Search Results for
"education"

The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is reshaping educational contexts, creating an urgent need for K–12 systems to adapt. Teachers, in particular, face increasing demands to respond to AI-driven transformations in learning environments yet lack structured guidance on which competencies matter. This paper presents the AIware Competency Model, a comprehensive framework of 98 AI-related competencies designed for K–12 education, including emerging aspects of GAI. The model was developed using an Action Design Research (ADR) approach, structured across four iterative stages: (1) a systematic literature review and analysis of 14 existing AI competency models to identify conceptual gaps; (2) semi-structured interviews with AI experts and educators (n = 5) to inform initial model development; (3) three rounds of focus groups involving teachers, policymakers, and AI professionals (total n = 46) to refine and evaluate the competencies; and (4) a competency ranking process (n = 10) to assess perceived importance across educational roles. The AIware Competency Model addresses current fragmentation in AI education research by offering a unified, empirically grounded framework aligned with practical classroom needs. It enables mapping to existing curriculum standards and supports both teacher preparation and student readiness in a world increasingly shaped by AI. The model contributes to the field by combining theoretical synthesis with practitioner input, offering a robust foundation for future research, curriculum design, and policy development. © 2025 The Authors

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 paper is based on the proposition that secondary vocational education represents an area of untapped potential for social investment in the Croatian context; in a sense of considerable »returns« in the form of desirable economic and social outcomes. The proposition is supported by three sets of arguments. Firstly, the paper proceeds to present an obsolete institutional framework of Croatian secondary (vocational) education which has remained in place since Croatian independence, despite failing to produce satisfactory economic and social outcomes. Secondly, the paper puts forward an analysis of interactions between key actors in the field of secondary vocational education, which results in constant »change that changes nothing«. Thirdly, analysis of developmental investments drawing on budgetary appropriations from regional governments (counties) and allocations from the European Social Fund points towards a lack of continuity and a high degree of territorial discrepancies. Based on these arguments, the author concludes that social investment in secondary vocational education in Croatia currently fails to adequately contribute towards any of its key functions: i) improving the stock of social capital; ii) facilitating flows from education to labour market, but also to full democratic citizenship and iii) protecting/buffering vulnerable groups included in the secondary vocational education. In concluding remarks, the author deliberates on necessary conditions for advancing social investment in Croatian secondary vocational education. © 2025, Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Zagreb. All rights reserved.

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.

Background: Although the professions of medical and dental assistants are some of the most popular apprenticeships among young women, the shortage of skilled workers in medical practices and medical care centers is growing alarmingly. Despite a high willingness to start training, apprenticeships in the field of medical and dental assistants are terminated prematurely more often than average. Research question: Which profession-specific training structures in medical and dental practices may contribute to the educational programs not being completed as scheduled? Methods: Training statistics and cross-occupational research findings are analyzed and related to results of occupation-specific surveys. Possible correlations of institutional factors influencing training conditions are discussed and research gaps are identified. Results: Institutional and structural framework conditions for the training of medical and dental assistants are considered by various perspectives as needing improvement, and this is leading to below-average satisfaction rates among trainees. The current absence of uniform standards for the qualification of vocational trainers, in conjunction with concepts for the didactic organization of dual training, is a matter of concern. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that a lack of appreciation and comparatively low training allowance are associated with high drop-out rates. Conclusion: The findings highlight the essential importance of training-promoting framework conditions in the practical training institutions and the pedagogical–didactic development of the training as a factor that can be directly influenced by the actors in the genesis of training drop-outs. © The Author(s) 2025.

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).

As workplaces evolve in response to technological change and shifting labour demands, corporations are increasingly called upon to rethink how they support employee development. While corporate education has traditionally focused on formal, task-specific training aimed at addressing immediate skill gaps, the integration of lifelong education principles – emphasizing continuous and inclusive development – remains underexplored. This paper addresses this gap by presenting a typology of corporate educational strategies for mobilizing education in the workplace, structured along two dimensions: individualized versus collective learning and within versus across organizational boundaries. This typology illustrates how corporations mobilize resources to balance internal development needs with external partnerships, bridging personalized skill-building and collective knowledge-sharing. Key approaches include personalized learning plans, team-based collaboration, and cross-sector partnerships with educational institutions. By framing corporate initiatives through a lifelong education lens, the paper shows how organizations can move beyond isolated training programs to build dynamic education ecosystems that promote adaptability, innovation, and equity. The analysis also identifies critical challenges in resource mobilization, such as financial constraints, inequitable access to educational opportunities, and the alignment of education strategies with organizational goals. Ultimately, this study provides a clear and actionable framework for corporations aiming to enhance workforce development in ways that reflect lifelong education principles. © The Author(s) 2025

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.

This study contributes to the comprehensive understanding of technology integration quality within Swiss upper secondary schools by comparing different technology-enhanced learning activities across school programs and subject areas. We investigated differences between vocational and general programs, as well as between humanities and scientific subjects, regarding four different types of learning activities (as defined by the interactive constructive active passive framework) enhanced by technology. Results based on a survey of 1725 teachers revealed that teachers in vocational programs reported a higher frequency of technology-enhanced learning activity implementation in comparison to teachers in general education programs. Employing multilevel analyses, we found that less sophisticated learning activities (i.e., passive and active) were more prevalent in scientific subjects than in humanities, whereas constructive and interactive activities were more frequently proposed by teachers teaching humanities. This subject-related difference was significantly more pronounced among teachers in general education programs. Our study highlights the importance of considering the quality of technology integration, revealing differences across passive, active, constructive, and interactive technology-enhanced learning activities. The findings are interpreted with consideration for the specificities of school curricula and subject content. This study represents an ongoing progression in the exploration of technology integration quality in educational practices and calls for further research in this area. © The Author(s) 2025.