Gratitude is one of the most studied aspects within the field of positive psychology in recent years and the interest in exploring gratitude and its effects on well-being has increased considerably. The period of emerging adulthood, a transitional phase characterized by numerous changes and challenges, poses risks to maintaining well-being, which justifies the importance of researching protective factors such as gratitude. This paper analyzes the relationship between gratitude and well-being among emerging adults, through a systematic review, using the PRISMA methodology, a standardized and rigorous protocol for study selection and 17 relevant studies were included in the analysis. The results clearly indicate a positive and significant relationship between gratitude and well-being, with gratitude having a positive impact on several dimensions of well-being: hedonic and eudaimonic, subjective (life satisfaction, positive and negative affect), and psychological and social well-being. This association is supported by several mediators identified in the literature, with time perspectives being among the most important. The literature reviews align with Fredrickson’s Broaden-and-Build Theory, which posits that positive emotions, such as gratitude, contribute to the development of psychological and social resources. This is a significant contribution to the field of positive psychology with an updated and comprehensive synthesis of existing work on gratitude among young adults. This research can be a theoretical framework for future enquiries aimed at developing gratitude-based interventions for students, a group prone to high levels of stress as well as research targeting the entire stage of emerging adulthood, beyond the academic context.
The study investigated the challenges faced by teachers and learners in the teaching and learning of Financial Literacy within the Grade 7–9 Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) curriculum in South African schools. Introduced under the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), EMS aims to equip learners with financial management skills and prepare them for Accounting from Grade 10. Despite this, learner performance in Financial Literacy remains poor, primarily due to overcrowded classrooms, limited teaching time, and difficulties with subject-specific terminology. Guided by a constructivist paradigm, the study adopted a phenomenology design and qualitative approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with sixteen participants, including EMS teachers, heads of department, and a curriculum advisor from seven rural schools in Limpopo’s Capricorn South District. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews identified five key challenges: limited teacher knowledge of Financial Literacy, large class sizes, insufficient teaching time, complex terminology, and restricted access to technological resources. These factors impede learner engagement and understanding, leading to low performance and reduced interest in commercial subjects. Teachers with minimal Accounting backgrounds struggle to explain abstract concepts, while overcrowded classrooms limit differentiated instruction and learner support. Inadequate access to technology further constrains interactive and engaging learning experiences. The study concludes that effective teaching of Financial Literacy requires enhanced teacher training, increased teaching time, smaller class sizes, and improved technological support. Addressing these challenges can strengthen instructional practices, improve learner outcomes, and foster greater financial competence, thereby advancing the broader objectives of the EMS curriculum.
Educational materials are indispensable for literacy development, cognitive engagement, and knowledge acquisition in education, especially at primary and secondary levels. While readability research covers many contexts (designing textbooks for different domains), this field is particularly underexplored in Romania. Studies on linguistic overload in Romanian textbooks suggest that modern materials frequently exceed students’ cognitive capacities, and reveal a correlation between increased linguistic complexity and declining student performance. The transition from a single-textbook system to a multi-textbook model in post-communist Romania offers more diverse resources, but increased lexical/syntactic complexity, potentially obstructing student engagement. We propose a comparative-analysis framework for evaluating literature textbooks, using corpus-based approaches. We compare Romanian textbooks used in high schools from two periods: ROTEX-OLD (pre-1989, communist state-approved textbooks), and ROTEX-NEW (2014-2024, diversified textbooks currently in use). Findings indicate an increase in linguistic complexity (i.e. low readability) in contemporary textbooks. Corpus analyses reveal that modern textbooks often exceed grade-appropriate readability levels, increasing cognitive strain. Sentiment analysis highlights a shift in emotional tone, with ROTEX-OLD textbooks characterized by patriotic and propagandistic themes, while ROTEX-NEW materials incorporate a more pessimistic perspective. This shift is correlated with linguistic features. The study advocates for linguistics-supported textbook readability assessments to balance linguistic complexity and pedagogical accessibility.
Neuroeducation integrates findings from cognitive neuroscience and psychology to inform effective teaching practices, offering a valuable framework for biology education. Contemporary research demonstrates that learning is not purely cognitive but is strongly influenced by emotions, motivation, and attentional processes. Emotional engagement, mediated by the limbic system, modulates memory consolidation, attention, and cognitive resource allocation, enhancing retention of complex biological concepts. Intrinsic motivation further supports persistence, metacognitive strategies, and active exploration, particularly in abstract or counterintuitive topics such as genetics, cellular processes, and ecological systems. Biology instruction can leverage these principles through narrative-based teaching, problem-solving tasks, inquiry-oriented activities, and real-life contextualization that connects scientific content to students’ experiences. However, translating neuroscience findings into classroom practice faces challenges, including methodological limitations, differences in levels of analysis, and the persistence of neuromyths. Teacher training, ethical considerations, and evidence-based curricular design are essential to ensure responsible application. Integrating neuroeducational principles promotes multisystemic learning, fostering attention, memory, emotional engagement, and curiosity-driven exploration. By aligning teaching strategies with the brain’s natural learning mechanisms, neuroeducation enhances conceptual understanding, engagement, and positive attitudes toward science. It provides educators with a scientifically grounded guide for designing biology lessons that are both effective and meaningful.
The present study investigated parental mentalization and examined its main psychological predictors in parents of typically and atypically developing children. Using a cross-sectional, correlational design, we focused on identifying individual difference variables that account for variability in parental mentalization. A total of 182 parents participated in the study and completed a battery of self-report measures, including the Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ), the Perceived Competence Scale (PCS), and the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ), which was used as an index of parental mentalization. In addition, parents were asked to describe their child, and their use of mental descriptors (e.g., references to thoughts, feelings, and intentions) was coded as an observable indicator of mentalizing about the child. Group comparisons showed that parents of typically developing children used significantly more mental descriptors when characterizing their child than did parents of atypically developing children, suggesting lower levels of spontaneous mentalization in the latter group. Regression analyses further indicated that perceived competence and the degree of external control in self-regulation emerged as significant predictors of parental mentalization across both groups. Specifically, higher perceived competence and lower reliance on external control were associated with higher levels of parental mentalization. These findings highlight the role of self-regulatory processes and perceived competence in shaping how parents think about and make sense of their children’s internal states, with potential implications for interventions targeting parental reflective functioning in both typical and atypical developmental contexts.
