ABSTRACT Background Secondary mathematics learning presents significant difficulties for many students, yet the sources of this complexity remain inadequately understood. Objective: This study investigates complexity sources in secondary mathematics by examining the relationship between in-service teachers’ perspectives and cognitive load theory’s concept of element interactivity. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experienced secondary mathematics teachers (N = 11), analysing their perceptions of learning difficulties in fraction operations, focusing on both theoretical content and problem-solving tasks. Results Complexity arises from multiple sources, which were defined and classified into knowledge complexity (intrinsic to mathematics) and task complexity (related to instructional design). Conclusions The study bridges theoretical frameworks with classroom experience, providing evidence that element interactivity explains teachers’ observations of mathematical learning difficulties. The identified sources of complexity form a taxonomy that can potentially be used for achieving more precise and holistic measurements of element interactivity.

ABSTRACT Despite the widespread prevalence of shadow education, there is a notable lack of research exploring the intersection between the formal curriculum and the shadow curriculum. This study examines how these two curricula interact in middle and high schools, focusing on the perspectives of mathematics teachers and their students involved in shadow education while teaching in mainstream schools. Using a holistic multiple-case study approach, we explored these dynamics through observations and interviews, comparing key components. While learning objectives and content are the main similarities between the two curricula, we found notable discrepancies in other components (rationales, learning activities, teacher roles, grouping, scheduling). Ironically, the formal curriculum mimics the shadow curriculum in terms of both curriculum resources and assessment. The shadow curriculum dominates in high-stake testing grades (8 and 12), functioning as a parallel system, while in other grades (5–7, 9–11), it complements the formal curriculum. In grades 8 and 12, the formal curriculum largely disappears, particularly from April/May, effectively becoming a ‘ghost’ of its intended structure. We anticipate that the findings may pave the way for improving the quality of the formal curriculum, scrutinizing teachers who have dual roles, and new studies of the shadow curriculum.

ABSTRACT The paper discusses first findings of the EduLing project which is concerned with citizenship education and language education in immersive schools, in CLIL and mainstream classes in France, Austria and Germany. The paper deals with citizenship education in language teaching and learning in the Northern Basque Ikastola and discusses two lessons and the perspectives of their participants, a Basque language lesson and a French language lesson. The data collection of this qualitative, comparative case study comprises classroom observation and videography as well as interviews with teachers and groups of students. The analysis and interpretation of the data applies a criteria-based reconstructive analysis of language lessons, and the interviews are interpreted with the documentary method. The findings promise profitable insights concerning the integration of citizenship education and language education based on powerful knowledge, epistemic quality and the Bildungsgang (trajectory of development) of students.

ABSTRACT This article deals with the issue whether one can identify characteristic research designs in subject didactics and curriculum studies or not. The answer to this issue is followed through with the help of an empirical study involving 274 participants across various disciplines of subject didactics in German-speaking countries. The participants were asked to evaluate the potential and profile of seven characteristic research fields within subject didactics with the goal of forming potential research design. According to the participants, these research fields form two characteristic approaches of research. The first approach is primarily evidence-based, comprising the research fields of design-based research, effectiveness research and research on stakeholders. The second approach is primarily characterized by philosophical methodology, comprising theory building, designing learning objects and the philosophy of subject didactics. Additionally, the proposed research field on nature and context of school subject represents a genuine research design. Thus, the Delphi provides a solid basis for continuing the discussion on research designs in subject didactics and curriculum studies.

ABSTRACT Background Enhancing student teachers’ professional agency (STPA) and engaging them in negotiating professional identity (NPI) according to their education settings’ resources and constraints is crucial, especially as policy transfers across the Global North and South play an increasing role in teacher education. Objective This study examined student teachers’ self-perceptions of professional agency and identity negotiation in two teacher education programmes, one in Finland and another in Brazil, and identified how elements of these concepts emerge in their curricula. Methods First, cross-sectional quantitative data about the STPA and NPI of 283 Brazilian and 356 Finnish students were compared. Second, a data-driven content analysis of the programmes’ curricula was conducted to ‘let each curriculum speak for itself’. Results Both Brazilian and Finnish participants demonstrated a strong sense of STPA and NPI, with Brazilian students scoring higher overall than Finnish students. Each programme also addressed elements of these concepts differentially, with themes such as ‘Inclusive Education’ and ‘Critical Perspectives on Education and Teaching’ playing a crucial role in fostering elements of STPA and NPI. Implications These findings suggest that introducing discussions on STPA and NPI in the second study year while offering opportunities to learn pedagogical practices under mentors’ supervision could benefit teacher education globally.

ABSTRACT The history of minorities and Indigenous people has long been neglected in Finnish history education, which has supported and created an image of a culturally homogenous country. In Finland, the history curriculum avoids the prescription of specific content, giving history teachers great autonomy in choosing teaching methods and materials. This means that history teachers have a great responsibility in creating a curriculum, also with respect to the inclusion, or the lack thereof, of minorities. This article examines the perceptions of history teachers towards the inclusion of minorities and the Sámi in history education in Finland and is based on semi-structured interviews with history teachers. It further examines teachers’ views on structural issues and practical concerns with respect to multicultural history education. The article suggests that while history teachers are motivated to teach about multicultural history, the lack of institutional support and time constraints occasionally prevent them from diversifying their curricula. They also view the curriculum instructions differently, which may result in significantly different teaching objectives and learning outcomes. Additionally, the article explores the teaching methods teachers use in teaching about minorities and suggests that global history, family history and debates are efficient methods in diversifying the teaching content.

ABSTRACT Background The events of 7 October 2023 and the subsequent war have reignited historical consciousness in Israel, blurring the lines between past and present in both public discourse and educational settings. These developments pose significant challenges for history educators as emotionally charged narratives and historical motifs resurface in classrooms. Objective This article examines the impact of these events on historical education and explores how the pervasive use of historical motifs can be harnessed to foster critical historical thinking, with special emphasis on training teachers to navigate this complex landscape. Methods Drawing on H.G. Gadamer’s theory of historical understanding and Dominick LaCapra’s work on trauma and history, the article introduces the concept of ‘layering’ historical consciousness—a reflective process that helps teachers and students differentiate between personal, communal, and collective memories. Results and Conclusion This approach enables students to navigate emotional responses and conflicting layers of historical understanding while promoting a reasoned, dialogic engagement with history. The article offers a framework for educators to address contemporary trauma and cultivate critical, reflective historical education in times of crisis.

ABSTRACT Current research affirms the value of scaffolding authentic youth civic engagement through action-oriented methods. Yet, consistent pressure from testing, fossilized pedagogies focused on lecture, and a new spate of United States state laws curtailing civic engagement in the classroom threaten these efforts. This paper analyses the perspectives of two early-career teachers working in schools in the United States—one elementary and one secondary—that they perceived as unfriendly towards youth civic engagement while enrolled in a university-based class on civic education. They valued the vision of youth civic engagement that they learned in their university class and devalued the school-based norms that they felt constrained such engagement. We view their testimonies through theory to consider the articulated binaries and the hindrances they pose for a democratized possibility of teacher learning and the enactment of youth civic engagement. We make recommendations on how teachers’ perceived contradictions can be explored and norms of collaboration, or boundary-crossing between the university and the school, can support youth civic engagement. We illustrate how engaging more members of schools and universities in professional learning opportunities and purposefully drawing on their expertise and commitments can support youth civic engagement in schools today.

ABSTRACT Perceived inconsistencies in history teachers’ epistemological beliefs have been a recurring theme in research on epistemic cognition. In this article, we explore how teachers discuss history’s epistemology when presented with different scenarios where epistemology might be an issue. A study design aimed at capturing teachers thinking in different contexts was adopted, and through semi-structured interviews with history teachers in Quebec and Sweden we could follow changes in nuance by analyzing teacher statements in relation to their ideas about the relationship between the past itself and the (teachable) history about the past, when discussing these issues in relation to different scenarios. The results point to teachers articulating rather well-adjusted and consistent epistemological beliefs when discussing the matter at a theoretical level while tending to adapt these beliefs—probably for pedagogical and practical reasons—when they discuss their own teaching and specific classroom situations. We argue that the teachers rarely seem to be notice the changes in their epistemological reasoning, but changes tend to go from complicated thought to more straightforward when complexity in context increases.