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In many Western societies, earning a degree is considered an ultimate educational achievement. Second chance education (SCE) serves as a distinct pathway for those who have dropped out of school, allowing them to re-enter the educational system. Understanding the specific obstacles and needs of students in SCE is crucial for providing better-tailored support. However, limited knowledge exists about the challenges faced by students seeking to enrol in SCE. This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with 28 drop-in students (M[subscript age] = 30) to explore these barriers and needs. Identified barriers span institutional, situational, environmental, and life-course levels. Primary needs centre around warm and accessible teachers, as well as flexible, student-focused learning options. The results underscore the value and significance of second chance education as a unique pedagogical context for drop-in students. It also emphasizes that the insights gained from SCE can inform improvements in regular, first-chance education, serving diverse student populations. Lastly, SCE serves as a societal mirror, urging a re-evaluation of the broader discourse in education. Overall, this study calls for more appreciation of SCE, acknowledging and recognizing its unique pedagogical context, dedicated teachers, and determined students.

In current Western societies, the number of students dropping out of school is high. At the same time, the importance of education leads to an increase in Second Chance Education (SCE) initiatives as an alternative way to obtain a degree. Little is known about the roles SCE can play as a learning environment for students "'dropping in'" beyond mere degree attainment. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on these roles by exploring the dropout experiences of drop-in students and the underlying reasons for enrolling in SCE. This study involves in-depth interviews with 28 drop-in students (M[subscript age]= 30.0). The findings reveal that not obtaining a degree could be a traumatic event, resulting in challenges such as stigmatisation, discrimination, and social pressure. Based on these experiences, SCE students articulated reasons for enrolling in SCE, including self-actualisation, improved occupational and educational opportunities, and social confirmation by significant others. Overall, this study identified three roles SCE can play for drop-in students, including serving as "a new start", "a tool/in-between phase" and "a way to finish unfinished business." These findings call for a more nuanced perspective on education and highlight the importance of reconsidering the individualistic perspective on success and failure in education.

Background: Informal learning environments (ILEs) like Fablabs and Makerspaces have potential to facilitate development of STEM skills. However, these environments might be difficult for teachers to adopt in their teaching because of teaching approaches grounded in constructionism where the role of the teacher changes from a transmissive instructor to an active co-creator, and using high-tech equipment not normally found in schools. Purpose: The aim is to investigate teachers' self-efficacy and perceived role when teaching STEM in Fablabs and Makerspaces. This is investigated related to teaching in ILEs and using high-tech equipment. The study was conducted in two countries/regions, Flanders (Belgium) and Sweden We also compare differences between teachers depending on nationality, gender, and years of teaching experience. Sample: A total of 347 secondary school teachers completed an online survey. Quantitative analyses was used for all questions in the survey, except one open-ended question, which was analysed through inductive thematic coding. Results: The teachers reported moderate self-efficacy for teaching in ILEs , and low self-efficacy for using high-tech equipment. Some teachers described themselves as having active roles as a coach or as co-learner during visits with their students. Others saw themselves as having a passive role. Many teachers did not know what kind of role to take. The teachers who perceived an active role as a teacher in high-tech ILEs reported higher self-efficacy to teach in these environments than other teachers. Conclusions: This study shows that a constructionist approach to teaching is important if teachers are to develop self-efficacy to teach in high-tech ILEs. Thus, developing teacher practices in line with constructionism in relation to teaching in high-tech ILEs is imperative, in teacher education. The results also highlight that staff in Fablabs and Makerspaces are important for handling high-tech equipment. Hence, collaboration between staff in ILEs and teachers is of importance.

Science education is increasingly integrating a focus on socio-scientific issues. Policy makers and scholars also suggest education for sustainable development (ESD) is important for tackling current and future sustainability issues. ESD may foster students' action competence in sustainable development (ACiSD; knowledgeability, willingness, capacity expectations and outcome expectancy) regarding contributing to sustainability action. However, reports on effectiveness research relating to ACiSD as a learning outcome of action-oriented ESD are scarce. The current study explores (1) how early adolescents perceive their teachers' ESD implementation and (2) whether perceived ESD (holism, pluralism, and action-orientedness) affects students' self-reported ACiSD. We administered two questionnaires to 12-16 year-old secondary school students, tapping into (1) their self-reported ACiSD and (2) their perceptions of teachers' ESD implementation efforts. Students' ESD perceptions were measured through descriptive statistics. Next, multilevel linear models were estimated to explore whether ESD and its components affect students' ACiSD. Our results suggest students did not distinctly perceive ESD implementation (esp. a participative approach). Holism and action-orientedness were neither perceived to be completely present nor completely missing. However, action-orientedness significantly affected students' reported ACiSD. While confirming the challenge an ESD implementation poses, our results may support efforts made. Implications for education and teacher development are discussed.

Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (iSTEM) education is a promising approach to attracting more qualified and better motivated students to STEM fields. In this study, we respond to one of the salient challenges facing integrated STEM educational research, namely investigating its educational impact. We developed a large-scale intervention where all STEM components are integrated and examined the impact this integrated STEM curriculum has had on cognitive performances regarding physics, mathematics, technological concepts, and integrated physics and mathematics. In total, 859 grade 9 students, distributed across 39 Flemish different schools, participated in a long-term study. The results of multilevel analyses show that iSTEM education had positive effects on cognitive performance in terms of mathematics knowledge and application and technological concepts. Also, differential intervention effects were found with regard to student characteristics. Since the impact was only apparent after two years, we stress the importance of a long-term integrated STEM approach.

PurposeTo provide precise age-specific risk estimates of cancers other than female breast and ovarian cancers associated with pathogenic variants (PVs) in BRCA1 and BRCA2 for effective cancer risk management.MethodsWe used data from 3,184 BRCA1 and 2,157 BRCA2 families in the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 to estimate age-specific relative (RR) and absolute risks for 22 first primary cancer types adjusting for family ascertainment.ResultsBRCA1 PVs were associated with risks of male breast (RR = 4.30; 95% CI, 1.09 to 16.96), pancreatic (RR = 2.36; 95% CI, 1.51 to 3.68), and stomach (RR = 2.17; 95% CI, 1.25 to 3.77) cancers. Associations with colorectal and gallbladder cancers were also suggested. BRCA2 PVs were associated with risks of male breast (RR = 44.0; 95% CI, 21.3 to 90.9), stomach (RR = 3.69; 95% CI, 2.40 to 5.67), pancreatic (RR = 3.34; 95% CI, 2.21 to 5.06), and prostate (RR = 2.22; 95% CI, 1.63 to 3.03) cancers. The stomach cancer RR was higher for females than males (6.89 v 2.76; P = .04). The absolute risks to age 80 years ranged from 0.4% for male breast cancer to approximately 2.5% for pancreatic cancer for BRCA1 carriers and from approximately 2.5% for pancreatic cancer to 27% for prostate cancer for BRCA2 carriers.ConclusionIn addition to female breast and ovarian cancers, BRCA1 and BRCA2 PVs are associated with increased risks of male breast, pancreatic, stomach, and prostate (only BRCA2 PVs) cancers, but not with the risks of other previously suggested cancers. The estimated age-specific risks will refine cancer risk management in men and women with BRCA1/2 PVs.

The "leaky pipeline" with regard to students' engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has triggered extensive research to understand and prevent students dropping out from STEM. To boost enrolment and interest in STEM fields, integrated STEM (iSTEM) education could be harnessed by providing students with relevant challenges. This study investigated (1) the evolution of affective outcomes regarding science and mathematics over time in traditional education, (2) the impact of an iSTEM curriculum on affective outcomes with regard to science and mathematics, and (3) the differential effectiveness of the iSTEM curriculum regarding student characteristics. Therefore, an iSTEM intervention was developed and evaluated over the course of 2 years. In total, 859 grade 9 students, distributed across 39 different Belgian schools, participated in the longitudinal study. The results of multilevel analyses show that students' attitudes, motivation, and self-efficacy with regard to science and mathematics tend to become less positive over time in traditional education. On the other hand, iSTEM education had positive effects on attitudes towards science and mathematics. However, negative results were observed with regard to motivation and self-efficacy outcomes. In addition, intervention effects differed for boys and girls and for students at different socioeconomic status levels. Our results indicate that iSTEM has the potential to improve students' attitudes towards STEM, but that we should be careful with regard to the implementation of this approach in terms of student motivation and self-efficacy.

STEM presents a challenge to education at large. The enrollment numbers in higher education STEM tracks are ever-decreasing numbers all around the globe. More so, young people's interest in and attitudes towards STEM seem to be free falling. Educational interventions that can help boost the attractiveness of STEM are therefore needed, and diverse such interventions are implemented worldwide. We present a longitudinal impact study of a STEM education intervention focusing on the attitudes of pupils towards technology. The intervention involves young students visiting a high-tech truck (Techno Trailer) at their schools. Inside this truck grade 5 and 6 students (average age 11 years) experience diverse interactions with high tech material and exhibits, focusing on how technology can contribute to solving problems in industry and society. 1496 elementary school students aged 10-12 years old (grades 5 and 6) participated in the study. Some of their teachers were prepared for the visit through a preparatory workshop, while others were not. We used the PATT to measure the pupil's attitudes towards technology. Three separate measurement occasions were included: just before, 3 days after and 3 weeks after the intervention. Differences between the measurement occasions reflect changes in attitudes over time. Overall, the study shows that the intervention rendered technology as less boring, more interesting and more viable as a career option for the pupils. For girls specifically, the intervention contributed to reversing the gender stereotypical view that technology is mainly a topic for boys. For boys we did not observer such an effect. The immediate educational impacts (3 days later) tended to decrease across time but most remained significant (3 weeks later) as compared to the base line. The results of this study show that short-term high-tech STEM education interventions can positively impact on students' attitudes towards technology. At the same time, they show that such interventions in themselves are not enough and that they need to be part of a wider strategy to boost STEM attractiveness. Furthermore, our results highlight the added value of the preparatory workshop for teachers in terms of generating educational impact on pupils' attitudes towards technology.

This study examined the family emotional climate as assessed by Five Minute Speech Samples and the relation with parenting stress and parenting behaviors among parents of children (6-17 years, 64.7% boys) with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and without any known disability (n = 447). The large majority of parents (79%) showed low levels of Expressed Emotion, an indicator of a positive family climate. In all groups, more Emotional Over-involvement, more Criticism and fewer expressions of Warmth were associated with higher levels of parenting stress. Across groups, Emotional Over-involvement was related to more autonomy-supportive parenting, Criticism to more psychologically controlling and overreactive parenting, and Warmth was associated with more responsive and less psychologically controlling and overreactive parenting.