Education & Pedagogy

Background: School-based health education is designed for providing students with critical content of health literacy and meaningful learning experiences to prevent chronic diseases, operating quality health education programs is challenging. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the subject-specific challenges faced by health education teachers and the resources they need. Methods: Twenty-three certified health education teachers completed an online survey and a one-on-one interview on the resources they needed and the challenges they faced to deliver quality programs. Open coding, axial coding and theme development were performed on the interview data. Triangulation was applied by drawing comparison between survey data with interview data. Results: Data analysis revealed that teachers struggled with limited resources and technological and pedagogical support. With public health hijacked by politics, teachers face unique challenges to address socially controversial and sensitive health education topics. Discussion: To promote student health literacy through school-based health education, it is urgent to provide teachers pedagogical resources and social support to tackle the challenges. Translation to Health Education Practice: There is an urgent need to advocate for resources to provide teachers curricular, pedagogical and policy support for teacher empowerment.

Inclusive education has been part of the global educational vernacular for more than 25 years, based on the premise that for education to achieve its goal of providing access to an inclusive society and its common goods, education itself should be inclusive. Universalism underpins inclusive education, but it is commonly perceived as relating to specific populations, namely disabled students. Developments in inclusive education have been multi-levelled, influenced by international and national policy, as well as grassroots advocacy. Even in systems with strong segregation and exclusion structures, islands of inclusive practice are to be found but fully inclusive systems are elusive, and the nature of inclusive education remains contested. This paper uses Australia as a case study to explore this complexity by illustrating the arguments surrounding inclusive education, the evidence used to support these arguments, and the implications for future developments. The analysis indicates that in the Australian context there is tremendous noise around inclusive education, but very little evidence of realising it. The separation of inclusion as a broader value from inclusive education has been successful in operating as a smokescreen, detracting attention from a system that becomes more selective, exclusive and with increased segregation.

This year's conference theme, "Creating New Trajectories for Adult Education," provided opportunities for presenters to peruse many avenues available for investigating and engaging the field and practice of adult learning. The following proceedings contain valuable information and tools to equip education professionals further as they reach for new avenues in a rapidly changing educational space. Readers will find research findings, practitioner reports, literature reviews, theoretical explorations, and descriptions of the creation and application of new tools. The proceedings is comprised of 24 papers that were presented at the fifth conference of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) in Reno, Nevada, October 28-November 1, 2024. [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]

This book challenges the economistic neoliberal rationale for vocational education by drawing critically on emancipatory theoretical approaches, especially a body of German theory neglected almost entirely by contemporary accounts. Capitalising on the current under-theorisation of vocational education, this book revisits established perceptions of the role of vocational education under contemporary social, economic and political conditions. The book centres on pre-war and post-1960s emancipatory approaches to vocational education and training (VET), examining the context of their emergence and their application to present-day contexts. Chapters discuss the role of neoliberalism in undermining the educational integrity of VET and other educational spaces, and examine the complex relations between education and skill formation in different societies. Applying its learning to contemporary VET in both the global North and South, this book ultimately provides foundations for critical thinking in vocational spaces. This book will be of interest to scholars, postgraduate students and researchers involved in vocational, technical, professional and adult education, the theory of education, and more broadly the economisation of education under neoliberalism. With potential to reframe debates concerning specific approaches to VET that can be applied in the global South, this book has undoubted international appeal.

In the light of recent challenges facing the field of outdoor adventure education in higher education, this exploratory study sought to identify some of the underlying political and institutional factors and societal influences on an international level that have led to the success of some programmes and the closure of others. Thirty-eight outdoor adventure education academics with a minimum of seven years' experience in higher education institutions, representing seven countries (Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Norway, and Denmark) participated in the study. These academics were questioned as to their perceptions of the importance of various characteristics and attributes to an outdoor adventure education programme's survival and academic excellence. At least 80% of the respondents reported 10 characteristics to be "very important" or "critically important", including pedagogy, leadership, management, resources and advocacy. All respondents reported the critical importance of having a departmental chair/supervisor advocate for their department's outdoor programme. The findings suggest that outdoor adventure educators must collaborate on both national and international levels to promote the value of their discipline. (Contains 5 tables.)

Adult education programs should turn to the deliberative democracy movement in order to help their communities better address the "wicked problems" they face. The authors contend that due to the "wicked" nature of problems in the diverse democracies, communities must develop and sustain their capacity for deliberative democracy and collaborative problem solving through the high-quality interactive communication across perspectives fostered by deliberative democracy. As a result, civic education programs at all levels--K-12, higher education, and adult education--should be tapping into the resources and activities tied to the deliberative democracy movement in order to help build civic capacity. The authors begin this chapter by introducing the concept of wicked problems and outlining how the two currently dominant forms of politics--adversarial and expert--fall short in responding to such problems. They then introduce deliberative democracy as an alternative form of politics that holds particular promise. They connect these three forms of politics to current trends within civic education and make the case for civic education programs to significantly increase the extent to which they focus on developing deliberative capacity. They close by considering how adult education programs in particular can develop this capacity and take advantage of the available resources tied to deliberative democracy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become a transformative force in PK-12 and higher education, reshaping how educators teach and engage students. This study explored the perceived impact of AI on education, highlighting varying levels of AI adoption between PK-12 and higher education. The study examines responses from instructors from PK-12 and higher education to understand their experiences and preferences regarding AI tools and their instructional use. The study addresses key questions: Do educators find generative AI useful for supporting instruction? What recommendations do educators have for their peers regarding AI use? The study was conducted via an online survey among Minnesota PK-12 and higher education instructors. The findings reveal that AI supports instructional delivery and personalized learning in PK-12 settings, and it is widely used for content generation in higher education. Despite its growing presence, many educators remain unfamiliar with AI applications or express concerns about ethical implications, such as bias, data privacy, and academic integrity. Understanding educators' perspectives on AI will help guide its future integration and address the challenges it presents.

This article examines how faculty at a college of education are integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools into graduate and doctoral educator preparation programs. Drawing on faculty inquiry and course-based observations across multiple contexts--including early childhood education, secondary education, special education, and doctoral programs in education--the article synthesizes emerging lessons and practices of AI literacy development, pedagogical approaches, and instructional design. We present an evidence-informed, reflective account of faculty practice through the lens of the scholarship of teaching, exploring how educators are navigating AI content, literacy, and practices in real courses, what students are learning, and what instructional decisions support thoughtful, critical AI use. Three shared themes emerge: the importance of developing professional judgment alongside technical familiarity with AI, the necessity of addressing equity and ethics explicitly rather than incidentally, and the value of positioning AI as a thinking partner and collaborator rather than a replacement for human expertise. The article concludes with practical implications for faculty seeking to integrate AI in ways that are forthright about uncertainty, grounded in pedagogical purpose, and attentive to learners' diverse needs.

The debate over whether higher education is a public or private good is primarily shaped by Western epistemologies and neoliberal paradigms, which commodifies education. This framing neglects relational and communal perspectives, such as "Ubuntu" philosophy, which views education as an interconnected process fostering individual and societal flourishing. This paper explores how "Ubuntu" philosophy dissolves the public-private dichotomy by offering an integrated vision of higher education that supports personal aspirations while serving the broader social good. Using Zimbabwe as a case, referencing other Southern African contexts, the paper examines how neoliberal agendas have influenced postcolonial higher education policies. While acknowledging critiques of "Ubuntu", particularly concerns about social conformity and individual autonomy, the paper argues that a well-theorised "Ubuntu"-based approach can create a more equitable higher education system. Instead of merely incorporating indigenous knowledge into exclusionary structures, "Ubuntu" philosophy reimagines the foundations of knowledge production, governance, and access. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for integrating "Ubuntu"-based principles in higher education, such as participatory governance, shared responsibility funding models, and broader success metrics beyond economic outcomes. The paper contributes to global debates on inclusive, equitable, and sustainable higher education.

As programming has become an integral part of technology education in Sweden, teacher education must prepare future teachers to integrate programming meaningfully into their teaching. However, research on how teacher educators understand programming in technology teacher education remains scarce. The purpose of this study is to explore teacher educators' experience of programming in primary technology teacher education. The phenomenon, programming in technology, is explored by using a phenomenographic approach in order to find the variations of experiences among a group of teacher educators. The empirical material consists of interviews with 12 technology teacher educators from 11 Swedish higher education institutions. The results identify four qualitatively distinct categories of how programming is experienced: (1) as a technological tool, (2) as a technological tool for control, (3) as a technological tool for problem-solving, and (4) as part of technological solutions in society. The study addresses the importance of the relationships between programming, systems thinking, and computational thinking, ensuring that student teachers develop a holistic understanding of programming as part of technological knowledge. The study also provides information that the understanding of the relationship between technological education and educational technology is crucial for the relevance of programming in technology education.

Through intersectionality theory, this study examines how gender and geographical location interact to shape adolescents' access to health education in centralized systems, using sex education in Chinese vocational high schools as an illustrative case. Drawing on data from 3167 adolescents across regions with varying development levels, we demonstrate how educational institutions reproduce gender hierarchies and geographical inequalities through differential access to sex education. Students in economically developed regions and urban areas show significantly higher odds of receiving sex education, with particularly pronounced effects for girls in developed regions. Gender emerges as the primary determinant of exposure to specific content, with girls consistently showing higher chances of being taught topics like pregnancy, contraception, and sexual behavior. These findings suggest two intersecting forms of disadvantage. Resource-wise, boys in less developed regions appear most likely to be excluded from sustained provision. Norm-wise, girls may be more harmed by how sex education is framed through gendered expectations that treat sexual and reproductive health as primarily their responsibility rather than a shared concern. Together, these patterns illustrate how intersecting dimensions of advantage and disadvantage, alongside underlying patriarchal assumptions, create systematic disparities that reinforce both gender and geographical inequalities.

This paper examines bilingual education policies and practices in China and the interconnection and influences of the west in the new developments in bilingual education in this country. It focuses on bilingual education in Tibetan areas considering the sociopolitical context, the Tibetan tradition, and the current developments and new knowledge in the area of bilingual education. It discusses the challenges and limitations that Tibetan teachers and students face today as well as their strengths and aspirations for an improved bilingual education system through which teachers can teach better, students can learn faster, achieve higher, and consequently communities can prosper. It presents the experience and lessons learned from the Gannan Tibetan Bilingual Education Project in Gansu Province, a bilingual teacher training project for Tibetan primary teachers, supported by the UK Department for International Development in China in collaboration with the Gansu Provincial Department of Education. This experience can provide insight and useful information for educators, policy-makers, and governments in the design and implementation of similar bilingual teacher professional development projects in countries where minority and indigenous people live. (Contains 4 tables.)

Although nutrition-related health education policies exist at national, state and local levels, the degree to which those policies affect the everyday practices of health education teachers who are charged with executing them in schools is often unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the nutrition-related health education policy matrix that affected one urban school district, the health education teachers' awareness of those policies, the impact of nutrition policies on teachers' instruction and challenges teachers perceived in executing comprehensive nutrition education. The study used interpretive ethnography to examine the educational contexts and perspectives of 27 health educators from 24 middle schools in one urban district in the Midwestern United States. Data were collected through school observations, interviews with key personnel and document collection. We found that a network of nutrition-related education policies governed health education teachers' instruction, but that teachers were uniformly unaware of those policies. Without institutional coherence and clear directives, health education teachers taught little nutrition content, primarily due to poor training, professional development, instructional resources and administrative accountability. The results are discussed in light of the enormous challenges in many urban schools and the need for nutrition education professional development.

With the creation of the European Higher Education Area, universities are undergoing a significant transformation that is leading towards a new teaching and learning paradigm. The competencies approach has a key role in this process. But we believe that the competence approach has a number of limitations and weaknesses that can be overcome and supplanted by the capabilities approach. In this article our objective is twofold: first, make a critical analysis of the concept of competence as it is being used in higher education, identifying its limitations and weaknesses; and second, present the potential of the capabilities approach for higher education and review its complementarity to the competence approach. We begin with a brief characterisation of the capabilities approach and its implications for education. Then we examine some implications of the competencies approach in higher education and the reasons that led us to choose the DeSeCo proposal for comparison with the capability approach. We then go on to compare the two approaches, addressing 1) the aims of education and 2) the concept of competence and capability. Finally, we address the implications of incorporating the capabilities approach in learning and teaching in higher education.

It has been 40 years since science, technology, society, and environment (STSE) education first appeared in science education research and practice. Although supported among many educators worldwide, there is much confusion surrounding the STSE slogan. Widely differing discourses on STSE education and diverse ways of practicing, have led to an array of distinct pedagogical approaches, programs, and methods. We are left wondering how we might orient ourselves amid such a diversity of propositions. What does STSE look like in practice? What ideological orientations underpin its practice? In this paper, we review the research literature and educational practices in STSE education to (1) map out a typology of STSE education in the form of currents and (2) provide a heuristic that educators can use for critical analysis of discourses and practices in the field. We identify, explore, and critique six currents in STSE education: application/design, historical, logical reasoning, value-centered, sociocultural, and socio-ecojustice currents. We suggest that these currents may serve as a didactic tool for others, a framework that will assist educators in informing their own theoretical understandings, choices, and practices in the context of STSE education. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.)