Sharing Student Projects

The emergence and widespread adoption of online learning tools and collaborative platforms has opened up new possibilities for teaching and learning (Alahmari, 2019). Colleges and universities and faculty are steadily integrating collaborative learning technologies into their online courses to help promote effective learning strategies. This mixed-methods study explored the impact of online collaborative learning tools on student engagement and learning outcomes in a graduate educational technology course. Fifty-six students were surveyed and three students were interviewed to understand their experiences and perspectives. Quantitative results showed that most students were satisfied with online collaboration, felt it increased engagement and interaction, and wanted further guidance and training from the school and instructor levels. However, fewer felt that online collaboration had improved outcomes. The qualitative findings revealed challenges with the tools and a desire for enhanced interfaces, functionality, guidance and peer supervision. Combining these two aspects suggests that online collaboration tools are positive, but ensuring their benefits relies on strategic implementation and social support.

The study's findings underscore the need to refine technology design, pedagogical integration, training and community building when utilising online collaboration in higher education.

This study explored UK secondary school teacher’s real-life experiences of witnessing and dealing with bias-based bullying. Bias-based bullying involves the victimization of individuals based on their social identities (e.g., racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ identifying people, obesity or ‘disability’) and has a detrimental impact on students’ psychological, social and academic outcomes (e.g., Russell et al., 2012). The aim of this research was therefore to gain a deeper understanding of why teachers are perceived to be ineffective in dealing in bullying intervention (e.g., Williams et al., 2018) and how they can be better supported to have a more positive impact. This study took a qualitative approach to examine and make sense of five secondary school teachers’ experiences. Participants were recruited via social media and interviews conducted on Zoom to explore the the topic with participants where open-ended questions were asked to encourage rich exploration. Data was transcribed and analysed and a research diary was also kept to ensure continual reflection throughout the research process. Two themes emerged which offered explanations as to why and how teachers intervene in incidents of bias-based bullying. Findings were broadly consistent with existing knowledge and bullying research. Firstly, participants felt obliged to intervene and incidents involving prejudice were experienced with some confusion and discomfort (Equality act, 2010; McBride, 2015). Secondly, participants perceived that they had few opportunities to intervene as incidents did not normally happen in class. Participants intervened in direct or overt bullying (e.g. throwing balls of paper at a student or name-calling), rather than indirect, covert incidents (e.g., comments or actions which expressed prejudiced attitudes) (Ellis & Shute, 2007;Yoon, 2004). This highlighted the need to focus on how more ambiguous, relational forms of bias-based bullying should be dealt with as they are common and extremely damaging (Ditch the Label, 2020; Dedousis-Wallace et al., 2014). Participants seemed motivated to intervene when they experienced empathy or perceived incidents as serious (e.g., Vanzoeren & Weisz, 2018; Dedousis-Wallace et al., 2014). An unanticipated finding was that empathy was sometimes combined with feelings of personal distress which implied that teachers may require more emotional, as well as practical, support. Reactive strategies used to target the ‘perpetrator’ including disciplinary methods, or involving staff and parents did not necessarily resolve underlying prejudice and/or change student behaviour. This suggested that teachers need to be supported in building positive connections with parents when teachers’ and parents’ views differ and to move away from only sanctioning students. Preventative measures to target the whole group with open conversations, PHSE lessons and facilitating intergroup contact were perceived to have a more positive impact. Conclusively, it seemed that a whole-school approach, focusing on prevention and inclusivity, should be prioritized over reacting to individual behaviour (Charlesworth, 2020; Anti-bullying Alliance, 2021). This points to the necessity for UK secondary schools to support teachers’ efforts as part of a whole-school approach to reduce bias-based bullying.

Findings from this study have the potential to benefit young people. Bias-based bullying is undeniably harmful to all students and it is a major problem in UK schools with one in four students enduring it (Ditch the Label, 2020). Working to reduce its prevalence will ensure better social and psychological outcomes and greater wellbeing for victims of bullying (Russell et al., 2012). Further, if perpetrators of bullying are not ‘blamed’, but worked with, they too are likely to benefit by learning more positive ways of building relationships and relating to others (Liebmann, 2007). Finally, student bystanders, who witness bullying, will benefit from a safer school environment where they will be less likely to be bullied themselves. Witnessing bias-based bullying is disruptive to the class, prevents learning, and seems to be experienced by some teachers as personally distressing. Working on eradicating the problem could therefore increase teacher wellbeing. Promoting a positive school environment should improve student and teacher wellbeing, improve students’ readiness to learn, academic achievement and social and emotional competencies (Public Health England, 2014). This also has wider implications. If pupils experience a positive, inclusive, warm school culture, this can only be beneficial in influencing social norms at a societal level to ensure a welcoming, inclusive society which makes a conscious effort to reduce harm caused to minority social groups.

The process of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms in secondary and high school in SoutheastAsia can be situated between the contexts of adolescent learners motivated by theirexperience of English mediated by communication technology, of teachers responding to the needs of their learners, and of education policy calling for increased integration of technology in education in order to achieve economic and social development goals. This research is a literature-based project which stems from my curiosity about the use of ICT in my professional role as an English language teacher, and which aims to provide understanding of the current situation of ICT integration from the perspective of EFL teachers. This study follows systematic literature review methods to identify relevant studies and synthesize findings. This dissertation suggests that while EFL teachers view ICT integration as beneficial for delivering instructional content and for helping teachers find resources and plan lessons, other benefits such as student centered learning and enhanced creativity are uncertain. This study finds that EFL teachers’ consider the main challenges to ICT integration as external in terms of a lack of resources, infrastructure, time and training, and internal in terms of a lack of confidence and pedagogical knowledge which results in attitudes antithetical to ICT use in classroom practice. This study considers that solutions to these challenges involve contributions from educational authorities, administrators and teachers to ease the lack of resources, position ICT in the curriculum to help teachers manage time, and support training to improve competence and change attitudes towards effective use of ICT in teaching.

This review will enable teachers and educational leaders in the geographic and educational setting to understand the phenomenon of ICT integration better to inform and advance the conditions of EFL classroom teaching practice.

This study was initiated with the primary objective of addressing the pivotal question: What goals should education target for the forthcoming era? Recognising the significance of having a clear educational direction, this research operates under the premise that emerging digital technologies, notably Artificial Intelligence (AI), will become ubiquitous in our society. Consequently, it delves into the essential human qualities and values that will be paramount in this imminent AI-integrated future. The rationale is that the values deemed crucial for the future should guide the skills and competencies we instill in learners today. From this perspective, the capacity to envisage a future is a vital skill in this AI-symbioTc society, and this competence can also clarify what education is looking for in technologies such as AI. The discourse then pivots to methodologies that can nurture this capacity. Operating on the hypothesis that perceptual depth, which is shaped through intellectual, human, and contemplative experiences, can refine this ability, this research designed an art-based experienTal session. Participants were engaged in this session, and its impact was subsequently assessed using questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. The findings indicate that the curated sessions consTtuted those three experiences, enriched participants' perceptual depth, and influenced their ability to conceptualise the future. These changes were evident from the data gathered and the narratives from the questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups.

This study underscores the importance of fostering a forward looking perspective in education, especially when integrating innovative technologies. It also offers insights into cultivating this vision and stimulates discourse on interpreting and assessing the envisioned futures.

Since the COVID-19 epidemic, m-learning has gained a significant degree of development in mainland China. The great potential of m-learning in enabling learners to learn anytime and anywhere, has attracted the attention of academics and governments. University students use mobile devices for mobile learning almost every day, and m-learning has gradually become an important way for students to expand their knowledge. Students have strong autonomy when they are engaged in m-learning, so their acceptance of m-learning will have an important impact on the effectiveness of m-learning. Taking this as a starting point, this study constructed a model containing five variables using the UTAUT model and conducted an empirical test to determine the factors affecting the acceptance of m-learning among postgraduate students from mainland China who study education-related majors in the United Kingdom. This study also examined the mediated effect of perceived satisfaction. Data was collected from 120 students enrolled in the institution of Education at the University of Manchester. The data was analyzed by SPSS 27 and AMOS 26. The result shown that perceived playfulness (β=0.442) and performance expectancy (β=0.353) had a significant positive influence on the acceptance of m-learning, while social influence and facilitating condition did not impact behavioral intention. This paper innovatively introduced perceived satisfaction as a mediating variable into the UTAUT model, and after data analysis, it was found that perceived satisfaction had a mediated effect on the influence of perceived playfulness and performance expectancy on behavioral intention.

This study validates and extends the UTAUT model on the basis of the previous studies and tests the applicability of the model for research in East Asia. The researcher also incorporates the problems that emerged during this study to provide suggestions for subsequent researchers.

The current study investigated the influence of the duration of the Education, Health, Care plan (EHCP) process and the role of level of professional support on the emotional well-being of 103 parents who had completed the EHCP process within the last year. Parents were asked to a complete an online questionnaire that asked for demographic information (age, gender, education level, social class), duration of the EHCP process (in weeks), level of professional support received, and the positive and negative emotions experienced in relation to the last year. The questionnaire was advertised on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and social forums for parents such as ‘’Scope Community”, which included a summary of the study and a link to the questionnaire. The questionnaire was split into six short pages beginning with a participation information sheet that detailed information about the purpose of the study and what is involved, followed by a consent form. This was then followed by asking participants for their demographic information and by the measures. The questionnaire then finished with a debrief sheet that provided information on organisations for additional support if needed. Findings revealed that a longer EHCP process was related to more negative emotions experienced, more professional support received was related with more positive emotions and less negative emotions experienced and older age individuals reported lower positive emotions. These findings lend support to existing evidence and literature for various reasons. First, delays in the EHCP process can result in more negative emotions experienced by parents, therefore further emphasises the importance of the EHCP process being completed within the legal 20-week time frame. Second, although the level of professional support received by the parent may not reduce the impact of delays in the EHCP process, the amount of professional support received is important for parents’ emotional well-being. Third, investigating the impact of age on emotional well-being may not be as simple as it seems because parents may have different emotional experiences of the EHCP process regardless of their age. Therefore, both the duration of the EHCP process and level of professional support have independent influences that could be important for parents’ emotional well-being. With this study being one of the first in investigating the impact of delays in the EHCP process on parents’ emotional well-being, further research is advantageous. Investigating factors such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the stressors parents on the EHCP process face could improve this study by adding to the findings and existing knowledge. With delays in the EHCP process rising and concerns of professional support not being provided (Richardson, 2019), effective interventions in addressing delays and ensuring parents are receiving the support during the process is beneficial.

As the current study relates to the EHCP process, the research might benefit all experts involved in the process. In the initial request for an EHCP, evidence is gathered from all experts involved in supporting the child to support the request (e.g. occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, clinical psychologists, paediatricians). The amount of evidence gathered determines whether or not the child is accepted for an EHCP. Although, gathering more evidence could mean waiting on several experts which may delay putting in an initial request. An initial request is then sent to the local authority, which has a six-week time frame in deciding whether to accept the request. However, parents are often waiting longer than the six-week time frame for confirmation. As more EHCP’s are being issued, more parents are likely to face delays in their EHCP process. With knowledge on this research, experts and local authorities involved in issuing an EHCP would be aware of the emotional impact delays may have on parents and could determine why delays are occurring in the EHCP process so measures can be put in place to ensure that deadlines are met. This research also further emphasises the importance of professionals providing support to parents, outlined in the Children and Families Act (2014) service standards associated with EHCPs for local authorities. The Special education needs and disability accountability framework also provides structure for improving outcomes and experiences of children, young people and their families and is applied at local and national levels. Local authorities may further benefit from this research by creating more frameworks in ensuring policies are being followed and that parents are provided with professional support and access to relevant resources and services during the entire process towards completion of an EHCP. In certain circumstances, delays are likely to happen. Although, this research could help parents be prepared for an emotional experience by looking for ways to prevent their emotional well-being from being affected.

Higher education students are required to apply themselves to their academic studies, towards an end goal of passing exams and assignments and gaining credits to ultimately graduate. This can induce significant levels of stress in students (Reddy et al., 2018), which has negative implications for both wellbeing and academic outcomes (Khan et al., 2013; Ruzhenkova et al., 2018). Executive Function (EF) is high order cognitive function that is essential for learning processes. EF has been linked to a variety of positive educational outcomes, such as adaptive learning behaviours and academic performance (Cartwright et al., 2020; Rabin et al., 2011). It is therefore important to understand the factors which effect stress and EF in students. Mindfulness has been linked to both decreases in stress and increases in EF suggesting it could be a useful skill to target in higher education students. Therefore, this research aimed to explore the relationships between trait mindfulness, perceived stress and EF and to explore whether trait mindfulness effects EF indirectly through perceived stress. The target population of this study was higher education students, due to their increased vulnerability to stress and their reliance on EF to meet educational goals. The study sampled 78 higher education students from UK universities, aged 18-25 years old. Participants completed selfreport questionnaires measuring trait mindfulness, perceived stress and EF. In order to assess the relationships between these factors, bivariate correlations, multiple regression and mediation analysis were utilised. Results showed that greater trait mindfulness significantly predicted EF ability and that this relationship was still significant after controlling for perceived stress. Additionally, the relationship between trait mindfulness and EF and was not mediated by perceived stress. Greater trait mindfulness was also associated with lower levels of perceived stress. An initial negative association between perceived stress and EF was seen, however this was no longer significant after controlling for trait mindfulness. The findings were in line with existing literature, which has seen trait mindfulness to predict lower levels of stress, as well as greater levels of EF. Limited research observes the relationships between all three of these variables and none thus far have observed the mediating effect of perceived stress on the relationship between trait mindfulness and EF. However, the findings do contrast with emerging research suggesting that perceived stress mediates the relationship between trait mindfulness and cognitive function more broadly. This study highlights the strong associations between trait mindfulness and both stress and EF and emphasises the need for future longitudinal research to explore causation in the relationships between trait mindfulness and EF and to further the emerging evidence suggesting trait mindfulness causes lower stress. Presently, trait mindfulness is linked with a variety of positive outcomes and may be an extremely useful skill for higher education students.

This study highlights how trait mindfulness is associated with lower levels of perceived stress and greater EF ability in higher education students. The findings add to the growing body of literature suggesting that individuals with higher trait mindfulness hold characteristics that can protect them from stress and improve EF. A variety of stakeholders, including students, universities, health professionals and psychology practitioners may benefit from the contributions to knowledge made by this study, as it furthers understanding of how both stress and EF which are linked to positive outcomes in students. Students are particularly vulnerable to experiencing stress, and the findings from this study support the use of mindfulness as an effective strategy for stress reduction. EF supports higher education students to engage in adaptive learning behaviours and perform better in assessments that contribute to successful graduation from their courses. EF ability has also been linked to achievement, health, wealth in later life. It has been shown that EF is a trainable skill and can be improved at any age and the current findings support that trait mindfulness could boost EF in higher education students. Mindfulness interventions are becoming increasingly available at universities for students to access (Cieslak et al., 2016) however students more commonly perceive mindfulness as an emotion regulation strategy than a skill that can support EF or their academic skills and performance (Bamber & Schneider, 2022). Universities should continue to explore different interventions through which student mindfulness can be improved, and make attempts to increase student awareness on the possible benefits to EF. Such strategies may be particularly useful around exam periods and assessment deadlines, when students are dealing with increased academic pressures. Likewise, health and psychology practitioners can use the current findings to guide their support of students experiencing high stress, or EF deficits.

Following school closures and disruptions, there have been efforts to bridge the academic attainment gap which has been further exacerbated by the pandemic (EEF, 2022). However, very few studies have been conducted to explore, from a qualitative angle, the perceived impact of school closures and disruptions on children’s SEWB from SD communities. The aim of this project was to explore the perceived impact of school closures and disruptions on SD primary school pupils. A qualitative approach was taken to capture perceptions and voice of primary school staff members’ lived experiences of the school closures as well as recommendations they have for future educational practitioners to consider. A total of eight participants participated in remote Zoom interviews reflecting two primary schools in Manchester and one in Liverpool. Two teaching assistants, three teachers, two headteachers and an inclusion manager participated in the study. RTA was used to analyse the interviews, revealing two themes ‘perceived challenges and personal narratives’ and ‘school as a support system’. The first theme aimed to capture the lived experiences of school staff during and following school closures and the unique challenges that their schoolchildren and families faced as a result of SD. Perceived challenges affecting the SEWB of children included play deprivation, long periods of social isolation in poor housing conditions, increased parental stress, low exposure to English and food insecurity. These challenges were perceived to have affected children’s ability to manage their emotions, their peer relationships and communication and language skills. The second theme encompasses the response to these perceived challenges, in that schools responded as a support system offering both instrumental and emotional support to children and their families. Staff recalled implementing targeted support, emotion-coaching strategies and adopting trauma-informed approaches. However, staff also recalled financial and organisational barriers to implementation of targeted support. Recommendations for addressing these challenges include improving parent-school relationships, increasing access to sensory provision and educational trips and embedding a whole-school culture of trauma-informed practice and emotion coaching. These findings fit in with the wider literature regarding the negative impact of SD on SEWB outcomes in children (Masarik & Conger, 2017; Rahal & Stigler, 2022). Additionally, the findings offer support to the existing literature on the negative impact of school closures and disruptions (Marchant et al., 2021; Tso et al., 2020; Vallejo-Slocker et al., 2020). To conclude, whilst these findings are not causal, they should be interpreted as offering valuable insight into the unique systemic challenges that these communities face and how these lived experiences have been perceived to have negatively impacted SEWB outcomes. Given the mental health crisis that has been exacerbated by the pandemic, these findings offer insights into the mechanisms that precede future mental health difficulties. It is clear that school staff have advocated through the pandemic for SD children, therefore, their recommendations hold saliency and value in what could be put in place to address these disparities.

As we now turn to a post-pandemic reality, the literature alludes to the fact that a pre-pandemic schooling structure cannot continue if education policy and practice are to address the academic and SEWB disparities in SD children. Therefore, the impact of this research is that it can allow for an insight into what can be put in place to support various stakeholders. As the research concerns the SEWB of SD children, this research can benefit them directly as efforts can be made to address the challenges that they face and shed light on their lived experiences. Particularly, as child SEWB has become central to inclusive education practice and research, it is important to understand how these learners experience their interrelated worlds of school, family and community (Corcoran & Kaneva, 2021). Moreover, whilst this research has focused on children’s wellbeing outcomes, the literature indicates parental wellbeing is important in being able to support their children socially and emotionally. Therefore, this research is important for highlighting the role that parents have played during the pandemic and how the cultivation of a parent-school relationship can benefit the child. To ensure effective inclusion practice, there is a requirement to involve families and wider communities beyond schools (Lewis et al., 2019). Additionally, these findings were helpful in understanding how schools can respond as a support system to address the short and long-term effects of school closures and disruptions. School staff working in SD communities have an additional challenge of addressing these barriers with very little resources and financial support. Thus, illuminating the voices of adults who have had the most contact with this marginalised group can allow for educational policymakers to be more informed in addressing the context-specific barriers of implementing effective SEWB strategies within educational settings.