Appreciative inquiry is a strength-based organisational transformation approach developed in 1987 by David Cooperrider at Case Western Reserve. It is based on the idea that organisational change is more effective when the approach focuses on the positive attributes and experiences within an organisation instead of the challenges. Several studies…

The purpose of this autoethnography is to take readers through the experiences of one biracial woman, me, as she tries to define her biracial identity and ontology from childhood through adulthood, traversing a racist, majoritarian world. From an early age, I have often wondered from where my identity came. I wondered how I became me, what…

The COVID-19 pandemic affected and continues to modify students' social life and as a result may impact their long-term development. This study is a part of a larger research project focused on the psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students. For this manuscript, we employed content analysis to analyze 1,327 quotes…

Social participation has been linked to healthy aging, yet little is known about social participation during extended periods of time for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The social participation of 777 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (aged 18-77 years), during a 4-year period, was examined.…

The term social participation is widely used and has various meanings in different contexts. This article aims to enhance the understanding of social participation in science museums. The research was conducted using a cultural-historical perspective in six steps: (1) survey to identify the meanings attributed to the term social participation and…

This article bewilders dominant discourses about child-animal relations by acknowledging and challenging the work of Gail Melson who positions animals as providing emotional, social and pedagogical support for children. Melson's psychological approach rests upon implicit assumptions that shape and support anthropocentrism whilst also critiquing a…

Understanding childhood socialization across multiple world cultures is important for developing comprehensive and generalizable theories of developmental psychology. Studies suggest that Latin American children show markedly high levels of prosocial behavior. In this article, we theorize that this hyper-prosociality is supported by a particular…

Social dimensions of the caregiving environment, like secure relationships to caregivers and high interactional classroom quality, are seen to directly or indirectly stimulate children's learning and development. However, little is known about the underlying processes, specifically with regard to the role of peers. To fill this gap we videotaped…

This study tested the psychometric properties of the "Sense of Belonging in STEM" Scale (SOB-STEM), a new scale measuring students' subjective evaluation of their academic and social experiences in STEM learning contexts, primarily focusing on purposeful interpersonal interactions. Data from 758 college students were analyzed, yielding…

This paper presents the results of a critical ethnography of literacy practices experienced by a group of university students, who perceived them as promoting social exclusion in the Colombian educational system. It also gives an account of their views about how this educational system could be more inclusive and contribute to peacebuilding in the…

This ethnographic case study investigates the professional, locational and cultural understandings teachers need when beginning regional, rural, and remote teaching and living. Drawing from the experiences of recently graduated early career teachers in regional, rural, and remote teaching positions, the study sought to identify key learnings and…

Public community colleges must adapt to ever-changing student populations to increase student retention and completion levels. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how community college students described their academic experiences and social interactions in a coordinated studies learning community at an urban community…

This qualitative interview study explored moral suffering among student affairs practitioners (n = 26). Data analysis revealed four moral foundations guiding practitioners' experiences: advocacy, compassion, idealism, and compliance. Participants experienced moral suffering when these foundations clashed with immoral institutional contexts. The…

The purpose of the dissertation study was to increase understanding of the social experiences of students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are at increased risk of being involved in the bullying dynamic and experiencing greater social difficulties relative to their typically developing peers (Farmer et al., 2015; Rose & Gage,…

One main argument for inclusion refers to the social benefits that students with SEN might have from being in contact with typically developing classmates. Students' sense of belonging to the classroom is also a relevant dimension of inclusion, given its importance for positive emotional and social development and academic motivation. Yet, studies…