IntroductionThe rationale and policy governing the establishment of TVET (Technical Vocational Education and Training) colleges clearly state that these institutions must commit to training and student placement, providing them with the necessary competencies for integration into the labour force. Programme offerings are required to be well aligned with the development imperatives of the South African economy and, therefore, enhancing the employability and labour-market integration outcomes within TVET programmes is at the core of their mandate. These envisioned outcomes for TVET institutions are largely dependent on aspects of institutional capacity and the extent to which curricula are responsive to industry requirements.MethodsThe study evaluated the extent to which a TVET college engineering programme demonstrates curriculum responsiveness and supports employability pathways by examining academic outcomes, institutional capacity, curriculum alignment, stakeholder perceptions, and workforce integration. It employed a convergent mixed-methods research approach to capture the experiences of students, lecturers, and host employers at a TVET college in the Eastern Cape (n=57). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using structured questionnaires. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics in SPSS version 32, while the qualitative data were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis.ResultsThe study highlighted institutional-level challenges that contribute to significant shortfalls in preparation of students for integration into the labour market, including pockets of curriculum misalignment, infrastructure deficiencies, lecturer capacity constraints, and limited technological exposure. While participants generally perceived the curriculum as relevant to industry requirements, concerns were raised regarding practical training, industry-standard technologies, and engineering facilities.DiscussionThe findings suggest that although the engineering programme demonstrates elements of curriculum responsiveness and supports employability pathways, institutional capacity constraints may limit programme effectiveness. Strengthening lecturer development, infrastructure, practical training, technology, curriculum responsiveness and workforce integration outcomes was recommended to improve the institutions college engineering programme.
This study examines pandemic-affected multilingual practices among Russian and Polish diaspora communities in Germany, situating contemporary empirical findings within a framework of historical evidence on recurrent crisis-induced language use. Drawing on historical research, the study identifies three recurring mechanisms affecting the use of (minoritised) languages: the emergence of new multilingual contact spaces, the temporary expansion of multilingual institutional communication, and the reorganization of language practices within the domestic sphere. Epidemics thus become relevant to language practices through the disruption and reorganization of communicative domains. The empirical analysis focuses on home language use. The dataset consists of semi-structured interviews with Russian- and Polish-speaking migrant families in Germany, reporting on their everyday language practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were evaluated qualitatively and further compared with our previous quantitative study on migrant families’ language policies during the pandemic. While the quantitative results highlighted the stronger vitality of heritage Russian, the qualitative analysis demonstrates that heritage Polish in Germany follows similar patterns of language use within the domestic domain. The pandemic thus changed the conditions of language transmission—less in-person contact, more online interaction—but it did not change the overall goal of multilingual language transmission in families with a migrant background, with their heritage languages seen as a practical resource in a migratory context. The pandemic additionally reinforced the multilingual orientation of Russian- and Polish-speaking communities in Germany, including their heritage languages. Within a historical framework, the empirical findings most directly align with the third mechanism, while the first two mechanisms also shaped the communicative conditions within which domestic language practices were maintained or intensified. The findings show how restrictions on mobility and changes in institutional and everyday communication reinforced the role of family language policy and heritage languages in domestic communication. For both migrant communities under scrutiny, rather than fundamentally transforming existing language practices, lockdown primarily intensified or stabilised them. At the same time, the study identifies a significant modification of the first mechanism. Whereas earlier epidemics generated new multilingual contact spaces in physically co-present settings such as hospitals, quarantine facilities, and border checkpoints, during the COVID-19 pandemic these spaces were largely relocated to digital environments, where multilingual mediation became central to access to institutional, educational, and transnational communication. This furthermore reflects a paradoxical situation in which multilingualism as a pragmatic resource for successful communication, including minority and heritage languages, gained higher institutional relevance in the context of the pandemic, while lockdown conditions simultaneously increased the use of heritage languages in private and domestic spheres. Despite these different drivers, both dynamics led to greater prominence and visibility of heritage languages. Rather than treating COVID-19 as an exceptional case, the study interprets it as a contemporary manifestation of a historically recurring pattern of epidemic-induced restructuring of communicative spaces and redistribution of multilingual language practices across social domains. The study contributes to a conceptual historical analysis of pandemic-induced change in multilingual practices, highlighting both continuity and transformation under crisis conditions across historical cases.
IntroductionThe rapid advancement of higher education has significantly influenced various dimensions of student's engagement and teacher's guidance, elicited a need to understand the relationship between them. The study aims to investigate the relationship between Future Work Self-Salience, Teacher Support and student engagement. The mediating effect of student aspiration on this relationship is also studied.MethodsA quantitative research design and questionnaire was used to collect data. The items were adopted from published sources. Data were collected from 203 male and 216 female pre or final year students (total = 419) pursuing their Bachelor's degree in Engineering and Technology, arts and science and law in India. The collected data were analysed using the mediation analysis for identifying the effects of student aspiration.ResultsResults indicated that future work self-salience and perceived teacher support directly influenced student engagement and student aspiration. Student aspiration fully mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and student engagement and partially mediated future work self- salience and student engagement.DiscussionThe findings highlights the significance of PTS (Perceived teacher's support) and FWSS (Future work self- reliance on SE (student engagement). The study contributes to the understanding of student's psychological needs and activate their self-regulatory process to strengthen their career readiness and lifelong learning.
IntroductionThis qualitative meta-synthesis examined the classroom experiences of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students in inclusive education settings, with particular attention to communication access and participation.MethodsA systematic search of Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus was conducted for peer-reviewed English-language qualitative studies and studies combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Following the screening process, 14 studies (12 qualitative and 2 studies combining qualitative and quantitative methods) were included in the qualitative meta-synthesis.ResultsThe findings were organized into four interconnected themes: factors shaping communication access, classroom participation experiences, social and emotional experiences, and coping and adaptation strategies. Across the included studies, communication access emerged as a central factor influencing students' participation and sense of belonging in inclusive classrooms. Communication access was shaped by environmental conditions, pedagogical practices, communication norms, available communication modalities, and the effective use of hearing technologies. Limited communication access was linked to reduced participation, social isolation, listening fatigue, and withdrawal, whereas more accessible and multimodal learning environments were associated with more positive participation and peer experiences. The synthesis further showed that DHH students actively developed both adaptive and avoidance-based coping strategies in response to communicative demands within school environments.DiscussionOverall, the findings suggest that effective inclusion requires more than physical placement in mainstream classrooms and depends substantially on the communicative accessibility of educational environments. Implications for classroom practice, school organization, and teacher preparation are discussed.
