Background: Students' initial experiences at university often shape their attendance and attainment. For some students, university is a positive experience, whereas others seemingly struggle and have more negative emotions. Unearthing distinctions in first-year students' emotionality may be valuable in understanding their academic engagement and…

This study presents findings from testing an innovative student-centred drama-based teaching methodology for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines for secondary school students. The method, based on performances, was tested in two case studies, Spain and the UK, on a sample of 2089 students. These performances have…

In recent years, self-theories such as growth mindset and resilience have gained interest as they have a sizable influence on achievement and school-related motivation. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between immigrant students' growth mindset, resilience, and science achievement in PISA 2018 by considering the mediating…

Most studies on talent competition shows (e.g., Culpeper & Holmes, 2013; Garces-Conejos Blitvich et al., 2013; Tang, 2016) do not delve into the role of judges giving positive comments to contestants. This paper investigates Simon Cowell's compliments given to Golden Buzzer winners on America's Got Talent (henceforth AGT) and Britain's Got…

International student mobility has been rising as a global phenomenon in the last few decades, while its impact could be various in different contexts. For the European Union (EU), studying in another EU member country could be regarded as an important factor for the solidarity and integrity of the Union. The current study elaborates on the role…

Autobiographical memory supports three functions of remembering past, the self, social, and directive. Previous studies undertaken with adults recalling their play experiences have identified three aspects: the ages between 7 and 12 years are key; there are significant adults involved in the play and location that play talks place. This paper,…

This paper contends that supporting young people to hold a growth mindset -- the belief that intelligence is malleable and within an individual's power to develop -- offers a potential psychological contribution to existing educational inequalities in the UK. A role for educational psychologists (EPs) in extending research insights from experiment…

This qualitative case study examines the language learning trajectory of a South Korean international undergraduate student (Stella) in the United Kingdom. Previous studies have reported a lack of research on the intricate relationships between motivation and investment. To fill this gap, this study examined Stella's shifting levels of motivation…

Most of the current literature on the experiences of Chinese international students tends to adopt a deficit-based approach, focusing on the weaknesses, problems, and challenges Chinese students face while studying overseas. In other words, they tend to focus on struggling Chinese students, "problem" Chinese students, and Chinese…

There is increasing emphasis on understanding economic advantage alongside disadvantage -- on studying both 'poverty' and 'riches'. This trend prompts and requires new ethical reflection. I argue that in qualitative interview research, a clearer distinction needs to be drawn between ethical commitments to individual research participants, and the…

Ethnic and racial identity (ERI) has long been considered a central component of psychological wellbeing, particularly for adolescents and young people from Black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. Supplementary schools are geared towards the cultivation of positive group identification and a sense of belonging; central components of ERI.…

There are widespread concerns about the mental health implications of the pandemic, particularly among university students, an already at-risk population for poor mental health. This study looked at 1,281 UK university students, recruited through the Prolific website. Participants were asked to complete the Attitudes towards COVID-19 Scale, the…

There has been intense debate about student engagement and student voice in Higher Education Institutions in the past decade or so. Most of the discussion has been theoretical or based on a cause-and-effect research design. With the aim of gathering student perspectives on student voice and its related mechanisms, this study collected the voice of…

This pilot study aims to assess the acceptability of Open University's training platform called Gamified Intelligent Cyber Aptitude and Skills Training course (GICAST), as a means of improving cybersecurity knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours in undergraduate students using both quantitative and qualitative methods. A mixed-methods, pre-post…

Early career researchers' journey (i.e. doctoral researchers and post-PhDs) is increasingly challenging, but little is known about how they live and interpret their significant experiences, that is how they attribute meaning to these experiences and their associated feelings. Moreover, research about how doctoral researchers and post-PhDs deal…