Energy literacy is a minimum required capacity for developing a sustainable society that participates in and discusses on energy and environmental (EE) issues. Understanding the energy literacy structure is of significant importance for providing effective energy education to promote people’s awareness of EE issues. In this article, an energy literacy structural model integrated with the Theory of Planned Behavior and Value-Belief-Norm Theory was investigated for 1070 lower secondary students (ages 13-15) in Japan. Structural equation modeling uncovered that the awareness of consequences is the most powerful predictor for the causality between basic energy knowledge and energy-saving behavior through the attitude toward the energy-saving behavior. A conditional process analysis elucidated that (1) the conditional effect of basic energy knowledge on the awareness of consequences depends on scientific literacy, critical thinking ability, and environmental worldview, and (2) the conditional direct and indirect effects in the mediation model of awareness of consequences on the attitude toward energy-saving behavior through the ascription of responsibility depend on environmental worldview or values and family discussion of energy-related issues. The energy literacy model proposed provides a theoretical contribution to the development of an effective energy education program.

Child maltreatment is a serious problem, worldwide. Children and young people who have experienced maltreatment face multiple physical and mental health challenges which hinder their success at school and these adverse experiences makes them more challenging to teach than their non-maltreated peers. Increasingly, teachers are considered as an important part of the wider the child protection workforce as they are well-placed to intervene and prevent further harm. To fulfil this role effectively, teachers require requisite training beginning in initial teacher education programs. This paper is a protocol for a systematic scoping review that asks: “What is known about preservice/initial teacher education for child protection?”  Systematic scoping reviews are worthwhile and necessary in fields where research is diverse and needing of synthesis to identify strengths in the body of evidence and identify gaps to set new research directions. We will draw on Askey and O’Malley’s six-stage scoping review methodology to assess the scope, range, and nature of research activity on this topic. We will add an innovative seventh stage involving a commitment to disseminating and applying knowledge generated from the review. The research question has been established, and key terms defined (Stage 1). The search strategy has been devised, and searches have been run (Stage 2). Round 1 screening of titles and abstracts is completed and full text screening is currently in progress (Stage 3). To our knowledge this is the first attempt to systematically map the empirical literature on child protection in pre-service teacher education. When completed, this systematic scoping review will offer a comprehensive, transparent, and replicable way to assess the full scope of empirical research on this important topic of utmost educational relevance.

Understanding the structure of energy literacy is of importance to provide an effective energy education. This article reports the difference in attributes of energy literacy by applying the energy literacy structural model proposed in our previous study through lower secondary school students in Thailand (N = 635) and Japan (N = 1070). Results indicated that Thai students scored higher than those of Japan except the basic energy knowledge and awareness of consequences. On the other hand, the amount of basic energy knowledge did not affect to increase the entire energy literacy of Japanese students. Moreover, mean values of Japan tended to decrease with the school year progression. The energy literacy model was able to support our previous outcome that the awareness of consequences plays a critical role to link between basic energy knowledge and energy-saving behavior. The social expectations or pressures may affect the structure of energy literacy of Thai students. This study suggested that the energy education required in Thailand is to enable students to derive solutions by their own critical thinking based on knowledge relevant to the energy and environmental issues. While, for Japan, it may be necessary to implement energy education as early as possible to enhance students’ awareness of consequences in an appropriate manner incorporating with family participation and visiting energy-related facility. These findings contribute the development of energy education for improving energy literacy in an effective manner.  

Satellite remote sensing has been largely adopted in all kinds of environmental applications as it has proved to be an excellent tool for research and decision-making purposes. It has also been recognized as an important educational tool in the past years. However, it has been insufficiently incorporated in school practice, especially at the elementary level. This article describes the use of remotes sensing as a tool to present science topics in the elementary classroom. A phenomenon-based approach was adopted to introduce the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI) to eighty-one second and third-grade students. The students’ experiences in their learning environment were collected with the use of a questionnaire developed for that purpose. The pedagogical approach encouraged the students’ critical thinking and individual observations to try to explain the phenomenon working with the other students and the adults in the class- room. The phenomenon-based approach, along with the powerful visualizations of the remotely sensed data kept the students motivated and active. Seventy-one percent of the students reported that this was an engaging activity, and seventy-eight percent said that they would like to participate in similar activities in the future. The rest of the responses were neutral. None of the students were previously familiar with remote sensing or the UHI. This experience showed that it is critical to have adequate and appropriate resources readily available, as well as efficient facilitation in order to tackle this pedagogical approach. The activity was organized for Earth Observation Day (EOD), 2016, in the framework of a West Virginia View funded project. EOD is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) educational outreach event that occurs yearly and during which scientists, all of whom are experts in remote sensing and related geospatial technologies, are available to support teachers in their respective states.

To explore their role in enhancing graduate employability, the study investigated the effectiveness of student internships as pedagogical practices in promoting employability skills amongst graduating students in four Social Science Degree programmes of selected universities in Zambia. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 162 participants through the questionnaires and interview guides using a mixed-methods approach. The participants included different actors in the labour industry as critical informants; graduating students taking Social Science Degree Programmes; Lecturers, and Employers. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using the SPSS version 24 and Atlas. Ti. Version 8, respectively. This study employed the Human Capability Approach and Human Capital theories. Findings indicated that although internship practices were considered an essential component in the social science degree programmes for skills development, their effectiveness in promoting employability skills amongst graduating students varied from one programme to the other. The findings have implications on how universities and the labour industry could work together to design and implement internship experiences for students in social science degree programmes that are more effective in promoting the acquisition of employability skills in Zambia.

Gender is ever present in education preparation, school materials, curriculum, and school systems. To improve our knowledge about different facets of gender and the extent to which the depiction of gender has changed over time in picture books, there is a need to dig beneath the surface of questions about gender representation in picture books. Given that in-service teachers have proximity to approximately 75 million K-12 students, how in-service teachers think about gender, gender representation, and their own experiences with gender socialization have important implications on how K-12 students think, act, and feel about gender. In this study, we focused on teachers’ responses to a semester-long assignment about the selection and review of picture books. Specifically, we captured teachers’ perceptions on gendered images evidenced in picture books and to what extent there are changes (i.e., economical, emotional, physical, political, and social) in the central character throughout the book. We also explored if perceived changes were different based on the gender of the characters. Teachers reported four types of changes among the characters in the picture book. Emotionally changes in the books’ central characters emerged as the most commonly reported change among our participants.

Open educational resources (OER) are an innovation coined to bridge the educational divide by providing free quality learning resources. Consequently, this study explored the perception of the Namibian open and distance learning institutions' perception of the use of OER as a pedagogical approach. The study focused on faculty members from the three public ODL institutions in Namibia. Integrated theories with a qualitative case study and interpretivist paradigm underpin this study. Qualitative methodologies were used to collect and analyse data. This study showed an inconsistency between the faculty members' perceptions and OER use within the ODL institutions in Namibia. Although the faculty members displayed positive attitudes towards the use of OER, very little has been achieved in the use of OER within the institutions for the benefit of the Namibian ODL students. The study identified various challenges that impede OER adoption at the institutional level. Recommendations were formulated to address the identified challenges.

In this study, we aimed to determine the extent to which secondary school students practise environmental ethics. To this end, we used a questionnaire-based survey to accomplish the purpose of the study. The study’s variables included knowledge, value, care, and responsibility in environmental ethics. We selected a sample of 180 students using systematic random sampling from a population of 347 Form Four secondary school students studying geography in Papar, Sabah, Malaysia. The findings showed that all study variables, knowledge, value, care and responsibility were at high levels. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis revealed that the value and care variable in environmental ethics influenced the responsibility variable which contributed 14.5% and 2.7%, respectively to student’s environmental ethics. Based on the findings, we concluded that students who incorporate environmental ethics into their daily lives will successfully fulfil their environmental ethics responsibilities. The study’s implications suggest that environmental education in schools exposes students to environmental ethics and helps them develop more ethical and disciplined attitudes towards the environment.

The purpose of the study is to explore the ways of involving university stakeholders specifically in updating educational services. It combined exploratory and observational research methods which relied on qualitative or quantitative data gathered through the researcher-designed and validated tools which were the empirical and methodological contributions to the previous research. The five most frequent choices that might encourage the stakeholders to donate or invest in an educational institution were as follows: a portfolio of the use of donations, investments, or grants, having a stake in the educational services of more than 7%, having access to budgeting and cost reporting, having a share in the institutions’ profit and being one of the decision-makers. The factors that discouraged investors from investing in education were as follows: distrust of the activity of the educational institutions in terms of addressing the stakeholders’ needs or interests, lack of engagement or cooperation, institutional and government-imposed barriers between them and the institutions, uncertainty concerning the efficiency of the institutions and inefficient use of the resources by the institutions. The initiative was complimentarily perceived by stakeholders in terms of collaboration and investment opportunities. It was also found beneficial by the sampled students.

The purpose of this study was to compile and statistically analyze the results of research studies that examined students' problem-solving skills in worksheets. The research method used was a meta-analysis. The study search was conducted from 2013 to 2022 in Google Scholar and the Garuda portal databases. The search yielded 40 studies that met the inclusion criteria for extraction from research and development, experimental, and quasi-experimental. From the extracted results, 45 comparisons of data were examined. Microsoft Excel was used to calculate the effect size of the problem-solving worksheet. This study yielded a value of 1.281 for the entire study, indicating that the worksheet had a significant and positive impact on students' problem-solving skills. The results indicate the need to develop worksheets to improve students' problem-solving skills.

This study aims to develop a schoolpreneur model appropriate for Malaysia's secondary school environment. The current study surveyed students participating in the Program Tunas Commerce (PROTUNe) and the Young Entrepreneurs Association (PUM) in the states of Perak, Selangor, and Negeri Sembilan to accomplish these purposes. A survey-based technique was used to collect data, and 400 students participated. With a cross-sectional research design, this research uses a quantitative research methodology. This research employed exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) for statistical analysis. The study's findings show that six highlighted factors can be incorporated to develop a schoolpreneur model. These factors all significantly affect the schoolpreneur model. A significant correlation of the schoolpreneur model of more than 60% indicates the significance of talent skills, mentors, incubators, individual personality, role models, and family background in the development of the schoolpreneur model. As a result, secondary schools can conduct entrepreneurial activities better due to the development of the schoolpreneur model.

This study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis techniques, with the aim of testing the structural effect of family support, entrepreneurial training, on entrepreneurial intentions, with self-efficacy and student achievement motivation as mediators. A total of 203 students participated in this study, through a questionnaire distributed online. The SEM analysis was performed using the Amos 24 App. The results showed that the family environment and entrepreneurship training had a direct and indirect effect on entrepreneurial intentions through self-efficacy and student achievement motivation. The model proposed and tested in this study can be a constructive guide for related parties in an effort to promote students' entrepreneurial intentions.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) refers to education on the values and behaviors necessary for a sustainable future and society where everyone receives high-quality benefits. In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, convergence thinking is emphasized as a method of ESD. Therefore, this study aims to derive a model for developing open convergence subjects for ESD. The idea for this model was derived by combining the process of establishing a Convergence Department at Rey Juan Carlos University in Spain and the unit activities of Kyoto University in Japan. The challenges of failing to achieve the original goal and purpose of convergence due to emphasizing specific majors were solved by defining requirements for the model. Convergence subjects that meet the requirements are developed by following the order of the proposed model. In the future, a convergence subject pilot model will be applied using the proposed model to present and operate a course development process called “technology and future are seen through the window of currency”.

Knowledge-based economy is an economic model students need to be prepared for a future economic model that uses knowledge as its main resource. Therefore, this study developed and validated instruments for constructing knowledge-based economy readiness among undergraduate students. This study used an online questionnaire with 120 respondents of economic education students in educational universities in East Java, Indonesia, for exploratory factor analysis and 417 respondents for confirmatory factor analysis. Then, statistical analysis was conducted using exploratory factor analysis in SPSS and confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS. This study first developed five factors of knowledge of economics, readiness for economic challenges, readiness for education, readiness for infrastructure, and readiness for innovation, consisting of 27 items. However, one item was removed because the loading factor was below .50. Consequently, 26 items were retained because the loading factor was significantly greater than .50. The Cronbach's alpha value for each item of the knowledge-based economy readiness construct was >.60 and met all goodness of fit index criteria, which means that it meets the requirements and can measure the construct of knowledge-based economy readiness. Since this study meets the validity and reliability requirements of the constructs leading to knowledge-based economy readiness, these results will help students prepare for the current and future knowledge-based economy. They can be used in developing economic education curricula in higher education.

In teaching, students' representations could constitute an obstacle to the construction of scientific knowledge and are often considered stable cognitive structures whose organization is sought to be inferred through questionnaires and interviews. This study aims at identifying and analyzing high school students’ representations related to the concept of biodiversity. To meet this objective, a semi-structured interview and a questionnaire were used to collect data. 202 Moroccan students participated in this survey (46.5% from rural areas and 53.5% from urban areas of the "Direction Provinciale" of education of Guelmim city in Morocco). The results of the interview indicated that only 1.82% of the students gave a definition that consists of the three biodiversity dimensions, namely the species, the ecosystems, and the genetic diversity. The questionnaire results revealed a low to medium correlation between their representations and their acquired knowledge related to the concept of biodiversity dealt with in Moroccan school programs (from the discipline of "scientific activity" in the primary cycle and that of "life and earth sciences" in the secondary cycle). The results further indicated a low presence of supervised activities related to biodiversity within the school and therefore a low degree of influence on the students' representations. It was concluded that there was no effective transmission or adequate assimilation of the concept of biodiversity among the students surveyed.

Pre-service science teachers need to be aware of eco-literacy and biotechnology as they will teach science subjects to students from the perspectives of 21st-century skills. This study aimed to develop a web-based module on biotechnology and examine preservice science teachers’ eco-literacy skills after using the developed module. The study used a research and development design adopting Molenda’s product development model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation/ADDIE). There were 60 students majoring in science education as the research participants. The data were collected using a needs analysis questionnaire, a curriculum analysis form, a validation sheet, tests, and a response questionnaire. The obtained quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 25 with descriptive statistical tests with Swanson’s quantifications. Results showed that the web-based module on biotechnology could be developed through ADDIE stages with experts’ high validity results (M = 4.59, valid with revision). The module significantly improved the teachers’ eco-literacy skills on biotechnology topics (F = 14.053, p = .000, N = 60). This result implies that the web-based module on biotechnology can assist preservice science teachers in improving their eco-literacy skills.

This qualitative study explored the possibility of implementing the happy school model (HSM) in the context of Vietnamese higher education, with a focus on the socio-cultural perspectives of nine tertiary English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers at different career stages. Through semi-structured interviews, thematic analysis, and theoretical underpinning by constructivist paradigm and humanistic education theory, the study illuminated multifaceted insights. Key themes emerged, including aligning the HSM with holistic student development, recognizing challenges and potential benefits, balancing traditional Confucian values, and adapting the model to Vietnam’s unique socio-cultural and economic landscape. The findings provide valuable guidance for educational innovation in Vietnam, highlighting complexities of aligning a new educational paradigm with existing practices and cultural norms. While the study’s focus on a specific cultural context and limited participant pool presents certain limitations, the insights offer rich contributions to the broader global dialogue on education and human development. Future research directions and practical implications are also discussed, making this study a valuable resource for educators, policymakers, and researchers interested in the intersection of universal educational principles and specific cultural contexts like Vietnam.

The review article presents an analysis of the literature on environmental literacy in sustainable development. By utilizing techniques to examine multiple documents published between 2013 and 2023, including citation analysis, co-authorship analysis, subject area analysis, and keyword analysis, this study aims to provide valuable information and insights into the research landscape surrounding environmental literacy and its contribution to promoting sustainable development. A systematic search was conducted to gather several scientific articles, conference papers, and publications from the Scopus database from 2013 to 2023. The findings of this analysis shed light on authors, influential institutions, and active research groups that contributed to the study of environmental literacy and sustainable development. This comprehensive review offers an understanding of the state of research in this field while identifying areas for further exploration and research gaps. The insights gained from this study can be highly beneficial for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to advance knowledge and take action toward promoting literacy's role in sustainable development. This analysis is a foundation for advancing our understanding of literacy's significance while emphasizing its vital role in sustainable development efforts.

In the context of Vietnam's primary schools undergoing a digital transformation, this research investigates the relationship between organizational culture (OC), digital capabilities (DC), and organizational readiness (OR) for change. This survey, which employs a quantitative methodology, includes 892 teachers and school managers from different elementary schools. Analyses were conducted using SPSS Statistics 26.0. The study shows a favorable relationship between digital skills and organizational readiness, suggesting that more digitally capable institutions are better equipped to handle change. Furthermore, a significant correlation exists between corporate culture, digital skills, and organizational readiness, indicating that schools with a creative and supportive culture are more prone to embrace digital change. These results advance knowledge of the variables affecting organizational change-readiness in Vietnam's primary school digital transformation. These results also have significant implications for educational policymakers, school administrators, and other stakeholders facilitating digital transformation in primary schools. By recognizing the benefits of digital capabilities and organizational culture for organizational change readiness, decision-makers can implement strategies to foster a supportive culture and enhance digital capabilities within educational institutions, ultimately leading to more successful and effective digital transformation initiatives.