Graduate programs in instructional design increasingly face the challenge of aligning academic learning outcomes with competencies expected in professional practice. Traditional assessment approaches, such as written comprehensive examinations, may not fully capture the applied skills and authentic work products developed by master’s-level students preparing for industry-oriented careers. As a result, there is growing interest in alternative assessment models that can better document students’ professional competencies and developmental progress.
This study presents the design and pilot implementation of an e-portfolio-based assessment framework for a master’s-level Instructional Design and Development (IDD) program. The proposed framework aims to support competency-based program assessment while also helping students document and showcase professional artifacts that demonstrate their instructional design capabilities. The framework is grounded in the competency standards developed by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI), which serve as the foundation for mapping program learning outcomes and organizing portfolio artifacts.
A mixed-methods research design guides the development and evaluation of the e-portfolio framework. Data will be collected through surveys, open-ended responses, and interviews with key stakeholders including current students, alumni, faculty members, and industry partners. These data will inform the identification and validation of program learning outcomes and the development of portfolio assessment criteria. This project adapts an iterative pilot implementation with current master's students, during which participatory design cycles are used to refine the e-portfolio design.
The project is expected to produce an IBSTPI-aligned e-portfolio assessment model, validated competency-based evaluation criteria, and a practical guideline for portfolio development and evaluation. The findings contribute to improving program-level assessment and strengthening the alignment between graduate education and industry expectations in instructional design.

STEAM education has been widely promoted to foster interdisciplinary learning, creativity, and problem-solving skills. However, the integration of Physical Education (PE) within STEAM frameworks remains underexplored, particularly in Primary Education. This study examines the impact of a STEAM-based intervention incorporating Physical Education on motor competence, academic achievement, and creative problem solving among primary school students. A quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-test measures was implemented in two public primary schools. The sample comprised 124 students (aged 9–11 years). The experimental group participated in a 12-week interdisciplinary STEAM program integrating science, mathematics, engineering design, arts, and physically active learning tasks embedded in PE sessions. The control group followed the standard curriculum. Motor competence was assessed using standardized movement skill tests, academic achievement through mathematics and science performance tasks, and creativity through validated divergent thinking measures. Data were analyzed using mixed ANOVA and effect size calculations. Students in the experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in motor competence (p < .01), mathematics and science achievement (p < .05), and creative problem solving (p < .01) compared to the control group. Effect sizes ranged from moderate to large (η² = .08–.21). Integrating Physical Education within a STEAM framework in Primary Education enhances not only motor development but also academic and creative outcomes. These findings support interdisciplinary models that position physically active learning as a catalyst for holistic educational development.

Children’s participation constitutes a fundamental right recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which establishes in Article 12 the child’s right to express their views freely on matters that concern them. However, the realization of this right in educational settings remains a challenge, requiring pedagogical practices that promote children’s effective agency in decisions related to their learning process. From this perspective, the study draws theoretically on the participation model proposed by Lundy (2007, 2012), which operationalises this right through four interrelated dimensions: space, voice, audience, and influence. In parallel, documents such as the Manual for Schools on Children’s Rights—Child Participation, published by UNICEF (2022), are incorporated, reinforcing the importance of promoting more democratic, inclusive, and participatory educational environments. Within this framework, the present study aims to analyse how implementing a STEAM Education can promote and value children’s participation in the learning process. The study was carried out with a group of 40 children in nursery and preschool educational settings in northern Portugal. Methodologically, a qualitative education was used, drawing on data collection techniques and instruments such as participant observation, pedagogical records, children’s work, and dialogue records. Data were analysed using descriptive and reflective analysis. The results highlight the potential of the STEAM Education to foster investigative and collaborative learning environments that encourage freedom of expression and the sharing of ideas, centred on the child. The analysed data indicate that participation tends to intensify when children engage in organized, intentionally structured investigative contexts in which their suggestions and initiatives are incorporated. In sum, the STEAM Education can constitute a privileged context for promoting participatory educational practices by mobilizing meaningful challenges that foster problem-solving and interdisciplinary integration, thereby supporting the valuing of children’s voices and initiative in the learning process.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in education, healthcare, and assistive technologies, offering significant potential to support individuals with learning disabilities through personalized learning, early identification, and adaptive interventions. Despite the rapid growth of research in this interdisciplinary domain, a comprehensive understanding of its intellectual structure, research trends, and global contributions remains limited. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of global research on artificial intelligence and learning disability published between 2015 and 2026. Bibliographic data were retrieved from the Scopus database using structured search strategies and analyzed using VOSviewer, Biblioshiny (R package), and Microsoft Excel. The analysis examined publication trends, influential authors, journals, institutions, countries, collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic evolution. The findings reveal a significant increase in research activity after 2020, with Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Kingdom emerging as leading contributors. The results also identify key research themes, including inclusive education, assistive technologies, adaptive learning, and machine learning applications. However, collaboration networks remain limited, indicating that the field is still developing. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the knowledge landscape, identifies research gaps, and highlights emerging research directions. The findings contribute to advancing interdisciplinary research, informing educational practices, and supporting the development of AI-driven inclusive educational technologies for individuals with learning disabilities.

This study examines Special Educational Needs (SEN) teachers’ perceptions of how adequate, relevant, and effective their training programs are. The research is guided by Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, which emphasizes the importance of learning through experience and reflection. A qualitative research design was used, involving thirteen SEN teachers from different regions of Malaysia who participated in semi-structured interviews. Although the sample size was relatively small, thematic saturation was reached, allowing for an in-depth understanding of participants’ experiences. The collected data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step thematic analysis framework, developed by Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke. To ensure the credibility of the findings, the study applied strategies such as member checking, peer debriefing, and maintaining audit trails. The analysis revealed three major themes. First, the practical relevance of training to classroom needs, including skills related to behavior management, differentiated instruction, and authentic assessment. Second, systemic challenges, such as inconsistent mentorship, limited teaching resources, and weak professional collaboration. Third, contextual gaps in training content, particularly regarding its alignment with Malaysia’s cultural environment and national education policies. While some teachers appreciated hands-on workshops and inclusive education modules, others reported feeling insufficiently prepared to handle the realities of classroom practice. The findings are discussed in relation to Malaysia’s developing inclusive education policies that involve many SEN teachers working in multiple roles with little support from their institutions. In addition, the overall research highlights the need for the development of training programs that are in accordance with policies, relate to local contexts, and are regularly updated for the purpose of preparing teachers and improving outcomes for students with disabilities.

Introduction: Technology-enhanced education offers inclusive pathways to strengthen student engagement and research orientation, particularly in resource-constrained laboratories. This study presents a low-cost, smartphone-assisted classroom experiment to estimate the absorption coefficient (α) of transparent polymeric sheets and glass using the Beer–Lambert law, which describes exponential attenuation of light in homogeneous media [1]. By integrating luminance sensing with theory, the activity promotes interdisciplinary learning across physics, chemistry, and life sciences.

Methods: A compact setup was built using a paper box, colored transparent poly-paper of varying thicknesses (x), a black circular ring/disc target, and a smartphone running the phyphox (free) app [2]. Reflected luminance was recorded without (I₀) and with (I) the sample covering the target. The absorption coefficient was computed as α = ln(I₀/I)/x. Measurements were repeated for different colors and thicknesses to probe wavelength-dependent attenuation.

Results and Discussion: The observed attenuation followed the Beer–Lambert trend, and estimated α values showed clear wavelength dependence, reinforcing concepts of optical absorption and material response. Students demonstrated gains in conceptual clarity, quantitative reasoning, and experimental design. The approach also shows promise for low-cost exploratory screening of surface changes in plant leaves, indicating potential for interdisciplinary extensions in biology and environmental science.

Conclusions: The proposed method provides an accessible, inclusive, and cost-effective pathway to teach optical absorption using everyday devices. It supports inquiry-based learning, boosts engagement in under-resourced settings, and aligns with technology-enhanced education for Special and Inclusive Education contexts.

References:

[1] Born, M., & Wolf, E. (1999). Principles of optics: Electromagnetic theory of propagation, interference and diffraction of light (7th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

[2] Staacks, S., Hütz, S., Heinke, H., & Stampfer, C. (2018). phyphox: A smartphone-based experimental toolbox for physics education. Physics Education, 53(4), 045009. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/aac05e

Contemporary societies are increasingly shaped by accelerated temporal dynamics that reorganise experience, knowledge, and action across multiple domains of life. Globalisation and technological development have normalised immediacy, continuous availability, and real-time responsiveness, privileging speed and optimisation. These dynamics coexist uneasily with forms of understanding that depend on duration, interruption, and experiential depth. The growing integration of artificial intelligence makes this tension particularly visible, as technologically mediated forms of knowledge provision reshape assumptions about time, efficiency, and agency. Within this broader context, education emerges as a critical site for questioning whether and how accelerated temporal regimes can meaningfully support the formative aims of human life. This conceptual paper offers a philosophical examination of these issues by engaging the classical distinction between Chronos time—quantitative, sequential, and instrumental—and Kairós time—qualitative, opportune, and meaning-laden. This philosophical framework illuminates an epistemological tension between automated forms of knowledge production and embodied human knowing. While artificial intelligence systems can generate responses that appear procedural or explanatory, their epistemic operation remains oriented toward the production of articulated outputs within accelerated temporal frameworks. Embodied knowing, by contrast, unfolds within lived and relational time, where understanding emerges through experience, judgment, and formative engagement. From this perspective, the growing integration of AI as an epistemic and pedagogical mediator risks reconfiguring educational processes around responsiveness and optimisation, at the expense of temporal depth. In response, this paper argues for a curriculum-informed pedagogical approach attentive to Kairós, foregrounding dispositions such as imagination, creativity, empathy, reflexivity, relationality, and care. They are understood as constitutive dimensions of educational subjectivity and knowing. By situating educational challenges within a philosophy of time and knowledge, this paper offers a conceptual framework for examining how educational practices negotiate questions of technology, temporality, and human formation.

This study investigates the complex transition from cognitive potential to academic achievement by examining the multidimensional constructs of motivation and affectivity in high school STEM education. As STEM disciplines demand high levels of abstract reasoning and persistent problem-solving, understanding the psychological determinants of success becomes imperative for optimizing pedagogical outcomes. Drawing on the control–value theory of achievement emotions, this research explores how motivational beliefs and emotional experiences synergistically influence the adoption of self-regulated learning strategies. Grounded in the control–-value theory of achievement emotions, this study posits that students' subjective appraisals of control and value significantly shape their affective experiences in the classroom. The methodology involved a quantitative analysis of a sample of 150 high school students. Data collection utilized four psychometrically validated instruments adapted for the STEM context: the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) to assess self-regulated learning; Goal Orientation (GO) scales to distinguish between mastery and performance approach; Implicit Theories of Intelligence (IMPL) to evaluate mindset prevalence; and the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) to measure discrete academic emotions. The analysis aims to demonstrate how a mastery goal orientation and a growth mindset function as positive predictors of activating emotions, such as enjoyment and hope, while concurrently mitigating deactivating states like boredom and anxiety. Furthermore, this study explores the role of self-regulated learning and motivation as critical mediators in the relationship between emotional states and academic achievement. The findings underscore the necessity for an integrated STEM instructional design that moves beyond technical content to support the development of emotional resilience and autonomous learning strategies, providing educators with targeted interventions to optimize student performance.

Prospective educators represent one of the most strategic populations in the global effort to advance Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). As future transformative pedagogical agents, they are not only required to possess mature sustainability knowledge and attitudes but are also expected to model sustainable behaviors that can be observed, internalized, and emulated by students. However, the scientific literature has documented a persistent gap between stated sustainability awareness and actual practice—a phenomenon that is particularly crucial when it comes to those tasked with educating the next generation. This cross-sectional descriptive–correlational survey study examined the Knowledge–Attitude–Practice (KAP) profiles of 159 teaching students at universities in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Data were collected through a 37-item dichotomous (agree/disagree) instrument covering three dimensions of sustainability, knowledge (15 items), attitudes (10 items), and behavior (11 items), supplemented by one factual item on the SDGs. The findings revealed very high mean scores for knowledge (M = 94.0%) and attitudes (M = 96.4%) but significant behavioral deficits (M = 91.6%). More critically, only 59.7% of respondents correctly identified the number of SDGs, a result that contradicts their high conceptual scores and reveals a gap between declarative and structural knowledge. Spearman correlation analysis demonstrated a significant positive relationship between knowledge and behavior (rs = 0.712, p < 0.001) and between attitudes and behavior (rs = 0.769, p < 0.001). Further item-level analysis revealed that physical sustainability behaviors, particularly active transportation (76.1%) and recycling practices (84.3%), showed the largest gaps with stated normative commitments. These findings challenge simplistic assumptions embedded in the current ESD framework.

Scientific reasoning is defined as the intentional pursuit of knowledge and the articulation of theory and evidence. Mastery of this skill entails the formulation of hypotheses, the design and execution of experiments, the evaluation of results, and the formulation of conclusions. These domains can be grouped into different components, as outlined in the Science-K Inventory (SKI): experimentation, data interpretation, and understanding the nature of science. The present study aimed to (a) analyze the psychometric properties and gather validity evidence for the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Science-K Inventory (SKI), and (b) investigate scientific reasoning in children aged 7–10 years and its association with intelligence, reading fluency and advanced theory of mind. Children from two public schools in the São Paulo metropolitan region participated (N = 145; 43% girls), aged 7–10 years (mean = 8.8; SD = 1.1). The instrument demonstrated adequate reliability indices (α = .79; ω = .82; split-half = .78). Correlations with reading fluency (r = .39; p < .001), intelligence (r = .43; p < .001), and theory of mind (r = .21; p < .01) were observed. Additionally, age (F = 11; p < .001) and grade level (F = 14.4; p < .001) had effects on the scores. A linear regression model demonstrated that reading fluency and intelligence, but not theory of mind, explained 23% of the variance in scientific reasoning (R² = .23). The Brazilian SKI represents the first validated instrument to assess scientific reasoning in the Brazilian children. Replicating established findings with an underrepresented population supports the parsimony of the scientific reasoning theoretical model. The availability of reliable measures of predictive learning skills may inform early intervention initiatives, strengthen evidence-based educational practices, and improve the science and technology curricula.