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This study aimed to assess the level of empowerment experienced by Saudi women through the vocational skills taught in educated neighbourhood programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the research sought to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in empowerment levels based on marital status and the number of courses under-taken. The research uncovered the challenges faced by women during the pandemic, utilising descriptive statistics to collect data. The sample consisted of Saudi females enrolled in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The results indicated that Saudi women experienced empowerment through the vocational skills acquired in educated-neighbourhood programs. Furthermore, the findings revealed no statistically significant differences in empowerment levels among women based on marital status. However, there were statistically significant differences in the empowerment levels of the participants based on the number of courses taken. The results illustrated that the various challenges faced by women during the pandemic, included isolation at home, psychological coping, dis-continued economic activities, adherence to safety precautions, and access to healthcare.

Child trafficking poses a momentous public health threat to students in public schools. Although school nurses are exceptionally positioned to identify and respond to trafficking, most lack training and resources in this critical area. This project aimed to evaluate the impact of a multifaceted intervention on school nurse preparedness and practices related to child trafficking in an Oklahoma public school district. The project involved Unbound Now's nationally accredited training program for school nurses, implementation of the Fuentes et al.'s "Toolkit for Building a Human Trafficking School Safety Protocol (HTSSP)" funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and facilitation of a roundtable discussion to initiate community collaboration. The results of the pretraining Fraley and Aronowitz School Nurses' Awareness and Perceptions Survey (SNAPS) illuminated variations in school nurses' knowledge and awareness of child trafficking, demonstrating the need for continued training. Post-training evaluations exhibited highly positive feedback, suggesting its effectiveness in meeting the training's objectives. Following the community stakeholder roundtable, the lead school nurse employed the HTSSP toolkit and directed efforts in successfully constructing and implementing a district-wide policy of procedures to respond to suspected cases of human trafficking. However, the project's limitations include a small sample and a single-school district focus. Despite these limitations, this project delivers valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities for enhancing school nurse preparedness in addressing trafficking. This project serves as a foundation for future initiatives to improve students' safety and wellbeing in public schools.

Parental stress increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families with children with an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) and extensive support needs--such as complex communication needs--experienced additional challenges, including service loss and difficulties accessing virtual learning. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of parents (N = 37) with children with IDD and complex communication needs related to parental stress and family resilience. Qualitative interview and quantitative survey data were collected within a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, with interviews occurring three times across the 2020-2021 school year. The two sets of data were analyzed separately and then integrated using back-and-forth exchanges and a joint display. Findings indicated that families showed resilience through family adaptation and cohesion--creating rhythms and routines that fostered togetherness--and by growing in advocacy and empowerment related to their child's learning. But, many parents worried that they were not able to do enough for their child. Social support predicted lowered parental stress and stronger family resilience; yet, perceived social support varied widely across families--particularly support from teachers and service providers. This study provides important insight into family experiences during a unique time with the COVID-19 pandemic while pointing to important ways to strengthen family resilience long into a postpandemic future.

Inclusive education is a multifaceted approach that celebrates diversity, acknowledges individual differences and fosters an environment where all students can thrive. This reflective piece delves into key components of inclusive education practice, including embracing diversity, implementing differentiated instruction, fostering collaborative partnerships, creating an inclusive environment and engaging in continuous reflection and professional development. Drawing from over two decades of teaching experience, I seek to highlight the importance of catering to individual needs, building collaborative relationships and nurturing a culture of inclusivity and empowerment which are factors essential in creating inclusion and equity within the classroom. Through embracing inclusive practices, teachers can create learning communities where each student, regardless of their ability or challenges, has the opportunity to succeed.

This article examines the trajectory of global human rights expansion, with a specific focus on the advancement of girls' and women's education. By adopting a generational lens and using a reflective standpoint, I unpack the role of gender-specific social capital in fostering agency and empowerment among girls, particularly within the Global South. Building upon Porter's "Girls' education, development and social change": 'Seeding, Strengthening and Linking' ("Global Fund for Women") (2016), I propose a civic pedagogical PCCS (Place-based education initiatives, Cost-efficient and ecologically sound innovations, Collective intelligence building, Shared knowledge inquiry) model as a response to humanitarian crises, ideological disparities, and armed conflicts. Additionally, I draw upon the Indian concept of "jugaad" to comprehend the social, spatial, and economic negotiations in the Global South, enabling strategic resourcefulness. Furthermore, I introduce a Dalitbahujan feminist lens to emphasise the significance of girls' education in the current decade and beyond. By reexamining Porter's narratives and considering global circumstances, I focus on the dynamics of gender-oriented social capital. This article enriches the discussion on girls' education within the frameworks of 21st-century ideologies of neoliberalism, philanthrocapitalism, and neo-capitalism, highlighting the crucial role of collaborative efforts.

The "Developing Indigenous Early Career Researchers Project" is a three-year longitudinal study funded by the Australian Research Council that ran from January 2020 to December 2022. Its main focus was to investigate the experiences and perspectives of Indigenous Early Career Researchers working in universities across Australia. This article presents four main attributes identified by Indigenous Early Career Researchers as necessary to creating culturally safe spaces in Australian universities. These attributes include, safe to: (a) be Indigenous; (b) seek advice and make mistakes; (c) speak openly; and (d) trust. The successful implementation of these attributes requires institutional support and commitment in the form of relevant higher education policies and practices. Importantly, an overarching perspective of this article is that effective implementation of culturally safe spaces for Indigenous Early Career Researchers requires a significant shift in institutional discourse from the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and Knowledges to recognising Indigenous Peoples as sovereign.

Autistic children and their caregivers in Argentina often lack access to information, resources and evidence-based interventions. Caregiver empowerment may help support families to uphold their child's rights and access suitable education and support. This study aimed to examine the perceptions on empowerment of caregivers of autistic children in Argentina. This was a phenomenological, qualitative study. We conducted 32 semi-structured individual interviews remotely. Participants included caregivers, health service providers, non-governmental organisation representatives, special education teachers and policy representatives. Data were analysed thematically. We developed three main themes: Caregiver agency: from intuitive coping strategies to entrepreneurship; 'I had to cut down on therapy': Economic instability and inequality affecting service access; and Equipping caregivers to be empowered. Both caregivers and professionals talked about the contribution of socio-economic inequalities to caregivers' sense of disempowerment. Caregivers identified coping strategies and discussed their experiences with advocacy. They expressed that in-person and online support groups have an empowering effect. Based on participant views, strategies supporting caregiver empowerment may involve: interventions are co-designed by professionals and caregivers; focusing on caregiver mental health; and addressing the profound impact of poverty on the quality of life of families.

Background: People with intellectual disabilities remain disadvantaged in many aspects of everyday life. Capability approach is an underused approach in social care research and has at its core the importance of having capabilities or opportunities to do what we value. We use this approach to explore how people with intellectual disabilities can be supported to lead flourishing lives. Methods: Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 50 people with intellectual disabilities and 28 family carers. Data were analysed using an adapted template approach and conceptual analysis. Results: Our analysis led to the identification of one overarching theme; 'Doing what you love and growing' and sub-themes; 'Choice, opportunity and empowerment', 'Being out in the world' and 'Lowered expectations and static lives'. Conclusion: People with intellectual disabilities can lead capability-deprived lives. Methodological and practice innovation is needed to better understand what people value and ensure they have capability sets that enable flourishing lives.

There is a wide gap between what research evidence identifies as effective reading intervention and what is currently offered in schools. This effectiveness study reports the results of a long-term research/school system partnership that is implementing reading intervention for children with reading difficulties in Canadian community schools. In Study 1, growth-curve analyses revealed significant long-term shifts in the reading trajectories of children (n = 731) from Kindergarten to Grade 5 as a function of receiving the Empower™ Reading: Decoding and Spelling intervention. Long-term outcomes were higher in children who received intervention in Grade 2 than in Grade 3, supporting the benefit of earlier intervention. In Study 2, we compare reading outcomes before and after children participated in school system-led intervention (Empower™ Reading, n = 341) to results from previously reported researcher-led intervention and business-as-usual controls. Children in both school system-led and researcher-led interventions showed greater improvement than controls on standardized measures of decoding and reading comprehension. Among school system participants, greater gains were seen for those with stronger reading skills at pre-test. Findings demonstrate successful school system implementation of research-originated and validated reading intervention. Researcher/school system partnerships may be integral in closing the research-practice gap.

There are many models and examples of family-school-community partnerships. Local to Savannah, Georgia, Parent University is a unique community organization designed to support, guide, and empower parents and their children (from birth to 18 years old) to build bridges between the community and the schools. This nonprofit has successfully partnered with families, schools, and other community organizations for over 20 years and offers an illustrative example of how schools are crucial partners for the success of family-community programs. In applying theory to highlight the work of a parenting program, the purpose of this article is to (1) describe how the local school system, families, community members, and Parent University work together to engage and empower parents; (2) delineate the characteristics of the program's sustained success through the lens of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006); and (3) highlight the interdependence of Parent University, the local school system, and community organizations. Implications for practices within other school-community organizations are discussed.

The needs of parents and family members of deaf and hard of hearing students are unique. Not only do they face courses that are structured without regard for their needs, but they also endure other significant barriers. After brainstorming for many sessions and putting down ideas for a new curriculum that would teach and empower parents and their deaf and hard of hearing children, ASL at Home was born. It is a family-centered curriculum that focuses on the daily routines in young children's lives. While the authors had intended to create something to meet their clinical needs, the authors found that, more importantly, parents -- specifically the five mothers who worked with author Zarchy during his doctoral research -- reported that they had been empowered with language and with the knowledge that they can successfully raise their deaf child. They said that they felt they were building a strong, positive bond with their child through ASL and their other home languages. The curriculum, for use with students ages 5-10 years old, will feature in-depth grammatical instruction and teaching grammar concepts as they become relevant. ASL at Home is among the projects available to provide support for parents and caregivers who want to learn ASL. It allows the most critical individuals in their children's lives to experience communication and to reinforce connection with their deaf and hard of hearing children. Most importantly, it supports these parents and caregivers in providing their deaf and hard of hearing children with full access to language-learning opportunities at home and allows those children to be fully contributing members of their families.

Technology education in primary schools must integrate sustainable development to provide young learners with the basic knowledge, skills, and values to understand, appreciate and contribute to a sustainable future. This integration prepares them for the challenges of a rapidly changing world, promotes responsible use of technology and fosters a sense of environmental responsibility from an early age. However, for this to happen, teacher education needs to adopt strategies that empower student teachers to seamlessly integrate sustainable development into technology education and equip them with environmentally and socially responsible attitudes. The aim of this study is to explore what needs to be addressed in teacher education to prepare student teachers to teach technology integrated with sustainability. The study is part of a project where to develop a teaching module that will prepare student teachers to teach technology in primary schools, with special attention to how student teachers develop relationships between technology education and sustainable development. The study includes 12 student teachers enrolled in a science and technology course. Data were collected in several steps, including focus group interviews, and written individual reflections by student teachers. Based on thematic analysis, we identified what student teachers experience as crucial to being able to teach technology with a sustainability edge. The results show that preparing student teachers to teach technology with a sustainability edge requires a multifaceted approach that integrates knowledge of technology and sustainable development with personal values, pedagogical competence, critical thinking competency, and the adoption of transformative teaching practices.

This study explores how pre-service mathematics teachers build alternative model simulations of real-world scenarios. Inclusion in the formal structures for wealth generation and accumulation is a fervently debated issue in South Africa. Share owning in companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa is one of many wealth-building tools. Related discussions evolved on the spread of share ownership among black and white citizens. Two mathematically motivated positions were reported in a newspaper. In one of their mathematics courses, prospective mathematics teachers were presented with the article and asked to reflect on it with the prompt 'Which of these two methods for determining the "number of Black South Africans holding shares on the JSE" would your group support?' Audio- and video-recorded data were collected and subjected to thematic analysis. The themes that emerged from the analysis were economic empowerment, authority of research and trustworthiness of information. The discussions reflected on the complexities and rationalities involved in decision-making of mathematically driven opposing positions on issues of social importance. The mathematically derived results of such issues will eventually be resolved in the political field. The findings revealed that building of alternative mathematical models by pre-service mathematics teachers begins with an explicit problem setting, followed by the development of mathematical models that included real-world problems.

The high level of inequality in South Africa has widened the gap between rural and urban schools, and the performance of rural schools has been continuously declining compared to urban schools. Poor performance in rural schools is perpetuated by parents being absent from their children's education because the socio-economic conditions and their educational background do not allow them to commit their time and energy towards education. Learners are left on their own to decide their future. The disparity between rural and urban schooling was further exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As schools were closed during lockdown, teaching and learning was suspended in rural schools, however, in urban schools teaching and learning continued through online platforms. The lockdowns gave parents an opportunity to teach, advocate, and create conducive spaces to help their children focus on learning. During lockdowns, parents were expected to act as teachers in their homes to educate their children, and therefore, school closure presented opportunities for parents to actively participate in their children's education. However, their socio-economic conditions and poor educational backgrounds continue to threaten effective parental engagement, posing a threat to the academic success of rural learners. Despite attempts by the government to introduce school governing bodies in schools as a structure to integrate schools and parents, the problem of little parental engagement remains unresolved. The purpose with this study was to empower parents in rural areas to effectively participate in their children's education.

This research aimed 1) to study the framework in using the digital technology for empowering Thai people in rural areas, 2) to survey the information needs in digital media technology, and 3) to propose the prototype for developing the digital technology used. This research used the quantitative method in conducted the research which were divided into 3 steps: 1) surveying the opinion from 10 experts to confirmed the framework, 2) surveying the information need in the digital technology from sampling, and 3) surveying the prototype for developing an application as the digital technology used from sampling. Sampling came from 3 provinces (Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, and Chainat province) by purposive technique. The statistical methods used (mean and standard deviation) are appropriate for the data analysis. The results of each research aims were showed in this paper. The benefits of this study will be used as a guideline for developing the community in the used of digital technology. The limitation also showed as a recommendation to further study.

With the rise of many coaching regulatory organizations, such as The International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), women are becoming central to the dialogue. This is especially the case with The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (GCC, 2024) which sees encouraging women and providing empowerment tools and strategies as part of the future strategic transformation in the region. This research essay is based on a survey conducted to explore public opinion on women's participation in coaching as leaders and coaches in Arab local organizations. The survey was launched and circulated in social media and WhatsApp groups using Google Forms. The data collected are representative of both women and men who live and work in Arab cultures and speak Arabic. The survey conveys the perceptions, beliefs, and values of the participants and how they view women's empowerment, leadership, and coaching in organizations. The purpose is to inform women coaches, policymakers, and consultants who support organizational development in MENA. This data-driven article will help enrich the lives of professional women in the field of coaching while supporting practitioners in understanding the landscape.

This article provides an analysis of how equitable, inclusive, and meaningful partnerships between the Global South and Global North, which have been characterized by challenges (Kumar 2019), can be established and enhanced by minimizing the power dynamics that undermine their intended goals. This article argues for a relook and disruption of the current models of partnerships and collaborations that have over the years not worked well for partners in the Global South by proposing a consideration and adoption of more responsive and mutually beneficial options through the ACE (Aware, Connect, Empower) principles. The ACE principles provide for new ways of action, including alternative strategies for equitable collaborations across cultures and regions. This includes the adoption of the African Ubuntu philosophy advocating for the creation of awareness amongst partners in collaboration with the need for transformations and empowerment to enable students to gain both intentional intercultural and international experiences. [Note: The publication year (2023) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct year of publication is 2024.]

Development for empowerment focuses on leveraging education via digital technologies and micro-credentials for training and education as part of the integration, social inclusion and capacity building for displaced persons. Development for empowerment builds upon the previous concepts of development including Amartya Sen's 'development as freedom,' the core concept of education and learning as development, and the use of digital technologies for building human capacity so people can make their own choices and pursue the lives they wish to lead. Development for empowerment for refugees broadens the construct of development and is integral to promoting and nurturing 'equity, access and success' amongst refugee populations. The authors highlight critical resources that support the basic tenets of human empowerment such as the UN's "Declaration of Human Rights," the UN's "Basic Needs Approach to Refugees," Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs," and the key strategies of online delivery and micro-credentials development. Moreover, the authors emphasise that the integration, social inclusion and integration of refugees is a highly complex construct to implement and sustain, thus reflecting the constant tension of refugees' emotional desire to return home versus rebuilding a new life in a new country. In the final analysis, 'development for empowerment' + open and distance learning + digital microcredentials create a powerful synergy for serving refugees and fulfilling the spirit of preserving human rights through education and the pursuit of one's chosen life as a precious human ideal.

This piece offers a conceptual framework for collective care as pedagogy in higher education, and a proposition of how to theorize its orientations within anticolonial and feminist work on affect in education. First, I spotlight work that helps to define collective care. Next, I call on the concept of affective individualism as a way to describe what is: the taken-for-granted affective governmentality (Zembylas, 2021) that shapes how we often come together in our classrooms. Finally, I ground collective care as pedagogy as the building of affective solidarity, an affective conceptual framework for what could be, grounded in the feminist work of Clare Hemmings (2012).

The 2023 Tribal Leaders qualitative study is an emergent perspective from twelve Tribal leaders on education, Tribal sovereignty, leadership, and change presented as a poster session at the 2023 NRMERA conference in Omaha, Nebraska. This conceptual paper presents a review of literature acknowledging a lack of research inclusive of the voice of Tribal leaders as well as research, particularly in the areas of Tribal-specific/Native-centered leadership models and change frameworks. The research findings are presented across the four focus areas and of note: In education, Tribal leaders indicated the need for Tribal voices to be heard, accurate American History to be taught, adequate funding to be provided, and more culturally relevant instruction provided inclusive of language and cultural teaching were among the more significant findings. In the area of Tribal sovereignty, Tribal leaders indicated that Tribal sovereignty was something they wanted. They were not convinced that Tribal sovereignty was something in reality that could be achieved and, once achieved, could be held onto. In terms of leadership, Tribal leaders indicated a preference for Servant Leadership and did not specify any specific Tribal leadership definitions, models, or frameworks. With regard to change, Tribal leaders discussed change with no specific Tribal leadership models or frameworks. The findings are discussed and interpreted through a TribalCrit lens (Brayboy, 2022), with a conclusion and next steps presented.

This opinion piece focuses on the vital integration of academic and professional literacies in specialist nurse education and other professional education programmes within higher education in Sweden. In this opinion piece, we argue that extended learning, practise, and support can enhance the academic and professional literacy competence of specialist nurse students and other students in professional educations. To offer student specific and targeted support, educators, researchers, and policymakers can engage in collaboration, as well as inspire and empower their teachers through ongoing professional development. We also argue that the relationship between these two literacies should be highlighted in higher education to clarify the importance of academic skills within specialist nursing and other professions. We therefore suggest higher education could be more active in implementing and visualising intended learning outcomes with progression and learning activities regarding academic literacy as well as professional literacy curricula in professional educations. This approach, with an emphasis on systematic monitoring and research, ensures proficiency in effective communication, evidence-based practice, ethical responsibility, continuous learning, and quality assurance.

The awarding gap between UK-domiciled full-time Black and white students is a significant problem at HE institutions across the country. This paper examines a case study of a dissertation writing retreat programme which sought to address this awarding gap at a university in the south of England. The programme was based on an innovative 'three Cs' framework which focused on three core areas: Community, Culture, and Curriculum. Inspired by the community-building and curriculum elements of the framework, the programme built trust and collaboration between specialists and students, aiming to empower Black students to excel in one of the most important and impactful aspects of their degree, whilst also providing them with a space to engage positively with their peers and the wider university community.

This article explores the potential for martial arts to support transformation and community building for women. Findings indicate women can derive many individual benefits from learning martial arts. Yet, the benefits must extend beyond the individual level to create social change. Based on an evaluation of literature on women's experiences learning martial arts, I use my perspective as an adult education researcher and a feminist lens to propose creative approaches to supporting women in learning martial arts. Supporting women in learning martial arts requires promoting creativity and invention in practice. Feminist new materialism, transformative learning theory, and communities of practice are the theories that guide the direction of this article. The major contribution of this article is to offer creative approaches for imagining a feminist praxis through martial arts that could foster learning environments that encourage self-determination and build social support and resistance to hetero-patriarchal power and gender inequity, which has relevance to broader educational settings and communities.

Persistent ableism in higher education, counseling practice, and society necessitates disability justice advocacy. In this article, the author explores the historical context of disability and the importance of disability knowledge for counselors and counselor educators. In addition to discrimination and inaccessibility, able privilege and lack of representation present significant barriers to equity and empowerment of disabled people. Better awareness of disability culture and community-oriented frameworks for the collective liberation of disabled people, such as disability justice, can improve disability equity and allyship within counseling and counselor education.

Social justice and health equity are foundational to community health nursing. Arts-based pedagogy has learning and reflexive value for community and population health education within nursing and health professions curricula. Art has been increasingly used in health care and in promoting health, including in nursing education. However, research has not explored the use of arts to teach community health nursing students about social justice. The objective of this study was to understand how the inclusion of a collaborative artistic process relates to the understanding of social justice issues for second-year baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in a community health nursing course. Visual art and symbolic components were added to an existing group concept mapping assignment of community health nursing interventions from a social justice approach. We engaged in analysis within interpretive phenomenological inquiry to understand and share students' experiences with constructing and giving meaning to symbols and art pieces, internalizing the concept of social justice, and collaborating with group members. Students used symbols and visual representation to explore social justice and health. Students' narrative reflections encompassed experiences finding personal power, engaging in empathy, reflecting on their own position and privilege, and benefitting from non-traditional forms of learning. Students recounted group processes that deepened their understanding of concepts, increased their appreciation of the need for advocacy, and enabled creative freedom in the context of collective vision. The addition of a collaborative creative, artistic process enhanced students' learning about social justice and health.

This case study investigates aspiring school leaders' perception of political literacy in educational leadership, offering critical recommendations for principal preparation programs, policymakers, and future research. As a qualitative study, the case addresses integrating political literacy policy, developing relevant professional development opportunities, and initiating future research to gauge the possible impact of political literacy as a practice and subject. Moreover, findings reveal the challenges and strategies for implementing political literacy in school settings through the lens of experienced teachers with aspirations to be school leaders. The research suggests that a comprehensive approach emphasizing political literacy may empower aspiring school leaders, improve school-community relations, and promote an informed citizenry. This study signifies a crucial step towards cultivating politically literate school leaders equipped to foster democratic engagement and critical thinking within school communities.

This current study measured the impact of a one-time semester-long course-based civic engagement activity on student learning and participant impact, particularly participants' willingness to engage in community dialogue and promote awareness of social justice issues within their communities. The service-learning project involved on-campus and online students from three criminal justice courses and a hybrid format event titled "Finding Common Ground: Social Justice Issues Surrounding Mental Health & Mental Illness & Disorders" at a Midwestern teaching institution. The two-hour event included roundtable discussions to promote open dialogue about mental health and mental health illness and disorders. Learning and self-impact were measured via self-constructed questions and the Civic Engagement Short Scale Plus (CES[superscript 2+]). Results indicated increased endorsement for community engagement and positive qualitative feedback on self-empowerment. The findings provide insights into the potential benefits of service-learning activities, such as mental health community roundtables, for fostering community dialogue, personal growth, and social justice activism. The insights gained from the current study can inform future planning and enhancement of civic engagement initiatives while also contributing to developing community-based education and outreach strategies.

Social work education prioritizes the use of research to inform practice. As university students, prospective social workers have a wealth of research available to them as well as librarians to help them find, evaluate, and use that information. However, access to much of this research ends once the student graduates - at a time when it is most needed to inform their professional practice. To address this challenge, a librarian and a social work faculty member worked with one class of students in their final semester of a bachelor's degree in social work program to promote awareness of information privilege and barriers to access, to expand their understanding of authority to include marginalized voices, and to utilize an open pedagogy assignment as a means of proactively addressing these challenges. This article describes what was learned from this effort, including the results of surveys conducted with students before and after instruction.

The current study examined what makes special education teachers remain in the profession. We will examine this, uniquely, separately among teachers in special education schools versus special education classes in general education schools. Participants were 212 special education teachers in special education schools and 257 in special education classes. Teachers completed questionnaires on social support, psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and future occupational plans. Results revealed significant associations between social support, psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and teachers' future plans. In addition, teachers in special education classes experienced lower levels of perceived social support and psychological empowerment compared to those in special education schools. A non-significant moderation effect was found for the association between social support, psychological empowerment and satisfaction, with the occupational plans of teachers in both contexts. These findings demonstrate the importance of providing support for and strengthening the sense of psychological empowerment of special education teachers, particularly those who teach in special education classes in general education schools.

Picturebooks play a vital role in the lives and learning of young children. These complex, multimodal texts offer unique opportunities for meaning-making as readers engage with the interplay between text and illustrations. Picturebooks offer children stepping stones into the literary arts, providing information and storylines that illuminate readers' perspectives about their own lives as well as offering opportunities to glimpse the lives of others. This article provides an overview of current perspectives of picturebooks, focusing on their "potential" (i.e., the unique qualities this literary format offers young readers), their "power" (i.e., the invitations these books provide for supporting readers' authentic literary transactions and affective responses), and associated "practices" (i.e., the ways in which these texts can be used as instructional tools to support learning both within and beyond the curriculum). Through picturebooks, caring adults can nurture children's reading and responses in supportive, developmentally appropriate, and impactful ways.

Teaching a course on religions of the world is challenging, especially considering the cogent critiques of that paradigm and the history of its construction. In our courses and text, we have employed a strategy comparing different representations of a single religion to help students develop analytical and critical thinking skills. Within this approach, we employ a functionalist methodology that addresses how each representation of a religion empowers particular groups as well as how the practices and ideas within each religion function. Organizing a course and textbook in this fashion coordinates with assignments that ask students to compare the construction and functions of different representations of the same religion, thus reinforcing to students that no single description of a religion is complete or free from individual and group interests.

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have high levels of sedentary behaviour and co-morbid health conditions. There is also increased longevity for this group which is an incredible success story but one which also poses challenges to the health system. For the first time, the mainstream health system needs to plan for and address age related health needs of people with ID. It also demands consideration of age-appropriate health-promotion efforts to support this ageing population with life-long disability. A physical activity programme, People with Intellectual Disability as Physical Activity Leaders (PPALs), was co-designed and co-developed with older adults (40+ years) with intellectual disability (ID). The process, content and outcomes of the pilot are presented in this paper. Expertise from three sectors: non-statutory academic and people with intellectual disabilities and their supporters worked collaboratively for successful completion of the project.

The neurodiversity movement challenges the medical model of disability by framing neurodevelopmental disabilities as natural neurological variations rather than deficits. Consequently, as discourse on neurodiversity-affirming practices expands, there is a growing imperative for tailored implementation in school counselling. By emphasising client agency, strengths, and understanding, person-centred therapy arguably holds the potential to support neurodivergent student wellbeing within school counselling and across a multi-tiered system of support. The person-centred therapy modalities, including traditional person-centred therapy, pre-therapy, child-centred play therapy, school-based filial therapy, and collaborative and proactive solutions, offer the flexibility to accommodate diverse age groups, developmental stages, and communication styles. Overall, adopting a neurodiversity-affirming school counselling approach underscores a paradigm shift that supports the wellbeing and autonomy of neurodivergent students.

The study focused on the improvement of supervisory skills among mentor teachers in K-12 who work with student teachers in an English language teaching program of an English-medium state university in Istanbul, Turkey. The researchers explored how the mentor teachers' supervisory skills, namely observation and giving feedback, were improved after participating in an online mentor training program. The training program was designed based on Morrison et al.'s (2013) instructional design model and implemented for seven mentors during the practicum period. The program included mentoring tasks that asked mentor teachers to organize reciprocal observation sessions with the student teachers, followed by mutual feedback discussions. The researchers investigated the influence of the tasks through thematic analysis of the mentor teachers' reflection reports. The data showed that the tasks improved mentor teachers' understanding and practice of the supervision process and increased their awareness of their own teaching practices by promoting personal and professional growth. The results suggest that an online mentor training program may have the potential to empower mentor teachers both for their supervisory roles and ongoing professional development.

School improvement depends, fundamentally, upon collective agency--a group capability to work productively together and solve problems. Unfortunately, many schools operate in contexts of adversity that can pose considerable challenges with developing collective agency. Schools serving high-poverty communities of color often face chronic resource shortages, difficulties to reach their students, and negative reputations. Research has shown how such experiences of adversity can invite destructive tendencies that interfere with collective agency--including defensiveness, learned helplessness, and fragmenting conflict. However, prevailing approaches to researching school improvement have obscured insight into how collective agency may develop in adverse contexts. To study this, this paper draws on over 70 hours of participant observation and more than 50 reflective conversations conducted over 1 year with a Californian middle school facing adversity. Drawing on literature about group development and work teams, the article traces interaction patterns in three work groups, including one I led. The study finds clear efforts to develop collective agency at times, but it is a fragile emergence. Across all groups, collective agency becomes enabled when initiative to address a problem combines with manageable tasks, simple solutions, and group affirmation. However, these processes do not enable groups to fully address the complex problems they face, leaving groups vulnerable to recurrent experiences of inefficacy and overwhelm that quash collective agency. The findings offer a new understanding of school improvement amid adversity as a struggle to improve at "the next level of work," calling for reforms designed to sustain a foundation of collective agency.

Priority-setting is a collective responsibility centred around inclusive engagement and alignment with the needs and desired outcomes of the community. In this study, we leveraged the collective expertise of stakeholders from the child and family service system, to identify priorities for supporting the health, education and wellbeing of children and families living in Logan, Queensland. A pragmatic approach combining a modified nominal group technique and consensus methodology was undertaken. Key system factors were identified and consolidated into 10 priority areas, which were ranked via an online questionnaire. The top three priority areas were identified by the service system as (i) early family and child support programs, (ii) support and resourcing of existing services, and (iii) recognition and support of a diverse community. These results present an opportunity to leverage the local knowledge and expertise of the service system to design solutions that address the greatest challenges for children and families in place.

Parents of individuals with autism face many challenges in accessing appropriate services and supports for their offspring. Parents also play vital roles in advocating for their offspring's rights and needs. Furthermore, despite advocacy programs becoming increasingly common, it remains unclear how to best foster advocacy among parents of individuals with autism. To this end, we examined the associations among knowledge, empowerment, and three types of advocacy activities (i.e. individual, peer, and systemic) among 185 parents of transition-aged youth with autism using structural equation modeling. Results show that empowerment has a greater impact on advocacy than knowledge. Significant direct and indirect effects of individual advocacy activities on peer advocacy activities, and peer advocacy activities on systemic advocacy activities were also confirmed. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

In this paper, the author explores the prospect of, and the rationale for, the "critical workplace information literacy" (CWIL) construct, by situating it at the junction of critical information literacy (CIL) and workplace information literacy (WIL), the two hitherto discrete frameworks and subdomains of information literacy (IL). This preliminary attempt at the conceptualisation of a new construct was guided by the question of what role CIL can play in empowering workers to attain decent work. The author frames the conceptualisation around the 'decent work' (DW) concept, as a normative goal of the critical workplace information literacy construct, and discusses the rationale for it in the framework of the discussion on the decent work deficits in the contemporary work and information environment. Freire's critical hermeneutics and dialectics of voice and empowerment are drawn upon. The paper argues positively for the role of CIL in attaining decent work and for the need for a new construct that would help fill the knowledge and discursive gap in IL and its subdomains and overcome the current silos in the IL community. The author concludes that developing a concept requires a broad deliberative process informed by both theoretical and empirical research, and gives suggestions for future research.

This essay analyzes the rhetorical framing tactics of a group of disability activists to understand how they use key words, topic shifts, and other framing maneuvers to amplify marginalized voices in public debates. Focusing on a town hall meeting and a legislator update meeting between activists and lawmakers, the author uses "stasis" theory to analyze how these maneuvers (1) create gateways for marginalized voices to enter the discussion and (2) anchor deliberations around topics of importance to the disabled community. This suggests a more complex role for framing in face-to-face deliberative contexts than studies of framing strategies in written texts have traditionally considered. I argue that a multidimensional view of framing uniting consideration of word choice with attention to interactive dynamics is necessary to appreciate how framing maneuvers can not only shape the content of debates but amplify the voices of people excluded by the tacit rules of democratic deliberation.

We present an audience reception study of participant reactions to gender-based violence in Issa López' 2008 film, "Casi Divas," chosen for its nuanced depiction of women grappling with several violences. Over three focus groups with 15 adult participants, we used Galtung's conflict theory to explore what participants identified as violence, and how victims should respond to violence in various forms. We find that participants have a narrow definition of violence, seeing it as an individualized act and therefore neglecting to consider its cultural or structural foundations. The participants' responses to violence largely reflected neoliberal values of personal empowerment and choice, resilience, and "leaning in." We recommend critical visual literacy as a tool in the educational context to identify and address violence, to fight inequity, and to establish emancipatory discourses.

In recent years, the proportion of the active population over 55 years of age has increased and, with it, early retirement, unemployment of older workers and senior "push" entrepreneurs. Given the repercussions at a social and economic level, the debate about the need to recover and keep seniors in the labour market is becoming increasingly rife. The aim of this study is to evaluate the evolution and European tendency towards the training and reintegration of seniors and demonstrate how formal education and continuous training can make a difference when it comes to prolonging their working life and subordinate their conditions and employment opportunities. Data from the European Working Conditions Survey between 2010 and 2021 are used and a descriptive statistical analysis and a hypotheses contrast are carried out using the Student's t test. The results show: (1) a greater effort to train and revalue seniors; and (2) that educational level and training generate significant differences in terms of the type of tasks to be performed and some variables that condition job satisfaction.

This article develops a framework for understanding and analyzing the intermediary work of platform technologies, and their owners, as an emerging form of platform governance in educational systems. Our investigation is guided by two questions: (a) How do platform technologies shape policy by brokering relations among commercial, technical, and educational actors? And (b) how might these relations contribute to, or compromise, educational equity as they are folded into existing governance regimes? We address these questions by bringing together two critical orientations--critical policy analysis and critical platform studies--to map the power and politics of platformization in and across education systems.

Recent studies on language and migration have attempted to address the social injustices stemming from global disparities in wealth and opportunities. However, there's a risk of researchers unintentionally reinforcing traditional power dynamics, positioning themselves in power while reducing participants to mere data sources. Focusing on migrants in precarious living conditions, whose migration is often a consequence of political and economic upheaval in the origin, this paper interrogates the role of researchers and the researched with respect to social justice perspectives. We argue that conducting research on, for, and with such vulnerable migrant populations requires a reflexive understanding of our own positions and decisions throughout our engagement with participants. We propose that this approach is most effectively executed if we treat participants as equal partners in knowledge generation and social action, guided by principles of care, empathy, and unconventional methodologies. Through this, we hope to advocate for migration linguistics that is truly fair, just, and empowering among migrants.

The empowering effect of higher education in a carceral environment is recognised globally as the most effective rehabilitative tool for reducing reoffence and promoting the reintegration of incarcerated individuals into society. While many researchers from the Global North have studied carceral education and accessibility, few of those studies have focused specifically on incarcerated women's access to higher education. Even fewer have considered this topic within the context of the Global South. This qualitative exploratory study addresses gaps in the literature by exploring the experiences of seven women who have pursued and completed a higher education degree while incarcerated in South Africa's largest correctional facility. The narrative inquiry highlights how higher education helped these women develop capabilities that went beyond education, improving their personal agency and their ability to support their peers.