Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating The Connection Between Liberal Arts And Sciences Education And Democracy: Representing Marginal Groups, Hamdi Echkaou, Jaouad Elbakili

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This study investigates the role of liberal arts and sciences (LAS) education in fostering democratization through the representation of Morocco’s Amazigh community. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with Amazigh students at Al Akhawayn University (AUI), the research employs a qualitative framework to explore themes of linguistic identity, curriculum inclusivity, and institutional support. Findings reveal gaps in cultural representation despite AUI’s commitment to global citizenship, highlighting the need for representative curriculum, cultural programming, and faculty representing that community. The study contributes to comparative higher education by underscoring LAS institutions’ potential to advance democracy through equitable representation of marginalized groups. Recommendations …

Using The Practice Based Coaching Model For Professional Development In Head Start Programs, Julia Cuevas Guerra

Human Development and School Services Faculty Publications

A mixed-methods descriptive single-case research design explored the effects of implementing the Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) model at a South Texas Early Head Start Center. Three bilingual coaches used the Practiced-Based Coaching model to provide professional development on emergent biliteracy instruction for three bilingual teachers of 2- to 3-year-olds. Coaches and teachers used reflexive journals, focus groups, pre- and post-observation checklists, and surveys to share their views and experiences with the Practice-Based Coaching model. Results showed the Practice Based Coaching model is effective teacher and coach training. The model’s ripple effect fostered a coach-teacher collaboration via social learning, boosting teachers’ emergent …

Implementing The Practice Based Coaching Model For Inclusion In Early Childhood Education, Julia Cuevas Guerra

Human Development and School Services Faculty Publications

This mixed method descriptive single case research explored the effects of implementing the Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) model at an Early Head Start Center in South Texas. The Practice-Based Coaching model provided professional development by three bilingual coaches to three bilingual teachers of young children ages 2-3 about emergent biliteracy instruction. Data was collected from coaches and teachers through reflexive journals, focus group interview, pre and post observation checklists and surveys to get their perceptions and experiences with the Practice-Based Coaching model. The findings showed the Practice Based Coaching model is an effective learning practice for teachers and coaches. The model …

Assessing Community Extension Initiative In Developing Culture-Based Iped For Teachers And Learners In Sultan Kudarat, Philippines, Ramil M. Arciosa, Lovelyn C. Llanillo, Anneril R. Lorio, Mary Grace Gallego, Leizel Meriales, Armando Dardo, Dennis Valdez, Jonalyn Perfecio, Noriana Aguil

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

One of the tenets of higher education is the extension of the community that responds to the social and cultural surroundings, including the Indigenous Peoples (IP) and their rights to education. A supportive and relevant education with respect to cultural identity becomes important. This study aims to assess a community extension initiative at its preliminary stage in developing IPEd in the Philippines based on the teachers’ and learners’ awareness level of such programs. The study was conducted in two IPEd schools, Manirub Integrated School and Ugis Elementary School, at Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat. The study examined the teachers’ and learners’ awareness …

The Architecture Of Encounter: Intercultural Communication, Collaboration, And Community Immersion As Pedagogical Space, Yonghyun Yu, Caecilia Srikanti Wijayaputri, Yenny Gunawan, Franseno Pujianto, Yonav Partana

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

Being community responsive in such a multicultural context requires an intercultural approach to bridge the mutual understanding and collaboration. There is a surge to introduce intercultural learning to students within their role as a global community. This study analyzes the 2023 International Architecture Workshop (IAW) taking place in Bali, a collaboration among the University of Ulsan, Universitas Gunadarma, and Parahyangan Catholic University, through the lens of intercultural learning. Due to an increasing demand for intercultural competence, transnational collaboration, and community-responsive design literacy, this workshop provides important capacities in architectural education. This workshop shows how a situated pedagogy can reconfigure students’ …

Perspectives Of Russian Language Educators On Meeting The Needs Of Heritage And L2 Learners In Mixed Classes, Maria Goebert

Russian Language Journal

In less commonly taught languages, such as Russian, heritage and non-heritage learners often share the same classes. Teachers in these settings must differentiate instruction to meet the diverse needs of their students. Online teaching adds an additional layer of complexity that instructors must address in their course design. This qualitative study explores the perspectives of 12 Russian language educators, working across various educational settings, on the language learning needs of heritage and non-heritage learners in mixed classes. It examines how these teachers adapt their instruction to support their students and meet the demands of different teaching modalities. The study also …

Dynamic And Stable Motivation Patterns In Intensive Second Language Learning: Insights From A Russian Summer Immersion Program, Dmitrii Pastushenkov

Russian Language Journal

Understanding what shapes student motivation is essential to improving second language (L2) programs. While motivation is among the widely studied individual differences (IDs) in second language acquisition (SLA), research has largely focused on commonly taught languages, limiting broader applicability. This mixed-methods study, grounded in Dynamic Systems Theory (DST), explores the motivational development of learners studying a less commonly taught language (LCTL), Russian, during an eight-week summer immersion program. Data were collected from 52 students across four instructional levels. Motivation was assessed through two brief online surveys, developed based on research by Gardner, Dörnyei, Lanvers, Thompson, and others, and administered during …

Variability Of Individual Learner Trajectories In A Transformative Language Program, Victoria Hasko, Anastasiya Smith

Russian Language Journal

This qualitative multiple case study investigates how individual learner differences manifest and evolve within a transformative, proficiency-oriented undergraduate Russian language program. Drawing on complexity theory and transformative approaches to language education, the study explores how learners’ motivations, identities, and professional aspirations develop in a curriculum that integrates advanced language learning with long-term career planning. Three focal participants were followed longitudinally across their undergraduate trajectories, using a combination of standardized proficiency assessments and in-depth reflective interviews. Thematic analysis revealed four key themes shaping learner development: evolving orientations toward language learning, the curriculum as a transformative scaffold, emerging professional identities, and growing …

The Mediating Role Of Positive Psychology: Mindfulness And Learner Beliefs In The Russian Language Classroom, Kelly Knickmeier Cummings

Russian Language Journal

Language learning is an inherently emotional process, shaped by both positive and negative experiences that influence the individual difference of learner beliefs. This article explores the mediating role of positive psychology (PP) in second language acquisition (SLA), with a particular focus on mindfulness and its potential to reshape learner beliefs in the Russian language classroom. Drawing on theories such as Seligman’s PERMA model and Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory, as well as evidence-based interventions, the article argues that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) provide practical tools for cultivating positive learner beliefs and inclusive, growth-oriented classroom environments. Examples of MBIs—including practices of noticing, savoring, exploring …

International Education And Spiritual Emptiness A Reflection From Europe, Nitya N. Timsina

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This essay is a revolt against a biased understanding called “internationalization” in education which grounds all historical, geographical, philosophical, ecological, and cultural distinctions in the world into a Platonic absolute. The key to this problem, this essay argues, lies in the drive to ontological, conceptual, or theoretical understanding in our approach to knowledge with its primacy in the Western thought. This essay calls into question this absolute sphere of influence, power and mastery enjoyed by the Western sciences, and a sense of space and authority it enjoys to make others impossible in the world. It does so by bringing different …

Intercultural Transofmrational Experiences Of International Faculty In An American University, David Benefo, Wisdom Mensah

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This qualitative interpretive study investigated the intercultural and transformational experiences of selected international faculty in a public university in the southeastern United States. This study collected data using semi-structured interviews with seven African and Asian international faculty from a public university in the southeastern United States. The themes that emerged from the data showed that time was of the essence in achieving proficiency in the communication systems of the host environment. Learning about the culture of the host environment was a gradual learning process that involved strategies such as total cultural immersion in the university activities, regular interaction with American-born …

Revitalizing The Application Of Pancasila Values Through Modeling The Lonto Leok Culture Of The Manggarai Community, Eastern Indonesia, Yulius R. Effendi

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This study explores the potential for integrating Lonto Leok culture as a character education model based on Pancasila values in schools. This research employs a qualitative approach utilizing a case study methodology. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis in Manggarai communities and schools that have integrated the Lonto Leok cultural tradition into their learning processes. The data analysis confidently employed a triangulation approach to solidify the validity of the research outcomes, ensuring their credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability. The research results indicate that the values espoused in Lonto Leok culture, including religiosity, deliberation, unity, peace, and justice, …

Registro Del Roleplaying Como Modelador De La Conducta En Situaciones Comunicativas Informales, Ximena Díaz Santillán

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

En el presente texto se propone explicar que el uso del lenguaje de los juegos de rol, aplicado a la vida cotidiana, tiene implicaciones no solo a nivel discursivo, sino que también influye en la conducta que las personas llevan a cabo en las interacciones, fuera del roleplay, en las que se emplean dichos términos. Con esta finalidad se recurre a la Lingüística Sistémico Funcional propuesta por Michael Halliday (2001), la cual toma como base la semiótica para explicar que la manera en que hablamos —desde el tono de voz hasta la sintaxis empleada— depende de la situación comunicativa en …

Journal Of Roleplaying Studies And Steam (Jrpssteam) Vol. 4 [2025], Número 2 (Issue 2), Cristo Leon, Romano Ponce-Díaz Phd, Ivan Avila Gonzalez Phd, James Lipuma Dr., Bruce G. Bukiet, Ricardo Victoria-Uribe, Nazario Robles-Bastida, Chris Birmingham, Ximena Diaz Santillan, Edgar Francisco Vázquez Martínez He, Jorge Prieto Terrones, Juan Carlos C. González Vidal S, Edgar Meritano, Laura Magela Garcés Ramírez

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

En una sesión de juego por medio del registro lingüístico se organiza la escena, se orienta la manera de nombrar las tareas, se distribuyen los roles actanciales, se establecen la expectativas; por lo tanto, se establece una puesta en escena. De tal forma, las prácticas lúdicas y ficcionales se configuran a partir de nuestra mirada del mundo e irremediablemente también reconfiguran esa misma mirada. El ser y el estar en un espacio es la especificidad mediática fundamental de los juegos de rol; dicho de otra manera, en los sistemas de juego de rol dentro de sus universos narrativos, en su …

Read Well, Read Right: Developing Thai Reading Skills Of Third-Grade Students Through Phonics-Based Instruction Combined With Reading Skill Exercises, Wirachai Longkaeo, Sitah Thayati

Journal of Education Studies

This pre-experimental research aimed to 1) examine the effects of phonics-based instruction combined with reading skill exercises on Thai reading skills of third-grade students, and 2) investigate the learning process and factors contributing to the success of this instructional approach. A one-group pretest-posttest was employed. The target group consisted of 15 third-grade students from a private school in Chiang Mai Province, selected through purposive sampling based on their Thai reading assessment scores, identifying students with beginning-level reading foundations. The intervention lasted 10 hours. Research instruments included 1) a Thai reading skill test, and 2) observation and student reflection form. Quantitative …

Teachers' Perspectives On Humane Education Implementation, Rebecca Ann Bartaway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Humane education (HE) encompasses multiple concepts, including animal ethics, ecological environment, and social justice. The problem prompting this study was that individuals who have graduated from a higher education HE program face challenges in successfully integrating HE into their K–12 classrooms. Grounded by Weil's solutionary approach to HE, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the teaching experiences of individuals who graduated from a higher education HE program and successfully integrated HE into their classrooms. Participants were purposefully sampled from a small population of educators who completed a U.S. degree or certificate program in HE and successfully …

A Comparative Study Of Conceptual Metaphors In Indonesian And Chinese Economic Headlines, Hendy Yuniarto

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study examines how economic concepts are metaphorically constructed in Indonesian and Chinese news headlines. Employing the Lakoff and Johnson's framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the study analyzes and compares conceptual metaphors in economic news headlines from CNBC Indonesia and China Business Network published between January and April 2025. Employing a qualitative methodology guided by MIPVU, the study mapped conceptual economic metaphors in a corpus of 500 economic news headlines. The investigation demonstrates a significant overlap in the conceptualization of economic events in both languages: economic actions are physical movements, business is a natural force, economy is a competition, money …

Julian Marshall Interview, Julian Marshall, Morris (Mo) Cohen

Turning Toward Being: The Journal of Ontological Inquiry in Education

This conversational inquiry explores the ontology of creativity through an extended dialogue between two educators at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. Moving beyond conventional pedagogical frameworks, the conversation grapples with fundamental questions: What is the relationship between technique and creative emergence? How does the teacher create conditions for creativity without systematizing or conceptualizing the creative process itself? What role do trust, validation, and vulnerability play in opening students to their own creative potential? Drawing on diverse philosophical and spiritual traditions--from Heidegger’s ontological inquiry to Buddhist concepts of not-knowing, from Grotowski’s via negativa to the Kabbalistic notion of tzimtzum--Julian Marshall …

From Essays To Embodiment: Reimagining Student-Centered Assessment Through Creative Practice, Rory Bester, Carla Lever, Bongani Kona, Mona Hakimi

Turning Toward Being: The Journal of Ontological Inquiry in Education

This essay explores the experience of implementing podcast-based assessment in ‘Feeling History, Making History,’ a semester-long course at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa. The course is designed to cultivate broad-based critical and interdisciplinary skill sets in first-year Humanities students. Through pedagogical reflection across three consecutive iterations of this course, we investigate how creative assessment practices such as podcasting both enabled our students to bring their whole “selves” into the academy and productively challenged our own preconceived notions about effective, decolonial pedagogy.

The Being Of The Performer, Alice Marshall

Turning Toward Being: The Journal of Ontological Inquiry in Education

This work presents an autoethnographic, practice-as-research inquiry into Tender Steps (Adaire to Dance, 2024), a dance-for-film grounded in the author’s lived experience of baby loss. Through embodied reflection, the article explores how personal experience becomes a site of inquiry, examining the relationship between the performer’s being and the act of performance. Drawing on phenomenological and performance-based perspectives, it considers how posture, weight, breath, and voice function as embodied knowledge and how meaning is co-constructed through the intersubjective relationship between performer and audience. It reflects on the ethical and emotional implications of making lived experience public within a digitally mediated form …

From Policy To Practice In Deaf Education: American Sign Language And Spoken English Outcomes Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Children In Kansas, Jena Mcdaniel, Shreyas Teegala, Rebecca Maloney, Angie Walker, Mary S. Dietrich, Matthew L. Hall, Leah C. Geer, Julie Bustos

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: In the context of the recent expectation for state Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs to track language milestones of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children, we examine how to leverage statewide assessment programs for improving language outcomes of DHH children. We present the degree to which DHH children in Kansas are meeting their language milestones for American Sign Language (ASL) and English and the influence of two measurement features.

Method: Performance on the ASL/English Language Milestones for 198 children who were DHH (aged 1 to 8) was analyzed for attainment of age-expected language skills and …

Culturally Sustaining Literacy Practices: Insights From Pre-Service Educators, Patricia E. Lane

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The research question for this paper is: How does the tenet culturally sustaining pedagogy of the Integrated Teacher Education Program bridge and/or buffer pre-service teachers’ literacy experiences? Through the use of a case study, the researcher examines Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP) pre-service educators’ experiences incorporating culturally sustaining pedagogy into the literacy classroom, while also investigating whether these practices serve to bridge and/or buffer pre-service teachers’ experiences (Honig & Hatch, 2004).

An Accountability Myth: A Critical Analysis On High-Stakes Testing In U.S. Schools, Noelle E. Haskell

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

High-stakes testing has become synonymous with the United States (U.S.) education system. This began in the early 1900’s through the form of intelligence testing which was developed by several U.S. psychologists. Since then, high-stakes testing has taken on many forms. Popular policies such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Race to the Top, and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) have all taken aim at increasing academic achievement and holding schools accountable through high-stakes, standardized tests. Even through its varying forms, high-stakes tests have continued to perpetuate inequalities. Considering this, the current study examines how the rhetoric used in describing …

Developing Digital Feedback Literacies In Language Teacher Education: Peer And Partnership Approaches In The Postdigital Age, Jennifer Schluer

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Critical media literacy needs to be seen as a central component of language teacher education, especially in the postdigital age. One underexplored dimension, however, is digital assessment literacy and in particular digital feedback literacy (Schluer, 2022a). Even though recent years witnessed a proliferation of digital technologies for feedback exchanges, pedagogical guidance for the use of digital feedback remains almost non-existent (but see Schluer, 2022a; 2023; 2024a). Theoretically, this paper connects the concept of Digital Feedback Literacies (DFL) to the frameworks of Critical Media Literacies (CML) and Postdigital Literacies (PDL). Empirically, it presents insights from research on digital peer feedback as …

Digital Text And Communication Literacy Of English Language Teachers: Implications From A Reconstructive Study On Teachers’ Professional Development, Annika Janßen, Jan-Erik Leonhardt, Alexandra Kemmerer, Britta Viebrock

Journal of Media Literacy Education

In this contribution, we will introduce the concept of Digital Text and Communication Literacy (DITECOL), which was developed as part of the DigiNICs project. It contains subject-related, functional, critical, and methodological competences to deal with and teach digital texts and communication forms in foreign language education. We will present first results from a qualitative interview study with six English language teachers who participate in the DigiNICs project. The study examines how they perceive their usage of digital texts and communication forms a) in their lessons and b) in the context of in-service teacher training. The interview data was analysed using …

Media Literacy Meets Language Education: Fictional Science (Fisci) Promotes Skills To Identify And Refute Fake News, Stephan Schicker, Jürgen Ehrenmüller, Melanie Hendler, Victoria Reinsperger, Natalia Kubai, Lucia Miškulin Saletović, Bettina Steinbauer, Sabine Schmölzer-Eibinger

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This article presents the theoretical and conceptual foundations of the interdisciplinary didactic concept of Fictional Science (FiSci), which is positioned at the interface between media and language didactics. Based on reference concepts such as epistemic vigilance, inoculation, lateral reading, and media literacy in education, FiSci aims to promote secondary school students’ skills in dealing with fake news. While course 1 of FiSci (Activating the Fake News Radar) sensitises students to false information, course 2 (Verification of Information) teaches strategies for identifying false information that are also used by professional fact-checkers, and course 3 (Refutation) focuses on refuting false information.

Implicitly Developing Young Learners’ Digital And Media Literacy Through Technology-Enhanced Tasks In Primary Efl Classrooms, Andreas Kullick

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This article presents a research project that explored the perspectives of preservice and in-service primary English language teachers on the use of technology-enhanced tasks to support young learners’ development of oral communicative competence in the diverse primary English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. The classroom-based research involved the implementation of technology-enhanced tasks in three different projects in three different primary schools. The projects aimed to support young learners in developing their speaking competence in the target language. Data were collected through classroom observation, teacher training, videography of lessons, and participant interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the …

Digital Texts And Diversity-Sensitive Foreign Language Teaching, Anne-Marie Lachmund, Manuela Franke

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Digital reading differs significantly from reading on paper, posing several challenges, especially for students learning a second or third foreign language. The complexity of engaging with authentic digital sources is further intensified by the diversity within learner groups. First, the objectives for developing digital reading proficiency in a foreign language are explored, identifying the skills necessary for competent digital readers. Building on these objectives, the paper then addresses the diverse needs of learners, taking into account neurodiverse students in diversity-sensitive teaching environments. The focus lies on the field-specific dynamics of digital reading, particularly those impacting learners with ADHD, dyslexia, and …

Beyond The Episode: A Case For Serial Literacy In Efl Education Classrooms, Julie Intveen, Tim Illigens

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Serial storytelling, characterized by its interplay of vertical (episodic) and horizontal (long-form) narrative structures, offers a unique opportunity for media literacy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education. This paper argues for the development of a serial literacy framework, a concept that expands traditional film literacy models to accommodate the distinct demands of serialized narratives. By using Inventing Anna (Rhimes, 2022) as a case study, the study explores how serial storytelling fosters engagement with themes of identity construction, ethical ambiguity, and transmedial storytelling. This paper elaborates on serial literacy, considering its implications within foreign language learning contexts. The study …

A Children’S Rights Approach To Critical Media Literacy In Language Education: Developing Children’S Agency In A Digital Networked World, Frauke Matz, Jeff Share

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Children are growing up in a culture of digitality, one infused in digital communication in and out of school (Faverio & Sidotti, 2024; Stalder, 2018). They are immersed in a digital networked world, which plays a significant role in how they develop their literacies and identities (Cannon et al., 2022) across languages. To help them participate as “active thinkers and citizens in their own right” (Wall, 2016, p. 86), educators could consider the potential of critical media literacy in language education as a pedagogical response to the commercial exploitation of information, and the liberatory potential of critical thinking and creative …