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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.

Scholars have been sounding the alarm of novice teacher turnover crises for decades. South Africa is soon to be facing an educational catastrophe because of a shortage of experienced teachers. Globally and in South Africa, novice teacher attrition is high, and teachers entering the classroom often described feeling isolated and unsupported.

This qualitative study was underpinned by an interpretative phenomenology approach. The author reviewed the literature and newly emerged findings of novice teacher mentoring support needs through the theoretical lens of the Ubuntu philosophy “I am because we are” which emphasises the importance of interconnectedness and community. Using semi-structured interviews, this study aimed to explore novice teacher mentoring needs from an Ubuntu perspective.

Novice teachers report feeling overwhelmed with the complexities of teaching in their early careers and express the desire to be formally mentored by a knowledgeable “elder” teacher. This paper argues that a competent mentor who values Ubuntu in their mentoring could offer collaboration, respect, compassion and support to novices that may keep them in the profession. This paper further explores the potential benefit of a prescribed Ubuntu-orientated mentoring programme to formalise mentoring for novices. In addition, it explores the school micro-community from the Ubuntu principles to support novices.

While there is a plethora of studies about mentoring novice teachers, literature from an Africanised Ubuntu perspective is scarce. Perhaps the time has come to find African solutions to our African problems.

This study aimed to explore the spatial accessibility dynamics of urban parks and their driving forces from 1901 to 2010 in terms of the dynamic relationships between spatial morphology and road networks, taking Nanjing City as an example.

This study mapped and examined the spatiotemporal distribution of urban parks and road networks in four time points at Nanjing: the 1910s, 1930s, 1960s and 2010s, using the analysis methodology of spatial design network analysis, kernel density estimation and buffer analysis. Two approaches of spatial overlaying and data analysis were adopted to investigate the accessibility dynamics. The spatial overlaying compared the parks' layout and the road networks' core, subcore and noncore accessible areas; the data analysis clarified the average data on the city-wide and local scales of the road networks within the park buffer zone.

The analysis of the changing relationships between urban parks and the spatial morphology of road networks showed that the accessibility of urban parks has generally improved. This was influenced by six main factors: planning implementation, political policies, natural resources, historical heritage and cultural and economic levels.

The results provide a reference for achieving spatial equity, improving urban park accessibility and supporting sustainable urban park planning.

An increasing number of studies have explored the spatial accessibility of urban parks through the relationships between their spatial distribution and road networks. However, few studies have investigated the dynamic changes in accessibility over time. Discussing parks' accessibility over relatively long-time scales has practical, innovative and theoretical values; because it can reveal correlational laws and internal influences not apparent in short term and provide reference and implications for parks' spatial equity.

This paper examines the determinants of children’s schooling under imperfect credit market conditions in Cameroon, with a particular focus on the role of monetary and non-monetary shocks.

The study uses microeconomic data from the fourth Cameroonian Household Survey (ECAM IV) conducted in 2014 by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and an instrumental variable Probit model to demonstrate its point.

The results show that uncertainty about household income as measured by transitory income and declining household income decreases the probability of children attending school in Cameroon. The same is true for increasing household size. Nevertheless, access to the credit market is a factor in household resilience to shocks.

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the identification of the determinants of children’s schooling in Cameroon in a situation of credit market imperfection. The aim is to examine the influence of different household vulnerability factors and not only income shocks, which have long been considered the dominant factor.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2024-0028

This paper examines students’ educational choices in vocational education and training (VET) to understand the low reputation of vocational education in China. By analysing the individualisation of these choices within structural and individual relationships, the study explores how the decline of state endorsement and the shift towards rational, individualistic actions influence students' decisions.

Multiple types of data were collected in this study, including administrative records, interviews and autobiographical stories, which were analysed using individualisation theory.

The research indicated three historical periods of the educational choice of Chinese VET students. Stage one (1978–1991) saw vocational education treated as “the first choice” for graduates. Stage two (1992–2000) was marked by the polarisation of educational choice during the social transition from a socialist planned economy to a market economy. During this period, more students started to choose academic high schools over vocational schools, even though the latter still had certain advantages for attracting the better-performing students. The third stage (2001-now) is a time in which vocational education is viewed as “the last choice” under the socialist market economy system. During this period, junior high school graduates prefer to enrol in academic high schools rather than in vocational schools. Aligned with the overall individualisation trend in Chinese society, vocational education decisions situated between societal structures and individuals are also experiencing a shift towards more micro-level individualized behaviours.

The paper provides a historical analysis of education and training provision in China and the complexity of students’ educational choices, revealing the influencing factors across different stages.

This paper draws a comprehensive analysis of the developmental trajectory of vocational education in China across different historical periods, notably under the socialist planned economy and the socialist market economy systems.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to propose a methodology to empirically investigate the longitudinal development of social media content concerning buildings characterized by iconic architecture and second, to report on the application of this methodology.

We collected and analyzed empirical data of social media content shared via Instagram between 2011 and 2019 on 16 buildings that can be considered iconic architecture projects. Using an automated pipeline, we collected and processed 264,000 posts and 140,000 images from Instagram for the selected case studies. By studying the posting activity of Instagram users through time series analysis and conducting content analysis of the social media posts by means of both image classification and topic modeling, we report on the development of users’ capturing and reception of the selected case studies on Instagram over time.

First, we identify two distinct time patterns of social media content: instantly popular buildings whose popularity fades over time and buildings that gradually gain popularity over time. Second, we distinguish differences in the content of social media posts: some buildings are primarily covered for their architectural features and others for their cultural function and facilities.

Using empirical investigation of Instagram data on iconic architectural projects, we have identified a correlation: buildings primarily posted for their architecture are generally also the ones to gain instant online popularity that subsequently faded over time. In contrast, buildings primarily posted for their function and facilities slowly gained popularity on the social media platform over time.

This study aims to explore interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary interactions around sustainability, focusing on the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). By using the city as an informal learning space, it presents a case study to raise SDG awareness, promote interdisciplinarity, foster critical thinking and empower students.

Using qualitative content analysis, this study explores students' interdisciplinary engagements. The research centers on student-created Logbooks, combining field data for analysis via open coding.

The informal setting facilitates transdisciplinary interaction and enriches interdisciplinary skills while retaining individuals’ disciplinary tendencies.

Factors like local geographical conditions and participant numbers could lead to minor variations in future course applications. Although initial problem topics and discussions are confined to local urban geography, they might diversify during implementation.

The Logbook serves as a guide for local urban issues and embodies interdisciplinary outcomes. It can be enhanced with maps and problem zoning.

Demonstrates effective SDG integration into higher education.

This study spotlights interdisciplinary learning within an unconventional context – urbanism – bridging student gaps. Supported by a paradigm shift from sustainability to unsustainability, it underscores the significance of critical engagement with SDGs.

This study investigates the effect of business cycles on school enrollment in Turkey. During recessions, school enrollment might increase as opportunity cost of schooling declines, yet it might also decrease because of reduced income households have for education. Which effect dominates depends on the context. We empirically explore this in a context displaying canonical features of developing countries.

Using the Turkish Household Labor Force Survey data for a period covering the Great Recession, we estimate the effect of unemployment rate separately for enrollments in general and vocational high schools and in undergraduate programs. To understand the cyclicality, we use a probit model with the regional and time variations in unemployment rates. We also build a simple theoretical model of work-schooling choice to interpret the findings.

We find that the likelihood of enrolling in general high schools and undergraduate programs declines with higher adult unemployment rates, but the likelihood of enrollment in vocational high schools increases. Confronting these empirical findings with the theoretical model suggests that the major factor in enrollment cyclicality in Turkey is how parental resources allocated to education change during recessions by schooling type.

Our finding of pro-cyclical enrollment in academically oriented programs is in contrast with counter-cyclicality documented for similar programs in developed countries, which highlights the importance of income related factors in developing-country contexts. Our heterogeneous findings for general and vocational high schools are also novel.

This paper comprehensively investigates the lack of youth involvement in the intricate tapestry of urban policymaking in the Jordanian context. It attempts to present and illustrate the obstacles, challenges, hindrances and complexities facing engaging youth in urban planning in Jordan. Participants aged 18–24 were the primary focus of the investigation, as Jordan's population is predominantly youthful, with approximately 70% of the population under the age of 30.

The research methodology adopted in this study is a mixed-methods approach, which integrates both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analytical techniques to provide a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the research problem.

Youth involvement in Jordan's urban policymaking is limited and inconsistent. Most notably, the prevalence of adultism emerges as the predominant and most substantive impediment, exerting a considerable influence on constraining the agency of young Jordanians in shaping urban policy.

Detailed examples can be developed to offer discerning elucidations relevant to each frame of reference.

A total of 12 discernible barriers emerged from a systematic deductive thematic analysis of primary data.

This comprehensive inquiry highlights the pervasive gaps in support for youth participation in urban policymaking within the administrative framework and across Jordanian society. Subsequent quantitative analysis was employed to strengthen the external validity of the research findings, thereby enhancing the generalizability of the qualitative insights. By employing Jordan as a case study, this paper significantly contributes to the expanding corpus of scholarly work on planning processes and practices within the Global South and the Arab world.

This article aims to examine the manifestation of coloniality within social studies curricula and explore strategies for rejecting colonial paradigms through teaching praxis. The author presents a curriculum that unveils the narratives of Linnentown, a local Black community, to examine the impacts of colonial legacies on people's everyday lives.

Using the teaching and learning cycle framework, the author demonstrates the integration of sequenced embodied and multimodal activities. Furthermore, the author utilizes the concept of critical place-based education (CPBE) to demonstrate how critical pedagogies within the context of place can cultivate transformative learning experiences.

By guiding students to critically analyze the sociopolitical conditions of Linnentown residents, CPBE, paired with multimodal activities, helps challenge dominant narratives and empowers students to become agents of change in their local communities.

This curriculum fosters a nuanced understanding of structural oppression, empowers students to develop critical awareness and social agency and guides youth in confronting settler colonialism within and beyond their communities.