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The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of former teachers who transitioned into self-directed education (SDE), a K-12 educational paradigm where learning is authentically student-led.

Drawing on Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society and qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with educators who have left conventional teaching, the research delves into understanding the modern concept of deschooling, critique of conventional schooling’s limitations and the implications of both for the future of educational practice.

The study highlights the themes that emerged from a cross-analysis of text and lived experience, emphasizing the need for childhood autonomy and agency in approaches to education. This study reveals a reimagined relationship and new profession for educators as they reemerge on the other side of the deschooling process. This study offers insights into the transformative potential of deschooling and SDE’s alignment with Illich’s vision for a lifelong learning society that transcends institutional constraints, thereby contributing to the discourse on educational reform and the empowerment of authentic learner-directed education.

Research on SDE as a field is quite limited, with no known prior empirical studies on SDE mentors or their process of deschooling. This work also provides theoretical novelty in using Deschooling Society as a lens for understanding the phenomenon of deschooling through lived experience as a critique of modern society and creating a real, re-envisioned future.

Higher education is undergoing a significant transformation, demanding a rethinking of instructional methods, the establishment of novel assessment frameworks and the incorporation of state-of-the-art technologies to advance the development of learning competencies. The use of simulations is an alternative that offers satisfactory results and favors learning in new generations. This study aims to present a methodology for assessing the advancement of self-directed learning (SDL) in participants through simulation techniques and show that the incorporation of simulations can improve participants’ SDL skills.

This study uses a quantitative approach to evaluate the evolution of various competencies related to SDL among participants. Includes the application of scales specifically designed to measure readiness for SDL, the use of factor analysis to identify and validate essential factors and conducting hypothesis testing to verify shifts in students’ perceptions regarding the significance of SDL-related skills.

The findings of this study reveal a positive impact of simulations on the SDL readiness. Factor analysis identified five key factors: self-management skills, openness to learning opportunities, initiative and independence in learning, self-concept as an effective learner and desire for Learning. The use of simulations significantly improved critical thinking, logical reasoning, analysis and decision-making capabilities. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique as a valuable tool for developing SDL skills and highlight the potential of such interventions in complex and uncertain learning environments.

The study provided valuable insights into the impact of simulations in the logistics field, particularly in the development of SDL-related skills. There is a need for studies in other areas of knowledge that would allow for the generalization of these results. Likewise, it is advisable to use scales that measure the development of other types of skills. Additionally, the study’s focus on short-term effects may not fully capture the long-term development of SDL-related skills. Future research should address these limitations, expand the sample size, conduct longitudinal studies and explore possible contextual and external factors that may influence SDL outcomes in various educational settings, leading to broader and more robust conclusions.

The practical implications of this study are significant for both higher education institutions and educators in the logistics domain. The positive impact of the serious game on participants’ SDL skills highlights the potential of incorporating interactive and engaging learning tools in the curriculum. Educators can leverage serious games to foster critical thinking, logical reasoning and decision-making abilities in their students. Moreover, the identified key factors influencing SDL development provide valuable guidance for designing targeted interventions to enhance students’ self-management, initiative and love for learning.

The social implications of this study underscore the importance of equipping individuals with SDL skills in a rapidly changing world. By integrating serious games and fostering SDL competencies, higher education institutions can contribute to a more adaptable and resilient workforce. Empowering students with critical thinking, innovative thinking and independent learning, they can enhance their ability to navigate the challenges of the labor market. This, in turn, may lead to a more informed and proactive society capable of addressing complex issues and making well-informed decisions.

This article arises from empirical exploration with students from two countries in Latin America (Mexico and Colombia), examining the importance of games in developing SDL skills. Furthermore, it promotes the use of a methodology with a low level of complexity, and that can be replicated with different games. This perspective adds valuable insights to the existing literature, offering practical implications for educators and institutions seeking effective strategies to promote SDL skills among students.

Employee training and learning have transformed over the years. The movement from classroom training to the blended format represents the magnitude of this evolution. This has placed much attention on self-regulated learning. This study aimed to understand the individual and organizational mechanisms that sustain the formal learning process in organizations. It explored the goals the organizations and employees strive to achieve by investing in learning. Through this, the authors investigated how technology assistance makes learning more goal-oriented, despite the possibility of different goals for different stakeholders. They also examined how person-job fit can be achieved in employee training.

The study adopted a grounded theory-based inductive approach using a qualitative inquiry that used in-depth interviews of employees working in the Indian IT/ITES sector. This sector is knowledge-intensive and engages in constant skill development. A content analysis of the interview transcripts unraveled the most relevant themes from the participants' discussion.

Individual learners use dimensions of self-regulated learning to set and achieve goals such as better performance and career development. On the other hand, organizations use learning support mechanisms such as better access and flexibility to direct employee learning behavior to achieve organizational goals. Focusing on goal congruence leads to better achievement of results. Goal congruence also implies good person-organization fit.

This research established how aligning individual and organizational mechanisms can help achieve training goals that ultimately contribute to organizational performance. The study differentiated itself by investigating training goal setting and goal achievement at two levels – organizational and individual – using a qualitative approach. It also showed how goal congruence is vital in improving organizational performance and how technology-enabled training practices rely on self-regulated learning and help achieve goal congruence.

The research questions probe into the heart of participatory learning’s scholarly landscape. They inquire about historical trends, shifts in research interest, and regional contributions, highlighting the global reach of participatory learning discourse. The study also reaches into the most cited papers, emphasizing their pivotal role in shaping the field’s trajectory.

The research design of our study involves a retrospective analysis focused on the topic of participatory learning in education. A retrospective analysis is a methodological approach that entails examining existing literature, data, and publications within a specific field to identify trends, patterns, and insights over a defined period. In the context of participatory learning in education, this research design allows us to gain a comprehensive understanding of the evolution, contributions, and emerging directions within this pedagogical approach.

The culmination of this study lies in formulating 75 thought-provoking future research questions. These questions are designed to guide the future trajectory of participatory learning research, addressing existing gaps and propelling the field toward new horizons. The findings of the study contribute to a panoramic view of participatory learning’s evolution, global impact, and potential for reshaping education. It is a compass for researchers, educators, and policymakers navigating the intricate landscape of participatory learning in education.

Themes and topics are thoroughly explored, unrevealed the multidimensional nature of participatory learning research. The investigation spans time, revealing enduring themes while unveiling emerging areas of inquiry that capture the attention of researchers and practitioners. Current trends and focus areas are scrutinized, offering insights into the ever-evolving scholarly pursuits within participatory learning.

This comprehensive study investigates the evolution and impact of research on participatory learning in education from 1995 to 2023. The research objectives encompass a broad spectrum, including trend analysis, geographical distribution assessment and identification of influential papers, thematic exploration, and the formulation of future research questions. Through a meticulous examination of published literature, this study aims to shed light on the development of participatory learning as a transformative educational approach.

This study’s originality lies in its comprehensive analysis of participatory learning in education from 1995 to 2023, revealing temporal trends, global contributions, influential papers, thematic nuances, and emerging trends. By amalgamating these dimensions, it offers a holistic view of participatory learning’s evolution, impact, and future directions, enriching the understanding of this transformative educational approach and guiding further research and practice.

Current school leadership research has primarily utilized quantitative methods to explore the relationship between leadership and teacher learning. However, there is a notable gap in understanding how principals facilitate professional learning, especially in centralized educational settings. This study aims to address this gap by examining the role of school leadership in enhancing teacher professional learning within a highly centralized education system.

This qualitative case study delves into the lived experiences of 15 teachers and eight school leaders in eight primary schools in Mashhad, Iran. Through semistructured interviews, researchers employed open and axial coding to systematically explore and categorize qualitative data. The study focuses on understanding the role of principal leadership in facilitating teacher professional learning by connecting themes and sub-themes across transcripts.

Effective principals worked on the cultivation of a culture that champions perpetual personal growth and development, the nurturing of a collaborative learning community, and the provision of essential resources and support. Findings showed the pivotal role of principals in promoting teachers' self-development, facilitating idea exchange and acknowledging their efforts. Principals appeared as key to encouraging information sharing, fostering collective learning, promoting professional development, overseeing teaching practices and ensuring the availability of resources to cultivate a supportive climate in a centralized education context.

We concluded that in centralized education, leadership practices for promoting teacher learning share similarities and differences with decentralized settings. The findings offer guidance for principals in centralized systems, supporting them in facilitating teacher professional learning in their schools.

Digital technology's integration into education has transformed learning frameworks, necessitating the exploration of factors influencing students’ engagement in digital informal settings. This study, grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), proposes a model comprising artificial intelligence (AI) competence, chatbot usage, perceived autonomy (PA), digital informal learning (DIL) and students’ engagement.

The study collected survey data from 409 participants at Saudi Arabian universities, ultimately using 387 valid responses for analysis. This dataset was subjected to a thorough examination to confirm the validity of our proposed model. To decipher the complex interactions within our model, we utilized partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The study adopted a disjoint two-stage method to formulate a reflective-formative higher-order construct (HOC).

The study's findings showed that cognitive learning (CL), metacognitive learning (MCL) and social and motivational learning (SML) are the essential components of DIL. Significantly, the study determined that AI competence, chatbot usage, PA and DIL markedly affect students’ engagement. Moreover, the R² value of 0.592 for student engagement indicates the model's robustness in explaining 59.2% of the variance, highlighting its effectiveness in identifying key drivers of student engagement in DIL contexts.

This research enhances understanding by detailing the intricate relationships among AI competence, chatbot usage, and students’ engagement in informal digital learning. It extends SDT to emphasize intrinsic motivations and AI capabilities, introducing reflective-formative HOCs for comprehending educational intricacies. It provides practical strategies for enhancing AI abilities and chatbot use in education, promoting personalized, engaging and autonomous digital learning spaces, thereby advancing educational theory and practice.

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.

Our study focuses on providing empirical evidence regarding the optimization of podcasting in asynchronous learning. This action research aimed to innovate the delivery of asynchronous classes using differentiated podcasts.

We utilized action research as the research design for the study. Participating in action research entails developing practical knowledge to improve educational practices through specific methods and critical perspectives (Sáez Bondía and Cortés Gracia, 2022). According to Burns (2007), action research involves deliberate interventions usually prompted by identified issues, mysteries or inquiries that individuals in the social setting seek to improve or change. Implementing changes to enhance individuals' actions and understanding within their context is the focus of action research (Kemmis, 2010). The study’s approach is ideal for examining new practices and gaining enhanced theoretical insights (Altrichter et al., 2002). Engaging in action research helps enhance understanding and empowers us to impact and enhance practices through continuous reflection, exploration and action. Through this iterative process, we can continuously enhance our comprehension and make substantial strides toward fostering positive transformation.

The study findings showed an apparent rise in student regulation and engagement and remarkable enhancements in learning outcomes, as demonstrated by differences in pre-test and final exam scores. These results highlight the actual effect of specialized podcasts on self-paced inducing students' self-efficacy in learning. Our research provides valuable insights on effectively incorporating podcasts into education, offering innovations and improvement of practice among educators and institutions adapting to the ever-changing landscape of the educational environment while catering to the diverse needs of the learners. This research is pioneering research catering to the various learning styles of asynchronous learning environments.

Although our current sample offered valuable insights, upcoming studies could gain from more extensive and more diverse participant groups to strengthen the reliability of our results and guarantee broader applicability across various demographics and contexts. Moreover, the length of our intervention may have been relatively brief, which could have limited our ability to evaluate the long-term impact of customized podcasts on learning results. Continued investigation into the long-term effects of these interventions could provide valuable insights into their effectiveness over time and help shape the creation of more lasting educational approaches.

Innovation in asynchronous learning differentiated teaching attuned to the diverse learning styles of the students.

The study promotes equitable education, which eventually promotes learning outcomes of the students.

We created differentiated podcasts tailored to the learning styles of the students. This research is pioneering research catering to the various learning styles of asynchronous learning environments.

The increasing complexity of global labor markets and work environments has made the school-to-work transition more difficult. We explore factors that influence important career outcomes for young adults in China as they transition from their university to the labor market. Specifically, we examine how protean career orientation, self-perceived employability, mother’s and father’s career support and human capital (English language proficiency) may influence career satisfaction and employment status during adulthood.

We collected survey data in two waves, six months apart, and obtained English proficiency ratings from university records.

Father’s and mother’s career support was significantly associated with protean career orientation and protean career orientation was significantly related to self-perceived employability. Self-perceived employability was significantly associated with career satisfaction and employment status. The career support-career satisfaction and career support-employment status relationships were fully mediated by protean career orientation and self-perceived employability. Contrary to expectations, the human capital variable of English language proficiency did not moderate the serial mediation involving either career satisfaction or employment status.

By integrating protean career theory, human capital theory and research on parental support, we offer an interdisciplinary contribution to the school-to-work transition literature. We also advance protean career theory by studying it as a mediating variable and by examining parental support as an antecedent of it.

This study aims to explore scientific discourses on vaccination in YouTube comments using the Connectivism theory as a foundational guide in the inquiry of understanding knowledge seeking and sharing. The authors sought to understand how individuals share and seek information by using external sources through URL links to validate their arguments.

Using content analysis, the authors extracted and analysed 584 random comments with URL links from eight YouTube videos scientifically addressing the purpose of vaccines. The comments were coded by stance (pro, anti, and neutral) and the type of resource to observe how their links were used.

The results showed that URL links were composed of quotes, questions, and opinions. Many sources came from research papers, conspiracy websites, or other videos. Some of the comments did not accurately reflect the information from research papers and showed little scientific reasoning. This suggests the need for critical evaluation among individuals when finding information online.

The findings can be expanded to explore different types of information literacy practices in the comment section of social media for both informal and formal environments.

YouTube is useful in fostering scientific discourse and information-seeking/sharing practices among individuals. However, considering the inaccuracy of content deliverance, educators and individuals will need to consider how to teach/conduct information literacy skills when implementing social media for educational purposes.

Only a few studies have conducted research on comments using URL links, the originality of sources and how the sources were used in argumentation.