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Language learners have multiple and changing identities associated with unequal power relations; their direct identity and language learning involves imagination-created identities in communities not immediately accessible or tangible. Imagined identities drive learners' investment in meaningful learning practices. This quantitative study addresses a research gap by examining Saudi students' imagined identities and investment in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learning during technical training. Data from an imagined-identity questionnaire completed by 98 participants were analyzed using arithmetic averages and standard deviations to determine how learners' imagined identities serve their language-learning investment. Results show that learners' imagined identities throughout EFL learning during technical training were positive and served their language-learning investment. Learners wanted to extend their identities, assert their right to speak, and practice learner agency, which is significant to their commitment to learning EFL. Further qualitative investigation is required to understand the interrelated nature of EFL learners' imagined identities and language-learning investment.

With the study reported on here we aimed to determine and compare teacher perceptions of the concept of virtual reality between Turkish and South African teachers using metaphors. We adopted a phenomenological approach, and a questionnaire was administered to a total of 100 teachers in both countries, using random sampling. The study included 4 schools -- 2 secondary schools selected from each country. The data obtained were analysed and categorised into themes using the metaphor mismatch technique. The following themes were identified and interpreted, learning, entertainment, technology, art, travel, and imagination. Teachers presented metaphors based on relevance to their area of practice and perceived potential use of virtual reality in teaching and learning. Based on the number of metaphors identified, teachers held a narrow perception in the categories, entertainment, technology, and travel, while more metaphors, with varied sample explanation responses were identified in the categories of learning, art, and imagination. The findings of this study can be used to develop a user road map for teacher professional development and to inform policy on the use of virtual reality in teaching and learning.

Existing research recognizes the crucial role played by imagination in giving meaning to our experience, thinking critically and paying attention to difference. By using a design based on what we called 'embodied imagination' (analogical reasoning) and 'narrative imagination' (contributions from universal stories), we conduct an exploratory study in a secondary school in a disadvantaged area of France, including multicultural classes. We aimed to observe how 12-15-year-old students think about conflict and how they manage tensions and conflicts that might arise during the dialogue. We have found, first, that universal stories gave students the opportunity to enrich their vision of conflict, inspiring more sophisticated thought. Secondly, we have observed that when conflicts arise during interactions, building a dialogue community is a real challenge, for teachers and students alike. Some students are able to take on the role of mediator, while others try to establish their role as speaker or find their place in the dialogue. Reflecting on the nature of peer relationships in their dialogue, one student suggests the framework of a "friendly discussion".

By using the feminist imaginary as a pedagogical tool for resistance and change, an experience of activism within the university context in Naples, Italy is explored. The article focuses on the potential transformative power of art as catalysis for deeper level emotional and spiritual learning transformation. The aim is trying to inspire critical conversations to rethink spaces and practices that allow community care, and conditions that include authenticity, resonance, reflection, and freedom. Engaging in the arts, aesthetics, and creative practices can contribute to a sense of hope, agency, and possibility with the potential to provide avenues for creative expression and innovation. Sharing narratives of possibility and engagement with the arts can promote community connections. This article highlights the way artistic practices contributed to the creation of a dynamic and inclusive creative landscape that challenges established norms while encouraging creative and critical thinking.

This article documents weaving as a decolonizing epistemic tool for feminist futures that emerges from the work of our collective -- the Feminist Imaginary Research Network. As a collective of feminist adult educators who work in both the academy and women's museums, weaving challenges the centrality of rationality over other ways of knowing and being. Following the teachings of Indigenous women thinkers and artists, including the work of some of our members, we frame weaving as an epistemic tool and aesthetic language for future-making. Weaving acts upon us as a mirror of our history, as an antidote against the supremacy of rationality, and as a tool for collective projects of transformation. As a decolonizing tool, weaving gathers us around Indigenous women's traditional knowledge, but also confronts us with the question of our obligations when the teachings of weaving have been offered to us -- what is our responsibility to the work, to each other, and to this emergent knowledge?

Feminist Imaginaries are psychological and social spaces where creative possibilities are overflowing. They facilitate new ways of being, new ways of knowing and new ways of knowledge creation. This paper embraces a decolonial and feminist approach to storytelling, remembering, reclaiming and retelling; telling the stories of a band of wandering women, journeying to the psychosocial spaces of the Imaginary. Drawing upon a feminist theoretical tapestry, creative writing methods and autoethnographic approaches, the story is an example of the possibilities for Feminist Imaginaries in academic research. Many female students I have encountered naively believe they have social justice and equality but the inequalities are hidden in low paid, part-time work and unpaid care. To explore patriarchy's deceptive nature, reference is made to the canons of Western art and literature as spaces from which to depart. It is from this space and time of departure that our journeys to the Imaginaries begin. Our lived experiences as artists as educators makes our activism all the more urgent to care for racialised, working class and disabled students. Those experiences are illustrated in poetry and visually in an artwork created to accompany this paper entitled, "Remember, shout her name, tell her-story." Furthermore, creative writing is a form of the Imaginary and is used to tell this tale. I suggest, by borrowing from Laurel Richardson, creative writing is a method of inquiry to learn about ourselves and our research. By writing into the topic, rather than reading around and then writing, the imagination can wander and wonder freely. I include a small demonstration of how this process might be performed. In this way the story is open-ended, to be continued, as so too the fight for social and gender justice must continue. Accordingly, I invite you, the reader, to remember your stories, reclaim, imagine them, document and share them.

The paper describes the results of a study whose main aim was to find the interrelationship between pupils' school grades in Czech language (native), mathematics, and physics and pupils' cognitive predispositions to problem-solving in science and mathematics diagnosed by the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning and the Culture of Problem Solving test. A total of 180 pupils from the Czech Republic aged 14-15 took part in this study. The results show that pupils with better grades in the monitored subjects achieve better results in both tests. It also turns out that there are generally statistically insignificant differences between the results of pupils assessed by grades 1 or 2 and between those assessed by grades 3 or 4. Pupils' performance in the two tests might help to strengthen the objectivization of grading at school. They might also help identify the indicators important for developing problem-solving skills. The research specifically points to the need to develop algebraic thinking, the conception of infinity, spatial imagination, geometric imagination in the plane, proportional reasoning, and the ability to control variables.

The ILM model to promote creative thinking skills is concerning the application of the concepts of virtual technology in the instruction management, which is consistent and appropriate for learners in the digital age, so that they are able to learn anywhere and anytime by means of the brand-new teaching innovations. The objectives of this research are (1) to synthesise the conceptual framework of the ILM model, (2) to develop the ILM model, and (3) to study the results of the development of the ILM model. The research tools include (1) the ILM model, and (2) the evaluation form on the suitability of the ILM model. The results show that (1) the overall suitability of the ILM model (overall elements) is at the highest level (Mean = 4.88, SD = 0.14), and (2) the overall suitability of the ILM model is at the highest level (Mean = 4.90, SD = 0.18). This can be summarised that the ILM model is a kind of learning model that was developed by applying the concepts of virtual technology and imagineering learning process that can be used as guidelines to learn anywhere and anytime for the 21st century learners.

The world of art, which is mostly based on manual dexterity, has endeavored to raise the new generation of students of the future with today's technology tools. Although art education continues to be up-to-date today, it has had to adapt to technological opportunities. In the face of artificial intelligence and augmented reality applications, creativity and mental imagination skills of individuals have begun to develop. This study aims of find out advantages and disadvantages of using artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) technologies within the scope of art education at higher education level. Mixed method was used in the study. Students (n=75) and teachers (n=25) from two different universities in TRNC constituted the population of the research. The results obtained in the study reveal that all students can design the moving objects with AI and AR. It has been observed that with AI-AR applications, the motivation of students has increased significantly and their creativity and imagination skills have strengthened, while their drawing and painting skills have weakened at some points. It has been determined that teachers think that using AI-AR in art education has disadvantages as well as its advantages.

The author discusses American philosopher, psychologist, and educator John Dewey and the Laboratory School he founded at the end of the nineteenth century at the University of Chicago, where he conducted important studies of child development. The author notes the influence of Dewey's theory of (and pedagogical guidelines for) children's play, which he initially formulated between 1896 and 1900 and which subsequently influenced such play theorists as Lev S. Vygotsky and Loris Malaguzzi. However, the author asserts, the literature on play has largely neglected Dewey and contains no account of his important and influential early works about play, a gap he intends this article to fill.

The current study explores the impact of visual arts education on early childhood, highlighting its role in enhancing creativity, imagination, and emotional expression in pre-school children. It explores the perspectives of pre-school teachers on the importance of visual arts in children's development and the challenges they face when integrating the arts into the curriculum. The study used quantitative and qualitative research methods. The study highlights how pre-school educators value the visual arts for its potential to enhance cognitive and social skills and how demographic factors influence these perceptions. In addition, it explores the practical aspects of art education, including classroom management and resource allocation, to offer a comprehensive view of the current state and future potential of visual arts in early childhood education. Finally, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the central role of the visual arts in early education. It highlights the need for supportive educational policies and resources to enrich the learning environment.

We present an argument for a higher priority for art in the educational system and "make a case" for the arts--to provide a rationale for its priority in adult education. This is the plan: to provide this rationale; to present practical guidelines for the processes of engaging in art that may be transformative and critical for individuals and for society; and to illustrate the powerful potential of art as a way of teaching for democratic citizenship. We move toward a Pedagogy of Social Imagination in Art and Adult Education by recounting a real-life empirical study of creating opportunities for transformative learning through engagements with art. John Dewey and Maxine Greene assist in outlining a rationale for exploring arts in adult education.

The purpose of this study is to explore a theoretical idea in relation to a body of empirical material from a reading activity involving a picturebook on shadow. The theoretical idea, sprung from variation theory, entails children's discernment through synchronic simultaneity as a key to their ability to imagine. To explore this idea, an analysis has been conducted on how 5-year-olds, in words and actions, express themselves in a reading activity involving "The Black Rabbit" (Leathers, 2014) in regard to discerning and imagining about shadow as a light phenomenon. Vygotsky describes children's previous experiences as a key to their ability to imagine. The results of this study imply that children's discernment in the moment, with synchronic simultaneity, appears to be another key that unlocks their ability to imagine explicit depictions in a picturebook. The results also show that when children's discernment with both synchronic and diachronic simultaneity (i.e., discernment in the moment and before the moment) is missing, their ability to imagine remains untapped, as none of the keys to their imagination, which might unlock their ability to imagine implicit depictions in a picturebook, are used.

Imagination-to-learn is a specific learning strategy that has been studied in many academic fields. The present study investigated whether imagination is beneficial overall for learning compared to conventional study strategies, while also identifying moderator factors affecting the global effect. A meta-analysis was conducted by scientifically rigorous experiments comparing the learning outcomes of students who were asked to form a mental image of the events described in learning material while reading (imagination condition) or were given no imagination instructions (control condition). A total of 21 experimental studies published on the PsycINFO, Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, ERIC and Google Scholar databases were included, yielding 70 pair-wise comparisons with N = 2625 participants. An overall positive effect of imagination-to-learn was found for both retention (g[superscript +] = 0.40, 95% CI [0.23, 0.58], z = 4.63, p < 0.001) and transfer (g[superscript +] = 0.51, 95% CI [0.22, 0.43, z = 3.43, p < 0.001]) performance. However, analysis of the funnel plots showed that publication bias was present in the reporting of learning outcomes. Analysis of the moderators indicated that the effect sizes differed significantly only with respect to learners' prior knowledge for transfer performance and their educational level for retention scores. Based on these findings, the present study provides important directions for future research and practices.

Aims: To determine the associations between COVID-19 school closures and school readiness skills for Chinese kindergarteners. Design: We utilized the natural experimental condition created by local COVID-19 outbreaks in 2022 (Study 1) to compare school readiness skills of children whose kindergartens were closed for 5 months (Group 1) with children whose kindergartens stayed open (Group 2). We further compared the school readiness skills of one pre-COVID-19 cohort (Cohort 2019) with one COVID-19 cohort (Cohort 2021) from a fifth kindergarten (Study 2). Samples: For Study 1, Group 1 included 445 children and Group 2 included 584 children aged 4-6 years. For Study 2, Cohort 2019 included 156 children and Cohort 2021 included 228 children aged 3-6 years. Measures: For both studies, survey data on four school readiness skills were collected from parents. Additionally, Study 1 collected parental locus of control data from parents. Results: Controlling for covariates, Study 1 revealed that Group 1 and Group 2 did not differ in terms of language and emergent literacy or approaches to learning. However, Group 1 scored lower than Group 2 on health and well-being and arts and imagination. Study 2 revealed that Cohort 2021 scored higher than Cohort 2019 on language and emergent literacy but lower on the other three skills. Conclusions: The associations of COVID-19 school closures with Chinese children's school readiness skills were not uniform, with a positive relation with language and emergent literacy and negative associations with health and well-being, approaches to learning, as well as arts and imagination.

Due to its efficacy shown in early research with children, imagined contact has often been proposed as a school prejudice-reduction intervention. Nevertheless, some of the more recent studies have not been able to replicate the expected effects. This review presents the first systematic examination of the effect of imagined contact interventions conducted with children and adolescents from 2007 onwards. An extensive database search identified a total of 30 interventions across 25 separate studies of imagined contact effects (total N = 3462). The results suggest mixed support for the effectiveness of imagined contact. Furthermore, imagined contact most often leads to improvement on the measures of intended and real intergroup behaviour, followed by the measures of intergroup attitudes. The effects on the measures of emotions are rarely measured and observed. Additionally, significant intervention effects are more often found in younger children, as well as for interventions that are researcher-led (as opposed to teacher-led) and conducted individually or in small groups. Finally, interventions incorporating modified (vs. standard) scenarios, reinforcement techniques other than writing, and multiple (vs. single) sessions tend to be more beneficial in changing intergroup bias. These findings could prove useful in planning future imagined contact school interventions.

People with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have difficulties mentally simulating events, perhaps due to a difficulty mentally generating and maintaining a coherent spatial scene -- that is, 'scene construction'. The current study compared scene construction ability between autistic adults (N = 55) and age-, gender- and Intelligence Quotient-matched neurotypical adults (N = 63), using a task in which participants were asked to vividly imagine and describe fictitious scenes. Results showed that scene construction was diminished in autistic compared to neurotypical participants and was negatively associated with autistic traits. ASC diagnosis did not influence the frequency of self-reference or sensory experiences, which followed the same pattern in both groups: sight was referenced more than sound, sound was referenced more than both touch and smell, which were both referenced more than taste. Exploratory analysis of some of the cognitive predictors revealed that scene construction ability was associated with individual differences in Theory of Mind and alexithymia.

This paper argues that the teaching of art in Higher Educational Institutions is inherently paradoxical. Informed by the transgressive and interdisciplinary qualities of contemporary artistic practices, education nevertheless is often made to fit into a reductionist, outcome-oriented and individualistic discourse. Taking a weeklong workshop at the Nida Art Colony in Lithuania as a practical axis for its reflections on the fluid nature of art education, the paper discusses possibilities of extending beyond pedagogical, political, human/nonhuman and other borders and treating 'noise' and other 'interferences' as opportunities for transgression and dialogue. This workshop with students from the Vilnius Academy of Arts took place in September 2022, at a time characterised by the Russia-Ukraine war. Nida's proximity to Russia's exclave Kaliningrad, its location on the narrow Curonian Spit, and its immediate environment characterised by woods and sand dunes provide this paper with a setting for a discussion about a variety of borders: territorial borders, border pedagogies, perceived borders between human and nonhuman entities, between land and sea, and so on. Borders are described as dominant indicators of power and distinction, while educational standards and instruments of measurement often replicate similar distinctions between the known and the unfamiliar. Yet, borders can also be shifted while new connections and dialogues across real and conceptual borders can be forged in a porous process that is predisposed towards flexible scenarios characterised by the 'not-yet'. The surrounding forest and wetlands and huge drifting sand dunes in Nida become analogies for the changing structure of the workshop, silently yet overpoweringly advocating for a mutable pedagogy. Analysed through the work of various contemporary artists, this nonhuman intrusion into a pedagogical and creative experience is both undefined and vulnerable, unlike the preordained structures of attainment targets often associated with contemporary schooling.

This paper responds directly to the question, how do we communicate our philosophy of art education? It does this by drawing upon previous research with "House of Imagination, School Without Walls" and doctoral research exploring children's learning identity as artists, to illuminate a philosophical approach to art education and its pedagogy that highlights both human and more-than-human dimensions of learning in communities of practice involving artists, researchers and educators working alongside children and young people where spaces of possibility for practice and innovation emerge. The paper focuses particularly on current and creative research in the "Forest of Imagination," a long-term participatory contemporary arts and architecture event in Bath, UK. "Forest of Imagination" offers an alternative, creative approach to learning, focusing on ecological imagination and nature connection. As a new aesthetic imaginary, the Forest of Imagination is a living, breathing art classroom, inspiring curiosity, imagination and a deeper connection with the natural world.

In order to create and foster learning spaces that build upon children's knowledge and experiences, we must respect and value their ways of knowing and being, including their play. Accordingly, this study highlights the ways that young children (re)imagined spaces, materials, and identities through their digital play in an analog (containing no physical, digital-based toys/materials) preschool classroom. This qualitative study utilized a framework of children's play as murmuration (a transmodal assemblage), to analyze and discuss the children's various digital play engagements. Three main themes were identified within/across these engagements, including the ways the children: (re)imagined the digital, drew from popular digital culture and media to make connections and construct meaning, and composed digital identities. Insights highlight the ways the children set aside perceived rules for materials, objects, spaces, and identities and created space for critically (re)envisioned ideas, concepts, realities, and futures to emerge. We encourage educators to continue to create and foster classroom spaces that value and build upon children's playful ways of knowing, being, and becoming in the digital world.

Traditional engineering education (Eng. Ed) has received criticism for restricting student learning and experiences to practical skills development while ignoring the significance of fostering cognitive skills that encourage higher order thinking, criticality, and self-reflexivity. Imaginative education (IE) has emerged as a consideration for replacing such skills focused engineering curricula with interactive, engaging, and student-centered pedagogical approaches. However, existing literature on the topic as well as Egan's (1997) own explanation of the five stages of understanding (somatic, mythic, romantic, philosophic, and ironic) are mainly focused on K-12 contexts, leaving limited resources and insights for higher education contexts. This calls for theoretical and practical expansion of the topic where development and implementation of IE-informed Eng. Ed for adult engineering students remain the focus. To respond to this call, this conceptual paper focuses on two main points. First, it attempts to unpack the theoretical underpinnings of the five stages of IE to understand what each stage means for educators and learners in higher education engineering contexts. Second, after outlining the challenges that traditional Eng. Ed is facing in a globalized world today and the initiatives from the field to address them, it discusses the promises IE can bring to make Eng. Ed more effective, inclusive, and relevant. Overall, the intention in this paper is to turn to the theoretical tensions that may emerge when considering IE as an approach to re-imagine and expand Eng. Ed.

This research attempted to explore, based on the broaden--and--build theory of positive emotions, the relationships among high school teachers' savoring and instructional design imagination, and to verify the mediating effects of resilience and inspiration through action on the aforementioned relationships. Data were collected from 497 high school teachers in Taiwan. PLS-SEM was used to validate the research hypotheses. The results show that: (a) Savoring positively influences instructional design imagination; (b) Resilience has a complementary mediation effect on the relationship between savoring and instructional design imagination; (c) Inspiration through action has a complementary mediation effect on the relationship between savoring and instructional design imagination. Accordingly, this study bears important theoretical and practical implications for the professional development of teachers' instructional design imagination.

In the realm of mathematics education, geometry problems assume a pivotal role by fostering abstract thinking, establishing a connection between theory and practice, and offering a tangible portrayal of reality. This study focuses on comprehending problem-solving methodologies by observing the eye movements of 45 primary and multi-year grammar school pupils, aged 11 to 14, as they tackled pictorial geometry problems without computation. The utilization of eye-tracking technology, specifically the OGAMA tool, was essential in unveiling the nuanced strategies employed by students. Visual attention metrics were determined through fixations on predefined areas of interest, identified using the ScanGraph tool. Through an analysis of eye movements, participants were categorized into three distinct groups based on their problem-solving strategies. This categorization facilitated an exploration of the correlation between the chosen strategy and the success rate in solving geometry problems without computational aids. The findings underscore the imperative for continued investigation into strategies for solving geometry problems without computation. Additionally, the research aims to broaden its scope by delving into the metacognitive strategies applied in solving imaginative geometric tasks.

I use Toni Morrison's "Paradise" as a backdrop for framing a "Black Liberatory Fantasy" (Martin et al., 2019) that is rooted in what Dumas and ross ("Urban Education," 51(4):415-442, 2016) have conceptualized as BlackCrit. The goal of the current undertaking is to evaluate anecdotes of this working idea of paradise, to merge it with more refined ones, and to dream even bigger about what paradise could look like for Black students in mathematics spaces. It is with this backdrop that I proffer how to fashion a Black liberatory mathematics education (BLiME), my conception of paradise, where Black students are expected to exist in their full humanity. I offer up five characteristics that inform the BLiME framework and are an extension of Morrison's (2019) writings on paradise: beauty, plenty, rest, exclusivity, and eternity. I contend that Ruby, Morrison's town in "Paradise," had elements of these characteristics, but here, BLiME reimagines mathematics education as a full embodiment of what Ruby had the "potential" to be.

In UNESCO's 2021 report, "Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education," futures emerge as a key orientation for establishing not just improved educational systems but for creating liberatory worlds for everyone. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, social and economic instability, and the climate crisis, the future of education, especially higher education, has become highly uncertain. Dominated by "elite futurism", education futures are often dictated by powerful institutions, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations, failing to account for the diverse perspectives and needs of communities. This lack of inclusivity perpetuates conditions of uncertainty and instability worldwide. To address these challenges and foster education futures that prioritize justice and liberation, this article explores the role of radical imagination. While conventional imagination is constrained by discursive enclosures and powerful affective economies, hindering transformative and diverse visions of the future, radical imagination challenges the status quo, seeking to address the root problems of societal norms and ideologies. This article emphasizes the importance of collective processes in radical imagination, promoting inclusivity and diverse perspectives. Importantly, this work isn't simply for students, but must include researchers, educators, and policymakers, challenging their complicity in systems of oppression and divesting from harmful structures. By incorporating "depth pedagogies" that prioritize caring relationships with the natural world and contextual understanding of histories of oppression, education can empower learners to envision and act on alternative futures.

Renewing the social contract for education is the central call of the "Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education" report from the International Commission on the Futures of Education. The International Commission outlines two foundational principles for such renewal: an expanded vision of the right to education throughout life, and education as a public endeavour and a common good, reflecting humanity's wide diversity of ways of knowing, living, and being. These principles provide a common thread for the think pieces in this issue, which attempt to unpack the idea of a new social contract from a variety of positions. The pieces are discussed around six themes: reorienting educational purpose; governing diverging motivations; recasting leadership and participation; envisioning new possibilities for higher education; enriching the knowledge commons; and unleashing imagination beyond the status quo. This introductory article argues that rebuilding and strengthening trust is the watchword of any effort to renew a social contract for just and equitable futures of education.

Education policy scholars must consider spatial theories and related methodologies. Spatial theories encourage rich understandings of education policy because education and place are intimately connected. This article shows how scholars can use "spatial imaginaries" to enhance knowledge of place and education policy. We explain these connections in three ways. First, we outline theoretical concepts and analytical considerations of spatial imaginaries. Second, we provide examples of lines of inquiry related to spatial imaginaries and education policy. Third, we consider methodological techniques. Education policy is spatial policy, so building theory and methods about place and education policy is vital to the field.

Dealing with conflicts seems to be a great challenge in society today. But not only in society. Higher education displays an air of resoluteness with certainty and security that disguises the conflicts and the fear of conflicts in a substantial number of subjects. If not in a state of denial, higher education avoids taking up conflicts over issues, for learning. The detailed investigation of Tagore's pedagogical writings, with a focus on the importance of conflicts in education, reveals a genuine embrace of conflicts for education. Conflicts are natural and necessary for the development and change of both the individual and society and the start of a 'creative imagination' to solve the problems we face in life. Contradictions in conflicts are not incompatible incongruities that are irreconcilable and mutually exclusive, but to the contrary, in need of each other. Contradictions do not represent different worlds but are substantial parts of one world: together they form a unity. Conflicting forces are necessary to create harmony. Creativity, imagination, love, art, and critical encounters are key elements in Tagore's practical education aimed at finding similarities among people instead of emphasizing differences. Relations between people over the Identity of people. In other words, we need conflicts to become creative and imaginative human beings. The paper continues discussing conceptual and practical issues that seem necessary to get the teaching of conflicts in education off the ground. On the conceptual level, in particular our dealing with uncertainty and fear, the valuation of conflict and the need for uncertainty-researching education. On a practical level, I propose a certain teaching model, a supportive curriculum, a way of choosing genuine conflicts for education and finally, I argue for specific support and education of teachers, acknowledging the vital role teachers play in delivering the education that we need.

This paper advocates for the integration of the 'sociological imagination', as proposed by the sociologist C. Wright Mills, into pedagogical practices to foster inclusive and democratic classrooms. Departing from narrow evidence-based approaches, it explores how the sociological imagination connects personal experiences with broader societal structures, enhancing critical thinking and social awareness among students. Practical strategies for implementation across diverse subjects are discussed, emphasising its potential to empower school-age students as agents of social change amidst contemporary challenges.

Background: Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) display impaired pretend play abilities, reflective of broader social-cognitive challenges. Pretend play interventions for children with PWS demonstrate preliminary efficacy for improving cognitive and affective processes in play. It is unknown which specific intervention strategies, such as prompting, summarization, and modeling, most effectively improve these skills. The present study examined the effectiveness of different interventionist strategies on eliciting child behaviors within pretend play intervention sessions. Methods: Participants included 21 children (ages 6-12) with PWS who participated in a pretend play intervention. Recorded intervention sessions were coded for interventionist strategies and child pretend play skills. By pairing each interventionist strategy with the immediately following child behavior, it was possible to discern the frequency of how often certain intervention strategies immediately preceded various child pretend play skills. Results: All intervention strategies were followed by child pretend play over 50% of the time. Interventionist summarizing/reflection and modeling most often preceded child pretend play, as well as specific skills of imagination and organization. Prompting, followed by modeling, most often preceded affect expression. Conclusions: Interventionist strategies of summarization and modeling may most effectively facilitate pretend play. Prompts for emotions may be more effective to elicit affect expression, potentially due to social-cognitive difficulties inherent in PWS. Children with developmental differences may benefit from adults who engage in play as a partner, rather than direct the play, to help the child stay on-task and learn target behaviors. This insight may strengthen future efforts to support socioemotional skills through pretend play.

Competency-based physiology and biochemistry education can benefit from the creative integration of imaginative narratives into traditional teaching methods. This paper proposes an innovative model using a pen and palm analogy to visualize enzyme function theories. The pen (substrate) must fit snugly into the palm (enzyme's active site) for catalysis to occur, akin to induced-fit theory. Pressing the pen's top button with the thumb represents the strain needed to convert substrate (pen with nib inside) into product (pen with nub out, ready to write). By leveraging everyday objects creatively, students can enhance their understanding and engagement with enzymatic reactions.

This study investigates the relation between Viola Spolin's methodology of theatrical education and Konstantin Stanislavski's. It elucidates major similarities and diff erences between Spolin's theater games and Stanislavski's system in more detail than previous research. This investigation belongs to a research project on the origins of Spolin's games, which have been widely adopted in contemporary education. The present study reveals that Spolin shared several essential ideas with Stanislavski: the application of improvisation to theatrical training, the objection to director-centered production, the emphasis on intuition and spontaneity in the creative process, the evocative function of the theatrical situation/circumstances, the value of emotion and memory for creation, and the concept of energy exchange in theatrical communication. In addition, she introduced several games highly similar to the exercises in Stanislavski's system, for example, Exposure, Space Objects, Gibberish, and No Motion Warm-Up. Spolin presumably adopted, directly or indirectly, at least some of the key concepts and exercises from Stanislavski's theatrical works. However, she refused some aspects of Stanislavski's system: the teacher's privilege of approval/disapproval, the strong emphasis on imagination, the psychological view of emotion and memory, and the inhibition of direct communication between actors and the audience. Instead, Spolin developed several unique ideas for theatrical education, for instance, teachers as fellow players, contact as a way to get out into the theatrical environment, body memory as opposed to mental retention, and audience members as fellow players. The results of this study thus provide the insight that Stanislavski's system had a more profound influence, whether as a positive or negative model, on Spolin's theory and practice than as illustrated by previous studies. In this way, the present study casts light upon a significant phase of the history of theatrical methods in education and contributes to a better understanding of the characteristics and underlying philosophy of theater games.

This research investigates how children located in separate homes use the psychological function of imagination to engage in sociodramatic play using networked digital technologies. Specifically, it examines how 7- to 8-year-old children create imaginary play situations in the same "Minecraft: Education Edition" digitally-mediated environment whilst synchronously using the "FaceTime" video-communication tool to discuss their play. Drawing on cultural-historical conceptualizations of play, findings identified in this study describe how children reworked and combined elements of reality via imagination to enable online sociodramatic play. This study provides theoretical insight into how adults may best foster children's imagination in digitally-mediated environments to support online sociodramatic play, of especial benefit to children during periods of lockdown associated with the global pandemic.

Drawing from six-months of action research with spectacle theatre-makers in Chicago, this study explores multimodal, expeditionary practice of teaching artists who apprenticed girls through Redmoon Theatre's Dramagirls program. Concepts of new literacy design and aesthetic experience illustrate teaching in socio-semiotic and material worldcraft, set in motion via intermedial, expeditionary platforms: Imaging, Games, and Dramatizing with Objects. Ethnographic, arts-based analysis of discourse scenarios reveal an emerging aesthetic playground, where teaching artists afford girls imaginative schema to construct socio-semiotic material, felt realities and cultural affinities for a girls' utopia. As this hybrid form of theatre is seldom explored as an aesthetic literacy context, Dramagirls' worldcraft offers pedagogical models for significant youth designs and inquiries.

An imagineering learning model using advance organizers with the internet of things was developed to promote creative innovation for learners in the 21st century. It is an innovation initiated by integrating classroom learning and technology that connects with the internet of things. The objectives of this research were (1) to study and synthesize the conceptual framework of the imagineering learning model using advance organizers with the internet of things, (2) to develop the imagineering learning model, and (3) to assess the appropriateness of the developed model. The participants comprised a purposive sample of five experts from various higher education institutions who have knowledge and ability in designing and developing learning models and teaching and learning systems. Research instruments included the (1) imagineering learning model and (2) assessments of the appropriateness of the proposed model. The results were in line with the expectations of the research team, which found that the proposed imagineering learning model can be used as an instrument to improve teaching and learning by integrating knowledge in computational science subjects with professional courses to develop creative innovations for elementary school learners. By applying imaginary teaching techniques and conceptual maps to cloud learning, the proposed imagineering learning model encourages learners to develop the knowledge and ability to innovate creatively. Knowledge from programming and knowledge of agricultural work in vocational courses must be integrated appropriately.

The present article aims to estimate the value of language learning through a quick review of the learning process and with a focus on "accumulated knowledge" and "the ability to learn." Following the opinions of researchers and linguists, we can also argue that the whole history of human culture--"of intelligence and morality, folly and superstition, ritual, language, and the arts"--is what makes us human. The development of language is presented in its relation to thought, and memory, with the concept of imagination added to enhance their prowess. In other words, we might say that the cultivation of imagination should be the chief aim of education. One major idea in this context is that we can learn a lot from history, where language has been used to preserve old traditions and customs, and simultaneously foster new ideas. Another seemingly debatable approach would be the idea that clarity in teaching and learning might have a significant impact on learners, and at same time function as a springboard for other academic skills. In conclusion, teachers should encourage students to be inspired and motivated to discover the powers of wonder and imagination. Reading would be the one of the best ways to experience magic because books can inspire teachers to cultivate the same human values and life lessons in our students.

This article advances an abolitionist reframing of learning analytics (LA) that explores the benefits of productive disorientation, considers potential harms and care made possible by LA, and suggests the abolitionist imagination as an important educational practice. By applying abolitionist concepts to LA, we propose it may be feasible to open new critiques and social futures that build toward equity-oriented LA design and implementation. We introduce speculative methods to advance three vignettes imagining how LA could be weaponized against students or transformed into a justice-directed learning tool. Our speculative methods aim to destabilize where power in LA has been routinely located and contested, thereby opening new lines of inquiry about more equitable educational prospects. Our concluding discussion addresses how speculative design and fiction are complementary methods to the abolitionist imagination and can be pragmatic tools to help build a world with fairer, more equitable, and responsible LA technologies.

Given the widespread concentration on beliefs, values, emotions, critical incidents, and practices in exploring teachers' professional identities, this study presents the trajectories of identity construction of three English language teachers from Nepal, analyzing their storied lives from schoolteachers to university professors. For this purpose, the article considered the three-dimensional professional development model forwarded by Padwad and Dixit (2014) to explore the effective mediation by the state agencies, culture and the policies, appropriate support from the organizations, and the bottom-up initiatives taken by the teachers in their professional development. Besides, the professional development journey derived from the in-depth interview of the participants is analyzed by employing Wenger's (1999) communities of practice, particularly engagement, alignment, and imagination, as theoretical categories to discover their professional identities. The analysis revealed that passion for language, creativity, and motivation to learn English during childhood initially encouraged them to study English. In addition, inspiration from their teachers during their schooling and later a competitive working environment motivated them to experiment with innovative teaching approaches and establish themselves in the profession. Furthermore, diversification in university teaching according to university requirements and resultant divergence from the professional root ultimately transformed their identity beyond English teachers. Finally, university policy, customization of teachers as per the university requirement, and their survival strategy as English teachers in a university where technical subjects are given more priority has impacted their professional identities.

Based on how singing teachers and opera singers (teaching singing) apply imagination techniques in singing training, this study examines the use of these techniques in singing training. The data for the study using qualitative research method was collected through semi-structured interviews. A descriptive analysis was performed on the data collected from 18 individuals, including 13 academics and five opera singers. Overall, the study concluded that the following images are used by experts to describe the skills necessary to learn to sing correctly and effectively: adopting an appropriate posture, breathing properly, activating the required reflexes to keep the body aligned and working in balance and coordination, closing the vocal cords properly, opening up the resonance cavities, placing the voice correctly with a precise articulation, work rendition, and dynamics.

This research aims to investigate the existential identity of creativity in Islamic philosophy. In order to achieve the goals of the research, the analytical-inferential method has been used. The findings of the research showed that Mullah Sadra considers creativity as a part of the human soul, that is, he considers it as one of the platforms for realizing personal perfection and becoming a human being, and even above that, he considers creativity as a platform for the possibility of reaching the highest existential perfection, i.e. reaching It refers to true love and encountering a true lover. According to the mentioned contents, Mulla Sadra has a different definition of creativity. Creativity has a high position in Mulla Sadra's philosophy and he considers it a kind of godliness and has a wide scope for it. Creativity is considered a part of the human soul, and humans have an existential form that requires creativity. That existential form of the human soul, which is the source of all three creativity, creative person, and creative work. In Mulla Sadra's philosophy, the soul, as the first order of existence, has the most and strongest closeness to the body. Mulla Sadra considers the soul and the body as necessary and the soul cannot exist independently of the body. The human spirit has the ability to create, and this capability leads to human evolution.

Engaging students in active learning has proved to transform reflexive knowledge into true learning of material in medical education. Histology is one subject area that consistently presents as a challenge for medical and undergraduate students. The large amount of complex information needed to completely understand and interpret histological images is something that is many medical students do not fully grasp in the pre-clinical stages. Pedagogical studies that use physical objects and hands on learning have been shown to motivate and encourage students to self-learn such complex topics. This application of using physical objects and hands on learning, however, is not the easiest to translate to the cellular level. The Histo-Kitchen was designed to help students manage the vast amount of information and acquire knowledge in a meaningful and creative way. By incorporating food items into an active learning session, students were able to stretch their imagination and find representative items for common histological specimen representations. Based on post-session discussions, students found the activity to be beneficial to their learning and greatly enjoyed participating in the activity, often citing it as the most fun they have had learning histology. By providing students with opportunities to interact with complex material in creative and novel ways, students are able to learn in an environment that can be both engaging and enjoyable.

The main objective of the research is to study the creative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for writing skills in an educational context. The research aims to provide evidence on the use of AI and contribute to its integration in the classroom as a support for the teaching-learning process. Two types of research designs were established: a descriptive and comparative non-experimental quantitative research, and a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study. The sample consisted of 20 AI systems and 193 university students who were given Games 2 and 3 of the Spanish PIC-A test ("Creative Imagination Test for Adults"). The students repeated the games, assisted by ChatGPT, to compare the possible improvement of their productions. The findings reveal statistically significant differences between the AIs and the students in the indicators of fluency, flexibility, and narrative originality in Game 2. Furthermore, significant differences are found between students' pre-test and post-test scores in fluency, flexibility, and narrative originality in Game 2 and in fluency in Game 3. Finally, the assistance provided by AI in writing tasks and verbal creativity is highlighted, and this should be considered in language teaching; in any case, AI cannot replace human intelligence and creativity.

Teacher training should promote the professional competence of student teachers to plan drama education. This study focuses on how designing a drama course based on the Steps of Progress (SPM) and Arc of Drama (ADM) models can promote the adoption of drama education as described by student teachers. Research data was collected from the synthesis of student teachers (N=39) who participated in the 2019 drama education course in adult teacher education. The research method is qualitative content analysis. The research question is, how does SPM- and ADM-based drama education contribute to student teachers' understanding of drama education practices? The results suggest that drama teaching based on the SPM and ADM design principles promotes the adoption of drama teaching by student teachers and that the models also develop an understanding of drama teaching design. The results support the view that SPM and ADM work in designing drama education by enabling group bonding, cohesion, and the adoption of the drama methods themselves. Furthermore, the role of the teacher as a designer and sensitive facilitator of drama education is essential because of the importance of maintaining the power of interaction and presence.

The author draws on Lev S. Vygotsky's conception of play and Gunilla Lindqvist's methodology concerning the aesthetics of play to discuss play practice in early childhood classrooms. Based on the study of an educational experiment at a primary school, she discusses how children in a school setting simultaneously engage in developed forms of imagining employing concepts in the shared intellectual space afforded by a Conceptual PlayWorld. She argues that, by showcasing for policy makers the advantages of this cultural-historical program, teachers can support play as a leading source for the development of imagination and learning for young children in preschool, kindergarten, and early classrooms.

The authors explore children's symbolic play that involves themes of fear and darkness, and they investigate the nature of children's binary oppositions, particularly between self and other. Their account is based on a year-long qualitative study they conducted with seven children, four to ten years of age. They observed the children engage with play materials, including toys and dolls, at home and on virtual sites such as "Roblox." The play episodes they analyze highlight children's dyadic roles and scenarios and the pleasure of their play involving themes of fear. The authors also address the media and cultural representations that provide roles and narratives for the children to extend this dark play.

This article describes my tumultuous journey as a course instructor and researcher investigating imagination in an educational leadership graduate seminar. I employ an arts-based pedagogy and research methodology known as Performative Inquiry. Sharing my experiences delivering this course informs my future teaching and can support colleagues interested in exploring imagination with their students. I accepted risks associated with arts-based performances and entered a shared space of vulnerability with my students. My struggles with resistance were real, and so too was the realization of the important role vulnerability plays in imagination-focused (leadership) education. I suggest that Performative Inquiry offers other (leadership) educators a powerful pedagogy and methodology for understanding imagination in their own lives, nourishing their imaginative capacities, and inquiring into their leadership education practices. Arts-based practices allow learners to feel their own imaginations and experience possibility by accepting invitations to be vulnerable and performing learning in a range of productive and generative ways.

In an attempt to connect theory and practice with regard to research on creativity and visual arts, this study aims to explore how visual materials created by children can help determine qualitative parameters in the process of observing creative activity. These materials are the result of a series of workshops designed by the authors, artists, and professors in a faculty of teacher training carried out with pupils from public second-cycle preschools and elementary schools. Having developed a data collection strategy based on participant observation, the materials are grouped into three interrelated parameters: movement, language, and transformation-aesthetics. These parameters are designed as a flexible observation tool, which allows for every researcher to implement it, by contributing to the development of new research in various classroom contexts.