Would You Rather Be a Hero or a Celebrity? A Cross-Cultural Study of Celebrity Worship and Aspirations in Iran and Afghanistan: A Brief Report

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.

Social capital represents a relational resource developed through trust, professional networks, collaboration, peer support, and knowledge exchange. In the context of Social Studies Education, social capital can support teachers in accessing information, experiences, and professional resources relevant to professional development and instructional planning. This study aims to analyze the conceptualization of teachers’ social capital, identify its dimensions in relation to teacher professionalism, and examine its relevance to Social Studies teaching practices and instructional planning. The study employs a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach guided by the PRISMA 2020 framework. The literature analyzed consists of scholarly publications published between 2023 and 2026 in Indonesian and English that met the established inclusion criteria. The data were analyzed through thematic synthesis based on conceptual dimensions, forms of professional relationships, and their contributions to teaching practices. The synthesis indicates that social capital facilitates teachers’ access to information, experiences, feedback, and professional support through networks and collaborative relationships. These resources can strengthen professional learning and pedagogical decision-making relevant to Social Studies instructional planning. However, empirical evidence directly linking teachers’ social capital to the quality of Social Studies instructional planning remains limited. These findings highlight the need for further research on how social capital can be translated into improvements in the quality of Social Studies instructional planning components.

Children's behaviour and social adjustment within the classroom are important considerations. Behaviour can refer to how a pupil engages with learning tasks, follows instructions, works with others and interacts within the classroom. Social adjustment can relate to how children feel they fit in, build friendships, communicate effectively and feel included. Although behaviour and social adjustment are two distinct areas, they will be influenced by each other. This conceptual article will discuss the relationship between behaviour and social adjustment for upper primary school students. Using theories such as ecological systems, social learning and sociocultural. School engagement, friendships and school belonging will also be discussed. It is important to consider how behaviour should be seen as more than just an individual trait. Family factors, teaching style, peer relationships, individual differences and school factors can influence how a pupil behaves. A strength based approach to children's behaviour and social adjustment will be advocated. The article will conclude with key implications for classroom settings and recommendations for future research. Future research should be culturally aware, developmentally appropriate and ethical. This article is theoretical and will not give any findings.

Religious education is often expected to promote tolerance, but respect for religious difference does not necessarily ensure accurate understanding of religious others. This study examines how religious education policies in Indonesia and England emphasize different forms of cognitive tolerance. Using qualitative document analysis and comparative policy analysis, the study analyzes selected legal, curricular, and pedagogical documents through four components: Knowledge of Religious Others, Recognition of Internal Diversity, Critical Reflection, and Understanding Commonalities and Differences. Indonesian policy gives greater relative emphasis to understanding commonalities and differences within religion-specific formation, social harmony, and responsible citizenship. English policy gives greater emphasis to critical reflection and knowledge of religious and non-religious worldviews through shared enquiry. Recognition of Internal Diversity appears in similar proportions in both datasets, but it serves different curricular functions. The findings show differently configured pathways toward cognitive tolerance, combining the same cognitive components with different relative emphases and curricular purposes.

Character education is an important foundation for preparing preservice teachers. However, the internalization of moral values does not necessarily entail the ability to make ethical decisions in professional practice. This article aims to synthesize the conceptual relationships among character education, moral development, professional identity, and professional ethics among preservice teachers and formulate a framework for strengthening teacher education. The study employed an integrative literature review involving targeted searches for major theoretical works and scholarly articles on character education, moral reasoning, teachers’ professional ethics, and preservice teacher education. The literature was analyzed thematically by comparing theoretical foundations, research contexts, findings, and pedagogical implications. The synthesis indicates that the transition from personal character to professional ethics is a nonlinear process integrating five mechanisms: recognition of values and moral sensitivity, role modeling, reasoning through ethical dilemmas, guided reflection during field placements, and an institutional culture consistent with ethical values. The synthesis also identifies a gap between ethical knowledge and the ability to apply moral concepts explicitly when considering conflicts between values. These findings underscore the need for ethics education that connects an understanding of norms with reasoning practice and reflection on professional experiences. This article proposes a Character–Professional Ethics Transition Model linking value internalization, moral reasoning, professional identity formation, and accountable ethical action. In practical terms, the framework may guide the integration of learning based on ethical dilemmas, reflection on field placements, and the strengthening of institutional culture into preservice teacher education. The proposed model requires empirical testing, particularly through longitudinal research in Indonesian teacher education contexts.