Search Results for
"education"

Ethiopia and China share a common educational agenda of cultivating and developing competent vocational graduates who meet the needs of the modern, technologically advanced industrial workplace. Unlike most of the literature, the present study adopted the self-determination theory to understand student learning motivation in the context of higher vocational education and training (VET) colleges in Ethiopia and China to reveal students’ satisfaction with psychological needs that are leveraged in building vocational professional development and identities. Ten senior higher VET students from each setting were recruited and participated in semistructured interviews. The study’s main finding affirms that although both groups felt they had the autonomy to choose the vocational field they sought to master, their learning process was subjected to traditional teaching methods, which ultimately restrained the participants’ feelings of competence because they trained in a less practical training space. Based on the study findings, we propose feasible policies and practical implications for meeting the motivational needs of VET students and promoting learning stability. © 2025 National Institute of education, Singapore.

Gamification has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance engagement and learning outcomes in education. However, its adoption in developing countries faces persistent challenges. This study systematically reviews 43 research articles to identify key barriers to gamification adoption and provides new insights into their underlying causes. The findings highlight specific cultural misconceptions, such as the perception of gamification as mere entertainment rather than an educational tool, alongside language barriers and resistance to non-traditional teaching methods. Technological barriers, including limited access to digital devices, high costs, and low digital literacy, further hinder adoption. Institutional challenges, such as rigid curricula, insufficient teacher training, and a lack of supportive policies, exacerbate these issues. Unlike previous studies, this research not only categorizes these barriers but also provides a framework for addressing them. Specific policy recommendations include integrating gamification into national education strategies, subsidizing digital infrastructure, and designing teacher training programs focused on gamified pedagogy. By advocating for localized and context-sensitive gamification strategies, this study offers practical insights for educators, policymakers, and technology developers. © The Author(s) 2025.

Organizational emergence, the result of an individual’s intention to create an organization and the actions they undertake to this end, covers diverse realities. For a better understanding, we use here the model of the theory of planned behavior, including entrepreneurship education. We conducted a questionnaire-based quantitative study on undergraduate students, which shows that attitude toward behavior and subjective norm has a significant positive effect on students’ entrepreneurial intention. However, perceived behavioral control is not found significant. Furthermore, the study found that entrepreneurship education positively and significantly affects the entrepreneurial intention of students but with a significant difference between economics and management students and those in science and technology. This result can be explained by the influence of the university course because the economics and management course has other modules linked to the business world, and students learning under this module would be in permanent interaction with teachers specializing in business management. This study has shown that reducing unemployment among university students through self-employment requires strong attention from public authorities to develop students’ entrepreneurial potential and to strengthen their skills via training and practical seminars and by establishing a network of university partnership structures and entrepreneurship support. © 2025 Common Ground Research Networks. All rights reserved.

Background: The value of Problem-based learning (PBL) in the teaching and learning of mathematics is internationally acknowledged. Its anticipated effectiveness in developing students’ professional knowledge and transferable skills has led many nations to advocate for its inclusion in the mathematics curriculum. However, there are challenges in implementing PBL which have, to date, received little research attention. Purpose: The review reported in this paper aimed to identify the key principles of PBL, the conditions for its effective implementation, and the challenges related to its implementation practices. It included 56 articles derived from searches of educational databases (Scopus, ERIC, EBSCOhost, and ProQuest) and reference harvesting. Method: The relevant papers were identified by applying the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. This approach incorporated a search and screening strategy based on keywords and specific eligibility criteria. To be included, items must have been peer reviewed, relevant to secondary school mathematics, and published within the date range 2020–2023. Data were analysed thematically, via MAXQDA qualitative research analysis software. Findings: The analysed articles revealed several conditions for the effective implementation of PBL. These included factors related to student self-regulation; school organisation and climate; social influences, including peer relationships; and teacher motivation and feedback practices. A range of challenges were also identified at both the teacher and student levels. For teachers, these related particularly to moving from the role of instructor to facilitator, and for students, to specific teamwork and self-regulation challenges. Conclusion: The PBL principles and conditions identified through this review can potentially serve as a benchmark for effective PBL implementation in the teaching and learning of mathematics in schools. Teachers may wish to consider some of the identified methods of integrating PBL into their instructional practices. © 2025 NFER.