Search Results for
"education"

Malaysia’s TVET sector faces challenges in providing effective automotive assembly training due to limited resources, equipment, and industry exposure. Virtual Reality (VR) technology offers a promising solution to address these limitations by creating immersive and interactive learning experiences. This paper focuses on the development of AssemVR, a VR-based training platform designed to enhance automotive assembly skills among Malaysian TVET students. By integrating VR technology with automotive assembly curriculum by implementing the event interaction on handling the car components, AssemVR aims to provide learners with hands-on experience, improve skill acquisition, and bridge the gap between academia and industry. The development process involves designing realistic VR simulation using Unity3D and XR interaction toolkits, creating interactive learning modules by adapting the Graphical User Interface (GUI), and incorporating instructional design principles to optimize learning outcomes. For future recommendations, AssemVR can be incorporated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) aspect to provide real-time feedback on learners’ performance in which, AI algorithms can be used to analyzed learner’s actions, movements, and decision-making within the VR environment to identify areas for improvement. This paper contributes to the advancement of VR-based education and training in the automotive sector, as well as exploring the synergistic potential of VR and AI in developing intelligent learning environments. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2026.

Apprenticeship programs are common practices around the world for training young people for their first experience in the job market. The immense social divide in Brazil led the Federal Government to create the Young Apprentice initiative to assist and protect young people from social risk. Such an initiative aims to allocate adolescents and young people aged between 14 and 24, as well as individuals with disabilities, into the job market. Large and medium-sized companies are mandated to participate. The Information Technology (IT) sector is expected to have an average demand of 159,000 vacancies annually until 2025 in Brazil, where only some programs aim to train the target audience in IT. However, they are superficially technically trained before their first contact with the company, generating insecurity in the apprentice. This paper presents the design of an apprenticeship program focused on IT services, aiming to better prepare individuals in the IT area, including front-end programming. The proposed program includes a selection process by the training entity and an initial technical and behavioral training phase for the participants, followed by a more specific training phase in programming. The program prioritizes socially and economically vulnerable students, aiming to reduce social inequalities. In addition, it meets four Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first class achieved a 90% approval rate in the initial technical training course, being successfully qualified for inclusion in the IT market. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.

This paper reviews the performance of students who graduated from the foundation year programme in business studies and compares their performance with non-foundation students at the higher national diploma equivalent to the foundation degree in the business programme. The study is conducted to understand how foundation students perform at the same level as their peers who have completed their schooling from the traditional school system in UAE. Data collected was secondary from the institution’s archive files of both the groups of students and their academic performance over fifteen modules. Descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyse the data. The results from the analysis found that the foundation students performed equally better as non-foundation students in most modules while in a few cores mandatory modules, students performed better than non-foundation students. The foundation programme students were not found to underperform in any module. In specialisation modules the data varied, however these modules were in marketing/finance/business in which the results were no longer comparable due to differences in specialisation, the field of study, and the type of assessments varied. Foundation students exhibited greater variability in their grades. This study contributes to scarce literature and research work in the area of foundation education in the UAE higher education teaching and learning and guides the future direction of studies based on the findings. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

An expansive policy blueprint for meaningfully expanding the middle class for the first time in a century The US middle class was a product of state and federal policies enacted in the wake of the Great Depression. But since the 1980s, lawmakers have undermined what they once built, shredding the social safety net and instituting laws that virtually guarantee downward mobility for all but the most privileged. How can we restore what has been lost? Rigorous and highly readable, The Middle-Class New Deal breaks down the policies that have decimated working families and proposes reforms to reverse this trend. As Mechele Dickerson shows, part of the problem is that politicians disingenuously conflate the middle class with the "White lower rich." Such propaganda hides how state and federal lawmakers consistently favor education, labor, housing, and consumer-credit laws that erode the bank accounts of lower- and middle-income people—especially those who are not White and don't have college degrees. Weaving together the latest research with the personal stories of Americans struggling to make ends meet, Dickerson provides a clarion call for political leaders to enact a bold agenda like the one that created the middle class almost a century ago. © 2026 by A. Mechele Dickerson. All rights reserved.

Vocational education in Portugal has improved secondary school qualifications, but its impact on higher education remains limited. Government efforts to facilitate this transition have been only partially successful. This paper explores vocational students' perceptions of the accessibility and relevance of HE, with a particular focus on how socio-economic background, educational pathways and labour market challenges influence their aspirations. Using a qualitative approach, data was collected through focus groups and interviews. Findings highlight systemic inequalities, financial constraints and limited cultural capital as key barriers to participation in HE. Economic pressures lead students to prioritise immediate employment and practical skills, while social influences, particularly from family and peers, reinforce doubts about the value of higher education. Many see it as unattainable or unnecessary. To reduce inequalities and improve access, targeted interventions such as improved careers guidance, financial support and better integration of theory and practice in the curriculum are essential. © © 2025. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into early childhood education (ECE), equipping educators with the skills to effectively incorporate AI tools into their teaching practices is essential. Through reviewing current literature, the chapter outlines AI's potential in education and case studies, emphasizing its impact on young learners’ engagement development, and highlights the key competencies required for AI-enabled pedagogy in ECE, including transforming pedagogical approaches, that require educators to develop new competencies to effectively leverage AI tools. Various professional development (PD) approaches are also discussed, as they are crucial for ensuring that educators are well-prepared to integrate AI into their teaching, fostering continuous growth and support. The chapter also addresses the challenges educators face when integrating AI in classroom settings. Overcoming these challenges is essential for creating a supportive environment where AI can be integrated effectively and ethically in ECE. By addressing barriers such as infrastructure limitations and ethical concerns, educators can ensure equitable and responsible AI usage that benefits all students. The chapter concludes by offering recommendations for designing sustainable PD initiatives that align with educators’ diverse needs and institutional goals, ensuring that AI integration enriches teaching practices and enhances student outcomes. © 2026 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2026 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Agile methodologies are widely used in engineering education to align academic outcomes with industry needs. Embedding Agile as a learning culture requires the pedagogical adoption of its principles rather than reliance on tools. This study examined links between Agile principles, team quality, and professional readiness in vocational software development education, where students often face tight deadlines and limited real-world experience. A pilot framework was implemented across 6 courses at an Indonesian polytechnic (51 students, 9 teams), operationalized around 12 principles over 5 sprints, and evaluated through peer assessments and retrospectives. Team quality was computed using a hybrid metric from Tuckman's stages and Lencioni's dysfunctions; students rated their agility on a 10-point scale. Results showed heterogeneous levels of team quality and principle adoption. A regression model explained a modest share of variance (R2 = 0.26), and the average rank correlation between team quality and principle scores was low to moderate (Spearman's ρ̄ = 0.39). Correlations were stronger for constant pace and self-organizing team and weaker for customer satisfaction and technical excellence. Cultural norms (politeness and hierarchical deference) tempered direct feedback during retrospectives. These findings support the integration of Agile principles into vocational curricula, with attention to local cultural dynamics. © 2025 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Drawing on the concept of 'educational diplomacy' tavis d. jules shows how soft power is being used as a diplomatic tool in the Middle East to deal with the post-revolutionary fallout in Tunisia. Using a comparative-historical approach jules illustrates how soft financial gifts and lending by industrialized countries, multilateral agencies, and other aid donors for educational programs are being used a preventative measures against Jihadism. The book explores how educational aid is used to influence local policies and politics and reveals the multifaceted nature of educational aid in Tunisia and neighboring countries by exploring the ways in which it affects national educational reforms. It examines why countries give assistance in education and what they expect in return, asking: How is education aid promoted? How is educational aid done? and How does educational aid work? The book concludes by suggesting new ways in which the educational economy could reshape aid in a time of crisis. Finally, the book brings together international development theories and the field of comparative and international education to better understand how educational aid functions. © tavis d. jules, 2026.

A competency-based approach supported by personalized learning paths and prompt feedback accelerates skill development by continuously adapting to learners' needs and maintaining high levels of engagement. Capturing and understanding learner competency development through interaction data offers the potential for early intervention and optimized educational design, yet introduces challenges related to scalability and complexity. We present TracePath, a novel graph-based framework that models learner trajectories as directed graphs, where nodes correspond to competencies or learner states and edges denote transitions such as validation or rejection events. This approach uncovers common learning pathways, identifies bottlenecks, and supports predictive analytics. At the core, a generic metamodel formalizes Competency Transition Graphs (CTGs), enabling comprehensive graph-based analytics implemented over a hybrid polystore architecture that integrates both relational and NoSQL databases. Our design decouples data extraction from graph exploration, allowing efficient querying, clustering, and pattern matching to deliver timely and explainable learning insights. Empirical validation using real-world data from the écri+ e-certification project demonstrates TracePath's effectiveness in providing scalable, dynamic, and low-latency learning analytics to support personalized education. © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This study evaluates the relationship between soft skills and hard skills readiness among Electrical Engineering education students at Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA), Indonesia, addressing the critical gap in quantitative assessment of these competencies within the Indonesian engineering education context amid Industry 4.0 demands. Rationale: The rapid technological transformation of Industry 4.0 necessitates comprehensive readiness assessment frameworks that evaluate both technical proficiencies and transferable competencies, yet existing literature reveals a scarcity of quantitative studies examining the specific interaction between soft and hard skills among engineering students in Indonesia. Methods: Using a causal correlational design grounded in Human Capital Theory and the Integrated Skills Framework, data were collected from 153 third and fourth-year students (95.6% response rate) through stratified random sampling. Two validated instruments the Soft Skills Measurement Instrument (IPSS, 35 items, α = 0.89) and Hard Skills Measurement Instrument (IPHS, 40 items, α = 0.87) were administered. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, MANOVA, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using Jamovi and LISREL software. Results: Professional ethics (M = 81.53) and teamwork (M = 78.91) emerged as the strongest soft skills, while electrical fundamentals (M = 75.47) was the strongest hard skill. Programming demonstrated the lowest readiness (M = 63.51) with highest variability. Cognitive soft skills particularly problem-solving (β = 0.37, p < .001) and critical thinking (β = 0.29, p = .004) significantly predicted technical competence, explaining 46.1% of variance in hard skills performance. Students with internship experience demonstrated significantly higher proficiency across both domains (p < .01). The SEM revealed cognitive soft skills directly influenced all hard skills dimensions (β = 0.39 to 0.53, p < .001), with the model explaining 67.3% of variance in overall workplace readiness. Limitations: The cross-sectional design limits causal inference; the single-institution sample may constrain generalizability to other Indonesian universities. Recommendations: Engineering curricula should integrate problem-solving development within technical courses, expand internship opportunities, and strengthen programming instruction. Future research should employ longitudinal designs and multi-institutional samples. © © 2026 JESTP.