This paper presents findings from an extensive study conducted in Brazil. The main subjects of the study were Bulgarian children living and studying in Brazilian schools. The main goal was to indicate what kind of problems and obstacles they experience during the school time in Brazil and how the Brazilian government and people support these Bulgarian children. The data was collected by a Bulgarian research team that travelled to the remote regions of Brazil where many Bulgarian citizens live and work. The researchers took interviews with the Bulgarian children and their parents as well as school staff at the schools in Brazil with a high population of Bulgarian children. The analysis revealed many different problems that Bulgarian children and their parents highlighted, such as problems with the language of instructions, misunderstandings of school rules and general problems related to living in the remote areas of Brazil, such as weather and heat-related issues. Although many Bulgarian families reported some problems, they were still determined to continue their life and career in Brazil, and they want to continue to pursue their dreams.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the first human rights treaty with the ultimate goal of providing conditions conducive to child health and development. The CRC is grounded on four guiding principles: (1) non-discrimination; (2) best interests of the child; (3) the right to life, survival, and development; and (4) respect for the views of the child. These CRC principles are consistent with a social justice approach within the field of school psychology. This article highlights implications for school psychologists and encourages school psychologists to be at the center of the process of measuring, advocating, and actualizing all rights under the CRC, including the right to participation, in schools throughout the world. A summary of the Rights Respecting Schools initiative is offered to provide a concrete example for school psychologists and other school-based professionals.

According to various psychological studies, children’s drawings can tell us more than we can ever imagine. They can tell us stories about their author’s level of education, problems and knowledge gaps. According to the theory on the comparative multi-level picture analysis, drawings reveal the inner world of a child and can be used to improve educational practices to make them more personal. This research study analyses 157 drawings that Bulgarian migrant children that live and study in rural areas of Brazil sent to a researcher. Besides the comparative multi-level picture analysis approach the researcher applied various methods of picture analysis to investigate how the Bulgarian children experience the educational practices in Brazil. Additionally, the parents were interviewed via phone. They provided valuable information on their children’ development and level of success in schools. The study is a very important contribution to the theory of analysis of drawings as well as to the intercultural education theory. Additionally, it has a high comparative value as it was carried in a cross-cultural environment and can be used as a reference for future research studies in this field.

The role of motivation, temperament, personality and well-being as predicting propensity factors for mathematical abilities was investigated in 30 adults. By embedding these predictors in the Opportunity-Propensity framework, this study aimed to reveal their unique contribution in math development, which is important to improve mathematics education. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to combine predictors and find evidence for the importance of some non-cognitive and socio-emotional propensity factors for mathematical performance by using primary data. Results indicated significant interrelations between the propensities, pleading to integrate them in math research. Furthermore, the relationship propensities and mathematics was dependent on the specific investigated math task, which is in line with the componential nature of mathematics. Negative Affect was the best prediction of accuracy (lower levels of subjective well-being associated with lower levels of mathematical accuracy) whereas Intrinsic Motivation was the best predictor for fact retrieval speed. Limitations and implications for future research are described.

During the second decade of the 21st century families and schools world-wide have been affected by several critical events, with economic recession, the refugee crisis, and lately the COVID-19 pandemic being the most prominent. Pertaining to the school community (students, educators, administration, parents, school personnel etc.), evidence-based interventions for improving mental health and supporting psychosocial adjustment are necessary. In this paper the development, implementation, and evaluation of the international WeCARE (We Connect, Accept, Respect, Empower) program, an online multilevel intervention for promoting well-being and resilience in the school community during unsettling times, is presented. The Program has a multicultural perspective and provides the opportunity to students from different countries to cooperate and develop multicultural skills. The intervention is based on a conceptual model for enhancing positive development, resilience, social and emotional skills, and competence. The interventions were implemented on individual and system levels over four consecutive years, including web-based teachers’ training and supervision, seminars for parents, and classroom implementation. Furthermore, collaboration amongst schools and educational settings was highlighted, in the form of networking at national and international level. Based on the evaluation results, the necessity for further development and implementation of programs for the promotion of resilience and well-being during unsettling times is discussed.

The emotional lives of teaching at the universities have remained under research.   This study used a qualitative approach to investigate the emotional lives of lecturers teaching at two selected universities. This study sought to identify, understand and interpret the emotional lives of teaching with interpretive phenomenology research design. In purposefully selected two universities, 12 lecturers participated in the study. Semi-structured individual interviews were employed, the data generated were interpreted, the emerged themes were: work condition, resources and accreditation panel, trade union and government disagreement, and experienced emotions and effects on participants. A further interpretation of the emerged themes revealed that the emotional lives of the participants are dependent on teaching resources, academic war and convenient behaviour. The dependence is thereby suggestive that change in the management of teaching resources, academic war and behaviour of lecturers could positively influence the nature of their emotional lives. The paper used two universities, which lays the foundation for subsequent studies because this is the first study to examine the emotional lives of teaching in Nigerian universities. The study made recommendations for further studies and drew implications for policy and practice.

Studies have documented widespread academic disengagement in middle and high school students. This disengagement has been tied to a myriad of negative outcomes, including failure to graduate from high school and transition into college and meaningful vocations. Supporting adolescents in cultivating a sense of beyond-the-self purpose is one factor that may combat student disengagement. MPower is a program designed to cultivate beyond-the-self purpose in an effort to promote student engagement and completion of high school (Klein et al., 2019). In a recent quantitative study, MPower participants compared to controls demonstrated a higher GPA, BTS purpose, self-efficacy, and decreased performance approach and performance avoidance goal orientations. In the current qualitative descriptive study, 11th and 12th grade (N=25) students in the Northeastern region of the United States, described their experiences in the MPower program. Three themes associated with the transformative aspects of MPower emerged from focus group data: 1) practice in strategic goal planning, 2) engagement in mentoring relationships, and 3) increased social support within a community. Because fostering youth purpose engenders many promotive and protective factors, these findings hold important implications for implementing similar programs more widely.

This research is motivated by the high level of imitation of adolescents on the negative behavior of adults, in addition to the high concern of educators on the failure of character education in schools. As many as 40% of adolescents have been bullied at school and 32% reported being victims of physical violence indicating high levels of juvenile violence, bullying, and lack of empathy. So schools need to strengthen their conscience and compassion to deal with this. The study aims to investigate the effect of character education management with a reflective pedagogical paradigm on conscience and compassion. This study was conducted with a quantitative experimental method with a quasi-experimental type. Data collection instruments both questionaries and documentation are used as instruments to collect the data. Hypothesis testing is done through multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) because the dependent variable is more than one. The results of this study prove that based the MANOVA test, the study revealed that there was a significant and positive influence between character education and the reflective pedagogical paradigm on the conscience of students 71.5%, and compassion of students 69.1%. It turns out that aspects of students' conscience and affection can be influenced by character education with a reflective pedagogical paradigm. This shows that schools need to manage their character education system with a reflective pedagogic paradigm so that students feel changes in attitudes and behavior due to the involvement of all school members in strengthening and sharpening character education.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected people in multiple dimensions. In addition to the social, physical health, financial, and mental health impacts of the pandemic, many United States (U.S.) college students experienced an abrupt transition to online learning in Spring 2020, resulting in a significant disruption to their learning and life. In this study, we examined COVID-19 impacts as reported by college students enrolled in an online class in Spring 2020 via an extra-credit survey. Participants reported predominantly negative impacts, but positive impacts were also reported. A total of 61 aspects of impact were identified reflecting six major themes: academic, housing and travel related, physical health-related, financial and work-related, social life, and mental health related impacts. We found that females reported significantly more overall negative impacts and significantly more academic and housing/travel related impacts than males. Black students reported significantly fewer positive impacts compared to non-Black students in the sample. Asian students reported significantly more academic impacts than White students. In addition, participants in the fully online degree program had significantly fewer overall impacts and significantly fewer academic impacts than those in the residential degree program. Implications of the findings were discussed.

Despite the desirability of working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), Black and Latinx people are underrepresented in these fields. Sustaining engagement in STEM is central to addressing the representation gap. This qualitative study examined whether and how a STEM-based after-school program (Changemakers) impacted students’ sense of engagement in STEM. Changemakers incorporates the basic tenets of STEM engagement and a purpose curriculum to increase students' sense of engagement. Purpose is an aspiration towards future-oriented goals, active engagement with one’s goals, and intention to contribute to the world. The sample was composed of students, ages 15-17 years old (N=10, 5=M; 5=F), from a public, low-income high school. Findings suggested that three elements helped engage participants with STEM material: challenging and novel curriculum, experiential learning, and supportive relationships. These findings underscore additional STEM programs can enhance their student’s learning and connection to the field by ensuring that their program encapsulates these identified components.

Challenges relating to misuse and abuse of the internet and other mobile devices have become sources of concern among the youth population the world-over. However, research on cyber related issues has been focused mainly on adolescents in Nigeria. This study investigates the influence of cyber bullying, cyber victimization and pathological internet use on psychological well-being among adults. Using a cross sectional research design and a multi-stage sampling technique, 280 university students were selected. A questionnaire on socio-demographic profile cyber intimidation and internet addiction was administered to the participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Three hypotheses were tested. The results revealed that participants who engage less in cyber bullying were not significantly different in their levels of psychological well-being when compared to their counterparts who engage more in cyber-bullying. Pathological Internet use did not significantly influence the levels of psychological well-being of cyber space addicts. The association between cyber related variables and psychological well-being is crucial for better understanding of their actual effects on human behaviour and for the purpose of designing intervention programmes.

The PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX-GBG) is an evidence-based universal preventive intervention program for classroom use. Our aim was to explore teachers’ perceptions of PAX-GBG and their work with it, and whether this changed during the implementation of the intervention. In addition, we explored teachers’ perceptions, and changes in perceptions, regarding how they perceived their workload when learning and using PAX, how it influenced relationships in the classroom and students with special needs. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with six female teachers at three time-points during a school year. Based on thematic analysis, four themes illustrating teachers’ experiences and the perceived effects of PAX-GBG on classroom relationships were identified: (1) Working with PAX-GBG, (2) The Game, (3) Focus on Behaviour, and (4) Relationships. A notable finding was that most teachers, at the outset, had concerns regarding the PAX Game and that these concerns mostly disappeared after they had experienced working with it. Based on improved student behaviours and overall enhanced relationships in the classroom, our results show that PAX-GBG is a suitable intervention for all students. Students with special needs may especially benefit due to a focus on clear expectations, positive reinforcement, and a more inclusive classroom climate. Some remaining concerns regarding the universal suitability of the game need to be explored further in future studies. Based on the results in this study, PAX-GBG seems to have high social validity in a Swedish context.

Life skills are personal resources that can be trained and applied in a specific situation and transferred to other contexts. The growing body of research has shown that intervention programs produce positive results in learning and transferring life skills. Nonetheless, there is a need to clarify the efficacy of life skills training, namely the theoretical background of life skills interventions and how to organize the intervention programs. This paper attempts to overcome these gaps of literature by providing a conceptualization of life skills into two axes: typology (cognitive to physical continuum) and function (personal and interpersonal). Also, it is presented a theoretical model of life skills training that establishes the stages and principles of life skills acquisition, the variables that influence training, and the measures and hypotheses that can be used to evaluate the efficacy of life skills training. In sum, we clarify the actual challenges of life skills training and provide indications on how to apply and evaluate the efficacy of the intervention.

Education in the modern era expects institutions to help students to thrive. Not only may class engagement improve academic performance, but it may also enhance students' well-being. This study investigated class engagement and its motivation and academic achievements’ effect on university students’ mental well-being. 231 university students, with a mean age of 21.46, participated in this study. About 65% were senior students, and average GPA was 3.46 (SD = 0.32). For measurements, General Class Engagement Scale, Motivations for Class Engagement Scale, and Warwick-Edinburg Mental Well-being Short Form was employed. Academic achievement was measured by GPA. For data analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and regression analyses were conducted. Results show that class engagement, its motivations, academic achievement, and mental well-being were all positively correlated. Moreover, class engagement and its motivations positively predicted mental well-being. However, GPA was non-significant. Hence, in a group of mostly senior university students, class engagement was more significant than academic achievement regarding their mental well-being. Furthermore, about 91% of this study’s participants were honor students (above 3 GPA). Therefore, being academically successful may not always be enough to be happy and well. However, educators may help students by emphasizing class engagement.

In this study I examine the academic self-concept (ASC) of students who changed from vocational to academic tracking at the transition to upper secondary education in Germany. I ask (1) how their ASC differs to the ASC of their established peers in academic tracking, and (2) how their ASC is affected by the change in the learning environment. Using a subsample of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; N = 4109), findings show that newcomers to academic tracking have a stronger ASC than their peers. However, social differences between the social milieu of origin and the one prevailing at school significantly reduce the ASC. These differences are interpreted as being social-habitual and tested via socioeconomic status, cultural capital, and parental solidarity expectations at the school level. Results differ according to immigrant origin; immigrant newcomers to academic tracking have higher ASC than their established peers, and context effects are more influential. I complement previous research by using a quantitative approach to test the theoretical mechanisms of a qualitative research perspective on upward mobility.

The PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX-GBG) is a school-based intervention shown to enhance student self-regulation, encourage prosocial behavior, and curb challenging behaviors. However, little is understood about students’ perspectives on the intervention. In this study, we conducted a survey and semi-structured interviews with 3rd-grade students in Sweden to examine their feelings and attitudes towards PAX-GBG. Thematic analysis revealed five themes: ‘enjoying our PAX-classroom’, ‘I can do this’, ‘it’s tough (sometimes)’, ‘making sense’, and ‘grease for the wheels’. Survey results showed mostly positive feelings towards PAX-GBG activities. Overall, the participants displayed positive attitudes towards PAX-GBG, indicating its appreciation and suitability for students. Moreover, many found the intervention effective in fostering appropriate behaviors and deterring inappropriate ones, consistent with previous quantitative studies.