This study investigates the sustainability of mental health programmes in Philippine higher education institutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, examining the extent to which programmes align with the Philippine Mental Health Act, integrate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and respond to the needs of students, faculty and staff. Using a descriptive qualitative design, the study combines a scoping review of 23 institutional documents with focus group discussions involving key stakeholders. The findings reveal that higher education institutions prioritised awareness campaigns, counselling services and wellness initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated the adoption of online counselling and preventive education. Programme implementation was, however, uneven: monitoring and evaluation systems were inconsistently applied, stigmatisation continued to limit help-seeking and access to services varied across institutions. Limited resources and institutional readiness further constrained programme sustainability. The study highlights the importance of embedding robust monitoring systems, expanding stigmareduction initiatives and ensuring equitable access to mental health services. Sustaining these programmes requires the alignment of systemic, motivational and behavioural strategies, so that mental health support becomes a lasting component of higher education practice

The third issue of volume fifteen of the CEPS Journal is not a focus issue.It is devoted to thematically diverse papers by 31 authors from six different countries: Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Croatia and Slovenia.The papers discuss various educational areas, including science education, arts education, preschool teacher education, educational psychology, pedagogy and educational leadership practices, reflecting the broad scope of research in education.The CEPSj issue concludes with a book review.Recent research in education emphasises the complexity of learning, development and leadership across different educational levels and disciplines.Studies examining student goals suggest that choices made in upper secondary education have a strong influence on higher education goals, highlighting the importance of timely and well-informed guidance during critical transitions.Research on science literacy and scientific creativity in primary school students indicates gaps in procedural knowledge but also shows that integrating the arts into STEM curricula can promote problem solving and creative thinking.In arts and music education, experiential learning is proving to be key, and activities such as remodelling artworks, providing inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities, and engaging students in distance learning -especially during a pandemic -have been shown to promote deeper understanding and motivation, with digital tools and the home environment playing an important role.Teachers' beliefs and professional practices are critical to promoting developmentally appropriate teaching, while targeted professional development can improve the implementation of adequate teaching approaches.In higher education, distance education in emergencies raises ethical and practical challenges related to equity, quality and assessment.Finally, research on academic leadership shows that personality traits, particularly conscientiousness and openness, significantly predict effective leadership practices.Taken together, these studies underscore the interplay of student competencies, teacher beliefs, instructional design, learning environments and leadership in shaping educational outcomes, providing important evidence for policy, curriculum development and teacher education.The first paper in this issue, Examining the Dynamic Nature of Pupils' Educational Aspirations: A Longitudinal Mixed-Model Study by Boris Joki and Zrinka Risti Dedi, describes the results of a fully integrated longitudinal mixedmodel study examining the nature of changes in, and interaction between, the upper secondary and higher education aspirations of Croatian pupils.The results indicate significant changes in upper secondary aspirations and stable higher education aspirations over time.Qualitative analyses indicate five patterns of

This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary innovation project entitled Podcasting in Higher Education Teaching and Learning. The project was implemented across different subjects and degree programmes at the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia during the 2021–2022 academic year, using both face-to-face and blended learning modalities in three faculties. The project’s objectives are twofold: firstly, to integrate podcasting as a teaching and learning tool in university environments, and secondly, to conduct a pilot test of its interdisciplinary application for future use in various subjects and university programmes. The study explores podcasting as a learning tool to enhance communication skills across various scientific disciplines at the university level. The results indicate high participant satisfaction, affirming the effectiveness of podcasting in higher education, driven by factors such as innovation, autonomy, creativity and new educational paradigms. However, challenges in implementation and significant variations across degree programmes are noted. The project also highlights the importance of raising awareness within the university community about the role of communication in the dissemination of scientific knowledge.

Teacher Education in the Nexus Between Digital Transformation and InternationalisationIn an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, teachers' initial education and continuing professional development remain somewhat limited to national borders.Teacher education systems in Europe are firmly rooted in national histories and conditions (Kothoff & Denk, 2007;Symeonidis, 2021), influenced by long-standing traditions and political culture (Louis & van Velzen, 2012).However, there is a growing need for teacher education institutions and practitioners to meet the emerging challenges of increased openness and cross-national and cross-institutional collaboration as the result of international processes, including the Bologna Process and the process of Europeanisation in teacher education (Symeonidis, 2021;Zgaga, 2013).The Covid-19 pandemic posed new challenges to the internationalisation of teacher education, which policymakers have prioritised over the past decade.Physical mobility was halted and a 'forced' transition from face-to-face to remote teaching occurred.However, this global disruption also triggered an incubation phase for novel phenomena, so that education researchers are now referring to the crisis as 'an opportunity of the century' (Schratz, 2020).Ideas such as blended mobility and virtual exchange programmes are increasingly promoted as alternative options for international learning, as demonstrated by the priorities of the Erasmus+ programme for the 2021-2027 period (European Commission, 2021).The pandemic thus accelerated the digital transformation in teacher education, a process that had already been taking place in the years prior to Covid-19.Considering this new reality posed by the pandemic, we invited submissions for a focus issue that would investigate the evolving landscape of internationalisation in teacher education within the broader context of digital transformation.This exploration seeks to understand the alternative methods for teacher mobility that have emerged and their impact on the profession.Additionally, it examines the development of teacher education curricula in response to internationalisation and digitalisation.The professional development of teachers and teacher educators is also adapting to these changes, influenced by the increasing relevance of online and hybrid mobilities, as well as training and learning communities.Ultimately, the focus is on defining what it means to be a global and European teacher in the post-Covid-19 era.The first article, Supporting Pre-service Teachers' Civic Competence as a Strategy for Internationalisation in the Digital Era, by Aspasia Dania, Marios Koukounaras Liagkis, Agoritsa Gogoulou, Evdokia Karavas, Kosmas Vlachos, Kostas Magos and Magda Vitsou, seeks to understand the challenges and

Learning from erroneous examples that involve step-by-step problem solutions containing errors that can be detected, explained and fixed by students could be beneficial for the students’ problem-solving skills. Previous studies have investigated the effectiveness of erroneous examples in mathematics learning, but less attention has been focused on the effectiveness of the use of erroneous examples in individual and collaborative settings when erroneous examples are combined with self-explanation prompts and practice problems addressing students’ problem-solving skills. The present quasi-experimental study with a post-test only non-equivalent group design was therefore intended to examine the extent to which presenting erroneous examples in individual and collaborative settings could promote students’ problem-solving skills. The results suggest that the use of erroneous examples in both settings is effective in promoting students’ problem-solving skills, with neither setting being better than the other. In light of these results, teachers can vary the use of these learning settings in facilitating their students’ learning through erroneous examples.

Universities in Spain, as well as globally, are currently witnessing a surge in regulations covering all aspects of operation, including teaching, learning and assessment. The present paper endeavours to explore the repercussions of excessive regulations on the roles of educators and students. It examines how these prescriptions pose a threat to academic freedom, faculty agency and teaching professionalism. The analysis is based on an examination of institutional assessment-related institutional policy documents from eight Catalan universities. The documents reveal a disconnect between the expectations surrounding the professionalism and agency of academics and the prescribed directives, which often leave room for interpretation by those tasked with their implementation. The documents also shed light on the perception of an escalating centralisation of control over strategies that can enhance student learning. This raises questions about the autonomy and professional judgment of educators when selecting the instructional methods that are best suited to and most advantageous for their students.