Physics education at the secondary level often faces challenges due to abstract concepts that seem disconnected from students’ daily lives. This study evaluated physics teachers’ competencies in implementing ethnophysics-integrated collaborative learning using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. A total of 30 teachers from 12 senior high schools in Tanjung Pandan participated. Data were collected through a validated TPACK questionnaire, cognitive tests (C2–C4), and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal a clear “perception-reality gap.” While teachers reported high technological self-efficacy (Mean = 4.45) and strong classroom management skills, their cognitive performance declined at the analysis level (C4 = 68.50 %). Although most teachers (68 %) demonstrated scientific understanding, around 30 % still showed partial understanding or misconceptions when linking physics to local culture. The main weakness lies in didactic transposition, namely the ability to transform cultural knowledge into structured scientific content, which is limited by the lack of ethnophysics-based teaching resources. These results indicate that high digital literacy and positive self-perception do not necessarily reflect strong cognitive or instructional competence. Therefore, professional development programs should focus on applied TPACK-based training, particularly in scientific-cultural mapping, to bridge the gap between theoretical understanding and effective classroom implementation.
We explore how university professors perceive the impact of the current funding mode on teaching and research performance, and on their day-to-day academic work, in Moroccan public universities. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study based on 15 semi-structured interviews with professors from Moroccan public universities. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke, with NVivo used to support coding. Four main themes emerge from the analysis: budget rigidity and inefficiency, governance challenges and funding opacity, professors’ demotivation, and inadequate incentives for research alongside insufficient funding for teaching. Participants described locked line items and slow, often unclear procedures. Research budgets were perceived as inflexible and poorly aligned with evolving needs. While linking publications to career advancement has coincided with higher research output, the overall funding mode is perceived as poorly aligned with institutional missions and routine academic work. Our findings highlight how rigid funding rules are perceived by professors to limit flexibility in teaching and research activities. They point to practical adjustments within existing regulations, such as allowing limited flexibility within budget streams, updating eligible research cost lines, and better recognizing both teaching and research efforts. Our study provides empirical insight into how line-item funding modes are experienced by academic staff in public universities operating under resource constraints. As an exploratory study, it generates insights and propositions for future research rather than generalizable conclusions.
Thailand currently lacks a dedicated earth science teacher education program, creating a gap in the systematic development of qualified earth science educators. This gap has become increasingly significant in light of recent seismic activity in the country, underscoring the urgent need to equip younger generations with foundational knowledge of natural disasters and earth science concepts. This study examines how three upper secondary earth science teachers with exemplary pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) plan and implement their instruction. Using a qualitative research methodology, the study documents the planning of teaching and the act of teaching through in-depth interviews and classroom observations, respectively. The findings reveal that the exemplary teachers continuously adapted their instruction by updating their curriculum knowledge and engaging in professional networks. They placed strong emphasis on fostering student thinking and cultivating positive learning environments, frequently employing inquiry-based teaching approaches. Moreover, they demonstrated effective classroom management skills, including adaptations made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This rich qualitative evidence highlights useful insights into practices that may inform earth science teacher education and professional development. It may also contribute to broader discussions about teacher education reform, particularly by highlighting the need to recognize earth science as a distinct scientific discipline.
Ecological education is vital for fostering pro-environmental behavior by strengthening individuals’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes. This study develops and tests an integrated model linking environmental knowledge, awareness, and attitudes to pro-environmental behavior (PEB) through the mediating role of the new ecological paradigm (NEP). Using survey data from 382 university students and structural equation modeling, the study finds that the proposed model demonstrates excellent fit. The results show a clear hierarchy of effects on the NEP. Environmental awareness is the strongest positive predictor (β = 0.851, p < 0.001), followed by environmental attitudes (β = 0.564, p = 0.017). The NEP, in turn, significantly predicts PEB (β = 0.732, p = 0.019). Environmental knowledge has a significant negative association with the NEP (β = −0.733, p = 0.039), suggesting that factual knowledge alone may not foster an ecological worldview without affective and value-based internalization. These findings challenge knowledge-deficit assumptions and indicate that the ecological worldview is shaped more strongly by awareness and affective orientation than by knowledge alone. The study highlights the importance of reflective, emotionally engaging, and transformative sustainability education in higher education. These results support educational strategies that foster personal connection, critical reflection, and sustained environmentally responsible practices.
Gifted students’ success in life is not determined solely by cognitive intelligence, but also by social-emotional competence. These competencies are essential for building positive social relationships. This study examines the relationships among teacher support, parental support, and social-emotional competence among gifted students in Indonesia. A correlational research design involving three variables was employed. The participants were 190 junior and senior high school students aged 13–17 years. Students were selected based on institutional gifted-identification procedures, which included high academic achievement and standardized cognitive assessments. Social-emotional competence was measured using the Social Emotional Competence Questionnaire (SECQ), while teacher and parental support were measured using the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS). The data were analyzed using path analysis. The findings indicated significant positive associations among teacher support, parental support, and social-emotional competence. Furthermore, parental support showed a significant indirect association between teacher support and social-emotional competence. However, this mediation should be interpreted as statistical and cross-sectional rather than causal in nature.
