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        <title>Frontiers in Education | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Frontiers in Education | New and Recent Articles</description>
        <language>en-us</language>
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        <pubDate>2026-08-20T01:47:04.743+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1912384</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1912384</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Technology–governance–outcome alignment in digital education: a PRISMA-based configurational meta-synthesis (2015–2025)]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Gele Qing</author><author>Aliya Akramova</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Much of the policy discussion around digital education proceeds on the assumption that technically capable systems, if properly implemented, will translate into improved learning outcomes. The empirical record does not consistently support this expectation—and the inconsistency is not random. This systematic meta-synthesis of 147 SSCI-indexed studies from 26 national contexts (2015–2025) examines why, by shifting the analytical lens from what technologies can do to the governance conditions determining whether they will. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, studies were coded across five dimensions (Cohen's κ = 0.81) and analyzed through a two-stage pipeline combining hierarchical clustering with crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA). Four configurations emerged above the consistency threshold of 0.75. AI/ML tools combined with decentralized governance and explicit outcome alignment yielded positive outcomes in 73.4% of cases (consistency = 0.84); any technology under centralized governance without alignment, only 31.2% (consistency = 0.82). Outcome alignment was present in 94.1% of positive-outcome studies; formal necessity-analysis consistency and coverage values were not calculated, so this is reported as a descriptive association rather than a necessity finding, and the identification problem between alignment-as-cause and alignment-as-institutional-quality-marker remains unresolved. The Technology–Governance–Outcome (TGO) framework repositions institutional design as the constitutive condition of technology effectiveness, not its organizational backdrop. Two structural tensions run through the findings: centralized and decentralized governance both achieve positive outcomes, but through mechanisms that cannot be reconciled into a single policy prescription; and the governance conditions most predictive of success are systematically least available to the institutions most in need of improvement. The synthesis provides an early quantitative reference point for Central Asian digital governance, surfacing intra-national variation that aggregate statistics obscure.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1900495</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1900495</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Evidence, context, and pedagogy: rethinking ELT practice in Turkey through a contextual validity lens]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Perspective</category>
        <author>Rizwan-ul Huq</author><author>Alia Amir</author>
        <description><![CDATA[In English language teaching (ELT), pedagogical evidence rarely transfers intact across educational systems, a challenge particularly salient in Turkish ELT. This perspective article introduces contextual validity as an analytical and evaluative framework for judging whether a research-supported pedagogy remains educationally appropriate, institutionally feasible, sociolinguistically legitimate, and ethically defensible in a given teaching ecology. Unlike context-sensitivity, which describes variability, contextual validity issues a verdict: a practice is appropriate, appropriate with adaptation, or inappropriate for the given context. Building on postmethod critiques and extending them through ecological and complexity perspectives on teacher agency and language learning, the article specifies six analytical dimensions with measurable indicators, a provisional normative hierarchy for weighing dimensions that may conflict, and a staged workflow for professional judgement. Translanguaging pedagogy in multilingual Turkish classrooms serves as the case example, demonstrating the framework's discriminating, analytical use. The more productive question for Turkish ELT is not which method the field should adopt globally, but whether, by what evidence, and at what level of decision-making, a given pedagogy can be justified locally.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1861903</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1861903</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Students who expect to be rejected by their teachers display weaker engagement and self-concept]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Zuzanna M. Preusche</author><author>Kerstin Göbel</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionSince teachers play a pivotal role in students' well-being and school engagement, expecting to be rejected by a teacher based on a persons' background could have negative effects on affective and cognitive academic outcomes. This paper explores the hitherto understudied construct of students' background-based rejection expectation by teachers and school engagement.MethodIn a study with 7th grade students in Germany, we addressed the question of whether students' expectation of rejection by teachers is connected to their school engagement, grades, self-esteem, and academic self-concept. We explored which groups of students expect to be rejected, and we checked whether strong emotional teacher support can moderate the effect of rejection expectation on school engagement.ResultsA strong expectation of rejection is associated with lower emotional and behavioral school engagement, lower grades, self-esteem, and academic self-concept. Ethnic minority students and students with lower cultural capital expect rejection more than their peers. There is indication that a strong emotional teacher support could moderate the relationship between rejection expectation and minority students' emotional and cognitive school engagement.DiscussionExpectation of rejection can be associated with several negative academic outcomes. More research is needed to better understand when and how students expect rejection. It is relevant to understand how schools can be culturally responsive and inclusive.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1851518</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1851518</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Project-based STEM learning through a socially relevant challenge: cognitive and affective outcomes of a sustainable construction project in secondary education]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Rosa Corral de la Torre</author><author>Guadalupe Martínez-Borreguero</author><author>Milagros Mateos-Núñez</author><author>Francisco Luis Naranjo-Correa</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study examined cognitive and affective outcomes observed following an interdisciplinary project-based STEM intervention framed by a socially relevant humanitarian challenge. Students designed and built scale Superadobe shelter prototypes while applying knowledge of materials, measurement, proportional reasoning, and technical decision-making. Cognitive analyses used 78 complete pretest–posttest pairs from two ordinary-classroom analytical groups (MG1, n = 29; MG2, n = 30) and a Curricular Diversification group (CDG, n = 19). Affective results were analysed descriptively at the item level for students in the ordinary classrooms and in the CDG. Difference scores did not depart significantly from normality, and paired-samples t-tests with Holm correction showed higher posttest cognitive scores in all three groups (all adjusted p < .001; Cohen's dz = 0.93–1.62). Descriptive affective patterns included higher motivation, confidence, and positive evaluations of teamwork, together with lower reported frustration and concern. Open-ended self-assessments provided limited exploratory context for these patterns. Because there was no non-intervention control group and the affective instruments differed across educational settings, the findings are interpreted as within-group changes associated with the study period rather than as causal or cross-group evidence of inclusion.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1886876</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1886876</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Governing generative AI in digital education: how institutional guidance becomes course-level policy]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Evelyn Wu</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionAs generative artificial intelligence becomes embedded in digital education, universities face a governance problem that institutional guidance alone cannot resolve: how should acceptable AI use be defined within particular courses and assessments? This study examines syllabi as formal governance texts through which university principles become student-facing rules.MethodsUsing qualitative comparative document analysis, the study analyzed 35 syllabi collected from a large U.S. public research university, including 22 from Education and 13 from other fields. Course-level statements were compared with the institutional governance framework. The analysis distinguished primary governance stances and examined institutional alignment, policy rationales, discourse registers, and variation across course contexts.ResultsThe institutional framework delegated substantial authority to instructors while emphasizing communication, attribution, verification, and student responsibility. Course-level enactment was highly heterogeneous: 11 syllabi were silent on student AI use, 11 were prohibitive, five permitted specified uses, two broadly permitted AI with responsibility safeguards, and six treated AI or machine learning as an object of pedagogical or professional learning. Six syllabi were explicitly aligned with institutional guidance, seven implicitly aligned, eight elaborated the institutional framework, three provided minimal guidance, and 11 remained silent; none directly contradicted a specific institutional requirement. Authentic or independently produced work was the most common rationale, appearing in 18 of 24 non-silent syllabi. Governance patterns crossed disciplinary boundaries, while all pedagogical cases were concentrated in AI-adjacent courses.DiscussionThe findings challenge simple disciplinary explanations and show that course-level AI governance is shaped by the interaction of assessment design, authorship expectations, course purpose, AI adjacency, and instructor discretion. Variation is best understood as an outcome of delegated digital governance whose educational value depends on clarity, justification, and alignment with the intellectual work students are expected to perform.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1854437</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1854437</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The impact of deductive and inductive grammar instructional approaches on Jordanian fifth-grade EFL learners’ acquisition of English deictic expressions]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Mheel Maleh Al-Smaihyeen</author><author>Mohammad Faleh Al- Hanaqtah</author><author>Safi Mahmoud Mahfouz</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study investigates the effects of deductive and inductive grammar instructional approaches on Jordanian fifth-grade EFL learners’ acquisition of English deictic expressions. Sixty-six Arabic-speaking students participated in a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design to assess their knowledge before and after instruction. A 15-item multiple-choice test was administered at both stages to measure learning outcomes. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and a General Linear Model with pre-test scores as covariates, employing Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to examine differences in performance across teaching approaches. Moreover, classroom observations of the same teacher teaching grammar using the deductive and inductive instructional approaches were used to show which grammar instructional approach is more effective. Findings indicated that the inductive grammar instructional approach led to significantly higher post-test scores among participants than the deductive approach, suggesting that active engagement and contextualized practice enhance learners’ understanding and correct usage of deictic expressions. These findings highlight the importance of instructional design in grammar teaching and provide empirical evidence for strategies that effectively support young EFL learners in acquiring functional and accurate use of English deictic expressions. The study offers practical implications for curriculum development and classroom pedagogy in similar EFL contexts.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1927281</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1927281</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Educating for interdisciplinary careers: a call to embrace diversity and variability]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Perspective</category>
        <author>Hanne Andersen</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Interdisciplinarity takes many forms. Consequently, many different forms of interdisciplinary education can, in each their various ways, contribute fruitfully to students’ future careers, whether these careers will take place inside or outside of academia. This commentary suggests that, rather than pursuing universal guidelines that will hold for all interdisciplinary education, it will be more fruitful to articulate and discuss diversity and variability in interdisciplinary education, and to analyze how different forms of interdisciplinary education can educate students for different forms of interdisciplinary inquiry, innovation, and problem solving.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1892104</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1892104</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The raw gap misleads: conditional conversion from environmental familiarity to action is small and development-gradient-patterned]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Henry Laverde-Rojas</author><author>Carlos Laverde-Rodriguez</author><author>Pedro Mauricio Acosta-Castellanos</author>
        <description><![CDATA[BackgroundEducation for Sustainable Development assumes that environmental understanding converts into action, but the “value–action gap” literature warns that this conversion is uneven.MethodsWe analysed PISA 2018 data from 612,004 students across 80 countries, using BRR-Fay replicate weights, country fixed effects, and a 999-iteration country-cluster bootstrap.ResultsA one-standard-deviation increase in perceived environmental familiarity is associated with a 0.12 standard deviation increase in reported action. Raw familiarity–action gaps and residual action shortfalls move in opposite directions across socio-economic terciles, demonstrating that raw gaps are not valid measures of conversion deficit. Country slopes are heterogeneous (standard deviation = 0.07) and load on a development/governance gradient (the first principal component explains 67.5% of country-context variance).ConclusionRaw cross-national gaps misdiagnose the effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development. The conditional conversion from familiarity to action is modest, developmentally patterned, and inseparable from response-style heterogeneity in this design.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1882920</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1882920</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Exploring challenges of integrating Afghan returnee children into schools in Afghanistan]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Aziz Ahmad Fazli</author><author>Sayeed Ebrahim Darwishean</author><author>Khalid Ahmad Habib</author><author>Sadruddin Faizi</author><author>Hadyathullah Beheen</author><author>Rabiullah Rishteen</author><author>Noorajan Atif</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study investigates the challenges of educational integration for refugee children returning from Pakistan to Afghanistan, specifically within the Torkham Omari Refugee Camp. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach involving 143 participants and targeted interviews, the research identifies a significant disconnect between parental aspirations and structural realities. Findings reveal that while 98.6% of parents are willing to support their children's education and 95.8% maintain high trust in Afghanistan's formal education system, approximately 76.3% of children experience incomplete educational trajectories. Poverty emerges as the most fundamental barrier, with economic constraints and a lack of identification documents (12.6%) hindering enrollment. Furthermore, one-third of returning children experience significant language barriers due to the shift from Urdu or English to instruction in Dari or Pashto. Qualitative analysis confirms that inconsistencies in curriculum and a lack of systematic integration programs exacerbate these challenges. Crucially, these integration deficits are profoundly gendered; the de facto authorities' formal prohibition on female secondary education transforms reintegration into an absolute legal barrier for girl returnees above grade six. The study concludes that successful integration requires targeted government interventions, including free quality education and specialized linguistic support.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1855663</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1855663</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Debating for persuasion versus debating for deliberation: the effect of differing communicative goals on disciplinary knowledge construction]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Ingrid González-Palta</author><author>Antonia Larrain</author><author>Gabriel Fortes</author><author>Javier Torres</author><author>Susan Galdames</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionLearning disciplinary knowledge is a complex process and a challenge for university education. Although it is argued that active methodologies, such as debate, are a means of promoting learning, there are few studies that measure this effect. There are good reasons to think that debate does promote learning, since it promotes argumentation, a type of dialogue that would be key to the construction of knowledge. However, it is not clear what effect different types of debate objectives would have on disciplinary learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of two debate designs (with persuasive and deliberative objectives) on the construction of disciplinary knowledge of psychology students.MethodsA mixed repeated measures design was conducted with 43 students who were randomly assigned to the debate designs. Interviews were conducted to assess disciplinary knowledge before and after the intervention, and the argumentative moves used by each participant in the debates were identified with a pattern of argumentative moves.ResultsA Principal Component Analysis identified two configurations of argumentative moves: deliberative component and persuasive component. A Kruskal-Wallis test with these components showed that students use significantly more deliberative moves in the deliberative debate, but there were no significant differences in persuasive moves between the debates. A Mixed ANOVA showed that students advance in disciplinary knowledge in both designs. Finally, a Linear Mixed Model is presented showing that change of position significantly predicts advancement in disciplinary knowledge.DiscussionThe findings are discussed from the relationship between objective, argumentative language and learning.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1918675</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1918675</link>
        <title><![CDATA[From prediction to prescription: profile-aware prescriptive analytics for student dropout in a Latin American Public University]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Rodne Quijije-Castro</author><author>Alisson Constantine-Macías</author><author>Francis Loayza</author><author>Edwin Valarezo-Anazco</author><author>Ana Tapia-Rosero</author><author>Katherine Chiluiza-García</author><author>Enrique Peláez</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionStudent dropout in higher education remains a persistent challenge, particularly in developing contexts where structural disadvantage intersects with academic readiness. This study proposes a prescriptive analytics framework that integrates supervised learning, unsupervised profiling, and explainable artificial intelligence to move beyond prediction toward actionable interventions.MethodsUsing anonymized records from 2,500 entrants (2020–2024) at a Latin American public university, the analysis combines data from a foundation (pre-university) program with early bachelor's indicators and socioeconomic profiles. A Random Forest classifier was evaluated under stratified cross-validation, while student profiling and explainable AI techniques (SHAP, ALE, DiCE, CARLA, and Alibi) were used to characterize risk patterns and generate actionable recommendations.ResultsThe Random Forest classifier achieved strong discrimination, with ROC-AUC values between 0.95 and 0.97 and an Expected Calibration Error of 0.031. Student profiling revealed three coherent segments with observed dropout ranging from less than one percent to approximately one quarter. Global and local explainability consistently identified foundation GPA, early credit progress, socioeconomic index, and residential Internet access as the primary drivers of predicted dropout. Counterfactual explanations identified minimal, feasible changes that reclassified high-risk cases as lower predicted risk, providing recourse over the model's decision.DiscussionThe proposed framework extends predictive modeling by generating interpretable, profile-aware, and actionable recommendations that can support equitable student success through targeted interventions.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1907631</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1907631</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The social and emotional dynamics of teachers’ peer relationships]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Alison Kington</author><author>Ben Looker</author><author>Isobel Dawes</author><author>Thomas Weaver</author><author>Karen Blackmore</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionTeachers' relationships with colleagues are a crucial aspect of professional activity in schools but can often be overlooked as a by-product of teachers' working lives. Extant literature indicates that research on these relationships and the role they play in teachers' professional lives, wellbeing, and retention is a developing field. The purpose of this study was to examine variations in teachers' peer relationships to develop a theory to explain this phenomenon.MethodsUsing a critical realist grounded theory approach, and adopting an equal status, sequential, mixed-method design, the study combined a focus on individual experiences, alongside an exploration of the accumulative, contextual issues relating to the role of collegial relationships for primary and secondary schoolteachers in England. This strategy facilitated the collection of statistical data from 334 teachers, as well as the richness of qualitative data via critical event narratives (N = 10) to identify participants' perspectives on, and experiences of, professional relationships.ResultsThese data were analysed, compared, and integrated, revealing four key components of teachers' peer relationships: Social Contracts, Quality of Professional Relationships, Peer Interaction, and Culture and Support. Further, these components were clustered into two groups, suggestive of interrelated aspects of a broader framework. A grounded theory, the Relational Dynamics of Mattering (RDM) emerged, proposing how the concept of mattering is central to the development of positive peer relationships.DiscussionThese findings provide evidence of the complex structure of teacher peer relationships, contributing to the broader understanding of how collegiality functions within schools. Results suggest that enhancing the quality of professional relationships could potentially lead to improved school cohesion, offering insights for policy and practice.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1882380</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1882380</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Perceptions of employers and graduates on employability skills in online education: a rapid review]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Francisco Paiva-Cornejo</author><author>Nelson Vargas-Malebrán</author><author>Lucy Kuhn-Barrientos</author><author>Macarena Morel-Marambio</author><author>Angela Valverde-Henríquez</author><author>Ximena Triviño-Bonifay</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionEmployability is a central concept for higher education institutions, as it reflects one of their main objectives in students' professional preparation. The literature has reported current deficiencies in the development of skills needed to respond to the new demands of the labor market. As online higher education continues to expand, understanding how different key stakeholders perceive the development of employability competencies has become increasingly important.MethodsA rapid literature review was conducted using the Web of Science and Scopus databases. This rapid review represents the first mapping that synthesizes which employability competencies are most frequently assessed regarding online education and describes the methods most commonly used in this type of research, with the aim of informing future research designs that allow for greater comparability.ResultsThe results highlight the importance of measuring soft skills, such as communication and teamwork, as well as the relevance of digital technologies as employability competencies. The studies also indicate a preference among employers for face-to-face education, attributed to the lower development of soft skills in online education. Furthermore, the literature reveals limited validation processes for the instruments used to assess these competencies.DiscussionThe findings highlight the need for higher education institutions to strengthen curricular and pedagogical strategies aimed at developing employability competencies, particularly soft skills, within online learning environments. They also indicate the potential of rapid reviews as a rigorous and timely approach to supporting evidence-informed institutional decision-making in higher education.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/4V6PT]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1889292</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1889292</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Older visitors’ acceptance of augmented-reality heritage interpretation: an extended technology acceptance model for informal cultural heritage learning]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Hypothesis and Theory</category>
        <author>Xuejia Zhu</author><author>Suebsiri Saelee</author><author>Quan Wen</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Augmented-reality (AR) interpretation is increasingly used to explain heritage buildings, yet its educational value depends on more than interface acceptance. This Hypothesis and Theory article proposes an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) for studying older visitors’ acceptance of AR heritage interpretation as an informal cultural heritage learning experience. The manuscript does not report a survey, experiment, interview, observation, usage log analysis, or any human participant dataset. Instead, it specifies a testable model and future field study protocol that connect perceived ease of use, AR interaction quality, interpretive usefulness, perceived cultural authenticity, trust in digital interpretation, attitude, intention to use, AR-supported learning engagement, and self-reported interpretive learning outcomes. The primary contribution is the adaptation of TAM for an aging and heterogeneous visitor group by incorporating trust, authenticity, and educational outcomes that are relevant to museum and heritage learning. The proposed protocol defines candidate constructs, hypotheses, survey indicators, older-visitor eligibility criteria, control and moderator variables, and structural equation modeling procedures, including bootstrapped indirect-effect testing. The framework is intended to guide future empirical studies examining whether AR helps older visitors notice architectural evidence, connect visible fabric with historical explanations, maintain control over their attention and movement, and evaluate the credibility of reconstructed or interpretive content.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1812733</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1812733</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Is theoretical training enough? Effects of a university course on disability and health in physical activity and sport science students]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Bingen Marcos-Rivero</author><author>Jon Ortuondo</author><author>Javier Yanci</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThe preparation of future physical activity and sport professionals to promote inclusive and health–oriented practices for people with disabilities remains a persistent challenge in higher education. This study examined the effects of the course Physical Activity for the Health of People with Disabilities on students of a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.MethodsFifty–eight fourth–year students participated in a pre–post mixed–methods design combining questionnaires with open–ended questions.ResultsQuantitative analyses revealed improvements in perceptions of theoretical training (p < 0.001; rb = –0.71, large), methodology (p = 0.041; d = –0.27, small), and community participation (p = 0.044; rb = –0.35, moderate). Conversely, decreases emerged in academic self–concept (p = 0.002; rb = 0.47, moderate) and self–efficacy (p < 0.001; rb = 0.62, large). Qualitative findings provided a nuanced interpretation of these results. Students reported acquiring a more structured conceptual framework and greater awareness of social, environmental, and attitudinal barriers affecting participation in physical activity. However, this increased cognitive understanding was accompanied by heightened recognition of the complexity of inclusive practice. The absence of authentic practical experiences and direct interaction with people with disabilities emerged as a recurrent theme, limiting perceived preparedness and confidence for real professional contexts.DiscussionOverall, the integration of findings suggests that predominantly theoretical training enhances knowledge and critical awareness but may simultaneously expose perceived competence gaps. Incorporating structured experiential learning opportunities appears essential to strengthen professional self–efficacy and facilitate effective transfer to inclusive practice settings.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1872857</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1872857</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The illusion of teaching competence in AI-mediated education]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Mona Bădoi-Hammami</author><author>Silvia-Raluca Matei</author><author>Sorin Ivan</author><author>Corina Colareza</author><author>Ruxandra Paraschiv</author><author>Carmen-Mihaela Băiceanu</author><author>Claudia-Simona Popa</author><author>Larisa-Ileana Casangiu</author><author>Iuliana Lungu</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The accelerated integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has intensified debates on the reconfiguration of teaching competence and the professional status of the teaching profession. Although recent research has increasingly examined teachers’ digital competence, AI literacy, and attitudes toward technological tools, the pedagogical and professional dimensions of teaching competence remain under-theorized. This study presents a critical integrative review incorporating systematic elements of international literature published between 2018 and 2025, aiming to examine how teaching competence is conceptualized and redefined in the context of AI use in education. The final corpus comprises 15 studies selected through explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria and analyzed using thematic and interpretive synthesis. The findings indicate a recurring tendency to operationalize teaching competence in terms of technological proficiency, AI tool use, perceived usefulness, and instructional efficiency, while the situated, relational, reflective, and decision-making dimensions of teaching are less systematically addressed. Across the reviewed literature, a discrepancy emerges between high levels of self-efficacy in AI use and limited evidence of pedagogically grounded justification, suggesting a gap between perceived competence and pedagogically grounded professional expertise. Building on this synthesis, this study introduces the concept of the “illusion of teaching competence” as a distinct theoretical construct, referring to the overestimation of pedagogical expertise derived from technological fluency and instrumental performance, and differentiating it from related constructs such as self-efficacy and competence overestimation. By articulating this concept, the study provides a theoretical lens for understanding how evaluative criteria centered on technological performance may obscure the pedagogical foundations of teaching competence in AI-mediated contexts. The findings suggest that AI contributes to the professionalization of teaching only when integrated within pedagogically grounded frameworks that support reflective practice, pedagogical judgment, and context-sensitive decision-making.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1862227</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1862227</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Association between sensor-based physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep, and mental health in university students: a systematic review]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Zhe Weng</author><author>Xin Wang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This systematic review aimed to synthesise evidence on the associations of sensor-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep with depression, anxiety, mood, and broader mental health outcomes among university students. EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched, with updates conducted to January 2026. Observational studies were included if they assessed physical activity, sedentary behaviour, or sleep using accelerometers, actigraphy, or wearable sensors in university students and reported depression, anxiety, mood, self-esteem, or related mental health outcomes. Study quality was assessed using the National Institutes of Health observational study quality assessment tool. From 3,078 records, 13 studies published between 2007 and 2025 were included. Sample sizes ranged from 36 to 1,062 participants, and most studies were cross-sectional. For depression-related outcomes, TPA showed inconsistent evidence, with 1 of 4 studies reporting a significant beneficial association. Intensity-specific activity showed clearer patterns: 2 of 4 moderate-to-vigorous physical activity studies and 2 of 3 light physical activity studies reported beneficial associations. Sedentary behaviour findings were mixed, with 1 of 3 studies reporting adverse associations with depressive symptoms. Sleep-related evidence was limited, although 3 of 4 studies suggested that longer sleep or lower daytime sleepiness was associated with fewer depressive symptoms or better mood. Anxiety evidence was weak and inconsistent, while broader mental health, mood, or self-esteem outcomes showed more consistent evidence, with 4 of 5 studies reporting favourable associations. Overall, sensor-based evidence suggests that intensity-specific physical activity may be more informative than total activity for understanding mental health among university students, although the available evidence remains limited and predominantly cross-sectional.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/view/CRD42024583750, PROSPERO CRD42024583750.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1894156</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1894156</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Design guidelines for educational chatbots: supporting international students’ acculturation in higher education]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Sylvie Studente</author><author>Filia Garivaldis</author><author>Julia Sargent</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study explored acculturative stressors experienced by HE international students studying in the UK and investigated their views on the potential of chatbots in supporting acculturation. To achieve these objectives, a two-phased mixed methods study design was designed. Firstly, 45 postgraduate international students participated in a longitudinal study across six months completing the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students, (<br>Sandhu and Asrabadi, 1994), the Social Connectedness Scale, (<br>Lee and Robbins, 1995), and a demographics questionnaire including a measure of self-perceived English Proficiency. These measures were analysed using frequency data, repeated measures ANOVAs, and Pearson product moment coefficients. Participants were given the choice to opt in for phase two, a semi-structured interview focusing upon the use of chatbots to support acculturation in HE. 19 interviews were undertaken, and transcripts analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that different acculturative stressors and their intensity impact students at different times during the adjustment process. A key assertion of this work is that belongingness and acculturative stress are strongly linked, and that belongingness relates to three levels: social, academic and institutional, all important for acculturation. As a result of these findings, this article presents recommendations on how chatbot technology can be applied as a complementary resource to HEI's current services to assist the facilitation of social connections, academic support and collaborative learning.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1851519</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1851519</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Joy of moving: feasibility and fidelity of a child-led setup for mobile ‘phygital’ play]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jamie McGann</author><author>Caterina Pesce</author><author>Stephen Behan</author><author>Johann Issartel</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionFundamental movement skills (FMS) are an important foundation for children's confident participation in physical activity and sport, but many children spend substantial time engaged in sedentary screen-based activities. Phygital play, defined here as digital experiences that require real physical activity with gross motor skills, offers one possible way to create more active forms of screen time. However, before such experiences can be evaluated for broader developmental or movement-related effects, it is necessary to establish whether young children can access them successfully and whether they deliver the intended active gameplay experience.MethodsThis implementation-focused pilot evaluated the mobile movement-tracking game Joy of moving in 182 children aged 4–7 years from Irish primary schools. The study examined whether children could independently complete a child-led setup process to reach gameplay and, once gameplay began, whether sessions delivered the intended dose of movement under adequate tracking conditions. An iterative three-phase design was used. Feasibility was defined as successful independent setup and access to gameplay. Fidelity was defined as “dose with quality” during gameplay.ResultsAcross three iterations of the setup flow, independent setup success increased from 42.6% to 77.4% (χ²(2, N = 182) = 16.41, p < .001). Among children who successfully completed setup, gameplay completion remained consistently high (92.3%–94.9%), while implementation fidelity (“dose with quality”) improved from 66.7% to 91.1% as refinements to the setup guidance resulted in more reliable body positioning and tracking during gameplay.DiscussionThese findings suggest that many children aged 4–7 years were able to access gameplay independently and that, following optimisation of the setup process, the intended movement experience could be delivered with high implementation fidelity.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1796641</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1796641</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Educational stress, anxiety, and academic success among Palestinian university students]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Issa Abuiram</author><author>Noor Hassline Mohamed</author><author>Praneetha Palasuberniam</author>
        <description><![CDATA[BackgroundStudent success is a complex concept that combines personal engagement with measurable performance. Within the specific educational environment of Palestine, unique contextual challenges are frequently linked with elevated levels of educational stress and anxiety, which are in turn inversely associated with academic outcomes. This study investigates the relationship between academic success, educational stress, and anxiety symptoms among Palestinian university students.MethodsA cross-sectional design was employed with a sample of 1,397 students. Data were gathered using translated Arabic versions of the Academic Success Inventory for College Students (ASICS) and the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents (ESSA), alongside the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale. The analytical framework utilized descriptive statistics to characterize the sample and a four-step hierarchical regression analysis to determine the relative predictive power of demographic, social, and psychological factors on academic success.ResultsDescriptive findings indicated that the majority of students experienced moderate to severe symptoms of educational stress, with over half the sample reporting elevated anxiety symptoms. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the final model was statistically significant, explaining 23.2% of the total variance in academic success. Anxiety symptoms emerged as the factor most strongly associated with lower academic success, followed by symptoms of educational stress. Conversely, high baseline GPA, robust teacher student relationships, female gender, earlier years of study, a medical and health field of study and good sleep quality were significantly associated with higher success. Demographic factors, including family income, participant age, and geographical governorate, were not independently associated with academic success once psychological, health, and relational factors were controlled.ConclusionsThe results underscore the critical need for comprehensive mental health support, sleep hygiene awareness, and targeted educational interventions within Palestinian university environments. Institutional strategies should prioritize reducing academic anxiety and stress while actively fostering supportive teacher student relationships.]]></description>
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