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The present study examined the relationship between adult attachment and subjective social status (SSS) in college students through a cross-sectional survey (Study 1) and a longitudinal study (Study 2). In Study 1, 1300 college students were recruited via research flyers and online campus advertisements. They completed measures of adult attachment and SSS. The results showed that higher attachment anxiety and avoidance negatively predicted SSS. In Study 2, 958 freshmen students were recruited via the Freshmen Entrance Ceremony and underwent assessment four times (T1, T2, T3, and T4) at monthly intervals. The latent growth model results showed a significant decline in SSS during the first month of campus life, followed by a slow increase over the subsequent 2 months. While attachment avoidance did not predict a decline in SSS, attachment anxiety positively predicted the rate of decline in SSS, which meant that the higher the attachment anxiety was, the slower the rate of decline in SSS. Both studies indicated that both dimensions of attachment influence freshmen's SSS and that only attachment anxiety plays a role in the dynamics of SSS.

This paper proposes a new theory of Conditional Social Equality (CSE) which in some ways challenges the theory of cumulative advantage/disadvantage (CAD), which postulates that inequalities and social divisions necessarily increase over time. Using evidence from informal learning groups in Men's Sheds in three countries, we conclude that some social divisions between homosocial groups, in this case groups of older men, may actually decrease -- but only under certain conditions. Male-gendered learning groups that were relatively homogeneous by age helped erase class divisions and softened gender stereotypes. Our theory of conditional social equality (CSE) predicts the following: (1) in-group homogeneity can enable the acceptance of some aspects of heterogeneity; (2) some other aspects of in-group heterogeneity may not be tolerated, thus maintaining in-group cohesion; and (3) in-group homogeneity and boundary setting towards out-groups may be prerequisites for the acceptance of (some) aspects of in-group heterogeneity. All of this has important implications for adult learning in both heterogeneous and homogenous groups.

Could the standardisation of language narrow disparities in achievement in education amongst people of different social class, and within and across ethnicities and genders, and could this have implications for injustices and inequities in wider society? In analysing socio-economic diversity through the lens of its correlation with language, this paper examines how the standardisation of language could be used as a means to reduce such diversity. It examines links between the standardisation of language, and the reduction of inequalities between socio-economic groups, in regard to achievement in education. It also examines the correlation between language and social class, and propensity towards being a perpetrator and/or victim of hostility and violence, as well as their relationship with health and life expectancy etc. The paper further examines the effect of the use of technology and teaching methods on the acquisition of knowledge, and how this impacts upon children of different social class within the learning environment. In order to help address some of these questions, an auto-ethnographic methodology is adopted with the aim of being able to explore, and reflect upon, personal experience, and to be able to weave greater understanding and connections between apparently disparate factors related to diversity, all through the lens of language and its relationship to aspects of culture relating to social class. Amongst its conclusions, the paper argues that the standardisation and enhancement of spoken language would narrow the disparities in academic achievement between socio-economic groups. The paper also argues that in order to challenge inequitable power structures which have arisen from historical injustices, then rather than concentrating on underrepresentation of groups of people within high status positions in society, the focus of diversity should be directed towards challenging the over representation, in a range of settings, of groups of people within low status positions in society.

This research designed to discover the relationship between the exposure of social media and social comparison level, taking Instagram as a model based on age, social status, educational level, job, frequency of opening Instagram daily and numbers of hours spend on the app per day as study variables to discover if there are relationships between these variables and social comparison level among Palestinian females Instagram users. This research is a descriptive study used the survey methodology that depended on pre- prepared questionnaire was developed by Sharmaa, et al. (2022). The internal consistency was checked by Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient. The values of the test were above 0.9, point out excellent (1.0-0.90) reliability for all the constructs (Sharma, et al., 2022). The sample included 140 Palestinian females who have an effective Instagram application and use it periodically. Frequencies tables and One Way ANOVA test were used by SPSS program to examine the hypothesis of the study. Six statistical hypotheses were tested. Results from data analyzing found that there is no significant statistical relationship between the exposure to Instagram and social comparison level based on age, educational level, social status, job, frequency of opening the app per day and number of hours spend on the app per day. The research found that the sample's majority expressed that Others' Instagram posts inspire and motivate them. Also, half of the sample care about the way the others interact with their posts and think that people present themselves on Instagram in a different way compared to reality and that they don't make positive or negative judgments on others based on their number of likes and followers.

We investigated the effect of culture and social status on sarcasm interpretation. Two hundred U.K. participants and 200 Chinese participants read scenarios in which the final comment could be either literal or sarcastic criticism and the speaker had equal, higher, or lower social status compared to the recipient. Comments were rated on degree of sarcasm, amusement, politeness, and aggression. Results showed that compared to literal criticism, sarcasm was viewed as being more polite and less aggressive in the United Kingdom but more aggressive in China. When the speaker had higher social status, sarcasm was rated less amusing and marginally more aggressive in the United Kingdom but less aggressive and more polite in China. Results have theoretical implications, in that theories designed to explain the emotional impact of sarcasm (such as the Tinge Hypothesis) need to be modified to take cultural differences into account, as well as practical implications for successful cross-cultural communication.

Informed by the capability approach and critical discourse analysis, this article examines how the development of green skills among master craftspersons and apprentices in the informal sector of Ghana could be promoted for cleaner production and sustainable futures. The findings show that inequality and poverty; cyclical policy trap; sectoral green initiatives and the green coordination gap; and limited human resource capacity including uncoordinated informal learning approaches serve to constrain the development of green skills among master craftspersons and apprentices in the informal sector of Ghana. To address these challenges, the current study proposes the development of a framework that (1) harmonises the different sectoral initiatives and strategies on green skills to avoid the cyclical policy trap; (2) expands the current green Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) agenda to include green skills development for individuals in the informal TVET sector; (3) closes the coordination gap in government green initiatives by creating an agency responsible for national green agenda; and (4) creates clear qualification models and strategies for the development of green skills in the informal sector.

The present study examined relations between concern for mianzi, or the social perception of one's prestige and standing in the group, and adjustment in Chinese adolescents. Participants were seventh- and ninth-grade students in rural and urban regions of China (n = 794, M[subscript age] = 14 years). Data were obtained from multiple sources including peer assessments, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. The results showed that concern for mianzi was associated with social competence, leadership, academic achievement, as well as aggression and mixed peer relationships in rural adolescents. In contrast, concern for mianzi was associated with comprehensive social, school, and psychological adjustment problems in urban adolescents. The results indicate the role of context in shaping the relations between adolescents' concern for mianzi and adjustment.

This present study aimed to explore the relationship between upward social comparison, relative deprivation, belief in a just world, and delay discounting by surveying 614 college students. The results showed the following: (1) upward social comparison could significantly and negatively predict individuals' delay discounting; and (2) belief in a just world and relative deprivation had a chain mediating effect on the impact of upward social comparison on delay discounting. Specifically, when individuals experienced more upward social comparison, their belief in a just world will be weakened, which increased feelings of relative deprivation and ultimately led them to be more likely to choose the recent but smaller rewards and forego rewards that require waiting but are larger.

This study examines whether and how an individual's subjective, or self-rated, popularity is related to one's structural position in the peer network, as measured by betweenness centrality and structural hole measure. Data were drawn from the original fieldwork conducted in Laos (N = 1,490; boys = 40%; M[subscript age] = 13), a low-income country in Southeast Asia. Using friendship nominations, we constructed a global network matrix based on which sociometric variables were calculated. Findings from hierarchical linear models showed that net of sociometric and other controls, "network brokers"--those who span more structural holes or bridge across more disconnected dyads pairs--indeed perceive themselves as being "more popular." Subjective, net of objective, measure of popularity should be incorporated as a critical component in the lives of young people.

This research, conducted at a major university in Tanzania, investigated the personal experiences of multilingual students vis-à-vis the government's language policy requiring Swahili as the language of instruction (LoI) at the primary level and English at the secondary level. The participants, who spoke 25 different languages as their L1, were placed into 49 different language groups and asked to write what they remembered about the language policy where they attended school. The data show that Gramsci's cultural hegemony is occurring in Tanzania. The "common sense" is that people truly believe English is symbolic of prestige and power--even though few people know it or use it. The parents insist that their children be taught in English (consensus), and the schools strictly enforce the language policy (coercion). As subalterns, the students in this research reported that they did acquire Swahili, but they also wrote about not knowing the LoI when they began school; undergoing inordinate physical and psychological punishment; feeling their L1s were stigmatized; and learning little English--or any other subject. Thus, the elites of the country have been trying to impose a European language on the citizens--in lieu of an educated, multilingual, African nation.

This paper scrutinizes the nature and scope of deleterious consequences arising from the pursuit of unattainable pedagogical exemplars on social media. We cash out this phenomenon using exemplarist theory to emphasize the fact that social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) are platforms in which the vast majority of users present idealized and curated versions of themselves. We focus specifically on educational practitioners and show that attempting to emulate unattainable pedagogical exemplars has negative impacts on agents' emotional well-being: It can cause burnout and self-conflict, decrease motivation, and also inflict detrimental outcomes on agents' self-esteem. We conclude that attainable, relevant, relatable, and authentic exemplars are key to a successful exemplarist approach and that safeguarding against unattainable pedagogical exemplars is of paramount importance for the wellbeing of pedagogues, and by extension, the success of educational systems.

Livelihood assets which are considered and recognised for their life-supporting role contribute significantly and basically to the standard of living of people. These contributions as deemed more meaningful are considered necessary to farmers whenever an opportunity exists to diversify their investment. This study looked at how the benefits from increase in farmers' rice yield contribute to farmers ability to acquire livelihood assets to enhance their standard of living. A sample size of 265 from a population of 880 farmers trained by Japan International Cooperation Agency on sustainable rainfed low-land rice production technology was used. The objective was to establish how proceeds from rice sale influenced the acquisition of livelihood assets by farmers to support their standard of living. Using spearman rho correlation, it was found that a strong positive correlation exists between increase rice output and livelihood assets acquisition. It is recommended that the technology should be disseminated nationwide specially in low-land rice farming areas so that all farmers in the country could benefit.

Since the public intellectuals of the 1960s, there has been a shift towards the celebrity academic, as subjects such as history and science have transferred into popular television entertainment, often with female academics as the presenters. Using a case study of the British media, a post-feminist lens has been applied to examine how 17 celebrity academics have been represented. The use of gendered academic stereotypes such as the blue stocking, the school ma'am, the eccentric academic and the thinking man's crumpet were in evidence, alongside the male academic stereotypes of the hegemonic academic male, the nerd and the complicit male. With increasing numbers of women participating in the education workforce, one might expect gendered stereotypes to have become more positive. This research indicates that academic stereotypes should be added to the list of gendered stereotypes that need to be addressed as part of the work towards gender equality.

The article explores how Nepalese public schools' traditional hierarchy-dominated educational culture shapes teachers' professional growth and sense of identity. Through the narrative inquiry approach, I explored teachers 'professional identity development using Gee's (2000) identity framework. The data revealed that hierarchy and power relations between the teachers and the social context fundamentally shaped teacher identity development. However, the study further showed that professional hierarchy was not uni-layered, the power was not one-directional, and the domination was not permanent but rather dynamic. Factors like academic qualifications, job status, technological skills, and social status made the hierarchy complex. More interestingly, hierarchical relationships did not always undermine teacher empowerment but confidence in some cases. For example, when a teacher in a marginalized position due to some factors such as poor health condition was viewed as a role model or capable of success despite challenges, they achieved high value from their colleagues.

A growing portion of international schools are franchised branches of schools originally founded in other countries. The first of such schools opened in 1996 and there are now almost 100 globally. Expansionist schools are primarily elite, English private schools, with concentrations of their franchises developing in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and East Asia over the past quarter of a century--particularly in mainland China over the past decade. This study explores how such schools adapt the language and focus of their marketing and, in doing so, sustain their privilege across various contexts. A qualitative textual analysis is conducted of the websites of 11 schools run by Dulwich College and Harrow School, the first brands to expand overseas and with the most extensive networks of schools today. A lens of international schools as enclosures of privilege is used to demonstrate how schools adapt themselves and their framing. The study finds the promotional focus of the schools depends not just on whether they are the founding school or a franchise, but also on their relative ages, and on their varying locations within specific sociocultural contexts. An emergent hybrid model, catering to both local and international curricula, blends the local with the global and complicates the conventional notion of the international school. Finally, the study suggests that further research is focused on the franchising of elite education, particularly as the focal point of expansion begins to shift away from the mainland Chinese boom of the past decade.

Blended learning (BL) has been increasingly implemented in higher education. However, limited research is available to understand the role of metacognitive awareness, reflective thinking, problem solving and community of inquiry as related to students' academic self-efficacy in BL. The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of metacognitive awareness, reflective thinking, problem solving and community of inquiry on students' academic self-efficacy in BL. This correlational study collected data from 217 undergraduate students in an introductory computer course, using five well-established instruments. The research found a strong and positive relationship between self-efficacy and metacognitive awareness, reflective thinking and problem solving skills. There was also a moderate positive relationship between students' academic self-efficacy and community of inquiry. In addition, the predictive models revealed that metacognitive awareness, reflective thinking, problem solving skills and community of inquiry were the predictors of academic self-efficacy as well as its subdimensions, such as learners' engagement, social status and cognitive applications. The article then discusses the practical and research implications of the study and suggests future research directions.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate, through the lens of Adult Learning Theory, the perceived influence of TeleNGAGE on educators' and families' capacity to collaborate in equitable and transformative ways. Findings suggest that educators' and families' capacity for collaborative problem-solving was enhanced through TeleNGAGE. This social learning space, which supported adult preferences and motivations for learning, created a synergy that led to equitable social status, the application of new knowledge, and innovative approaches to problem-solving. These findings provide insight into equitable collaborative initiatives as educators seek to find solutions to complex problems in their schools.

Teacher shortages are a phenomenon of growing international concern. The causes of this phenomenon are the focus of the research project What About Teacher Shortage (WATS up), which uses an international comparative perspective to analyse teacher shortages in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden. Because the nature of teacher shortages' development is complex and influenced by several interacting factors, this theoretical article accounts for the complexity of the phenomenon and introduces a theoretical and methodological model for empirical research. The theoretical starting point is a policy problem approach; more precisely, one that adapts Bacchi's model on focusing 'what the problem is represented to be' (WPR). Due to variations between the studied countries, a multiple case design is chosen as the methodological approach. This allows an individual analysis as well as a comparison of the countries. A methodological model comprising 8 parameters and 23 indicators summarizes the interacting factors influencing teacher shortages.

Proposed by Ivan Illich in the 1970s, the deschooling society was one of the most contentious and radical thoughts in education in terms of its critics against compulsory education around the globe and proposals in the name of networks in which everyone in need of learning and teaching can participate to learn and teach anywhere and anytime without any prescriptions or proscriptions. With the advent of the internet and technology, the paradigmatic change towards post-method pedagogy in education and ELT, and the constricting current pandemic state, we have been much closer than ever to the actualization of deschooling society. This work, as a caveat, was not solely formed to deliver brief information about the contents of the book but rather also to reassess, renew, and readapt the deschooling concept of the 1970s into the 21st-century digital era at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic with the implications of a post-modern understanding of ELT. The issue discussed in the present paper is in general about the way of formal compulsory education through schooling, yet in specific the implications of deschooling on ELT in the current chaotic state of the world. Therefore, a brief reappraisal of the book was preliminarily outlined, and later its connections with ELT within the framework of post-method pedagogy were explicated in the revival part.

Drawing on transformative, critical, and culturally responsive and sustaining traditions of pedagogy and instructional design, we present a technology-focused framework for decentering normative forces along the lines of race, ethnicity, class, language, religion, ability, sex, and gender in online higher education learning spaces that honors each participant for who they are with respect to their identity markers and their intersectional community memberships to promote inclusion and belonging. These normative forces--which simultaneously crowd out and make hypervisible diverse identities--predispose the ends and processes of teaching and learning and structure the nature of academic disciplines. This is particularly apparent online where engagement is decoupled from traditional anchors of relationships and influenced by difference-blind neoliberal perspectives. In response, we provide a framework for inclusion and belonging along two vectors. The first vector is a critical design process inspired by backward design principles: inquiring, translating, activating, and reflecting. The second is a set of inclusive considerations grounded in culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy and the Universal Design for Learning framework: asset-based frames, authentic multiple modes, and mixed mirrors and windows. This process includes an opportunity to interrogate the role of technology as a mediator of learning and teaching for belonging. We further assert that the instructor also needs to engage in identity work to interrogate their positionality in online environments with respect to not only observable and cultural identity markers but also academic disciplinary identity. To illustrate our framework, we provide reflections on the design and enactment of online and technology-rich activity structures that promote inclusion and belonging.

Teacher accountability reforms implemented around the globe have heightened a sense that teachers are losing the support of policymakers and the general public. To examine the global pattern in teachers' perception of occupational value and identify possible outcomes and predictors, we analyzed the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) data. We found an overwhelming majority of teachers feel undervalued in almost all OECD countries. In addition, teachers who feel undervalued reported less collective teacher effort for school improvement and job dissatisfaction consistently in four countries of comparison with different policy contexts--the United States, Australia, Finland, and Korea. However, the relationships between three working conditions impacted by accountability reforms--compensation, classroom autonomy, and involvement in school decision-making--and perceived occupational value varied across these four countries. Specifically, these working conditions seem to matter more in the United States, where the teacher policy context produces greater disparities across schools in teacher qualifications, distribution of qualified teachers, and degree of professional control.

The aim of this study is to examine the creativity of university students studying in the field of fine arts in terms of demographic and school factors. In this context, the Kaufman creativity areas of the participant students were examined through a comparative approach on the basis of the comparative relational survey research model. The study group of this research consists of 241 Fine Arts Faculty students. Kaufman Creativity Fields Scale was used to collect research data. According to the analysis of the data, the academic creativity of the participating students was low, their mechanical creativity was at a medium level, and their artistic creativity was at a high level. In addition, significant differences were found in the creativity areas and levels of the students according to gender, department type, class and achievement levels. It was observed in the research that the academic creativity of the participating students was low. In this context, activities and practices for students' skills such as research, problem solving, and using the scientific method in original processes can be included in all departments of the relevant faculties.

This study explored secondary school teachers' feelings about their teaching profession and the factors responsible for their feelings. This phenomenology study draws its findings from the lived experience of secondary school teachers with varying working experience levels. Informed by the qualitative inquiry, the paper is mainly empirical and employs interviews and focus group discussions in the data collection process. Findings reveal that teachers and the teaching profession have lower status nowadays than before and after independence, which makes teachers feel bad about their profession. Society regards the teaching profession as the last choice for those who have no other choice and poor living and working conditions. The findings further revealed that low salaries, rare or no teacher professional development, misconduct of teachers and lack of board are factors responsible for negative feelings in the teaching profession. Hence, the revival of the lost status of the teaching profession remains in the hands of educational authorities and education stakeholders. Future studies should focus on the impact of teachers' feelings on their professional well-being and its influence on teaching practices.

The current project measures international students' dietary acculturation challenges focusing on sub-Saharan Africans in the U.S. The analysis examines responses from 142 questionnaire respondents. Respondents filled out a self-administered survey that inquired about their eating practices in their country and since they moved to the U.S. Findings include the fact students choose their foods based on whenever and wherever they are available in markets near their locations and on time spent in the U.S. Newly arrived participants searched for already known produce. Meanwhile, those living in the U.S. for more than twenty-five months started the adaptation process through self-preparation meals or reliance on the recommendations of others. Students from Africa increased their intake of standard American foods unlike those from their homeland, such as pre-made meals and sweets as well as caffeine containing products but reduced the foods they grew up eating. Sub-Saharan students tended to shift their eating patterns even when foods from their home countries could be purchased in groceries near them. The analyses demonstrate eating adjustment as a consequence of the period lived in the USA, personal relationships, and food preferences from their country of origin.

The aim of this study was to explore gender differences in motivation for choosing teaching as a profession and perceptions of men's demotivation for the choice of this profession. 279 preservice subject teachers from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, filled in the FIT-Choice Scale (Watt & Richardson, 2007) and the Demotivation of Men for Teaching Career Choice Scale. Results revealed that, regardless of their gender, preservice subject teachers were primarily motivated by the intrinsic and social utility values of teaching, while specific gender differences imply the importance of the role of social factors in men's choice of this career. Low status of the teaching profession was perceived as the dominant reason for demotivation of men to choose it. Women were more likely than men to assume that men are demotivated to choose teaching because it is a "women's profession". Policy implications of findings on men's (de)motivation for teaching are discussed.

Many adolescents want to be popular. Popularity goals are associated with adolescents' relational and overt aggression and aggression has been linked to greater risk for victimization. The current study sought to examine if popularity goals may be linked to victimization through associations with aggression and if self-perceived popularity and gender may moderate these relationships. Participants were 292 adolescents (60.3% girls; 44.5% seventh graders, 55.5% eighth graders; 79.5% White/Caucasian) from the Southern United States. Results indicated that relational aggression accounted for the association between popularity goals and victimization and that self-perceived popularity strengthened this indirect effect for girls but not for boys. Overt aggression also partially explained the relation of popularity goals with victimization similarly for boys and girls. The findings suggest that motivations for popularity and self-perceived popularity are important to understanding variation in adolescent aggression and victimization.

Online courses frequently use discussion forums to enhance student engagement, an approach that is critical to fostering positive student learning outcomes. Because discussion forums are common in online classes, many instructors rely on summary statistics and self-reported measures to assess student engagement. However, these metrics overlook the structural and relational dimensions of student interactions in discussion forums. To complement those other metrics, this study uses social network analysis to examine interactions in a discussion forum to expose the structural and relational dimensions of student interactions. We aggregated data on student interactions in a discussion forum for an undergraduate class with 31 enrolled students. The graphical representation of student interactions in the discussion forum revealed the social positions and roles of students and exposed the strengths and weaknesses in the structural and relational ties. Mathematical analysis accurately measures student interactions in the forum using measures of centrality. Both of those analyses enabled the description and comparison of interactions at the group and individual levels. Social network analysis is a practical method that adds another perspective to our understanding of student interactions in discussion forums. The outcomes of social network analysis can help instructors design courses, devise appropriate teaching interventions, and effectively use forums to engage students to improve learning outcomes.

Adherence to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions may be challenging for adolescents, especially those concerned about social status. This study examined self-perceived popularity and reputation concerns as predictors of adherence to health guidelines and the effects of self-perceived popularity on adjustment. Adolescents (n = 1,068, 14-18 years at Time 1, M[subscript age] = 16.86 years) completed three self-report surveys across 10 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consistent with hypotheses, greater self-perceived popularity and concerns about peer reputation predicted less adherence, controlling for COVID-19 threat. Further, greater self-perceived popularity predicted less internalizing symptoms at Time 3. Adolescents' perceptions of their popularity may simultaneously act as a public health risk and provide social protection. Results emphasize the importance of acknowledging adolescents' social pressures and concerns regarding reputations and popularity during COVID-19.

The goal of this study was to examine the unique associations of aggression with peer status in a non-Western context. The moderating effects of peer community and teacher closeness at the classroom level and gender and grade at the individual level were considered. Participants were 1954 third to sixth grade students (M[subscript age] = 9.60 years, SD = 0.97; 49% girls) in South Korea. As in Western studies, overt aggression negatively predicted preference, relational aggression positively predicted popularity, and these associations were stronger in early adolescence than in middle childhood. "Whereas" the association between relational aggression and peer status was stronger for boys than girls and peaked in sixth grade. Peer community moderated the association between relational aggression and popularity. Specifically, relational aggression predicted popularity in non-communal classrooms, but not in communal classrooms. Future research should address cultural differences in social relatedness and their implications for fostering peer community in classrooms.

Previous studies have shown that peer victimization causes a great variety of severe adverse effects on children's development, and it is necessary to explore the influential factors and mechanisms of peer victimization. This study examined the associations between teacher-student relationships and peer victimization, as well as the roles of peer status and gender in China. The participants were 734 primary school students from Grades 5 ~ 6. Structural equation models were conducted to test the roles of peer status in the associations between teacher-student relationships and peer victimization, as well as the gender differences in the above associations. The findings showed that teacher-student closeness negatively predicted peer victimization, and teacher-student conflict positively predicted peer victimization. It was also found that teacher-student conflict but not closeness could negatively predict peer status, which was in turn negatively associated with peer victimization. The above associations did not vary across genders. The findings indicated that both teacher-student closeness and conflict were directly associated with children's peer victimization, and teacher-student conflict was indirectly associated with peer victimization via peer status. This implies that interventions for decreasing children's peer victimization should not only focus on improving teacher-student relationships but also target peer status.

Despite decades of policies to widen participation in medical degrees, students selected for Medicine continue to reflect a socially elite group, rather than the diversity of the communities that graduates will serve. While research has documented experiences of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, this paper examines the "cultures of success" that enable advantaged students to gain entry to medical school. It documents how these students' school and home environments enable the development and realisation of "aspirational capacity". Aspirational capacity is not just about having a dream, but also the resources and knowledge to realise one's dream. The paper also examines a negative side of a narrow aspirational focus. "Aspirational constriction" describes the premature foreclosure of career ambitions, which can have negative implications for both the students and for society, and for less advantaged students, who are effectively excluded from degrees such as Medicine.

University counselors have been in place in China for more than fifty years, and they serve an important (yet underappreciated) role in Chinese universities. The professional development of this profession is: (1) a realistic need for the construction of quality education development teams in colleges/universities; (2) a theoretical need for the perfection of the counselor system; and (3) an urgent need for the development and improvement of counselors. The researchers analyzed an improved counselor system, Quality Mentor (QM), implemented by Wuchang University of Technology (WUT) and the results suggest that professional development of QM can be promoted by improving the social recognition, perfecting the system, and improving the quality of QMs.

The present study investigates the frequently used speech acts related to positive and negative politeness techniques employed in requests and apologies by faculty members at King Abdulaziz University. Social interaction on University Campus reflects Hejazi culture located in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. The significance of the study arises from its focus on university-life interaction between faculty members as it provides an investigation of positive and negative politeness strategies. The paper tries to answer two questions: (1) Is there a relationship between the faculty's years of experience and the request strategies employed?; and (2) Is there a relationship between the faculty years of experience and the apology strategies used? To answer these questions, a Discourse Completion Test was developed and given to 30 faculty members. The findings of the study show that social power, which is derived from having more years of experience, affects the request and apology strategies used among Saudi female faculty members. Faculty members of an older generation tend to use syntactically more extended sentences in requests compared to their younger colleagues, to alleviate the sense of their social power and save others' sense of face. In contrast, the more youthful faculty members tended to use syntactically longer sentences in apologies compared to their older colleagues to show more respect. The study was conducted in Women Campus, and it is recommended to implement it on a larger scale with more participants to get more complete results.

This research identifies the critical factors of student engagement and distance learning that will improve academic performance during a pandemic. The fuzzy Delphi method and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process method are applied to this research, which is a multicriteria decision-making technique. A survey is conducted and evaluated based on experts' opinions. The social constructivism theory was selected to be applied here; it supports student engagement and distance-learning factors' relationships with academic performance. After the analysis, the six most significant factors are evaluated. It is observed that Social isolation (C1), Technology effectiveness (C2), Social status enhancement (C3), Student Competency (C4), Motivation (C5), and Satisfaction (C6) are the highest-ranking factors that increase academic performance. On the basis of the results, it is suggested that management's primary responsibility is to provide training and guidance to instructors/teachers to enhance, motivate the students, and create opportunities for every student to improve their academic performance in a pandemic situation through distance learning.

The absence of discussions of identity that consider both subjective/personal and social aspects of identity is an important concern in mathematics education research. This paper proposes a framework to analyse the mathematical identities offered to and constructed by learners during peer interactions, by considering personal and social identities. To exemplify the framework, we discuss how two pairs of secondary school learners, who were engaged with similarly by their teachers and who performed similarly academically, interacted with each other and offered and constructed micro-identities during moments of a lesson, and macro-identities across lessons. We show that when learners were offered identities by a peer as higher, lower or equal status, they constructed their identities by affiliating with or resisting the identities offered by their peer. Their interactions and the identities that they constructed were informed by their personal identities, including their emotions when learning mathematics, and their social identities, including their choices to occupy certain roles in the classroom community.

Emerging research suggests that adolescents at high-achieving schools (HAS) in Western societies are at elevated risk for problem behaviours. This cross-sectional study explored whether adolescents attending HAS in a non-Western setting show similar risk patterns and if contextual (school-, family-, and peer-based) factors typically associated with the excessive pressures to achieve predict these problems. Participants were 237 adolescents (14-18 years old), and one of their parents, who were recruited from high-achieving private schools in Hong Kong. The parent-child dyads completed questionnaires on youth internalizing and externalizing problems and perceived stressors. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to test whether academic demands, parent-related stressors, and social status among peers were associated with youth problem behaviours, after controlling for age and gender. The study found that nearly half of the female adolescents and over a third of the males met borderline-clinical levels ([greater than or equal to] 86%ile) of internalizing problems; moreover, more females than males met clinical criteria ([greater than or equal to] 98%ile) for self-reported externalizing problems and parent-reported internalizing problems. Academic demands, parent-related stressors, and social status among peers predicted youth-reported internalizing problems; and the latter two factors contributed parent-reported internalizing problems. However, only parent-related stressors significantly predicted youth- and parent-reported externalizing problems. The findings provide preliminary indication that HAS adolescents from Hong Kong may be an "at risk" group, highlighting the need for increased awareness and targeted interventions.

This study examined the relationship between an individual learner's background, social network position, and interaction within a Massively Open Online Course (MOOC). Prior research has largely focused on the effects of background and social network position on quantitative features of interaction. This research considered qualitative features such as cognitive engagement level and sentiment polarity in interaction and the extent to which each of these factors influences interaction. We used a survey to collect demographic background information of MOOC users and then used social network analysis to examine the social network position of each MOOC user. We also used content analysis to evaluate the interaction on MOOC discussion forums. Background and social network positions were found to be associated with interaction differently within certain subgroups. The top and bottom 20% of learners who actively connected in social networks tended to engage in constructive cognitive activities, rather than active or interactive ones. The top 20% of threads showed a positive contribution of social network position diversity to interaction. Thread level diversity did not significantly impact the interaction level.

This article is devoted to the study of the possibilities of educational environment design in the arrangement of the schoolwork with children from migrant families so that they could positively adapt to the conditions of school and integrate into the culture of the host country. Based on a generalization of the problems faced by migrant children, the characteristics of educational environment design models and technologies, and international experience in developing and designing electronic educational resources, designing the process of teaching and educating children from migrant families, regardless of their social status, the role and place of educational environment design, as well as the conditions and mechanisms of increasing the effectiveness of designing the educational environment of educational and training processes for children from migrant families are outlined. The reasons for the introduction of interactive methods of teaching and educating migrant children, especially during the adaptation period, are outlined. Educational environment design is considered from the position of a systematic approach to the design of the educational process, in which the content, methodology and conditions of the organization are subordinated to a single goal, and the roles of not only teachers, but also the families of migrant children, peers, other people and organizations are defined in this system.

For the South Asian diasporic, questions about (be)longing and identity are almost undeniable. Through a personal reflection, I contour these experiences by way of poetic inquiry, specifically interrogating "performing" Canadian-ness (Alvi, 2020) and the meaning of "home" (Badruddoja, 2006) that are a part of the living pedagogy of immigrant families navigating the "status" of emigration. It is in that intermediary of "straddling cultural divide" (Sharrif, 2008) that words of poetry emerge, tantalizing a processual capitulation of (be)longing and identity formation; that is, the constant trail of navigating the in-between of "here nor there" and the (im)possibilities that this hyphenation offers.

The purpose of this research is to receive teacher opinions on the formation of the professional status of teachers on the basis of a synergistic approach to the organisation of methodological work. This research was created in accordance with the qualitative research method. The study group of the research consisted of 40 primary schoolteachers working in various primary schools in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in the 2021--2022 academic year. The data of the research were collected with a semistructured interview form developed by the researchers. As a result of the research, the majority of primary schoolteachers participating in the research stated that teachers' behaviour in accordance with the ethical principles of the profession, providing a qualified teaching education, transforming them into a profession with high economic returns and improving their personal rights are factors that positively affect the status of the teaching profession. The majority of primary schoolteachers participating in the research evaluated the low economic return of the profession, the insufficient personal rights of the profession, the lack of appreciation of the teacher in the education system and the high expectation from the teacher as factors that negatively affect the status of the teaching profession. The majority of primary schoolteachers participating in the research determined that developing the reorganisation of teacher training policies, providing professional motivation in-service trainings for teachers, creating a sharing platform for teachers and working to improve the perception of society in a positive way are suggestions for the formation of the professional status of teachers on the basis of a synergetic approach to the organisation of methodological work.

Multicultural education curriculum often seems to get lost in the implicit biases of formal education. As K-12 classrooms continue to increase in linguistic, cultural, racial, gender, socioeconomic, and ability diversity, the call for educators to develop mind frames of equity becomes more urgent. This study asks teacher candidates to explore children's literature for overt and covert messages of oppression, silencing, and indoctrination. Each theme is discussed within the context of picture books and their corresponding analysis. A suggested chart for selecting critically intelligent books is provided as a consolidated extension of the study's findings.

This study aimed at studying gender transformational changes taking place in the modern multilingual world. The integrative approach of the study revealed a close relationship between the processes taking place in the field of language, culture, society and reflected in the formation of a personal identity as self-identification with the norms, values of society. The research work was carried out through interviewing and linguistic associative experiment with respondents of different social levels and statuses in order to determine the phenomenon of gender identity from the perspective of a modern person, to identify its main characteristics taking into account cultural relationships at the verbal level. The sociolinguistic features of gender identity transformation are highlighted, which contributes to a deeper insight into the essence of this phenomenon and, at the same time, to the expansion of opportunities for intercultural dialogue communication by building competent interpersonal relations in socio-cultural and linguistic aspects.

The article uses a multi-faceted approach to present the major challenges to vocational education and training (VET) that Hungary and Poland have been facing during the transformation of their economic systems in 1989 and integration into the EU in 2004. The evolution of VET is examined according to historical traditions, its declining prestige, the introduction of dual training, governance, and the involvement of social partners. We also look at recent changes in the two countries as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss the current situation in the light of VET scenarios recently developed by Cedefop.

As Iraq and Tajikistan recover from the impact of conflict and international isolation, spaces are being created for higher education to internationalize by opening up and (re)connecting with the international academic community. Drawing on 25 field-based interviews, this article examines how academics in these two countries interpret these processes of higher education internationalization. Four main themes emerged: bridging the gap created by conflict, reconnecting with the world, importing prestige, and integrating into the international academic community. Most respondents viewed internationalization processes positively even while recognizing that national political and economic factors are constraining how these processes develop.

Apart from speaking competence and vocabulary used, refusal strategies play an important role in a communication scenario. This paper investigates how Thai students realise the speech act of refusals to the initiating acts of suggestions, offers, requests, and invitations with regard to the status of the interlocutor. To achieve this objective, 157 Thai university students were asked to respond to 12 scenarios listed in an Oral Discourse Completion Test (ODCT) eliciting refusals of three requests, three invitations, three suggestions, and three offers in lower, equal, and higher status scenarios. All responses were systematically collected, transcribed, coded, and classified based on the refusal taxonomy developed by Beebe, Takahasik, and Uliss-Weltz (1990). The results revealed some discrepancies in the frequency, shift, and content of linguistic forms used in the refusals. In particular, most Thai students reported the use of indirectness, and a combination of direct and indirect strategies was used most frequently. Particularly, excuses, reasons, and explanations were the strategies frequently used in refusals with the different interactants, suggesting that refusals should not be treated as a speech act but as speech act sets that include one or more components. The study sheds light on the importance of socio-cultural factors that affect successful communication. It contributes to the knowledge of pragmatic behaviour in the L2 or intercultural pragmatics and also provides suggestions for integrating pragmatic instruction to foster the pragmatic competence of L2 learners.

There has been a growing interest in gender and language in recent decades. This study examines how women control their language facing specific, especially when angry. Minangkabau women are a subject in this research. The gap that underlies this study is that a Minangkabau woman, popular with polite language as a medium for language, is required to manage her anger in a speech in everyday life with its politeness. Conversation analysis is emphasized to explore forming a speech act in gender interactions in wedding cooking sessions and grocery shopping. These data are the words of Minangkabau women when interacting in the cooking process for weddings in several places in West Sumatra, Indonesia. A total of 17 Minangkabau women participated in the conversation. The concept of forming a speech ac related to how Minangkabau women speak the psychopragmatic approach used in analyzing the data. The results revealed four forms of Minangkabau women's angry language when interacting in the cooking area for marriage and grocery shopping. The implication is related to participants' relationships, closeness, and social status. This suggests that those three values are ingrained in Indonesian culture.

As a result of the COVID-19 health epidemic, online life has exploded into our daily lives, forcing most of us to move previously seemingly irreplaceable "face-to-face" activities into "non-face-to-face" meetings and activities in many sectors. One of the biggest challenges has been in the field of education: This sector, compared to other sectors, was less digitized. Under these circumstances, the entire education process was transferred to online space overnight, which was/is a major challenge for everyone. Thus, a questionnaire survey was conducted among students from two universities in Hungary and Romania, the results of which are included in the present article. The aim of the research was to measure students' satisfaction and to examine the benefits of online education, for example, in terms of introducing hybrid education over the long term. Descriptive statistics as well as the Wilcoxon rank-sum test were used to analyze the database. The results showed that, from a practical point of view, there was no significant difference between the Hungarian and Romanian respondents who had a fundamentally positive view of digital education. In this respect, positive feedback can be seen as encouraging, especially for those individuals and social strata who may find online education much more attractive than traditional physical teaching. Online education could be an attractive, accessible, sustainable form of further education in the long run.

The effect of high-stakes language tests on teaching and learning a language is usually known as washback. The true nature of test washback can be understood only by taking account of the educational, cultural, political and social contexts in which the test operates. Nevertheless, little research has explored the factors that affect the nature of washback. This paper reports on a study that explored the factors that affect the washback of the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) English test on students and parents in Nepal. The data generated through oral diaries (n=72) and semi-structured interviews with students and their parents (n=24) indicate that several factors including economic factors, social prestige associated with the test performance, parents' educational background, and perceived importance of English affect the nature of a high-stakes tests' washback. Finally, some of the pressing policy, pedagogical and research implications are discussed.