has been linked to math avoidance, few studies have explored this link in young children, particularly in the context of play. Because play-based instruction is commonly used for math in early childhood classrooms, understanding the impact of math anxiety on children's engagement in math-related play may have important implications for children's early math learning. The current study examined the role of children's math anxiety in their persistence and exploration during a math toy play task. We observed wide variability in children's play behaviors, finding that children's actions during play did not relate to their math anxiety, but their talk related to math while playing with the toy did. There are also age and gender differences in math anxiety, school experience, and reasoning about the toy play task. These results suggest that math anxiety may influence certain aspects of children's engagement in math-related play, and that more research is needed to consider links between math anxiety and math avoidance in young children.

Financial constraints caused by the economic slowdown in 2020 and COVID-19 that followed, affecting the student motivation for academic achievements, are of strategic importance to the global higher education (HE) sectors. This study aims to examine the effects of financial constraints on the motivation and academic performance of students of different nationalities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the pandemic. This study will help us recognize the challenges among students from different backgrounds and nationalities and develop remedial strategies with a global perspective. We used a Likert scale-based questionnaire to collect data on motivation level, and associated variables from a sample of 371 students enrolled in different colleges in the UAE. Statistical techniques such as t-test, F-test, and chi-square test were used to explore the relationship between the variables in the data. The findings of the study revealed that financial constraints during the pandemic did not significantly affect academic motivation, regardless of gender, nationality, and age. The participants expressed that they were prepared and aware of the sunk costs involved in education. However, as the financial impact of the pandemic extended beyond 2020, unemployment increased, and parents were less prepared to bear their children's education costs. This inevitably increased the responsibilities of the universities to provide financial support to deserving students.