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…

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…

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 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…

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…

Background: Engineering self-efficacy, or the belief in one's own capabilities to complete engineering tasks, has been shown to predict greater motivation, academic performance, and retention of engineering students. Investigating the types of experiences that influence engineering students' self-efficacy can reveal ways to support students in…

The theory of transformative learning and its notion of freedom, that we are not trapped by one way of looking at the world or being in the world, fosters a fundamental re-ordering and radical questioning of how one thinks or acts. As a theory of adult learning, it emerged from the women's movement in the US, echoing what it means to become a…

Promoting science education to all continues to be a key focus for many individuals and organizations. Informal science education settings such as museums have been shown to have a positive influence on student attitudes and interests toward science. Unfortunately, many underrepresented groups do not frequent museums as frequently as other…

Low financial literacy is a growing problem in young adults, which has effects throughout adulthood (Amagir et al., 2018). Record low personal savings rates, a shift toward increased personal responsibility for retirement, and increasing student loan balances put financial decision-making demands on young adults that have lifelong impacts (Lusardi…

Social educational robotics literature indicates robots have entered the education domain with positive benefits for the learner. A key question remains: what is the lived experience of student interaction with social educational robots in the education environment? This study employed a qualitative phenomenological methodology to investigate the…

Introduction/background: The research focuses primarily on how parents construct images of themselves and their children that diverge from the narrative of disability as a life tragedy and focus on emphasizing dignity and self-esteem. Methods: The research was qualitative. A technique of an unstructured interview conducted with parents of people…