Search

Lifelong movement and physical activity (PA) patterns develop during early childhood. Therefore, educators (teachers and practitioners) in early childhood education and care (ECEC) should provide opportunities to support children’s play, PA, and movement development. The World Health Organization (2019) offers new recommendations for PA, for children under five years. The guidelines do not specify the ways ECEC staff can support PA through play. Therefore, this paper investigates, how physical play (PP) is enacted globally. An international policy and practice analysis of twelve countries, (Australia [Victoria], Belgium [Flanders], Canada [Alberta], China, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK [England] and USA) was completed by analyzing the ECEC curricula and their implementation in different cultural contexts. A content analysis was undertaken by AIESEP Early Years SIG experts revealing that PP was not clearly defined. When defined, it was described as PA, and important for children’s holistic development. The majority of curricula did not state the length/time for PP. Three main strategies for implementing PP were found: a) pedagogical framework; b) active learning methods; and c) motor development. This international analysis highlights the global need for better ECEC staff support in acknowledging and implementing PP to aid children’s overall development, PA and wellbeing. nonPeerReviewed

In this article, we engage with the emerging literature that studies the increased enrolment of first-generation college students (FGCS), that is, students from households where neither parent has obtained a bachelor’s /master’s degree. Our article answers two research questions. First, data from 2,338 first-year students are used to investigate the extent to which FGCS differ from continuing-generation college students (CGCS) concerning the reason why one enrols in university education. Second, to what degree do these motives explain differences in study choice? Our results show that FCGS, compared to CGCS, more strongly endorsed the economic investment motive and what we call the social investment motive, that is, the motivation to become a role model for one’s community. In addition, our findings reveal that the choice for more economically rewarding fields of study is related to these motives to start a university education. In the conclusion, we discuss the implications of our findings.

During the last years, the “Great Online Transition” has brought to light large variation in teachers' readiness for online teaching and learning (OTL). Drawing from an international sample of 731 higher-education teachers, we examined gender differences in OTL readiness as a source of this variation. Currently, in the field of OTL, better evidence is needed to understand the associated dimensions and effects of gender on teachers’ experiences and perceptions of readiness, to provide better support and professional learning opportunities in transitioning to an online and blended practice. To provide such evidence, we first evaluated the measurement bias in the readiness measures and found support for strong gender invariance. Second, we quantified the gender differences in readiness levels: Women reported higher readiness for cognitive activation practices (d = +0.15); men reported higher self-efficacy in technological content knowledge (d = −0.20). These gender differences were small, varied across readiness constructs, and were due to a gender gap in OTL experience. Third, construct associations involving perceived institutional support were weaker for women. To improve the quality, robustness, and validity of the respective evidence, we argue that studying gender divides in OTL readiness needs to consider measurement bias, OTL experience, and construct associations.

Background: Internationally, midwives’ professional autonomy is being challenged, resulting in their inability to practice to their full scope of practice. This situation contrasts with the increasing international calls for strengthening the midwifery profession. The aim of this study therefore is to explore Belgian midwives’ views on their current and future autonomy. Methods: An online survey among Belgian midwives was performed. Data were collected and analyzed using a quantitative approach, while quotes from respondents were used to contextualize the quantitative data. Results: Three hundred and twelve midwives from different regions and professional settings in Belgium completed the questionnaire. Eighty-five percentage of respondents believe that they are mostly or completely autonomous. Brussels’ midwives feel the most autonomous, while those in Wallonia feel the least. Primary care midwives feel more autonomous than hospital-based midwives. Older midwives and primary care midwives feel less recognized and respected by other professionals in maternity care. The majority of our respondents believe that in future midwives should be able to work more autonomously in constructive collaboration with other professionals. Conclusion: While Belgian midwives generally rated their own professional autonomy as high, a significant majority of respondents desire more autonomy in future. In addition, our respondents want to be recognized and respected by society and other health professionals in maternity care. It is recommended to prioritize efforts in enhancing midwives’ autonomy, while also addressing the need for increased recognition and respect from society and other maternity care professionals.

Background/aims: Partly due to the increasing ageing of the population, healthcare professionals will be more confronted with patients who request euthanasia, or ask end-of-life questions. Healthcare professionals must have sufficient competencies to deal with these questions. A lack of these competencies is shown by a study in which Belgian final-year nursing students indicated that they did not have sufficient knowledge, and skills to deal with end-of-life questions, and euthanasia. Adequate attention must be paid to this during their training since euthanasia is legal in Belgium. The aim of this study is to develop an educational module with interactive simulation. Methods: Before the simulation training, each student follows a blended learning lesson on the topic of euthanasia, and end-of-life. This lesson focuses on legislation in Belgium, as well as on the basic concepts of dealing with end-of-life questions, including euthanasia. Afterwards, students jointly watch an audiovisual story with a good practice example, followed by an in-vivo simulation, and debriefing. Students participated (n=17) in post-test session discussion groups to discuss the module, their experiences, and improvements. Results: This simulation module helped students to overcome an initial ’fear’ threshold, and to start exploring the euthanasia, or end-of-life question. There seems to be a very strong focus from students to do the simulation conversation in a protocolized way. Students find this simulation adds value. Conclusions: The importance of conversation simulation exercises in healthcare education cannot be underestimated. By giving healthcare students an initial experience in a safe simulated environment, they are more confident to have an exploratory conversation, not only about euthanasia, and end-of-life in the future, but also to explore the end-of-life question, and the issues underlying it.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether playing music during PE lessons had an impact on the intrinsic motivation of high school students, including enjoyment, competency, freedom of choice and stress. Using a mixed method approach, intrinsic motivation of 40 students (25 girls, 15 boys) was surveyed. The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was combined with a focus group discussion to collect pupils’ and teacher’s perceptions. Data analysis showed motivation scores to be significantly better during PE with music than PE without music. This difference was also reflected for joy or interest, with pupils experiencing more joy during PE with music. Students reported feeling more enthusiastic with music, which gave them more energy; they participated with higher motivation and had more fun. In addition, the combination of increased concentration and self-confidence resulted in higher competence scores during PE with music. No significant differences were found for freedom of choice and stress in either condition. It can be concluded that playing music during PE positively influences students’ intrinsic motivation. More specifically, the influence of music is mainly found in increased students’ perception of enjoyment, interest and sense of competence. The findings of this study should be the impetus for PE teachers to implement music more often.

Advancement towards the professionalism of midwifery is closely linked to midwives’ professional autonomy. Although the perspectives of Belgian midwives on their professional autonomy have been studied, the views of other maternity care stakeholders are a blind spot. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore maternity care stakeholders’ views on Belgian midwives’ professional autonomy. A qualitative exploratory study was performed using focus group interviews. A heterogenous group of 27 maternity care stakeholders participated. The variation between midwives, with different levels of autonomy, was reported. The analysis of the data resulted in five themes: (1) The autonomous midwife is adequately educated and committed to continuous professional further education, (2) The autonomous midwife is competent, (3) The autonomous midwife is experienced, (4) The autonomous midwife assures safe and qualitative care, and (5) The autonomous midwife collaborates with all stakeholders in maternity care. A maternity collaborative framework, where all maternity care professionals respect each other’s competences and autonomy, is crucial for providing safe and quality care. To achieve this, it is recommended to implement interprofessional education to establish strong foundations for interprofessional collaboration. Additionally, a regulatory body with supervisory powers can help ensure safe and quality care, while also supporting midwives’ professional autonomy and professionalisation.

IntroductionA democratic school culture has been identified in previous research as a lever for the development of deliberative competences. However, the antecedents of deliberative competence development at school level are less examined. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of student characteristics (age, gender, finality), urban school contexts (location of the school, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of the student population) and different dimensions of the perceived democratic school culture (fair support, responsibility, co-decision, discussion, acceptance) on students’ mastery of three deliberative competences: tolerance, curiosity, and empathy.MethodsA multilevel analysis of a survey, completed by 5,165 Dutch-speaking Belgian secondary school students was conducted.ResultsThis study revealed the importance of the perceived fair support from teachers, opportunities to discuss, and acceptance by peers at school for the mastery of deliberative competences. Furthermore, urban schools were discovered to be strong negative predictors of all three competences, although fair support and discussion opportunities appear to partially compensate for this effect.DiscussionThese results highlight the importance of a democratic school culture, especially in urban schools, for developing empathy, tolerance, and curiosity. Moreover, the detailed results of this study could guide urban school teams in shaping democratic learning environments.

In ultimate games governed by the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), all competitors also take on the role of referee. The players discuss disputed calls with each other during the game, and then follow rules designed for these situations to determine how the play continues. The number one rule of the sport is to respect the spirit of the game (SOTG), which encourages competitive play while preserving mutual respect and minimizing the risk of injury. The use of SOTG in ultimate in the framework of self-arbitration as a moral practice aligns well with other tools of critical pedagogy. For this study, the SOTG scores of the WFDF Joint Junior Ultimate Championship (JJUC 2022) were analyzed. A total of 1009 players from 19 countries competed in 434 self-refereed games (29 national teams in the WJUC Under-20 (U20) tournament and 20 teams in the EYUC Under-17 (U17) tournament). All the scores from the individual criteria correlated well with the overall scores, but for the most part, they did not correlate with each other. Our experience with the scoring system has highlighted the importance of participants understanding the meaning of the results and how they may lead to a constructive reflection to improve exceptions, including scores representing fouls and rules knowledge. The findings provide important information for physical education teachers, coaches, and sport consultants and may be of use to design SOTG programs that could foster the experience of sportsmanship and to facilitate the ethical conduct of athletes in either recreative or in competitive contexts.

Although research on sociodemographic correlates of internet use in older adults without and with pronounced cognitive impairment is already quite extensive, much less is known about the relationship between cognitive frailty (CF) and this behaviour. As CF is associated to multidimensional frailty aspects, this study explored the relationship between internet use and CF, operationalised as Subjective Cognitive Impairment, in older adults by means of a comprehensive explanatory model including sociodemographic factors and multiple frailty measures. The dataset included a sample of community-dwelling 60 + older adults that were included in the Belgian Ageing Studies (BAS) and that completed survey questions on (i) internet use frequency and (ii) internet activities. Multidimensional frailty was measured with the CFAI-Plus. The analysis comprised a structural equation modelling (SEM) procedure. Internet use was frequent; however, it became less frequent with higher CF. Moreover, the latter used less tablets as compared to the no-low CF group. Navigating the web, sharing email and online banking were the most frequently reported activities. Tele-communicating with Skype, online shopping and using e-government services were the least frequent. Age, female gender, lower income and living with a partner were also negatively associated with internet use. To conclude, CF, along with other frailty and sociodemographic factors, was negatively related to internet use in older adults. Future research should focus, amongst others, on the dynamic processes underlying internet use in the population of older adults affected by CF.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-022-00686-2.

Teachers’ beliefs about education influence practice and vice versa. Teacher educators should be particularly attuned to the association between educational beliefs and practice. Teachers’ beliefs about education have been widely studied, but investigating how a team of teacher educators put a shared vision on blended learning into practice is less researched. Blended learning practices are subject to the four design aspects of incorporating flexibility, stimulating interaction, facilitating the learning process, and creating an affective learning climate. This qualitative study investigates a team of experienced blended learning teacher educators from two perspectives: their beliefs about blended learning, and how these beliefs are realised in practice. Seventeen screencast stimulated recall interviews revealed: (1) teacher educators express evaluative beliefs about deep and meaningful blended learning and descriptive beliefs about online flexibility and face-to-face interaction, and (2) how these beliefs are realised in practice by flexible online facilitation of learning processes, profound face-to-face interaction, and providing authentic learning experiences. Furthermore, as a result of the association between beliefs about blended learning and practice, the areas of refining student feedback, improving online structure and increasing interaction in online learning materials emerged for professional growth. Finally, recommendations are made for blended learning practitioners and teacher educators. Implications for practice or policy: Teacher educators hold evaluative beliefs about deep and meaningful blended learning and descriptive beliefs about online flexibility and face-to-face interaction. Deep and meaningful blended learning is promoted by flexible online facilitation of learning processes, profound face-to-face interaction, and providing authentic learning experiences. Areas for professional growth are refining student feedback, improving online structure and increasing interaction in online learning materials.

There is little consensus about the nature of teachers’ digital competencies in Higher Education. Moreover, existing digital competence frameworks have largely been developed for teachers in secondary education. In response to this, the current study focuses on developing and validating a framework of digital competencies for teachers in Higher Education. First, a review was conducted to determine the state of digital competence research regarding dimensions and definition of digital competence. In a next step, similarities and differences between existing digital competence frameworks were identified. Based on the outcomes of the review and the framework comparison, a framework was developed in an iterative process through expert meetings with policy makers, experts in the field of educational technology, and validated with practitioners. The new framework includes four dimensions of teachers’ digital competencies: (1) Teaching practice, (2) Empowering students for a digital society, (3) Teachers’ digital literacy, and (4) Teachers’ professional development. The resulting Higher Education Digital Competence (HeDiCom) framework will provide guidance and clearer expectations of teachers’ digital competency. Ultimately, improving teachers’ digital competencies will contribute to improving the quality of digital competencies of the students.

Data gathered from 357 undergraduate and graduate teacher education students were analyzed to assess the ability of the Synthesis of Qualitative Data (SQD) instrument to measure six teaching strategies (role models, reflection, collaboration, feedback, instructional design and authentic experiences) important for preparing future teachers to use technology in their future teaching. Factor analysis, multidimensional scaling, and analysis of variance techniques were applied to the 24 SQD items developed through qualitative assessment of effective strategies needed to prepare teachers, in order to assess reliability and validity for six unique four-item scales. Findings were that all scales exhibited acceptable performance characteristics as independent measures, implying that future studies could use subsets of the items rather than the full 24-item instrument. Recommended areas of future research and practical implications for teacher preparation programs are discussed.

Welcome to this special issue, focussing on teachers’ digital competencies in Higher Education. The articles in this special issue explore the question of how digital competencies in higher education are conceptualized after the Great Online Transition, during and after the pandemic. A few of the topics addressed in the special issue are: new competency frameworks, the issue of disciplines and artificial intelligence and looks into the future of higher education learning and teaching. In this preface to the special issue, we first present a brief introduction to the context and the problem statement. We then provide a summary of each of the ten papers included in this special issue, we present how they are related and how each article makes a unique contribution to the main goal of the special issue. Finally, the implications are discussed together with suggestions for future research.

AIM: To explore final year nursing students' attitudes towards euthanasia due to unbearable mental suffering by using the adapted and validated Euthanasia Attitude Scale. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. METHODS: Explorative, descriptive cross-sectional study conducted using an e-mail survey between October 2020 and March 2021 by a sample of final-year baccalaureate nursing students (n = 273) from eight of the eleven Flemish university colleges. The actual questionnaire contains 21 questions and was developed based on a consensus reached following independent translations. The psychometric properties of the Euthanasia Attitude Scale were assessed, including reliability and validity. Independent-sample Mann-Whitney U-test was used to investigate relation between demographic and education-related data, and domain and total score of the UMS-EAS-NL. This study received ethical approval from the Ethical Committee of the University Hospital Brussels, Belgium. RESULTS: McDonald's omega was 0.838 for the total Euthanasia Attitude Scale scores, supporting the validity of the questionnaire. A statistically significant difference in 'Naturalistic beliefs' score was found relating to the year of birth. There are clinically important results between those students who have been involved in euthanasia and those who have not. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the final-year nursing students supported the probability of patients' access to euthanasia due to unbearable mental suffering. To monitor adequate care, it is necessary to prepare nursing students adequately for this complex matter. IMPACT: To date, no large-scale study has examined nursing students' attitudes towards euthanasia because of unbearable mental suffering. It is expected that nursing students may be confronted with such a euthanasia request during an internship, or later in their professional career, in countries where euthanasia is legal. Students showed a high acceptability towards UMS-euthanasia. Clinically significant differences were found for students who had ever been involved in euthanasia.

Lake Tana is the largest freshwater lake in Ethiopia and is the source of the Blue Nile. The lake shorelines and those of its tributary river, Gilgel Abay, are characterized by the occurrence of extensive papyrus swamps (Cyperus papyrus L). While such papyrus swamps are highly recognized for their outstanding ecological and economical importance, their historical and current spatial distribution and size in the Lake Tana sub basin have not yet been systematically assessed. The primary goal of this study was to estimate the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of papyrus swamps in the Lake Tana sub basin at five-year intervals over a period of 35 years (1985-2020). Our analyses revealed that the total surface area of the papyrus swamps in the study area declined by almost 55% (from 152 km(2) to 64 km(2)) during the last 35 years. The small patches of papyrus swamps that existed in the northern and eastern parts of the study area prior to the 1990s appear to have disappeared in recent years as well. Our data suggest that the strong decline of papyrus swamps mainly resulted from the expansion of crop farming, livestock overgrazing, drainage, and biomass overharvesting, all of which are increasing over time.

In the present study, we tested the common assumption that teachers with more experience consider themselves better prepared for online teaching and learning (OTL). Utilizing the data from an international survey of 731 teachers in higher education at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we performed structural equation modeling to quantify the experience-readiness relationship. The survey contained an assessment of teachers’ OTL readiness which was measured by their perceptions of the institutional support, online teaching presence, and TPACK self-efficacy. In contrast to the linearity assumption “the more experienced, the better prepared”, we found robust evidence for a curvilinear relationship. Teachers’ readiness for OTL increased first and then decreased with more experience—this applied especially to the self-efficacy dimension of readiness. Further analyses suggested that the experience-readiness relationship does not only exist at the level of aggregated constructs but also at the level of indicators, that is, specific areas of knowledge, teaching, and support. We argue that both novice and experienced teachers in higher education could benefit from experience-appropriate, pedagogical, and content-related support programs for OTL.

The Multidisciplinary institute of Teacher Education (MILO) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has in the past ten years developed expertise in how cto set up inquiry-based professional learning communities in schools (Research-based schools?!) in which pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, teacher educators and researchers together search for ways to improve the learning outcomes and learning processes of students, to improve teaching practice and enhance teachers' professionalism. The COLIBRU project (Collective Investigative school leadership in and around Brussels) builds on the expertise within the Research-based schools and aims to develop a flanking school leadership.Through practical research, school leaders experience in a learning community how the approach can contribute to their own professionalization and school empowerment.

Although school absenteeism trajectories can be studied through various parameters and dimensions, such as the amount of school absenteeism, sequence, and timing, most studies have only focused on changes in the amount of school absenteeism. However, when investigating the nature of school absenteeism, an analysis cannot be restricted to just changes in the amount of school absenteeism. In this article, I show how applying optimal matching on time-stamped half days of missed school (n = 6260) enables researchers, policy makers, and school professionals to uncover socio-temporal regularities in trajectories of non-attendance (i.e., the degree to which groups of pupils are absent at the same time and in the same rhythm within a given school year). Results indicated that students fall into five types of trajectories, and that these are highly predictive of student's examination results at the end of the school year. In the Discussion, I elaborate on the implications of these findings.

Purpose Community engaged research and learning strategies are considered meaningful methods for universities to demonstrate their critical importance to today’s societies. At the same time, it is stressed that not all approaches are equally beneficial, highlighting the need for well-considered design and delivery. This paper aims to outline a helpful tool in this regard: the engagement CUBE. Design/methodology/approach The engagement CUBE was developed by a learning community set-up at a Belgian university to explore the potential of engaged practices for meeting both needs and assets of its urban surroundings. A series of learning circles was organized for discussing recent research findings, experiences and ambitions with engaged campus-community initiatives and support targeted (re)design. Findings The CUBE is a helpful instrument for navigating the complex fabric of engaged practices. It is to be used as a dialogic tool, facilitating collaborative meaning negotiation and decision-making among participants in engagement strategies. Its purpose is both to help design a supportive environment for establishing partnerships that build on shared ownership and mutual learning, as to stimulate capacity-building for taking responsible change-oriented action. Originality/value This paper contributes to the existing literature on engaged teaching and research by emphasizing the need of acknowledging conflict as an important condition for fostering insightful learning and genuine transformation. The authors will argue that adopting a conflict perspective also allows for a more critical examination of the emerging concept of university social responsibility.

This article seeks to examine the neglected sociomateriality of the classroom and investigates how space, matter and human actors are entangled, interact and take part in the ‘space-producing action’. Rather than approaching the classroom as an objective collection of physical units or a stable grid, we see it as something alive, a performance which can only be understood from inside the classroom. To gain insight into the ongoing constitution of the classroom, we have written classroom biographies together with nine primary school teachers. A first analysis of these rich biographies reveals the permanent interplay of human and non-human actors and their multidimensional relationships, from a new teaching aid urging the teacher to resort to traditional classroom organisation, to the rearrangement of classroom furniture in order to implement a new working method, to the manufacturing of seats from washing powder barrels. All of this reveals the classroom as a ‘potential space’–inviting teachers to become an active part in its spatial constitution and thus allowing classroom ownership.

Background:Because of the high prevalence of suicide, health-care professions students need training in recognition of clients’ suicidal thoughts, assessment of suicide risk, and specific narrative techniques. This study explores health-care professions students’ perceptions of and feedback on a simulation module on suicidal behavior.Methods:Thematic analysis was conducted on feedback from group interviews with participants.Results:Students valued the reassuring effect of a best practice video. The sense of reality in the simulation scenarios was highly appreciated. Although being filmed was stressful for some students, reviewing and discussing key moments in the recordings appeared a major advantage. Debriefing was essential to discuss and emotionally discharge the experiences of role players and observers.Conclusions:Simulation training for caregivers on suicidal behavior can be designed and evaluated on other mental health topics as well.

While achievement gaps have been well-established, much remains to be understood about the manner and extent to which school leadership either increases or decreases student access to opportunity to learn. The current study uses nationally representative samples of U.S. and Flemish students in Grade 4 from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS2011) to test a series of structural equation models. U.S. and Belgium have contrasting academic tracking (formal vs informal) systems and Gini Index scores (economic inequality). Flemish schools had no significant paths between student family resources, instructional leadership, and learning; however, for the U.S., we found a negative path across these measures. This current study extends the instructional leadership literature by demonstrating that school leaders can implement goals intended to close achievement gaps but instead might unintentionally exacerbate them.

This study looked at qualitative papers that focused on teacher perceptions of how technology is integrated in the classroom. It synthesized 22 qualitative research studies using the meta-ethnography method to trace, assess, and synthesize the findings in order to gain a better understanding of the diversity of teacher perceptions concerning ICT integration in the classroom. The outcomes were determined by the positive and negative attitudes teachers had toward ICT integration in the classroom. The synthesis revealed that local settings and global educational trends both influence teacher perceptions. It is stated how crucial teacher professional development programs are, and contextual elements influencing teacher perceptions about ICT integration into classroom are highlighted. Recommendations for further study are explored by integrating the review’s findings.

Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic a national quarantine was imposed in Belgium, which led to changes in the maternity care provision. Despite emerging literature, it remains unclear how pregnant women and women who have recently given birth experienced this period. With this study we aim to explore these women's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This qualitative study is a part of a large longitudinal study on women's health-related quality of life (HRQoL), during the COVID-19 pandemic. An open-ended question, in an online survey, asking women about their experiences during the perinatal period was analysed using a thematic analysis. Results: Of the 1007 women who participated in the HRQoL-study in June 2020, 556 (55%) women answered the open question. In general, we identified a multiplicity of mixed and interconnected feelings. Many women reported negative feelings; nevertheless, the pandemic also had some positive aspects for respondents. Six overreaching themes were identified: fear of contamination, feeling isolated and unsupported, not able to share experiences, disrupted care, feeling unprepared and experience a peaceful period. Conclusion: Although perinatal healthcare professionals did their utmost to provide the necessary care, being pregnant or being a new mother during this pandemic was challenging at times. However, this period was also experienced as a peaceful period with lot of opportunities to rest. Some of the changes such as telework and restricted visiting policies were experienced positively by many. Lessons learned can support perinatal healthcare professionals and policy makers in the organisation of maternity care in the post-pandemic era.

Student performance in general subjects such as language and mathematical skills is poor in secondary vocational education. A professional culture of teaching-including recruitment of well qualified teachers, effective teacher collaboration and effective teaching practice-could be the key to success. To what extent is there a professional culture of teaching in vocational education? Do differences in the professional culture of teaching affect student achievement? National achievement tests on functional language skills, mathematical skills and information processing were administered to third grade students (N = 3,381) in 116 secondary schools offering vocational education across Flanders. Their teachers (N = 184) completed an online questionnaire about their collaboration and teaching practice. We found evidence that teacher collaboration and effective teaching practices are strongly correlated. Positive correlations were found between combinations of characteristics of a professional culture of teaching and student achievement. However, in many schools a professional culture of teaching is not yet a reality. Our findings demonstrate a need for continually providing support within a professional culture of teaching to prevent teachers from leaving. Improving professional growth for teachers and their teaching teams is also needed, as well as a shift in education policies to support these needs.

A B S T R A C T Iris pseudacorus L. (Iridaceae) is an emergent macrophyte native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. Considered invasive in wetland habitats around the world, this species is now the target of a biocontrol pro- gramme in the Southern Hemisphere. Native range surveys of the weed led to the selection of the flea beetle, Aphthona nonstriata Goeze (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), as a candidate biocontrol agent. An important aspect to consider in weed biocontrol is the ability of an agent to establish and thrive in the environment where it is released. Climatic incompatibility between source and intended release sites can in fact limit the success of a biocontrol programme. In the current study, the potential climatic niche of I. pseudacorus and A. nonstriata in the Southern Hemisphere was analysed. The ecological niche modelling software MaxEnt was used to map the cli- matic suitability of both organisms across invaded regions in South America, southern Africa and Australasia. Furthermore, occurrence records from each invaded range were used independently to model the climatic compatibility of I. pseudacorus in Europe, in order to prioritize areas of the native range to explore during future surveys for potential biocontrol agents. The models identified areas at high risk of invasion by I. pseudacorus in northern Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil and central Chile, as well as numerous provinces of eastern South Africa, Lesotho, southern Australia and New Zealand. Accordingly, the highest climatic suitability for A. nonstriata was predicted across the humid temperate climates of north-east Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil, southern South Africa, south-east Australia and New Zealand. These results can eventually be used in future release plans to prioritize areas where establishment and survival of the agent is expected to be highest. At the same time, it may be useful to search the native range of the weed for biological control agents showing high climatic adaptation towardsthe intended release sites of each invaded range. In this regards, our climatic compatibility models identified high-priority areas across the Mediterranean regions of Italy and southern France, as well as the temperate regions of central and western Europe. Altogether, the current study provides useful new information to tackle the invasion and advance the biocontrol programme of I. pseudacorus in the Southern Hemisphere

Background Biochar is a relatively new soil amendment method in agricultural practices that can improve the ecosystem services of soils. Biochar has commonly been applied to less fertile or contaminated soils, specifically sandy-textured and contaminated sandy soils, to improve their properties. However, the available literature indicates that not all sandy-textured and contaminated sandy soils show the same response to biochar applications, as the sign and size of the effect vary across studies. More specifically, primary studies show heterogeneous and potentially conflicting impacts of biochar application on a set of ecosystem services provided by these types of soils; namely, biomass production, water cycle, nutrient cycle, and climate regulation. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to systematically review the available evidence base to synthesise the impact and drivers of biochar amendments on four specific ecosystem services provided by sandy-textured and contaminated sandy soils. Methods This review follows the guideline of the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence and corresponds to the ROSES (RepOrting standards for Systematic Evidence Synthesis) reporting standard. A comprehensive search strategy will be employed to cover peer-reviewed and gray literature through bibliographic databases, organizational and institutional websites, and web searches. Search terms and strategies have been developed to identify the impact of biochar on the ecosystem services of sandy-textured soils. The search results will be screened first by their title and abstract, and then by their full text. Two literature reviewers will do this based on eligibility criteria. A validity assessment will be conducted to critically appraise and assess the validity of studies using a common validity framework for environmental studies. Data will be extracted from the studies that are found to be valid for the review. Narrative synthesis and meta-analysis will be employed to synthesise the review results.

Although macrophytes represent important habitats for the plankton communities of shallow lakes and ponds, the role of littoral macrophyte patches in deep crater lakes is not well described. The objective of the present study was to investigate the role of littoral macrophyte vegetation in structuring phytoplankton and zooplankton communities and, therefore, sustaining ecological integrity in a deep tropical crater lake (Hora Lake, Ethiopia). The lake has a surface area of 1.03 km2 and a mean depth of 16.5 m. The area surrounding the lake is a prime location for the celebration of the Oromo thanksgiving festival (Irreecha), which is inscribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage, and also considered sacred by the Oromo people. Measurements of physical, chemical and biological parameters were conducted at fifteen sampling sites in both the littoral and central parts of the lake during the dry and wet seasons in 2017. A total of 28 phytoplankton and 19 zooplankton genera were identified. The phytoplankton and zooplankton communities were dominated by cyanobacteria and rotifers, respectively, at the open water sites. The wetland vegetation was found to be important in reducing potentially toxic and unsightly cyanobacteria. The submerged and emergent vegetation also served as refugia for zooplankton during the wet and dry seasons, respectively. Crustaceans accounted for about 30–45% of the total zooplankton abundance within the vegetation fringes. Their abundance decreased to 5% in the non-vegetated areas, wherein the community was dominated by rotifers. As the population around the lake, particularly during the festival, may damage the aquatic vegetation, their access to the shoreline should be regulated for conservation and sanitary reasons (e.g. to reduce cyanobacteria growths).

Background Technology offers opportunities to support older adults with mild cognitive impairments to remain independent and socially connected, but is often not used. Although determinants of technology use among older adults in general are well studied, much less is known about how these factors impact technology use behaviour in cognitively impaired older adults. This study aimed to bridge this gap in research by examining the factors underlying technology use in community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairments. Methods We applied a generic qualitative design and used 16 semi-structured interviews to collect data from Belgian (Flemish) community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia and informal caregivers. To get data from different perspectives, a focus group with professional caregivers was added. We used thematic analysis with an inductive approach to identify and select themes from the data. Results We identified two themes: introduction of technology and determinants of technology adoption and continued use. Successful technology adoption in cognitively impaired older adults is need-driven and subject to individual, technological and contextual characteristics. Specific for older adults with cognitive impairments are the importance of disease awareness and cognitive ability for adoption and continued use, respectively. Although social support can be a valuable alternative to technology, it is an important facilitator of continued technology use in these older adults. Similarly, integration of technologies in daily routines can buffer discontinuation of technologies. Conclusions Future research is encouraged to validate our findings in a postpandemic era and to further develop a novel theoretical framework for technology acceptance among older adults with cognitive impairments. Moreover, identification of crucial determinants as well as strategies to remove use barriers are also important future research tasks. Clinical practice should focus on improving disease awareness to facilitate technology adoption and policies should invest in training and support of professional caregivers and in reimbursement strategies to facilitate implementation of technology in practice.

Plankton is an integral part of wetland biodiversity and plays a vital role in the functioning of wetlands. Diversity patterns of plankton in wetlands and factors structuring its community composition are poorly understood, albeit important for identifying areas for restoration and conservation. Here we investigate patterns in local and regional plankton richness and taxonomic and functional community composition in riverine papyrus swamps, river mouth wetlands, and lacustrine wetlands in the Lake Tana sub-basin, Ethiopia. Data on phytoplankton, zooplankton, and environmental variables were collected from 12 wetlands during the dry and wet seasons of 2018. Redundancy analysis, and linear mixed effect models, were used to investigate differences in local environmental conditions and variation in plankton community richness and composition between wetland types. We also assessed the ecological uniqueness of the plankton community by calculating the contribution of a single wetland: local contributions to overall beta diversity (LCBD) and contributions of individual species (SCBD) to overall beta diversity (BDTotal). Beta regression models were used to investigate the relationships of LCBD and SCBD to environmental variables, wetland, and taxa characteristics. A total of 85 phytoplankton taxa, distributed among 18 Reynolds functional groups, and 57 zooplankton taxa were observed over the entire set of samples. Local plankton taxon richness was significantly higher in riverine papyrus swamps (mean taxa of 30 phytoplankton and 21 zooplankton) compared to river mouth wetlands (mean taxa of 27 phytoplankton and 13 zooplankton). Several local environmental variables and the composition of the plankton community differed significantly between the three wetland types. The highest phytoplankton ecological uniqueness (LCBD) was detected in lacustrine wetlands, whereas the riverine papyrus swamps had the highest zooplankton ecological uniqueness. Based on our analyses, we recommend protecting the wetlands with high LCBD values and stress the importance of various wetland types for preserving the diverse plankton communities of Lake Tana wetlands.

Walkers increase the ability to walk independently and safely but can - when used incorrectly - lead to dangerous situations and injuries. Therefore, it is important that during the rehabilitation injured and/or elderly people learn how to walk with a walker. Currently, patients are dependent of their healthcare professionals to assist them and correct their gait pattern if needed, which limits them in when and where they can train walking. In view of this problem, a smart walker was designed which assists the patient by monitoring feet placement and alerting when incorrect usage is detected. In this way, the patient can train independently. This work describes the design of the smart walker, consisting out of a depth camera, RGB cameras and ultrasonic sensors. These sensors serve as input for a computer model which returns audiovisual feedback to the user.

The purpose of this study is to apply the Technology Acceptance Model to identify the determinants affecting students’ behavioural intentions when it comes to using micro-lectures. The conceptual framework included three antecedents of behavioural intentions–perceived usefulness of micro-lectures; perceived ease of use of micro-lectures; and user satisfaction. Moreover, the four first-order constructs of content richness, user satisfaction, vividness and self-efficacy were incorporated into the framework based on the theoretical construction. Employing a structural equation modelling approach, the hypothesised model was validated empirically using data collected from China. This study examines two factors (perceived usefulness of micro-lectures and user satisfaction in terms of micro-lectures) related to learners’ behavioural intentions to continue using micro-lectures. Additionally, micro-lecture compatibility, micro-lecture self-efficacy and the vividness of micro-lectures emerged as critical predictors of the perceived usefulness of micro-lectures. The findings provide practical implications for educators and micro-lecture learning system developers.

Differentiated instruction (DI) addresses academic diversity in order to maximise learning. Although it is theorised as both a philosophy and as a praxis of teaching, it is rarely measured as such. This study examines teacher profiles on differentiated instruction relating to their philosophy and self-reported praxis. The data stem from an exploratory study on differentiated instruction, which served the purpose of creating a valid instrument to measure teachers’ philosophy and teaching approaches relating to academic differences in interests, readiness and learning profiles, namely the DI-Quest instrument. The results reveal three teacher profiles based on five DI-related factors. The patterns are almost identical in primary and in secondary education. Interestingly, if more frequent adaptations to students’ differences in interests, readiness and learning profile are what differentiated instruction aims for, both philosophical factors (namely growth mindset and ethical compass oriented to students) need to be present. Lacking one of these factors, will have less adaptations as a consequence. This study displays the predictive power of teachers’ philosophy about Differentiated Instruction for their daily classroom practices. Consequences for future research, professional development and teacher education are discussed in detail.

The present study is an extension of studies that measure pre-service teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) confidence. It provides new perspectives on pre-service teachers’ TPACK by shifting the focus to concrete concerns and strengths indicated by pre-service teachers. The target group consists of a cohort of first-year pre-service teachers (N = 86) from a Finnish university. The data used in this study were 86 lesson plans with integrated technology written by first-year pre-service teachers, with a specific section where students outlined their confident and challenging areas in the lesson plan. These sections were analysed quantitatively through the theoretical lens of TPACK. Four TPACK areas were found confident, challenging or both confident and challenging for students. For these first-year pre-service teachers, pedagogical knowledge played the most important role, and the outcomes concretize specific aspects of pedagogical knowledge that can be addressed to develop TPACK in teacher education. The results provide important perspectives on pre-service-teachers’ development of TPACK, revealing the important position of pedagogical knowledge and detailed perspectives on how pre-service teachers view their readiness to use ICT in education.

El aprendizaje de idiomas asistido por dispositivos móviles (MALL) está ganando mayor interés por parte de la comunidad académica. Este estudio cuantitativo implementa el modelo de aceptación UTAUT complementado con la variable actitud. Los participantes fueron 89 profesores de idiomas de educación superior colombianos que compartieron sus puntos de vista sobre MALL a través de un cuestionario en línea. Los resultados indican que la intención conductual de los profesores está afectada por su actitud, influencia social y condiciones facilitadoras. El estudio también destaca la importancia de incluir el comportamiento de uso en el modelo de medición: los maestros que poco usan MALL muestran intenciones más fuertes de usarlo en comparación con los maestros con un alto uso de MALL, lo que resulta en una correlación negativa entre la intención de comportamiento y el comportamiento de uso.

De stad Brussel kent de laatste twee decennia een sterke verjonging en heeft een gemiddelde leeftijd onder die van de andere gewesten. Jongeren vormen er een belangrijk onderdeel van het sociaal weefsel. De diversiteit binnen die Brusselse jeugd biedt echter zowel uitdagingen als kansen. Het merendeel van de jongeren identificeren zich heel sterk met de stad en zien in Brussel het symbool van eenheid in diversiteit. De verschillende breuklijnen die doorheen de stad lopen vormen echter een risico voor de cohesie ervan. Daartegenover staat dat jongeren die opgroeien in een van de meest diverse steden ter wereld een hoge mate van openheid en vooral mededogen vertonen. Zinnekes zijn De Best vormt de eerste weergave van de werkzaamheden van het DEBEST-programma (Democratic Empowerment of Brussels Education, Students and Teachers), een samenwerkingsverband van de Universitaire Associatie Brussel. DEBEST verrichte onderzoek bij 1880 jongeren van 15 à 16 jaar oud om een inkijk te krijgen op hun attitudes en besteedde aandacht aan initiatieven om jongeren te verbinden.

This study investigated the social integration (in relation to academic integration) of first-year students during the first semester at university. Sixteen focus group sessions with 93 students and 37 individual face-to-face follow-up interviews were conducted with first-year psychology and educational science students from a Dutch-speaking university in Belgium. Through the lens of appreciative inquiry, student-facilitated strategies such as welcome activities, campus tours, workshops, and extracurricular and cocurricular activities seemed important in enhancing both social and academic integration. Contact with older students was highly valued, but this did not involve all students and may have had negative effects for some. Participants emphasized the need for inclusivity of activities. Information technology, such as Facebook, could provide an important informal bridge. Participants also valued opportunities to develop age-peer friendships, which sustained their well-being and academic motivation throughout the first year. However, the peer interaction and learning provided did not fully address the social developmental needs among all newcomers. The consequences of these findings for future research, peer learning practices, and institutional policy are discussed.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed The proliferation of AI in many aspects of human life—from personal leisure, to collaborative professional work, to global policy decisions—poses a sharp question about how to prepare people for an interconnected, fast-changing world which is increasingly becoming saturated with technological devices and agentic machines. What kinds of capabilities do people need in a world infused with AI? How can we conceptualise these capabilities? How can we help learners develop them? How can we empirically study and assess their development? With this paper, we open the discussion by adopting a dialogical knowledge-making approach. Our team of 11 co-authors participated in an orchestrated written discussion. Engaging in a semi-independent and semi-joint written polylogue, we assembled a pool of ideas of what these capabilities are and how learners could be helped to develop them. Simultaneously, we discussed conceptual and methodological ideas that would enable us to test and refine our hypothetical views. In synthesising these ideas, we propose that there is a need to move beyond AI-centred views of capabilities and consider the ecology of technology, cognition, social interaction, and values.

Purpose A transition toward sustainable development requires engagement of university students in transformative learning. Therefore, quality frameworks and processes should support deep approaches to sustainable development in higher education. Research and initiatives that connect sustainable development, higher education and quality assurance (QA) are lacking. This study aims to explore to what extent quality assurance agencies in Europe support transformative learning for sustainable development in their frameworks. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a qualitative analysis of national QA frameworks in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) to assess whether they support transformative learning for sustainable development. First, frequency analysis was undertaken; second, a blended coding approach was used to investigate whether and how transformative learning for sustainable development is addressed. Findings Overall, the authors found little support for transformative learning for sustainable development in most QA frameworks. One exception is the framework of the United Kingdom, which includes a specific guide on education for sustainable development wherein transformative learning is prominently mentioned. To a lesser extent, some support exists in the frameworks of Estonia, Holy See, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. Although the transformative learning for sustainable development approach is not explicitly mentioned in most QA frameworks, many of them contain opportunities to highlight it. France and The Netherlands offer guidelines and criteria for acquiring a sustainable development label, while Andorra suggests including the sustainable development goals in institutional quality assessment. Originality/value The research provides the first map of how countries within the EHEA support transformative learning for sustainable development in national QA systems.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across the world radically shifted to emergency remote teaching. Since then, many universities have moved forward considerably and many lessons were learned in the area of online education. The aim of this qualitative study is to investigate how university teachers in a Belgian university experienced online education since the start of the pandemic and what exactly influences their experiences with online education. Six online focus groups (with thirty-two lecturers) revealed both enthusiasm and stress, and six tension fields that influenced their experiences with online education during COVID-19: (1) connection with students, (2) connection with colleagues, (3) digital opportunities and threats for students' learning processes (online student feedback, online interaction, structured learning materials, flexibility in time and space), (4) changing teacher roles, (5) tension due to time pressure and (6) support issues. Every tension field contains both opportunities and threats for online education, which can inform practitioners of online education in the future of university education.

Since its official introduction in 2014, an increasing number of Flemish secondary schools provide a CLIL program next to their regular monolingual Dutch programs. This longitudinal study investigates the effect of teaching one or several content subjects in French on secondary school pupils’ L2 French listening comprehension (n = 545) and speaking proficiency (n = 273) as well as on their L1 Dutch reading comprehension (n = 579). To ensure comparability between the CLIL and the non-CLIL groups, data collection started at the onset of secondary education, which aligns with the onset of CLIL programs, and information on relevant background variables such as L2 French motivation and anxiety, contact with L2 French outside school and pupils’ socioeconomic status was incorporated in the analyses. The results show that following a CLIL program has a positive impact on the development of French listening and speaking, whereas it does not affect pupils’ L1 Dutch reading comprehension. These results suggest that evena limited amount of CLIL (i.e. one to five hours per week) can have a positive influence on pupils’ proficiency in the target language.

Traditional gender beliefs and gender prejudice (sexism) are thought to play a key role in the reproduction of gender inequality. It is known that such traditional gender beliefs are more common among strongly religious people. Europe is facing a growing population of religious, often immigrant youth from Islamic countries such as Turkey and Morocco. Against that background, we investigate how ambivalent sexism is related to adolescents’ religious affiliation (being Christian or Muslim), religiosity (how important religion is in one's life), perceived pressure for religious conformity and ethnic background (native, Turkish, Moroccan) by performing multivariate multilevel regression analyses. We rely on data from two independent samples gathered in 2013 and 2018 by the Youth Research Platform among Dutch-speaking boys (N = 1637) and girls (N = 2058) between 14 and 18 years old. The results show the gendered ways in which religion and ambivalent sexism towards women are related. For girls, ambivalent sexism wasrelated to perceived pressure for religious conformity and ethnic background (more group-level aspects). Boys’ ambivalent sexism was related to more individual-level aspects such as higher religiosity. No differences were found between Muslim or Christian youth., Traditional gender beliefs and gender prejudice (sexism) are thought to play a key role in the reproduction of gender inequality. It is known that such traditional gender beliefs are more common among strongly religious people. Europe is facing a growing population of religious, often immigrant youth from Islamic countries such as Turkey and Morocco. Against that background, we investigate how ambivalent sexism is related to adolescents’ religious affiliation (being Christian or Muslim), religiosity (how important religion is in one's life), perceived pressure for religious conformity and ethnic background (native, Turkish, Moroccan) by performing multivariate multilevel regression analyses. We rely on data from two independent samples gathered in 2013 and 2018 by the Youth Research Platform among Dutch-speaking boys (N = 1637) and girls (N = 2058) between 14 and 18 years old. The results show the gendered ways in which religion and ambivalent sexism towards women are related. For girls, ambivalent sexism wasrelated to perceived pressure for religious conformity and ethnic background (more group-level aspects). Boys’ ambivalent sexism was related to more individual-level aspects such as higher religiosity. No differences were found between Muslim or Christian youth. © 2021 European Sociological Association.