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School leaders can significantly influence the conditions that affect teacher retention. Yet, leaders in rural and high-poverty schools often face limited opportunities to develop their abilities to enhance these conditions. In this case study, we examine how participating in a professional community supported school leaders' efforts to increase teacher retention and student learning outcomes.

We used case study methodology to study 14 leaders from rural, high-poverty or underperforming schools with greater-than-average levels of teacher turnover. The leaders were participating in a three-year research-practice partnership intended to assist them in using improvement science to address problems of practice related to teacher retention and student learning outcomes in their schools. We collected and analyzed data from interviews, exit surveys, artifacts and participant observations over a one-year period.

Participating in this professional community helped the leaders create the conditions for increased teacher retention and student learning outcomes by providing them with opportunities to collaborate with their peers, receive leadership coaching, exchange ideas and learn in a safe space.

These findings confirm and extend extant school leadership development research. A particularly interesting finding was the role of the professional community in reducing the leaders' feelings of isolation while providing them a safe space to learn. The findings also illustrate how universities and school districts can partner to provide professional learning opportunities that enhance school leaders' professional knowledge, leadership practices and well-being.

The creation of new practice learning environments for healthcare students promotes the development of professional judgement skills and decision-making. Through the modelling of established practices across other subject disciplines, Healthcare Technicians designed and created the Clinical Skills Lounge to support student learning outside of scheduled classes.

The design and development of a new learning and simulation space for healthcare students was created following feedback from students. Using a model of learning support for students across the creative subject disciplines, the creation of the Clinical Skills Lounge provided an opportunity to create a space where practical techniques could be practiced and support provided by Technicians.

Student feedback highlights the importance and flexibility of the Clinical Skills Lounge design and opportunities to learn and practice key skills outside of timetabled sessions. Greater confidence and opportunities to further develop decision-making skills were reported by students who use this space.

This particular type of learning environment promotes greater reflection, provides the opportunity for students to learn alongside their peers and encourages inter-professional learning. The opportunities for greater decision-making, confidence building and preparation for clinical placements.

In the cosmic expanse of the digital universe, a new celestial body emerges the Metaverse. This study embarks on an interstellar journey to scrutinize the dynamics of entrepreneurial learning (EL) and opportunity in the burgeoning realm of the metaverse. This study aims to understand how personal entrepreneurial characteristics (PEC) and Metaverse environment characteristics (MEC) influence these processes.

The study devotes a dual-lens approach, combining the power of interviews (Phase I) and the precision of a survey (Phase II). It harnesses the insights of the entrepreneurial event model (EEM) and the technology acceptance model (TAM), serving as twin beacons guiding our exploration of the constructs under PEC/MEC.

The study uncovers a fascinating tapestry of interwoven variables. Certain threads in the PEC/MEC weave significantly into the fabric of EL, which in turn embroiders the pattern of opportunity exploitation. However, some threads, namely, Metaverse scalability, entrepreneurial risk-taking and innovativeness, do not significantly contribute to the design of EL.

The findings serve as a compass for various stakeholders in the metaverse. They guide the design of entrepreneurial education programs, inform the development of user-friendly metaverse platforms, shape policies promoting entrepreneurship in the metaverse and provide strategic insights for entrepreneurs and investors.

This study is a trailblazer, being among the first to apply the EEM and TAM in the context of the Metaverse. It offers fresh perspectives on entrepreneurial processes in virtual environments, enriching the emerging narrative on metaverse entrepreneurship and charting unexplored territories for future research.

School–university partnerships are important in teacher education to ensure PK-12 preservice teachers gain teaching experience prior to becoming teachers of record. Drawing on Ball and Cohen’s (1999) concept of “practice-based teacher education,” this three-year qualitative study examines the results of an intentionally reciprocal school–university partnership centered on a practice-based learning, field-based course. The following question guided this research: Having designed and facilitated a school–university partnership centered on reciprocity, what factors contributed to and/or took away from this commitment?

The current study examined three data sources, namely: (1) seven semi-structured focus group interviews with a teacher educator, sixth-grade teachers (n = 4) and a principal; (2) eight question/answer sessions between preservice teachers and partnering secondary teachers and (3)one focus group between the two authors. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

This study’s findings highlight the reciprocal nature of the school–university partnership, showcasing the positive outcomes and challenges faced by stakeholders. Clear communication and ongoing dialogue were identified as key elements to establishing and maintaining a reciprocal relationship. Additionally, emphasis on shared learning experiences between partners were found valuable and important to maintaining benefit to all partners. Relationship development also remained an important and positive outcome of this partnership. Additionally, there were challenges related to time, and schedule constraints were evident in the partnership. Moreover, ongoing reflection and a willingness to adjust and change based on experiences and lessons learned ensured participants recognized the importance of ongoing iteration and calibration to address challenges and enhance the partnership.

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability.

The paper includes implications for the development of other school–university partnerships that prioritize reciprocity, highlighting an often assumed, but not always examined, component necessary to the success of school–university partnerships.

Prior research finds that early-career professional accountants (early PAs) are generally dissatisfied with the learning and training opportunities offered during their early employment years, which impacts their career progression. This paper aims to examine whether different learning styles between these early PAs and their qualified accounting employers and trainers diverge.

Using Kolb’s learning styles inventory and interviews, this study explores the learning styles of early PAs and their employers, examining changes in these learning styles over time.

This research shows the necessity for different learning styles to be integrated into early PA training and learning, as research participants’ learning styles tend to prefer active experimentation requiring practical examples and self-learning opportunities. In contrast, their senior, qualified accounting employers prefer conceptualisation-based learning styles. As early PAs’ career progression requires them to succeed in employer-supported training, some early PAs change their learning style preferences to progress, whereas others with incompatible learning styles either moved to different employers or reassessed their choice of profession.

To reduce career dissatisfaction, develop and retain competent accountants, early PAs must be supported to learn effectively. By reducing early PAs’ dissatisfaction early PA educators and employers will potentially increase the attractiveness of accounting as a profession.

Few studies interrogate how accounting professionals utilise learning and training post-graduation nor do they examine the learning styles of workplace trainers and learners. This exploratory study uniquely analyses the learning styles of both early PAs and their employers.

Leadership is key to building a culture of continuous learning within organizations. This study aims to explore the pivotal role of leadership in creating a culture of constant learning within organizations by bibliometric and content analysis. It also introduces propositions and frameworks that emphasize the importance of fostering a growth mindset, encouraging knowledge sharing, promoting learning agility and leveraging technology to support lifelong development.

Using data from the Web of Science Core Collection, the author performed a complete analysis of publication features, collaboration networks and keywords in the field using VOSviewer software. Furthermore, drawing on social cognitive theory, this paper also presents propositions that integrate key concepts and strategies for fostering a culture of learning.

The data shows a large increase in publications on leadership and organizational learning, particularly since 2000, indicating an increasing interest and importance in this field. The author proposes leaders who demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement and invest in learning resources empower their teams to embrace new challenges and explore innovative solutions. By fostering a culture of learning, organizations can enhance employee engagement, foster creativity and innovation and adapt more effectively to changing market dynamics.

This study offers a unique perspective on the role of leadership in driving learning and development initiatives. By implementing the principles, organizations can create a competitive advantage by cultivating a workforce that is agile, resilient and equipped to thrive in an ever-changing world.

This research paper aims to explore how secondary school-aged business owners utilise social media to engage in informal learning. The authors make use of the concept of a self-directed experiential learning cycle to empirically explore adolescents’ entrepreneurial learning processes without formal guidance or curriculum.

The study adopts a one-on-one interview approach with a critical incident technique in interviewing to examine the experiences of 10 Grade 9–11 business owners who run social media-based businesses on Instagram.

The results demonstrate that student business owners were able to capitalise on social media for venture creation and informal learning. They effectively engaged in experiential learning cycles with active help-seeking and mentorship in response to challenges in their business journey. A variety of resources within social media, their social circle and the internet were employed by students, highlighting the role the self-directed element plays in their experiential learning process.

The research urges institutions to recognise the potential of informal learning on social media and offer more support to strengthen students’ learning.

This research represents the first exploratory study on the potential of school-age teens’ self-initiated informal entrepreneurial learning while testifying the theory of the self-directed experiential learning cycle in the context of social media businesses. The study offers novel insights into the fields of students’ informal learning, entrepreneurial learning and social media learning.

Work-study programmes aim to support young adults transitioning from tertiary education to work and contribute to enhancing their employability. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed analysis of the learning experiences of trainees in work-study programmes within the broad field of engineering.

The data gathering procedures used interviews with participants of a specific work-study programme and conducting thematic analyses to identify and understand the motivations of these adults for enrolling in work-study programmes and their associated workplace learning experiences. Fifty-two alumni of electrical and logistics engineering programmes completed 12 months of a separate work-study programme and consented to participate in an hour-long interview. They elaborated upon their work-learn experiences to explicate their work-learn needs and challenges in those interviews.

Findings include workplaces facilitated skills development through providing combinations of work tasks comprising both routine and novel work assignments; challenging circumstances at the workplace provided trainees with opportunities to develop adaptive capacities; and engaging in non-routine work processes fosters integration into the engineering workplace community.

The findings contribute to the existing literature by exemplifying how routine engineering activities are practical affordances through which engineering trainees construct knowledge and dispositions for engaging in challenging, non-routine engineering work. Such experiences are crucial in preparing trainees for advanced roles in logistics or electronic sectors.

While founder characteristics have been studied extensively as a factor in attracting employees, organizational attributes of startups have received little attention. To fill the void, this study aims to examine organizational attributes of startups to attract employees.

This research collected 8,817 online employer reviews of 117 startups from Glassdoor.com. This research conducted two studies. In Study 1, a topic modeling approach was applied to identify startup attributes to attract employees having actual employer experience and to examine the importance and relationship of the attributes, drawing the person–organization fit theory. Study 2 used logistic regression analysis to explore the effect of identified attributes on employer attractiveness based on the signaling theory.

Study 1 found six attributes: high-quality coworkers, entrepreneurial culture, development, company outlook, physical office and stereotypical startup perks. This study also found high-quality coworkers, entrepreneurial culture and development are not only related to each other but also more critical attributes than other attributes. The core value of the three attributes can be conceptualized as “learning opportunity.” Study 2 found that employees attracted to “learning opportunity” are more likely to recommend their employers than instrumental attributes, including physical office and stereotypical startup perks.

This research elaborates on employer attributes to attract employees in the context of startup based on the real voices of employees having actual employer experience. Furthermore, this research extends the understanding of employer attributes contributing to employer attractiveness by combining qualitative review data with quantitative rating data.

This paper intends to explore the significant growth and multifaceted benefits of e-learning within the technology sector in Middle Tennessee, particularly in the transformative context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It seeks to highlight the fundamental shift from traditional training methods to e-learning modalities and emphasize the potential of e-learning to revolutionize technical skill development and expand learning opportunities in the post-pandemic era.

The study employs a comprehensive review of existing literature to glean insights into the use and effectiveness of e-learning in the technology industry, particularly within Middle Tennessee. It synthesizes research findings to understand the growing preference for e-learning and online self-directed training as primary methods for technical skill development in the technology sector.

The literature review reveals a growing trend toward e-learning in the technology industry, driven by its flexibility, accessibility, and ability to rapidly update training materials. E-learning is increasingly integrated into academic programs related to technology, preparing students for the evolving job market. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the necessity for adaptable and resilient training methods, reinforcing the pivotal role of e-learning in the industry.

This paper contributes to the understanding of the expansion and impact of e-learning in the technology industry in Middle Tennessee, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides valuable insights for organizations and educators on the significance of e-learning in addressing the training needs of the technology workforce and its potential to shape the future of education and skill development in the region.