Abstract: Higher education institutions increasingly face expectations to respond to the climate crisis through instruction that strengthens students’ capacity to analyze sustainability problems, design feasible interventions, and implement solutions with accountability. Yet many sustainability courses remain knowledge-heavy and leave the pathway from learning to action implicit, which can constrain action readiness and complicate assessment of applied competence. This paper presents a competence-to-action instructional framework for environmental sustainability education in higher education. The framework is grounded in an integrative conceptual review and synthesis across Education for Sustainable Development, sustainability competency scholarship, experiential and transformative learning traditions, whole-institution approaches, campus living lab research, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The analysis applies iterative thematic synthesis to identify recurring instructional mechanisms, institutional enablers, and assessment implications, and then translates those themes into testable propositions and design and assessment tools. The synthesis yields six propositions specifying instructional and institutional conditions that support sustainability competency development and action readiness. Across the included literatures, the propositions emphasize authentic, place-based problems; sustained engagement with stakeholders; structured reflection that links values, trade-offs, and decisions; opportunities to test, revise, and communicate proposed interventions; and enabling infrastructures that connect curriculum to campus operations and community partnerships. Building on these propositions, the paper articulates six design commitments and provides two implementation tools: a competency-to-activity-to-evidence map and a performance-based assessment rubric aligned to widely used competency categories (systems thinking; anticipatory, normative, strategic, and interpersonal competence). As a conceptual framework paper rather than a systematic review or empirical validation study, it offers practical guidance for faculty, program leaders, and sustainability offices seeking to align curriculum, campus operations, and external partnerships while generating valid, transparent evidence of student learning and action preparedness. It treats UDL as a validity and equity safeguard that maintains rigorous expectations while reducing construct-irrelevant barriers through multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression. The paper concludes with implications for course redesign and institutional scaling through living lab infrastructure and whole-institution coherence, and it identifies priorities for future research, including cross-disciplinary pilots, refinement of assessment guidance through shared scoring practices, and longitudinal study of whether competence-to-action indicators relate to sustained civic or professional sustainability action.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Children growing up in families with alcohol-related problems are considered a high-risk group for developmental, emotional, and cognitive difficulties, although this condition is not classified as a clinical diagnosis in DSM-5 or ICD-11. The aim of this study was to develop a neurofunctional profile of such children based on electroencephalographic (EEG) markers, in order to identify indicators of neurodevelopmental risk and explore their potential relevance for pedagogical and social interventions. Methods: The study employed resting-state EEG recordings in children aged 6–10 years from alcohol-affected families and a control group. Quantitative EEG (qEEG) indices were analyzed, including theta–beta ratio (TBR), frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), temporal beta activity, and beta2 power in parietal regions. Standard preprocessing procedures were applied, and between-group comparisons were conducted using Welch’s t-tests with correction for multiple comparisons. Results: Children from alcohol-affected families exhibited significantly elevated TBR indices (global, frontal, prefrontal, and midline), increased temporal beta activity and SMR composite values, and higher beta2 power in parietal regions. Additionally, reduced alpha power in the prefrontal region (Fp1) was observed. These patterns are consistent with differences in attention, executive functioning, emotional regulation, and stress reactivity. No significant differences were found for frontal alpha asymmetry after correction. Conclusions: The findings indicate the presence of distinct group-level EEG patterns associated with children from alcohol-affected environments. These results may contribute to understanding developmental variability in high-risk populations; however, they should not be interpreted as indicators of individual impairment or causal mechanisms. The study highlights the potential, but still limited, applicability of EEG-based measures in informing educational and social support strategies and underscores the need for further research integrating neurophysiological and environmental perspectives.

Abstract: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has emerged as a key priority in contemporary education systems, emphasizing the need to equip learners with the knowledge and competencies required to address complex environmental and societal challenges. Mathematics education can play an important role in achieving these goals by enabling students to analyse data, interpret real-world problems, and develop critical thinking skills related to sustainability issues. This study investigates the impact of sustainability-oriented mathematical modelling activities on pre-service primary teachers’ perceptions of integrating sustainability into mathematics education. The study employed a quasi-experimental design involving 68 pre-service primary teachers enrolled in a mathematics education course at a university. Participants engaged in a six-week intervention consisting of modelling activities based on real-world sustainability contexts, including water consumption, energy use, waste management, and sustainable transportation. Data were collected using a pre- and post-intervention questionnaire examining participants’ perceptions of sustainability integration, mathematical modelling, and teaching confidence. Statistical analyses, including reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-tests, and correlation analysis, were conducted to examine the impact of the intervention. The results indicate significant improvements in participants’ perceptions of sustainability-oriented mathematics teaching and their confidence in designing modelling-based sustainability activities. The findings suggest that mathematical modelling can serve as an effective pedagogical approach for integrating sustainability topics into mathematics education and preparing future teachers to connect mathematical reasoning with real-world environmental challenges. The study contributes to the growing body of research at the intersection of mathematics education, teacher education, and sustainability education by providing empirical evidence on the potential of modelling-based learning for supporting sustainability-oriented teaching practices.

Abstract: Students who stall in the final stage of their degree rarely do so because they lack technical skill. More often, confidence erodes under sustained uncertainty, motivation shifts from intrinsic engagement to anxious compliance, and the demands of organizing months of research exceed what willpower alone can sustain. This study examines those emotional and motivational dynamics directly, treating research self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation not as background variables but as the affective-motivational core of thesis performance. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) grounded in self-determination theory and social cognitive theory, we tested an integrative model with data from 396 undergraduate students actively completing theses at public and private universities in the northern region of Peru. Four enabling factors — methodological competencies, intrinsic motivation, tutorial support, and resources and conditions — were linked to thesis quality and process efficiency through two mediating mechanisms: research self-efficacy (the confidence to face methodological difficulty without retreating) and project management (the behavioral self-regulation that converts motivation into organized work). Resources and conditions showed the strongest associations in the model, with the largest effects on both project management (β = 0.533) and research self-efficacy (β = 0.418). Self-efficacy, in turn, was the primary predictor of thesis quality (β = 0.518), while project management and quality together drove process efficiency. The model explained 70.5% of variance in thesis quality and 81.4% in process efficiency. These patterns point to a concrete institutional lever: securing the material and temporal conditions that allow students to do the work, rather than attributing delays solely to failures of individual motivation.

Abstract: This mixed-methods study investigates primary school teachers’ perceptions of giftedness in girls and how gendered recognition processes may contribute to their under-identification in everyday educational practice. International research suggests that teachers’ professional judgement can be shaped by cognitive biases and gendered classroom norms, while many gifted girls may appear less visible because they tend to adapt to school expectations and remain under the radar. Against this background, the study examines whether similar dynamics emerge in the Italian context, where early recognition often relies on teachers’ classroom observation and educational decision-making. Quantitative data were collected through an online questionnaire administered to Italian primary school teachers in 2024. The survey explored teachers’ reported experience with pupils perceived as gifted (not formally assessed), their estimates of how many such pupils are present in their class, and the gender distribution they attributed to these pupils. Qualitative data were collected in 2025 through three focus groups, designed to deepen understanding of the observational criteria teachers use and the instructional decisions associated with recognising giftedness. Focus group transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Across the Italian sample, teachers widely reported having taught pupils they considered gifted; however, recognition was disproportionately attributed to boys, with girls mentioned substantially less often. Focus group discussions corroborated this pattern and helped clarify its educational mechanisms: teachers frequently linked giftedness to behavioural salience and participation styles (e.g., visibility, assertiveness, and, at times, disruptiveness), whereas gifted girls were more often described as compliant, discreet, and therefore less likely to be identified through the same informal criteria. Overall, the findings point to a visibility gap in early classroom recognition and underscore the need for teacher education and practical, gender-responsive observational tools that broaden conceptions of giftedness beyond overt performance and support more equitable differentiated instruction, reducing the risk of missed recognition of gifted girls in primary school.

Abstract: This qualitative study investigates how AI applications that support or replace instructional tasks influence teachers’ professional judgment, cognitive load management, and sense of agency. Drawing on interviews with 23 high school teachers from multiple countries using diverse AI platforms, the study explores teachers’ lived experiences of working in AI-mediated environments. Data were analyzed thematically using Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) as an analytical lens to examine shifts in intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. The findings indicate that while AI tools reduce workload and streamline planning and assessment, they also displace diagnostic reasoning, instructional sequencing, and evaluative judgment. Teacher agency persists but becomes conditional, shaped by institutional pressures, algorithmic opacity, and professional confidence. Ethical and equity concerns related to transparency and authority emerged as everyday cognitive and emotional challenges. By extending CLT to teachers’ work, the study highlights the need for AI integration that preserves reflective practice, professional judgment, and sustainable teacher agency.

Abstract: The 2026 education reforms in Sri Lanka require a paradigm change towards competency-based formative assessment (FA) as opposed to summative assessment, which is examination-based. But policy documents are not built into a solid pedagogical structure that can support this transition and would be at risk of implementing it superficially. This review conceptualizes recent empirical developments (2024-2026) in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and research in the field of formative assessment to fill this gap. Three major contributions are presented by us. First, by combining a dual-process SDT model, we posit that the motivational power of FA is not only based on the support of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as well as the active prevention of controlling, chaotic, or rejecting teaching behaviors, a difference that has far-reaching implications for intervention design. Second, we generalize findings of recent intervention studies that SDT-congruent FA practices are strongly associated with better learner attitudes and achievement, but with mediators of teacher assessment literacy. Third, we situate our findings in the specific implementation context of Sri Lanka, consisting of large classes, resource inequality, and an established exam culture, to suggest a context-sensitive, tiered implementation plan and a research agenda in the future. We are able to conclude that to make the 2026 reforms deliver on its transformative potential, FA needs to be applied not as a peripheral method but as an overhaul of pedagogy, which is based on the principles of SDT and grounded in ongoing and practice-based professional development grounded in teacher assessment literacy.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Since the 2010s, Korea has implemented policies to promote physical education for female students. This study aimed to examine changes in self-rated health among Korean men and women in their 20s and 30s over the past 15 years. Methods: This study used data from the Korea Community Health Survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency from 2010 to 2024. The study population comprised adults aged 20–39 years selected through a two-stage sampling process—probability proportional to size sampling followed by systematic sampling. The data were analyzed using frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, independent samples t-test, and two-way analysis of variance. Results: First, self-rated health was highest among men in their 20s, followed by women in their 20s, men in their 30s, and women in their 30s across all years. Second, self-rated health showed a positive correlation with year, indicating higher levels in more recent surveys. It also showed a correlation with age, with younger individuals reporting higher levels of self-rated health. Third, men consistently reported higher self-rated health across all years compared with women. Fourth, individuals in their 20s consistently reported higher self-rated health than those in their 30s. Fifth, the difference between men and women remained relatively consistent over the 15-year period. Conclusions: The findings did not show a clear improvement in women’s self-rated health or a substantial reduction in the gender gap. These results suggest the need for a systematic redesign of policies promoting physical education for female students in Korea.

Abstract: Generative AI has not created the governance crisis in higher education credentialing. It has forced it into view. The academic degree is the principal instrument through which higher education systems govern access to occupations and distribute social recognition. In many fields, it can no longer perform that function reliably. When AI-generated work consistently receives first-class grades and detection tools remain unreliable, the inference from submitted artifact to certified competence collapses. Strengthening surveillance restores procedural control at the cost of assessment validity. This paper proposes a degree-free model as a governance intervention. Collins (1979) and Dore (1976) established credentialism as an administrative proxy for competence that serves institutional convenience more than it measures capability. Spence’s (1973) signaling framework specifies the conditions under which credentials function as information devices. Generative AI systematically violates those conditions. The governance implication is institutional redesign, not pedagogical adjustment. The proposal draws on the yeshiva as a historical existence proof: a non-credentialing institution organized around formation, community, and recognized mastery. It is supported by two well-evidenced findings. AI has substantially weakened the validity of conventional assessment formats. Employers already discount the degree, substituting direct performance evaluation within three to five years of hire. The degree-free model formalizes what labor markets have already enacted. Three policy recommendations follow. In non-safety-critical fields, institutions should cease issuing degrees; teaching and formation continue. Public investment in surveillance-based assessment should be redirected toward authentic evaluation. Reform must be field-differentiated: mandatory credentialing remains justified in licensed and safety-critical professions. The degree was a historically contingent governance solution. Its limits are now structurally visible.

Abstract: This study examines how mothers raising children with disabilities in American Samoa experience the processes of seeking diagnosis, navigating special education, and advocating for services within an insular rural context. American Samoa, an unincorporated U.S. territory located 2,600 miles from Hawaiʻi with a population under 50,000, represents a case of what we term insular rurality—a condition in which the structural disadvantages of rurality are amplified by oceanic isolation, territorial governance, and colonial history. Drawing on Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis adapted for culturally grounded focus groups and interpreted through the Fonofale model of Pacific wellness, we center the voices of 15 mothers whose children hold a range of disability diagnoses. Findings reveal two overarching themes: systemic invalidation, in which mothers encountered deficit-based assumptions, stagnant educational goals, and institutional disengagement; and parent peer support as primary infrastructure, in which mothers became de facto experts, built community-driven solutions, and envisioned more inclusive futures. Technology emerged as a contradictory force—valuable for parent learning but largely ineffective for children’s remote therapy. These findings spotlight how workforce shortages, and geographic isolation create conditions in which maternal advocacy becomes a structural necessity rather than a personal choice. Implications for rural education policy, IDEA implementation in U.S. territories, and culturally grounded family support are discussed.

Abstract: Background: Higher education institutions are expanding online delivery and integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), yet faculty readiness remains uneven, raising concerns about assessment validity, academic integrity, institutional legitimacy, and the quality of scalable online provision. Objective: This study develops the EPIQ-AI Readiness Framework to explain how institutions can align faculty capacity, governance, and quality assurance for AI-supported teaching and online program delivery. Methods: Using an integrative secondary evidence synthesis, the study triangulates recent official statistics, large-scale faculty and institutional surveys, peer-reviewed studies, and policy frameworks published between 2020 and 2025. The analysis is organized across four readiness domains: epistemic, pedagogical, institutional, and quality-and-compliance readiness. Results: The evidence converges on four main findings. First, faculty adoption of AI is increasingly widespread, but confidence, pedagogical clarity, and depth of use remain limited. Second, institutional ambitions for online scale and AI integration are advancing faster than policy maturity, professional development, and support capacity. Third, assessment has become the central pressure point, with growing evidence that detection-centered academic integrity regimes are unreliable, potentially biased, and insufficient for high-stakes decisions. Fourth, faculty readiness is best understood not as an individual skills deficit but as a sociotechnical alignment problem shaped by governance, incentives, workload, literacy, course design support, and equity-sensitive implementation. Conclusions: The EPIQ-AI framework reframes readiness as a multidimensional condition for credible AI-enabled and online higher education. It offers a theoretically grounded and operationally actionable model for institutions seeking to strengthen AI literacy, redesign assessment, improve governance, and sustain epistemic integrity while advancing scalable, policy-compliant online delivery.

Abstract: The traditional educational paradigms have been shaken overnight by generative AI-based tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude. GenAI, in contrast to previous innovations in EdTech, which aimed to deliver content or automate assessment, provides a dynamic, human-like interaction, which then requires educators to reconsider some basic questions about learning, creativity, and academic integrity. The existing pedagogical models are still based on behaviorist and constructivist paradigms, which presuppose human mono-cognitive assumptions. Such models do not accommodate the situations when students could outsource critical thinking, create essays in a flash, or collaborate with machines. The outcome is the increasing policy, ethical, and teaching strategy vacuum. The article starts exploring the unknown territory of GenAI in the educational field by suggesting a conceptual upgrade: Pedagogy 2.0. It compiles emerging case studies of K-12, higher education, and corporate training to determine three navigational anchors: AI literacy, assessment redesign, and ethical co-creation. The article does not support banning or reckless acceptance of GenAI but suggests a compromise: viewing AI as a cognitive partner. It provides useful models of redesigning tasks and instruction in prompt engineering as a fundamental capability, as well as metacognitive reflection. Pedagogy 2.0 does not eliminate traditional teaching but supplements it. Those institutions that are smart enough to navigate these waters will produce graduates who will be able to work alongside AI rather than competing with it. Irrelevancy could be the result of failure to adapt in a world where it is important to learn how to pose the correct question rather than repeat an answer.

Abstract: In second language learning, research on multimodal input often assumes that when learners receive both audio and written text, comprehension becomes easier because cog-nitive load is reduced. This assumption, however, may not fully explain how multimodal input works in digital reading. The present study reexamines this assumption by investi-gating whether listening-reading input regulates learner engagement rather than simply lowering cognitive demand during digital EFL reading. Forty Korean university EFL learners were randomly assigned to either a text-only reading condition or a listen-ing-reading condition in which audio accompanied the written text. Vocabulary knowledge was measured using a 20-item test administered before and after the interven-tion, and delayed retention was examined descriptively. Heart rate data were continuous-ly recorded in order to examine physiological responses during task performance and the recovery period. The results showed that the listening–reading group made clear improvement in vocabu-lary scores (M = 67.00 → 80.25; t(19) = −11.395, p < .001, η² = .872, d = 2.47). In contrast, the text-only group did not show statistically significant improvement (p = .096). Contrary to the expectation that multimodal input would reduce physiological load, participants in the listening-reading condition exhibited higher task heart rate (d = .59) and greater eleva-tion relative to baseline (d = .63). These results indicate that listening-reading may facili-tate lexical acquisition through heightened engagement and attentional activation rather than simple cognitive load reduction. The findings provide additional insight for research on multimodal input in SLA and suggest that an appropriate level of cognitive engage-ment may play an important role in digital reading environments.

Abstract: Background: The expansion of online and hybrid graduate education has shifted the central quality question from delivery feasibility to whether institutions can credibly demonstrate advanced, assessable graduate capability in digitally mediated environments. Competency-based education offers a promising framework for this challenge, but its conceptual foundations and implementation logics remain uneven across higher education. Objective: This scoping review maps how competency-based curriculum design is conceptualised and operationalised in online graduate education and derives context-sensitive implications for emerging African universities. Methods: Guided by Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology and a Population-Concept-Context framework, the review synthesised peer-reviewed studies alongside selected policy and quality assurance documents relevant to online graduate education, competency-based design, and digital higher education governance. The analysis was interpreted through Constructive Alignment, Community of Inquiry, and TPACK. Results: The evidence converged around six interdependent domains: competency specification, curriculum architecture, assessment evidence chains, online interaction design, learning management system configuration, and faculty and governance capability. The review found that the central problem is not merely definitional ambiguity, but the failure to sustain alignment from competency statements to valid assessment, platform workflows, and institutional quality assurance. It also found that much of the available evidence comes from higher-capacity systems and professionally regulated disciplines, limiting direct transferability to emerging African universities. Conclusion: Competency-based online graduate curricula are most defensible when treated as institution-wide design architectures rather than course-level innovations. For emerging African universities, credible implementation depends on coherent alignment among curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, platform design, faculty development, and quality management. The review therefore argues for selective translation rather than uncritical borrowing of dominant models.

Abstract: Background: Online and blended provision has expanded rapidly in higher education, yet much of the literature still treats digital transition as a pedagogical or technological adjustment rather than an institutional transformation problem. Problem: Conventional universities, especially in African higher education, often face pressure to move online under conditions of constrained infrastructure, uneven digital access, evolving regulation, and heightened concern about academic standards. Existing scholarship is rich on course design, faculty attitudes, and learner satisfaction, but comparatively weak on the full institutional architecture required for credible transition. Objective: This article develops a university-wide framework for bringing conventional institutions online in ways that are regulatorily legitimate, academically credible, operationally resilient, socially inclusive, and financially sustainable. Research question: What institutional architecture is required to move a university from conventional face-to-face delivery to credible, quality-assured online or blended provision in African higher education? Design: A systematized integrative review combined with comparative policy analysis was conducted across peer-reviewed higher education literature and authoritative framework and regulatory documents. The synthesis drew together institutional adoption studies, quality assurance guidance, digital transformation frameworks, and policy texts, with Rwanda used as a policy-reference environment rather than a single-country case. Findings: Credible digital transition depends on the alignment of five layers: contextual boundary conditions, a steering layer of governance and policy, seven operational domains, phased implementation sequencing, and outcome-focused feedback loops. The review shows that digital provision fails when institutions treat the learning management system as the reform, underinvest in staff and student support, delay policy redesign, or reduce assessment integrity to surveillance alone. It succeeds when governance, curriculum, quality assurance, infrastructure, data governance, and financing are intentionally coupled. Principal contribution: The article contributes an original Institutional Architecture for Credible Digital Transition framework and a companion University Online Readiness and Transition Toolkit comprising a readiness rubric, phased roadmap, and policy checklist. Implications: The framework offers an actionable basis for institutional leaders, regulators, and scholars seeking to design, evaluate, and sequence digital transition in African higher education without reproducing techno-solutionist assumptions.

Abstract: The integration of digital technologies into higher education is reshaping pedagogical practices globally, yet many institutions in sub-Saharan Africa adopt these tools without sufficient contextual adaptation. In Zambia, universities face the compounded challenge of limited digital infrastructure, uneven connectivity, and institutional policy frameworks that lag behind the pace of technological change. This study examines how Zambian higher education can advance beyond superficial digital adoption towards a pedagogy that is at once technologically engaged and fundamentally human-centred. Drawing on qualitative survey data collected from 84 university students across multiple institutions between February and April 2025, and employing reflexive thematic analysis, we identify four interconnected themes: enthusiasm for digital tools tempered by anxieties over cognitive dependency; the structural gap between student readiness and institutional guidance; the transformative potential of collaborative and problem-based learning; and the imperative for contextually responsive assessment reform. We propose a three-pillar framework grounded in critical digital literacy, collaborative learning ecosystems, and industry-aligned problem solving. This framework aligns with Zambia’s Eighth National Development Plan and its emerging AI literacy initiatives, offering a replicable model for other resource-constrained higher education contexts in Africa.

Abstract: Many college graduates emerge from university wishing to pursue employment. Often, however, they lack a systematic approach for finding work. One published method calls for job-seekers to launch a relationship marketing campaign in advance of needing employment. This process, known by its acronym CARD, involves: identifying the job-seeker’s area of desired Contribution; enlisting the support of existing Allies or Advocates; identifying Role models to interview; and then Demonstrating value. A previous case report illustrated an undergraduate student’s use of CARD to find an internship opportunity while in college. The present case report contributes new knowledge to the literature in that it features the first account of a recent college graduate using CARD to seek full time employment. Also novel is the way this report includes the perspectives of the academic developer of CARD; the career counselor who guided the job-seeker; the job-seeker; and the eventual employer. We found that the career counselor was able to teach the CARD process to the job-seeker, who implemented it starting in January 2024. The process produced an offer of employment in June 2025. In the course of implementing the CARD process, the job seeker approached 33 potential role models already in her network, and nine potential role models identified through online searches. Five of these contacts provided a referral, resulting in a total of 47 people to approach. The job-seeker requested interviews with 33, and actually interviewed 24. We summarize the campaign, and describe the specific interviews and interactions with the role model who made an offer of employment first. This case report illustrates a systematic intervention, the CARD process, to implement relationship marketing when seeking full-time employment. CARD extends theory and evidence from the fields of relationship marketing and career counseling.

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly integrated into mathematics education, yet most reviews emphasize achievement rather than how AI shapes mathematical thinking. This scoping review mapped literature published between 2020 and 2026 on AI-supported mathematics learning through three cognition frameworks: APOS (Action–Process–Object–Schema), Sfard’s process–object duality and reification, and Conceptual Image theory. Searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, PsycINFO, Education Source, and IEEE Xplore, followed by duplicate removal and PRISMA-ScR–aligned screening. Twenty-one peer-reviewed studies met inclusion criteria (18 empirical studies plus three theory-informed anchors). Evidence growth accelerated after 2022, with most studies situated in secondary and higher education. Large language models (LLMs) and intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) were the most frequently investigated modalities. Across studies, AI commonly supported action-level execution and procedural management (APOS) via adaptive feedback, hinting, and stepwise scaffolding, and it often broadened learners’ conceptual images through multiple representations and generated explanations. However, few studies directly examined theory-linked conceptual mechanisms, such as object encapsulation, reification, or alignment between conceptual images and formal definitions. In LLM-supported contexts, gains in explanation quality coexisted with risks of procedural outsourcing when students relied on generated solutions without prior reasoning. Overall, AI’s conceptual impact appears to depend less on tool availability and more on instructional orchestration (task design, prompting, and teacher mediation). Future research should operationalize cognitive transitions, assess structural understanding, and report AI-use conditions transparently to support cumulative, theory-driven synthesis.

Abstract: Classroom management is generally held to be a major requirement for effective teaching, although little evidence is available in South Asian secondary schools. The relationship considered in this study was between classroom management strategies and student engagement in Sri Lankan secondary schools based on a concurrent mixed-methods design. A questionnaire and open-ended questions were used to gather data on 121 teachers. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression were used to analyze quantitative data and thematic analysis of qualitative responses, respectively. It was observed that the most common classroom management strategies were time management, clear expectations and rules, and positive reinforcement. The level of overall student engagement was moderate. Regression analysis revealed that time management, positive reinforcement, and group work were significant predictors of student engagement, each having 21.7 percent of the variance in student engagement. Qualitative responses also suggested disruptive behavior, large classes, and lack of student motivation were the most prevalent obstacles to engagement and active learning; professional growth and integration of technology were most frequently recommended. The research shows the significance of purposeful, enabling, and active classroom activities in encouraging student involvement and gives evidence, which is context-sensitive regarding teacher training in Sri Lankan secondary education.

Abstract: This paper examines the intersection between digital learning environments and multilingual education policies, with a focus on the linguistic integration of mi-grant students in Europe. It explores how technology, particularly mobile-assisted learning, artificial intelligence, and immersive tools, can strengthen language acquisition and promote social inclusion. Drawing on European and Greek policy frameworks, the study shows how digital pedagogies operationalize multilingualism as both an educational objective and a social justice priority. Based on a qualitative review of contemporary research and institutional reports, the findings indicate that digitally enhanced learning environments act as catalysts for equity, intercultural dialogue, and active participation when supported by coherent pedagogical design. The paper concludes by outlining policy recommendations for the development of multilingual digital ecosystems that align technological innovation with democratic, inclusive, and human-centred education. Overall, the analysis highlights that technology-mediated multilingualism can effectively reinforce participation, inclusion, and linguistic integration when embedded within robust policy structures and sound pedagogical practice.