Abstract This study aimed to adapt the scale developed by Day and Hurrell (2013) and later adopted by Lau (2021) into Turkish and to assess middle school mathematics teacher candidates' confidence in teaching algebra. We also examined the validity and reliability of the scale and evaluated the candidates' confidence levels. A total of 267 senior preservice mathematics teachers from nineteen universities participated in the study. We collected the data using a nine-item Likert-type questionnaire. During the adaptation process, we translated the scale into Turkish, obtained expert feedback from two mathematics education specialists, revised the items based on their suggestions, and conducted a back-translation through another expert to ensure linguistic accuracy. We performed confirmatory factor analysis, which supported the proposed factor structure and provided evidence of satisfactory psychometric properties, including adequate convergent validity and high internal consistency. The descriptive results showed that preservice teachers reported moderate to high levels of confidence in teaching algebra, although we observed notable individual differences across participants. These variations suggest that teacher education programs may need to provide additional targeted support to strengthen preservice teachers' confidence in teaching algebra. We expect that this valid and reliable instrument will serve as a useful tool for examining confidence across different variables, identifying potential gaps, and improving teacher education programs more effectively.

by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international organization that seeks to enhance the well-being of different nations through the promotion of prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being.Through cooperation between governments, policymakers, and citizens, the organization aims to solve social, economic, and environmental challenges.In response to the pandemic, traditional learning has shifted to remote learning, which has significantly accelerated the digital transition in education.Despite the fact that the transition involves the use of student information systems, learning management platforms, and digital tools, the digital transformation requires greater effort and reshaping the entire education system.With the data available from 29 countries/jurisdictions, the Digital Education Outlook 2023 attempts to provide some insights and in-depth information regarding how OECD countries are shaping the sustainable digital ecosystem in education and how their governance is being addressed.There are several digital formats available for the book, including a PDF version, a web version, and a reading-only version.The book is available in English and French.There are three major parts to this report: digital infrastructure, including human resources, digital governance and guidelines, and opportunities for utilizing AI in education.Each part presents detailed information and data as divided into chapters written by different authors.Audiences can get an overview of the content by reading the executive summary throughout the book, and each chapter is structured in a reader-friendly manner, beginning with a brief abstract, introduction, examples, graphs of the latest data, and a final summary that assists the audience in understanding the information given.All the information presented in the book was double-checked by the participant countries in December 2023.A key argument in the first chapter is that advanced technology and artificial intelligence can improve the quality and effectiveness of education by personalizing it to meet the needs of individual students.The opportunities include developing adaptive learning systems, such as smart tutoring based on social robots (Belpaeme & Tanaka, 2021), collecting diagnostic data based on predictive models, and providing educational guidance and career planning to students

Abstract The objective of the study was to identify and compare differences in the attitudes of non-disabled students towards the inclusion of a peer with a visual impairment in physical and sport education (PSE) classes. The research sample comprised a total of 419 primary school students of the 6th grade (n = 96; 11.7 ± 0.54 years) 7th grade (n = 120; 12.7 ± 0.57 years), 8th grade (n = 109; 13.7 ± 0.55 years), and 9th grade (n = 94; 14.6 ± 0.52 years) level. A modified version of a CAIPE-R was used as a primary research method. Students of the 6th, 7th and 8th grades have more positive attitudes towards the inclusion of a peer with visual impairment in PSE lessons compared to the 9th grade students in social interactions area as well as in rules modifications area. The 6th, 7th, and 8th grades student groups showed significantly more positive social interaction attitudes compared to sport-specific attitudes. No significant differences were found between social interactions and sport-specific attitudes in the group of the 9th grade primary school students. Regarding the most appropriate solutions for the inclusion of students with visual impairment in PSE lessons, more information on attitudes towards inclusion is also needed from teachers and school management.

ΑbstractThis study examines the challenges child protection efforts face in Greece within the broader context of European child welfare systems in the 21st century. Despite legislative mandates, Greece struggles with the effective implementation of child protection legislation and out-of-home placement of abused and neglected children. Drawing on the experience of the NGO “The Smile of The Child,” this study employs an empirical approach to examine Greece's national legislative framework, tools and implementation issues in children's rights and welfare, child protection systems and child and youth care systems. In Greece, the implementation of child protection legislation faces significant hurdles. Despite legislative mandates, the lack of services, trained personnel, gaps in national legal frameworks on trauma-informed practices and protocols during removal, and lack of support for adults who grew up in out-of-home care hinder effective protection measures. Findings reveal systemic barriers implementing child protection legislation, lack of established protocols, preventive practices and adequate education on the methods and legal basis of removal and foster care leading to systemic re-traumatisation of children. This study will attempt to create a timeline of child protection in Greece, starting from prevention to out-of-home care, reviews the legislative framework using data driven from the Center of Abuse and Exploitation of the Organization ‘The Smile of the Child’ including services such as helplines, school interventions, homecare social services, remedial services as well as annual reports. Ρrevention, removal, trauma management, deinstitutionalisation, fostering and adoption and a focus on improvements and good practices will be of extensive concern.

Abstract Despite the established value of music for language learning, in that, the bulk of empirical studies that corroborate its usefulness, teachers still eschew its incorporation in the classroom as song materials remain underutilized. The ideological basis of this discrepancy is poorly understood as little is known about English language teachers' beliefs and practices regarding song-assisted instruction. To illuminate this uncharted area, the present exploratory interview study sought to elicit responses from five Hungarian EFL instructors at a well-recognized university in Budapest. Considering the importance of constantly revisiting and enhancing the quality of English instruction, this study will rebound to the benefit of EFL education namely the integration of arts and contributes to a better understanding of teachers' attitudes towards the use of songs as instructional materials. While acknowledging songs' relevance including their motivational and mnemonic properties for facilitating vocabulary retention, the findings reveal that teachers encounter various challenges related to their classroom applications, namely copyright infringement, student-related factors such as age as well as level of proficiency, and lyrical appropriateness. Implications of this inquiry involve the recognition of Hungarian teachers' pedagogical concerns and the need for future research to seek practical strategies for implementing musical materials in the language classroom.

. The student wellbeing toolkit: Preparing for life at college, university and beyond. Routledge.

Abstract To date, much of the research on international science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) doctoral students has focused either on international academic mobility or on students' acculturation and adjustment challenges and coping mechanisms in foreign academic contexts. In comparison, very little attention has been paid to Asian doctoral students and their personal experiences from a life course perspective.Based on a qualitative literature review, this article sheds light on the experiences of Asian doctoral students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines within a life-course theoretical approach, paying particular attention to their agency, socialisation, and educational trajectories and transitions. The process of migration/mobility and transition between academic institutions requires a reassessment of cognitive patterns, behaviours, learning mechanisms, and the exercise of agency and response. The findings highlight how the complex dynamics between agency, socialisation, cultural norms and values, economic factors, academic performance, and institutional parameters influence the educational trajectories and transitions of Asian STEM doctoral students abroad. The result contributes to a synthesis of research findings that could inform doctoral education policy.

Abstract The author analyses the education of aristocracy in Croatia and Slavonia from the late 18th century until 1918. Education played a vital role in the mindset and lifestyle of aristocracy, and in retaining its elite position in the political, social, cultural, economic and military aspect, to name just some. Aristocrats were trained to become the pillars of society, they had private tutors and teachers, and often finished the gymnasium but did not necessarily continue their schooling at a higher level. Reforms of enlightened absolutism, which opened career chances for lesser nobility and burghers and the rise of well-educated and economically successful modern middle class after 1848, forced the aristocracy to keep pace. However, it still preferred traditional studies of philosophy, law or, to a much lesser extent, theology and was losing its dominant role in the field of arts as well.