University College of Teacher Education Styria

The use of social media platforms has become an integral part of many people’s lives. Also, early adolescents are frequent users of various platforms. While social media use can have both positive and negative effects, this largely depends on how and to which extent the platforms are used. Existing studies have shown that problematic social media use (PSMU) is associated with different depressive symptoms in adolescents and adults. This study examines the impact of PSMU on the mental well-being of youth in early adolenscence, a population group that has less frequently been researched. The sample comprised 612 Austrian early adolescents aged 10 to 14 from both rural and urban schools. Factors such as gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES) and family history of depression were considered. The results indicate that PSMU in early adolescents is linked to three dimensions of depressive symptoms: dysphoria, agitated behavior, and fatigue. The findings suggest that not only the use of social media platforms but particularly their problematic use can lead to reduced psychological well-being. These findings highlight that social media use can have undesirable effects on early adolescent’s well-being. Therefore, continued research in this field is crucial to develop early interventions that minimize PSMU and promote the mental well-being of early adolescents, even when they engage with social media platforms.

Introducing core concepts of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning in educational contexts requires instructional approaches that are engaging, time-efficient, and accessible to learners without prior expertise. This paper presents an augmented-reality mask activity (AR mask) that guides participants through a machine learning implementation cycle within a single lesson. In a browser-based environment, participants capture and label a small dataset of four facial expression categories and train an image-classification model using transfer learning with a pre-trained convolutional neural network. Learners then deploy the resulting neural network in an interactive, Scratch-based AR application that reacts to live webcam input by overlaying expression-dependent masks. The activity is designed to connect abstract ML concepts to embodied, immediate feedback, make the role of data quality and variability immediately tangible through iteration, and surface typical limitations of ML systems (e.g., uncertainty, fragility, and dataset bias in small samples). In this exploratory study we evaluated the approach using a mixed-methods design with 32 in-service teachers (online survey) and 40 lower-secondary students (in-class questionnaire and guided reflection). Teachers perceived the AR mask as suitable for addressing neural network training processes, computer vision, reliability and error mechanisms, and dataset-related bias, and judged the cost-benefit ratio as favorable. Student responses indicated high enjoyment and showed that learners linked model performance to the quantity and diversity of training data. Overall, the AR mask appears to be a low-threshold entry point for foundational AI literacy.

Caregivers play a fundamental role in the diagnostic process of dementia in people with intellectual disabilities. However, in many countries they receive no specific training on observing early dementia symptoms. This study investigates which signs formal caregivers interpret as dementia symptoms in people with intellectual disabilities. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with formal caregivers to collect comprehensive reports of their observations regarding dementia signs. Neuropsychological labels were systematically applied to the reported signs, and frequencies were analysed to identify recognition patterns. Results revealed which signs of dementia were most easily observed by formal caregivers and which were most likely overlooked. Cognitive changes were reported more frequently than emotional, body and neurovegetative changes, with most observations occurring during basic care activities. The results emphasise the importance of training on dementia for care professionals when working with older people with intellectual disabilities, in order to improve early detection.

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is widely regarded as a key 21st-century skill. While SRL is strongly supported in higher education and distance learning contexts, its implementation in everyday secondary school teaching remains limited. At the same time, the growing availability of educational technologies, including generative AI tools, offers new opportunities to foster SRL in classroom settings. Teachers play a central role in this process, as they shape how technologies are used to support students’ autonomous learning. This paper presents first insights from an ongoing mixed-methods study aiming to develop a prototype teacher profile that characterises educators who actively promote SRL through educational technologies. The study combines a quantitative survey ( n > 380 ) with a forthcoming qualitative follow-up phase. The results of the quantitative component show that generative AI appears to be used less for personalised learning, with differences across school categories. Contextual factors had a small but significant influence on key competences in self-regulated learning. The overall study contributes to the understanding how digital transformation in education can support the development of SRL and how teachers can be supported during this process.

ABSTRACT This paper asks how and to what extent school gardening can contribute to the re‐valorisation of local knowledge and practices to decolonise the educational system in the Pacific Island country of Vanuatu. Drawing from an empirical study in five secondary schools on the Islands of Efate and Tanna, in addition to a curriculum analysis and participatory observation, our data show that a large majority of the students work regularly in school gardens and grow manioc/cassava, taro, tomatoes, cabbage and other tubers and vegetables, in mixed cropping and with fallow land. They are very familiar with the seasonal calendar of yam, which may have been learned in their home environment. While sustainability topics are mentioned in school curricula, discussion of traditional worldviews and spiritual relations to nature is lacking. School gardening enhances agricultural resilience, connection to land and kastom and food sovereignty in a country shaped by cultural diversity and exposed to natural hazards. We therefore recommend a stronger inclusion of local knowledge in schooling, the promotion of field trips to foster the connection to the environment and a collaboration with kastom schools, in order to radically reform the educational system.