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"Students"

This reflexive narrative study explores college students’ honor thesis projects undertaken in a top English Education (EE) program at a prestigious foreign language university in Shanghai, China. The study positions a foreign teacher-researcher from an English-speaking country as the primary narrator to navigate two graduates awarded honor thesis prizes in 2022 and 2023. They have subsequently pursued advanced research training abroad in the United States and the United Kingdom. By underpinning Bourdieu’s concepts of language and symbolic power within the ideas of research literacy, this study developed scholarly conversations about the tensions between the participants’ linguistic capital and research literacy development. The study further expands scholarly discussions about the interplay of institutional habitus, linguistic capital, and cosmopolitan career-guided imagery. This study provides implications for teacher-researchers and policy decision-makers to understand college students’ broader horizons and post-graduation plans in language and international education. © 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

In mainland China, the mental health of vocational high school students has been increasingly recognized as a critical issue by both the government and scholars. Positive education, a branch of positive psychology, has been proven to significantly enhance adolescents’ well-being and academic performance. Exploring how to effectively integrate positive education theories or models with traditional teaching methods in vocational classrooms is a promising research direction. To address this, the present study uses the Mechanical Drawing course as a case study, combining the PERMA model with the traditional PBL teaching model to propose an innovative and practical teaching method: the PERMA-based PBL teaching model. The study involved 207 first-year vocational high school students from four parallel classes. Based on their pre-test scores, the students were divided into two parallel groups (A and B) for a crossover experimental design. Quantitative data were collected using the Inventory of Positive Mental Characters among Chinese Middle School students and a course survey questionnaire. Each group underwent pre-test, mid-test, and post-test assessments, with quantitative analysis conducted via t-tests to evaluate the advantages of the new teaching model compared to traditional teaching methods. The results indicated that the new teaching model significantly outperformed the traditional teaching model in enhancing all dimensions of vocational high school students’ positive psychological qualities (p < 0.001). Additionally, the new teaching model was superior in improving students’ Learning Interest (p < 0.001), Learning Motivation (p < 0.001), and Learning Attitude (p < 0.05). Furthermore, vocational students expressed a stronger preference for the PERMA-based PBL teaching model compared to the traditional teaching model (p < 0.001). This study explores a practical pathway for integrating positive psychology theories into classroom settings and provides a reference for future research in this field. © © 2025 Lu, Guo and Wang.

This article examines how discourses on migrants, language skills, and the suitability of educational and vocational paths can racialise the students perceived as migrants in Finnish vocational education and training (VET). The study draws on observations and interviews with students and teachers on two differently gender-typed programmes, women-dominated dental technology and men-dominated mechanical engineering. In both programmes, most students have moved to Finland and started learning Finnish a few years before entering vocational education. Drawing on critical race theory and critical discourse analysis, the article identifies four discourses that racialise the students perceived as migrants. The discourse on VET as ‘a realistic choice for migrants lacking language skills’ in dental technology and the idealisation of ‘hard-working migrants’ in mechanical engineering encourage migrants’ entry to these programmes, but simultaneously racialise them. The discourse on ‘sufficient Finnish skills’ in mechanical engineering encourages, while the discourse on ‘high level of language proficiency’ in dental technology discourages migrants’ entry to the profession, and demonstrates that racism can be hidden behind the talk on language skills. Together, these discourses show that the processes of racialisation are mundane in VET and can direct people’s educational and occupational paths. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

In the contemporary epoch of novel productive forces, the cultivation of high-quality, application-oriented talent is imperative for the advancement of the new chemical materials industry. The proposed model is a “three joints and five collaborations” university-enterprise collaborative talent training model. The “three joints” refer to joint team building, joint talent training, and joint science and industry, whereas the “five cooperations” include cooperation in the establishment of training programs, teaching of quality management, cultivation of high-level students, promotion of industrial scientific research, and sharing of achievements. This model addresses the challenges faced by traditional talent cultivation modes in meeting the demands of new productive forces. The Applied Chemistry Program at Putian University, in collaboration with several leading enterprises in Fujian Province, has established internship bases, restructured the curriculum system, and strengthened practical teaching. These efforts have yielded substantial advancements in students’ application and innovation abilities. Notable outcomes include a 99% employment rate, with 25% of graduates pursuing further education, and 83% of employed graduates adapting “seamlessly” to technical roles. Furthermore, students have published over 100 papers and obtained more than 10 patents. The model has also facilitated the transformation of scientific research achievements into productive forces, generating significant economic benefits for the enterprises involved. This model offers a promising approach for local universities to cultivate high-quality talent that meets the demands of new productive forces. This study provides a valuable reference for the transformation, upgrading, and high-quality development of China’s new chemical materials industry and broader manufacturing sector. © The Author(s) 2025

The paper points to future trends in skills needed for individuals in order to successfully find employment in the labor market among competitors. The aim of the paper is to give, if possible, an overview of the basic development areas of education, which have been published by experts in important studies and surveys published so far and which can facilitate the entry of graduates into the labor market. The skills and abilities of students needed for practice help develop activities such as graduate internships and team projects organized in cooperation between universities and businesses. The basics of project and process management give students valuable experience and skills to practice within a safe academic space what they will use in their future lives. Working on projects requires teamwork, analytical thinking and a sense of innovation, a comprehensive assessment of the issue, analysis and critical thinking, creativity and originality, knowledge of the use of technology, reasoning, problem-solving and imagination, as well as resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility, empathy. These are all qualities that employers require from employees not only today, but also in the foreseeable future. © 2025 The Author(s).

Abundant research has shown that educational transitions are decisively shaped by prior educational attainment and students’ family background. In contrast, the role of geography and spatial features during educational transitions remains less explored. Drawing on linked large-scale assessment data from Switzerland, the present study examines the role of the distance between a student’s place of residence and the nearest upper secondary school as a potential barrier to entry into school-based education at the upper secondary level. In response to potentially flawed distance measures used in previous research, this study proposes a novel distance measure based on commuting times to the nearest school. Using a series of probit and mixed-effects probit models, this study finds that greater distances to schools prevent students from entering school-based programmes at the upper secondary level, although the effect sizes are comparatively modest. Overall, the results confirm previous findings on higher education that geographical distance may pose a barrier to accessing educational institutions. © The Author(s) 2025.

The tourism sector heavily relies on the contributions of tourism students to deliver quality services. However, for various reasons, some students seek employment opportunities outside the tourism sector. The current situation in many countries is marked by the loss of skilled workers and the difficulty in retaining new talent. This research explores the impact of crisis perceptions, educational quality, and social influence on students’ work intention in the tourism industry, adopting Vroom’s expectancy theory. Furthermore, this study examines the extent to which differences exist in these variables between students with internship experience and those without. Data were collected from tourism management students in Türkiye using both online and in-person methods. The findings indicate that students’ intentions to work in the tourism industry are positively influenced by social influence. The findings also reveal no significant differences between the groups. Based on the findings, implications are discussed for tourism schools, professionals, and policymakers. © 2025 ICHRIE.

When used properly and in various contexts, social media platforms are unanimously considered essential and valuable teaching tools because younger generations are accustomed to them. They feel confident as they fit within their learned skill circle and are exposed to new trends, keeping them well-informed and motivated. This research paper explores the challenges of ESP teaching at the Civil and Mechanical, Industrial, and Maritime Faculties within Ovidius University of Constanța. It considers the benefits and drawbacks of how social media platforms can aid in addressing these challenges. There are numerous studies on the effectiveness of social media platforms, but just a few explicitly refer to their usefulness in ESP. A survey of 103 students and 6 teachers shows that social media platforms are an effective and enjoyable way to access educational resources. They improve memory and creativity, making them a good teaching method for today’s learners. These platforms support self-directed learning and are appealing to a generation that likes engaging with video content. Utilizing social media in ESP education has become prevalent; however, there remains a great deal to understand regarding its effective application for teaching and learning. © 2025 Ovidius University. All rights reserved.

This paper explores the scope of industrial training in school education in India. Industrial training learning combines academic learning with practical work experience, providing students with relevant skills and knowledge applicable to real-world scenarios. Vocational training has been envisioned in India's school education system. Indian education system faces several challenges, which include a lack of understanding about work-integrated learning, rigid traditional education structures, a gap between the skills taught in schools and those demanded by the industry, insufficient infrastructure, a shortage of well-trained teachers, and the digital divide. The consequences of these challenges to incorporating industry training are significant and are increasingly recognized as crucial in equipping students with essential skills for industry. Doubtless, considerable progress has been made in recent years, driven by government initiatives, policy reforms, and stakeholder collaboration. The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes holistic development, skill enhancement, and flexible learning approaches. The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan focuses on improving infrastructure and teacher training. However, a multi-faceted approach must be adopted to improve the quality and inclusivity of schooling. This includes strengthening teacher training programs, reforming assessment methods, bridging the digital divide, promoting inclusive practices, and integrating vocational education and skill development programs into the school curriculum to link education to industry requirements and enhance students’ employability prospects. Collaboration between stakeholders and the effective implementation of policies is crucial for realizing the vision of an equitable and inclusive education system in India that successfully integrates work-based learning. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.

This research examines the link between experiential learning and the incubation process of new venture creation among student learners within a Malaysian Institute of Higher Learning. In addition, the study aims to assess how experiential learning and incubation process affect the student's entrepreneurial competencies and to analyse the moderating effect of close mentoring. A quantitative approach using a cross-sectional survey was taken to analyse the relationships among the variables through path analysis. The results show that the practice of experiential learning and incubation process improves students’ practical skills, especially in critical thinking and entrepreneurial competencies. Also, close mentoring became a vital moderator of these relationships, improving the efficiency of interventions that encourage students in their entrepreneurial activities. The findings stress the need to incorporate the experience derived from practice, the help of solid incubation, and advice into education for entrepreneurship to improve entrepreneurial development in Malaysia and, subsequently, sustainable innovativeness and economic growth. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.