Purpose: The persistent shortage of skilled labour and unemployment have made learnership programmes a vital policy instrument for workforce development and socio-economic inclusion. Despite an extensive legislative and institutional framework supporting their implementation in South Africa, concerns persist about the limited effectiveness of these programmes in meeting industry skills demands. This study investigates the systemic constraints that undermine the implementation and effectiveness of construction learnership programmes in South Africa, with particular focus on the gap between policy intent and actual practice.

Design/Methodology/Approach: A descriptive research approach was employed, utilising a structured questionnaire administered to key stakeholders within the construction skills development ecosystem, including employers, training providers, and industry practitioners.

Findings: Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify underlying dimensions of systemic constraints affecting learnership performance. Descriptive analysis revealed that limited collaboration among stakeholders, limited access to information, and limited government support are the top-ranked barriers. The EFA results identified five primary constraint clusters, which are systemic and interrelated rather than isolated, contributing to persistent learnership underperformance.

Originality/Value: Collectively, these challenges undermine the capacity of construction learnerships to provide sustainable skills development and meaningful employment pathways. This study contributes to the construction education and training discourse by providing empirical evidence of multilevel constraints affecting learnership effectiveness in a developing country context. Practically, the findings highlight the need for strengthened inter-institutional collaboration, enhanced industry incentives, curriculum alignment with evolving construction practices, and robust quality assurance mechanisms. Addressing these systemic barriers is essential to translate learnership policy ambitions into effective practice and to support the development of a resilient and sustainable construction workforce in South Africa and similar economies.

This study examined the relationship between technology utilization and teaching effectiveness among secondary school teachers in Southwest Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design in order to obtain information from a large population and describe the existing relationship between the variables under investigation. A sample of 1,600 teachers was selected through a multistage sampling procedure from different public secondary schools across the region to ensure adequate representation. Data for the study were collected using a self-designed instrument titled Technology Utilization and Teaching Effectiveness Questionnaire (TUTEQ). The instrument was carefully structured to measure teachers’ level of technology use as well as their instructional effectiveness in the classroom. To ensure the consistency of the instrument, its reliability was determined using the test–retest method, which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.86, indicating that the instrument was reliable for the study. The hypotheses formulated for the research were tested using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a significant relationship between technology utilization and teaching effectiveness among secondary school teachers in Southwest Nigeria. The results also showed that teachers’ digital competence and the availability of technological facilities significantly correlate with teaching effectiveness. The study concluded that effective utilization of technology enhances teachers’ instructional effectiveness and improves educational outcomes in secondary schools. It was therefore recommended that the government should provide adequate technological infrastructure and continuous professional training for teachers to support effective integration of technology in teaching and learning.

Background: Physiotherapy education requires students to acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge that will enable them to manage their patients and/or clients effectively. The aim of this article is to report the case of a patient with impairment in motor function following stroke that was managed by a group of students using constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT). Method: At first, the students were taught by the teacher how to administer CIMT to patients with stroke using Albert Bandura’s sources of self-efficacy. They were then asked to identify a patient and design and administer CIMT under the supervision of the teacher. Results: After the intervention, motor function (performance), as well as the amount and quality of use of the limb, improved by 0.41, 0.35 and 0.39 points, respectively, at two weeks. At four weeks, motor function (performance), amount and quality of use of the limb improved by 1.35, 0.98 and 1.0 points, respectively. In addition, motor function (time) decreased by 2.1 seconds at two weeks, and 3.07 seconds at four weeks. Upper limb self-efficacy improved by 2.2 points at two weeks, and improved by 3.8 points at four weeks. In addition, the group of students stated that, ‘This way helped us to learn easily, and we are now confident in managing such cases at any time.’ Conclusions: Use of Bandura’s sources of self-efficacy may enhance students’ learning.

The development of socio-affective competencies represents a key dimension of inclusive education, particularly in educational work with young adults with intellectual disabilities and mild autism spectrum conditions, who may experience difficulties in interpreting interpersonal boundaries, consent and socially shared norms (Schaafsma et al., 2015; McDaniels & Fleming, 2016). Research on social and emotional learning highlights the importance of fostering relational awareness and social competencies as fundamental components of educational processes (Durlak et al., 2011). Studies on embodied cognition further suggest that experiential and body-based learning environments may support the understanding of relational concepts that are often difficult to grasp through purely verbal instruction (Wilson, 2002; Shapiro & Stolz, 2019). This contribution presents a practice-based educational intervention aimed at promoting awareness of personal space, consent and the distinction between public and private behaviours through an embodied socio-affective learning approach. The intervention takes the form of an experiential workshop involving young adults with intellectual disabilities and engaging participants in movement-based activities and guided interaction designed to explore relational boundaries and socially shared behavioural norms. The study adopts a small-scale qualitative exploratory design based on a structured observation protocol. Data are collected through systematic observation grids and narrative field notes compiled by external non-participant observers. A thematic analysis is conducted to identify patterns related to awareness of personal space, understanding of consent and recognition of socially shared behavioural norms. Preliminary observations suggest that embodied and situational learning environments may facilitate the understanding of relational concepts such as consent and privacy through concrete relational experiences. Positioned at the intersection of educational foundations and special education, the study highlights the pedagogical potential of embodied socio-affective learning for fostering relational awareness and social competence in inclusive educational contexts.

Introduction:

From school-choice expansion, class-size reduction, and teacher specialization, to school-climate indices, pedagogical innovations, and performance feedback, measures pioneered by OECD countries are well documented for their merits, given their separate lines of research. As not every country has the luxury of implementing everything, this study aims to help policymakers in less-privileged education systems make informed decisions about which measures to prioritize by measuring outcomes across legislative perspectives.

Method:

To control for country heterogeneity, a country-fixed hierarchical model was employed to estimate the production output of various OECD-adopted instructional practices on PISA 2022’s featured math test scores of students. To achieve a balanced dataset while complying with the 20% missingness threshold for data imputation, the final model comprised data from 179,168 students across 6,810 schools in 23 OECD education systems, using 13 measurement proxies (school type and size, class size, school and classroom climate, teacher training, ability grouping, reasoning-fostering and thinking-encouraging pedagogy, teacher support, student feedback, student gender, and SES).

Results:

Nine variables had a positive impact on math scores of students: student SES (22.78), class size (7.94), classroom climate (6.48), school size (6.15), teacher support (5.77), reasoning-fostering pedagogy (5.33), no ability grouping (3.39), math teacher training (2.77), and private enrollment (1.59). Four variables were negative predictors of student math scores: negative school climate (-18.02), thinking-encouraging pedagogy (-8.35), female (-6.05), and student feedback (-1.59).

Conclusion:

Compared to pedagogical approaches whose effects are contradictory, students in large non-ability-grouping math classes with supportive teachers under a positive classroom and school climate appear to have an edge over their counterparts. As students’ math performance improves with their SES (socioeconomic status) and private enrollment, privatizing school choices may be a worthy policy to help disadvantaged students excel.

This presentation reports on the way that key participants in inclusive education provide real-world perspectives to support systematic, long-term policy change. It uses a recent example of a States of Jersey/National Association of Special Education (nasen) project (UK), which sought to evaluate current provision in that island location. Its aim was to use insider knowledge to help develop a 5-Year Plan to enhance inclusion in Jersey’s schools and other education settings. Using surveys, face-to-face interviews and focus groups, the project team gathered quantitative and qualitative data which illustrated a diverse range of views concerning the effectiveness of current provision, as well as the challenges and barriers encountered by learners with special educational needs (SEN). The project’s final report made 50 recommendations across 23 areas of policy and provision. All were accepted by the States of Jersey Parliament, including the adoption of a 5-Year Plan, mapped in the project’s final report. Work on the latter is currently proceeding, including consultations with parents and charities and the inauguration of a set of baseline measures. The presentation provides insights into the data-gathering methodology used, indicative data extracts and a most importantly, a commentary on the ways which the project outputs have subsequently been helping to stimulate further island-wide initiatives.

EFL instruction in higher education calls for curriculum designs that draw on co-curricular engagement to support sustainability and student development. So, tertiary institutions are expected to correspond with it. Nonetheless, the pedagogical possibilities of co-curricular engagement are not fully utilized in the formal curricula of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programs. This paper investigates how principles based on co-curricular involvement can guide sustainable curriculum development and teaching in higher education EFL settings. The proposed study is based on transformative learning and sustainability-oriented education frameworks. It follows a mixed-method design, incorporating curriculum and syllabus analysis, classroom observations, surveys among undergraduate students, and semi-structured interviews with EFL teachers. The results reveal that curriculum designs based on co-curricular principles increase the motivation, communication competence, and critical awareness of learners because they place the art of language within meaningful learning and social contexts. Educators and learners noted a change in the nature of instruction to inquiry-based and participatory teaching and learning, respectively. However, strict assessment systems and insufficient professional support remain as barriers to systematic integration. This study states that incorporating co-curricular involvement into EFL curricula enhances sustainability and instructional relevance without undermining linguistic rigor, which has practical implications for curriculum designers, educators, and policymakers.

Irish and international policy emphasises parent–teacher collaboration and shared decision-making as being central to inclusive education for students with special educational needs (Department of Education, 2024). However, research suggests that such collaborative decision-making is unevenly enacted, with parental influence often constrained by power dynamics and professional dominance (Morris et al., 2022). Moreover, students with more significant needs have been identified as marginalised in educational policy and practice, often positioned within contexts of reduced academic expectations, and their parents have been described in research as having limited opportunities to engage as equal partners in educational planning and decision-making (Banks et al., 2016; Colley, 2018; Stroggilos & Xanthacou, 2006; Rendoth et al., 2024).

This study explored parents’ and teachers’ experiences of shared decision-making and educational goal-setting for students with moderate to severe/profound levels of intellectual disabilities and identified factors shaping these collaborative practices.

Participants comprised parent–teacher dyads recruited from special schools and classes across Ireland.

A qualitative phenomenological design, informed by a social constructivist epistemology and underpinned by Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Human Development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007), was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents and teachers separately. Data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019).

Shared decision-making was variable and context dependent. While endorsed in principle, practices often reflected consultative or teacher-led approaches. Parents prioritised wellbeing and functional goals, while academic goals were typically positioned within teachers’ professional remit. Goal alignment was frequently partial or assumed. The Individual Education Plan served as the primary formal mechanism for shared decision-making, though its enactment varied. Trust, power dynamics, and educational stage shaped experiences.

Conclusions: Shared decision-making and goal-setting emerged as negotiated, relational processes embedded within organisational and systemic contexts. Greater clarity, consistency, and relational support are needed to strengthen these collaborative practices in special education contexts.

Improving the effectiveness of primary-school calligraphy education is urgent in today’s context of cultural globalisation and the renewed emphasis on calligraphy aesthetic education in China. Yet calligraphy is often marginalised as an elective; teachers’ backgrounds are diverse; pupils’ motivation is frequently low; and meaningful outcomes require long-term engagement. Sustaining upper-primary pupils’ intention to continue learning calligraphy is therefore a key challenge.

Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, this study tested whether satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) predicts intention to continue learning calligraphy through different motivational regulations. The current study surveyed 531 Grade 4–6 pupils from four primary schools in Guangzhou, China, using the Basic Psychological Needs in Calligraphy Class Scale, the Calligraphy Learning Motivation Scale, and a self-developed Intention to Continue Learning Calligraphy Scale. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and structural equation modeling were conducted.

Autonomy and competence satisfaction significantly and positively predicted continuation intention, whereas relatedness satisfaction showed no independent effect. Autonomy satisfaction increased intrinsic motivation and identified regulation and decreased external regulation and amotivation; competence satisfaction positively predicted identified regulation. Mediation analyses indicated that need satisfaction mainly strengthened continuation intention by enhancing identified regulation and by reducing external regulation and amotivation.

These findings clarify SDT internalisation pathways in a distinctive Chinese calligraphy education context and inform need-supportive practices to sustain pupils’ long-term engagement.

In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the role of emotional and psychological factors in shaping students’ academic outcomes. Among these factors, academic burnout, enjoyment, and academic buoyancy have emerged as key constructs influencing engagement and performance. Grounded in positive psychology and Control-Value Theory (CVT), this study adopts a quantitative research design. Data from 640 students were collected using validated self-report instruments measuring academic burnout, learning enjoyment, and academic buoyancy, while academic achievement was represented by students’ course grades. Statistical analyses, including descriptive and correlation, were conducted to explore the profiles and relationships. In addition, a structural equation model was constructed to investigate the inner and deeper correlations among these variables.

The findings reveal that academic burnout is negatively associated with academic achievement, whereas enjoyment and academic buoyancy are positively related to performance. Academic buoyancy appears to mitigate the adverse effects of burnout. These results highlight the importance of emotional well-being and resilience in academic success. This study provides an integrated perspective on both negative and positive emotional factors in education and offers pedagogical implications. Reducing burnout, fostering enjoyment in learning, and strengthening students’ capacity to cope with everyday academic setbacks may contribute to improved academic outcomes and overall well-being.