From faux flipped to gamified flipped classrooms: scaffolding and cognitive load management

Background: Awareness of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services (YFSRHS) is an important starting point for enabling young people to identify and seek appropriate sexual and reproductive health information and care. However, awareness of these services may vary across settings, including higher education institutions. Objective: To determine the level of awareness of YFSRHS among undergraduate students at Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT), Malimbe Campus. Methods: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students at SAUT Malimbe Campus. Data were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Of 109 questionnaires distributed, 108 completed questionnaires were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize students’ awareness and reported sources of information. Results: Of the 108 respondents, 96 (88.9%) reported having heard of YFSRHS, while 12 (11.1%) had not. Social media was the most frequently reported source of information (44.0%), followed by friends or peers (41.0%) and health facilities (36.0%). University programmes and posters or advertisements were reported less frequently. Conclusion: Most respondents had heard of YFSRHS, with social media and peer networks serving as prominent information channels. Strengthening accurate information through these channels, alongside university-based communication, may help address the awareness gap among students who remain unreached.

Holistic student development has become a fundamental indicator of educational quality in early childhood education because it encompasses children's cognitive, socio-emotional, physical, moral, and spiritual development. Despite increasing attention being given to holistic education in Malaysia, empirical evidence explaining how instructional leadership, educator commitment, and educator motivation contribute to holistic student development within KEMAS preschools remains limited. This study therefore examined the levels, relationships, and predictive influence of instructional leadership, educator commitment, and educator motivation on holistic student development among KEMAS preschool educators in the Northern Zone of Malaysia. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed involving 313 educators selected from a population of approximately 1,700 educators across Kedah, Perak, and Pulau Pinang. Data were collected using structured questionnaires adapted from established instruments and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation, and Stepwise Multiple Linear Regression using SPSS. The findings indicated that instructional leadership, educator commitment, educator motivation, and holistic student development were all perceived at high levels. Significant positive relationships were identified between all independent variables and holistic student development. Stepwise regression analysis further revealed that extrinsic motivation emerged as the strongest predictor, followed by intrinsic motivation, providing incentives to students, and defining school mission and goals. Collectively, these predictors explained 42.1% of the variance in holistic student development. The findings provide empirical evidence supporting leadership enhancement, educator motivation, and evidence-based policymaking to strengthen preschool educational quality within KEMAS.

Quality higher education plays a vital role in sustainable development by equipping graduates with knowledge, competencies, and skills required for economic and societal development. This study examined the relationship between instructional strategies and the employability skills of undergraduate students in the School of Art and Industrial Design at Kyambogo University, Uganda. Specifically, it investigated the relationships between cooperative teaching, collaborative teaching, inquiry/discovery learning, independent study, experiential (authentic) learning, project-based learning, and students’ employability skills. The study adopted a quantitative approach using a correlational research design. Data were collected from 378 third-year undergraduate students using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Pearson’s product-moment correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to determine the direction and statistical associations between instructional strategies and employability skills. Findings showed that cooperative teaching, inquiry/discovery learning, and experiential teaching had positive statistically significant associations with employability skills, whereas collaborative teaching had a negative statistical association. Independent study and project-based teaching had no statistically significant unique associations with employability skills. Inquiry/discovery teaching demonstrated the strongest statistical association with employability skills among the strategies examined. The study concluded that instructional strategies had different statistical associations with employability skills and that learner-centred approaches are most beneficial when they actively engage students in cooperative, inquiry-oriented, and authentic learning experiences aligned with intended graduate outcomes. The study recommended strengthening cooperative, inquiry, and experiential teaching through structured group tasks, inquiry-based activities, and authentic practical experiences. It further recommended improving the design and implementation of collaborative, independent, and project-based learning to enhance their contribution to graduate employability skills.

Universities preparing graduates for technology-enabled financial services need to understand how digital learning conditions relate to students’ career readiness. This study examines the associations of university-based Digital Financial Learning Ecosystem Quality with perceived FinTech Career Readiness among Vietnamese business students. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory, ecosystem quality is modelled as a reflective–formative higher-order construct comprising Digital Academic Support, the Digital Learning Environment, and Digital Teaching Innovation. Cross-sectional survey data from 341 students recruited through nonprobability convenience sampling via networks centred on northern Vietnam were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling and a disjoint two-stage procedure.All three ecosystem dimensions made significant formative contributions, with the digital learning environment showing the largest estimated weight. Higher ecosystem quality was positively associated with self-efficacy and learning motivation, and self-efficacy was positively associated with motivation. Motivation and career orientation were positively associated with perceived readiness, with motivation having the larger estimated direct coefficient. Career orientation showed no significant additional association with motivation after accounting for ecosystem quality and self-efficacy. Ecosystem quality was indirectly associated with readiness through motivation and through the sequential pathway involving self-efficacy and motivation. The model explained 41.5% of the variance in perceived readiness.The study contributes an integrated operationalisation of university-based digital financial learning quality and distinguishes learning-related associations from those of career orientation. The findings inform potential priorities for coordinating digital platforms, relevant financial content, academic support, practical learning, and competency-based career guidance. For universities and financial institutions, the study offers evidence to guide collaboration on graduate preparation and a foundation for evaluating how perceived readiness relates to demonstrated workplace competence.

Over the last decade, there has been a visible surge of students participating in and leading different forms of activism. Following the cultural reckoning of 2020, the United States saw a rise in awareness and engagement in activism among young individuals. Continuing this trend, higher education institutions have seen an increase in on-campus demonstrations in recent years. Given the recent increase in activism, political engagement, and the globalization of social issues, this study examined how attitudes, beliefs, individual factors, and prior behaviors relate to undergraduate students’ willingness to engage in different forms of activism (i.e., conventional and high-risk). Across both forms of activism, institutional advocacy (i.e., the behavioral targeting of institutional racism) was the most consistent unique predictor of a student's willingness to engage in activism. Need for cognition and individual advocacy were significantly and positively related to conventional activism, whereas political orientation was negatively related to it. Social justice orientation was significantly and negatively related to high-risk activism.