ecological systems theory

The rapid integration of digital technologies into teaching, learning, and assessment has created new avenues through which technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) may occur in school settings. Existing scholarship has examined TFGBV mainly through the lenses of cyberbullying, digital safety, and student well-being. At the same time, emerging work has also begun to conceptualise digital assessment systems as sites of structural and institutional gendered risk. Building on this systems-level perspective, this conceptual paper shifts attention to the pedagogical and interactional layer of digital assessment, examining how teachers' assessment design and oversight decisions may shape the conditions under which TFGBV becomes more or less likely. Developed through a critical interdisciplinary literature review, the paper draws on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, digital citizenship frameworks, and classroom assessment scholarship to examine how learning management systems, peer assessment tools, collaborative online assignments, and social media-integrated assessment activities may create conditions conducive to gendered harassment, image-based abuse, and exclusionary behaviour among learners of all genders. The paper proposes the Assessment-Mediated Digital Ethics (AMDE) framework, a theoretically grounded but not yet empirically validated model integrating gender-responsive assessment design, embedded digital behavioural expectations, and structured teacher oversight. AMDE is presented as a complementary pedagogical extension of existing justice-oriented approaches to digital assessment and TFGBV, rather than as a claim of first conceptualisation. The framework provides a basis for future empirical research examining teacher-mediated assessment practices and their relationship to digital safety, ethical participation, and TFGBV risk across diverse educational contexts. Responsibility for TFGBV prevention is understood as shared among teachers, learners, schools, families, technology providers, and policymakers.

Since the large-scale displacement of Ukrainian families following the escalation of the war in 2022, community- and school-based initiatives have become increasingly important in supporting refugee children's adaptation in host countries. Although play, resilience, and belonging have each been widely recognised as important for children's well-being and development, they have largely been examined within separate strands of scholarship. This theoretical article develops an integrated three-tier framework that brings together Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, social-ecological resilience theory, and research on play and belonging to explain how displaced children adapt within host-country contexts. The proposed framework conceptualises children's adaptation as a recursive process operating across three interconnected tiers. Tier one situates children within their ecological environments; tier two identifies resilience as a multisystemic process emerging through interactions between children and the protective resources available within those environments; and tier three positions play as the primary mechanism through which resilience processes are enacted, while belonging functions as both an outcome and a reinforcing relational process. The framework is illustrated through the context of Ukrainian refugee children in Estonia and generates empirically testable propositions to guide future research. By integrating ecological context, resilience processes, and play-based relational mechanisms into a single explanatory framework, the article offers a conceptual foundation for understanding children's adaptation following forced displacement and provides implications for the design and evaluation of community- and school-based initiatives supporting displaced children.

Caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders experience significant multifaceted burdens. However, little qualitative research has been done to explore caregivers’ lived experiences in relation to the effect of burden and coping strategies in the study area. The study sought to investigate caregivers’ awareness problems, coping mechanisms, and support systems in caring for children with neurodevelopmental disorders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study was conducted in three public, non-teaching hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Using a descriptive phenomenological technique. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 purposively selected caregivers. The data was analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework technique. The analysis found six interrelated themes: Awareness and Perception of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs), Emotional Responses to Diagnosis and Adaptation, Caregiving Roles and Responsibilities, Multidimensional Burden and Challenges, Coping Strategies and Adaptation Mechanisms, and Support Systems and Structural Barriers. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory was used to explain how personal, institutional, and systemic factors explain participants’ experiences and interpret caregiving realities. These findings underscore the call for integrated and collaborative efforts to address individual and system-level challenges among caregivers. Enhancing support systems, mitigating stigma, and correcting systemic inadequacies can improve caregiver well-being and optimize care for children with NDDs.

This qualitative study examines how K–12 educational leaders describe and make sense of their leadership practices related to instructional support, evaluation and improvement strategies, collaborative relationships and trust, and parent and community engagement. Drawing on open-ended survey responses from practicing school and district leaders, the study employs inductive thematic analysis to explore leadership efficacy as enacted through daily practice rather than expressed solely as an abstract belief. Guided by Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, and transformational leadership theory as interpretive lenses, leaders’ narratives are situated within the relational and contextual systems shaping leadership work. Findings reveal a coherent, practice-oriented leadership narrative grounded in collaboration, trust-building, reflective practice, and responsiveness to local context. Instructional leadership and evaluation were consistently framed as growth-oriented, relational processes, while collaborative relationships and trust emerged as foundational conditions enabling leadership practice across domains. Parent and community engagement was described as a reciprocal, boundary-spanning function rooted in communication, visibility, and partnership. Collectively, the findings position leadership efficacy as a relational and contextually embedded practice and highlight implications for leadership preparation and professional learning.

Depression is a leading cause of illness and disability among adolescents worldwide, yet evidence on its burden among school-going adolescents in rural Kenyan counties remains limited. This study determined the prevalence and socio-demographic factors of depression among secondary school students in Bungoma County, Kenya, to provide baseline evidence for mental health planning. The study was guided by Hopelessness Theory of Depression and Ecological Systems Theory. An analytical mixed methods cross-sectional study design was adopted. The target population consisted of secondary school students, with a sample size of 400 respondents determined using Taro Yamane formula. The respondents were selected through multistage stratified and systematic sampling from three sub-counties of Bungoma County (Mt. Elgon, Kimilili and Bungoma South). Quantitative data were collected using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and a structured questionnaire, and analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression in SPSS version 28. Qualitative data were obtained through ten Focus group discussions with students and twelve in-depth interviews with class teachers, and analyzed thematically. The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score ≥ 5) was 55.5% (n = 222), 41.5% (n = 166) had mild depression, 9.5% (n = 38) moderate depression, 3.5% (n = 14) moderately severe depression and 1.0% (n = 4) severe depression, while 44.5% (n = 178) were not depressed. Female students were found to be almost twice as likely to experience higher levels of depression compared to the males (AOR= 1.71, P= 0.04). On the other hand, students in mixed day and boarding schools were 78% less likely to experience higher level of depression, (AOR = 0.22, P<0.001), compared to those in girls’ boarding and day schools. Further, students who live with extended family were more than twice as likely as those with both parents to experience higher depression levels (AOR = 2.10, P= 0.04). The qualitative data pointed to gender and family structure as possible associations of depression. Depression is highly prevalent among secondary school students in Bungoma County, with one in seven students experiencing moderate to severe depression. Routine school-based mental health screening using validated tools such as the PHQ-9 is recommended to enable early identification, counselling and referral of affected students.

Education in Yenagoa LGA, Bayelsa State, faces persistent vulnerability to environmental, infrastructural and socio-economic shocks-annual floods, riverine isolation, poor school infrastructure, and weak community ownership-leading to disrupted learning continuity and low retention. The paper contends that resilient education extends beyond the confine of a school-centric model and requires a robust, strengthened learning ecosystem. Through an integrative review of literature and the theoretical synthesis of Bronfenbrenner, Ecological System Theory, Epstein, Overlapping Spheres of Influence, and Resilient Theory, conceptualized as Yenagoa Resilient Learning Ecosystem Model (YRLEM). The model places the learner at the Centre of six interconnected pillars/layers: Immediate Learning Environment/Resilient learner: (1) Community Engagement Pillar, (2) Technology and Digital Access Pillar, (3) Environment and Climate Resilience Pillars (4) Infrastructure and Schools Pillars (5) Governance and Policy Pillars (6) Livelihood and Skills Pillars. It argues that by intentionally engaging indigenous institutions-traditional rulers, CDCs, women and youth groups, and SBMCs-and fostering structured multi-stakeholder collaboration between government, oil and gas companies, tertiary institutions, NGOs, and faith based-organizations, educations can be transformed from a fragile service into a community owned resilient system. The paper contributes a context-specific framework for policymakers, the Bayelsa State Universal Basic Education Board, and development partners, and advances propositions for future empirical validation in the Niger delta context

BACKGROUND: Due to the popularity and convenience of the internet, cyber-pornography use among youth has attracted the widespread attention of scholars. Cyber-pornography use among Chinese university students remains rarely investigated, especially based on ecological systems theory using machine learning and network analysis approaches. Therefore, the present study examined cyber-pornography use through machine learning and network analysis based on ecological systems theory among a sample of Chinese university students. METHODS: A sample of 1322 university students in different provinces of China were surveyed in a cross-sectional study. The survey included cyber-pornography use variables, demographic information, psychological variables, family variables, and school factors. RESULTS: Of 1332 participants, 25 students were classed as high-risk cyber-pornography users (1.9%). The XGBoost model of machine learning identified 15 important features of cyber-pornography use including social ostracism, moral disengagement, gender, teacher fairness, year of study, age, autonomy, self-control, depression, father and mother's parenting style, relatedness, experience of being left behind, loneliness, and family closeness. In the network analysis, social ostracism was the strongest node in the total sample and among males, whereas depression was the strongest node in females. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological, family, school, and demographic factors (e.g. gender) may directly or indirectly be associated with cyber-pornography use among Chinese university students. The results suggest that ecological systems theory, including the microsystem, mesosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem, may be considered as one of the core theories in understanding cyber-pornography use. In addition, the interaction of related factors also needs to be examined deeply to aid prevention and intervention of cyber-pornography use in the future.

زمینه: به دلیل محبوبیت و سهولت دسترسی به اینترنت، استفاده از پورنوگرافی سایبری در میان جوانان توجه گسترده پژوهشگران را به خود جلب کرده است. استفاده از پورنوگرافی سایبری در میان دانشجویان دانشگاه‌های چین به‌ویژه بر اساس نظریه نظام‌های بوم‌شناختی با بهره‌گیری از رویکردهای یادگیری ماشین و تحلیل شبکه‌ای به‌ندرت مورد بررسی قرار گرفته است. بنابراین، مطالعه حاضر استفاده از پورنوگرافی سایبری را از طریق یادگیری ماشین و تحلیل شبکه‌ای مبتنی بر نظریه نظام‌های بوم‌شناختی در میان نمونه‌ای از دانشجویان دانشگاه‌های چین بررسی کرد. روش‌ها: نمونه‌ای متشکل از ۱۳۲۲ دانشجوی دانشگاه در استان‌های مختلف چین در یک مطالعه مقطعی مورد بررسی قرار گرفتند. پرسشنامه شامل متغیرهای استفاده از پورنوگرافی سایبری، اطلاعات جمعیت‌شناختی، متغیرهای روان‌شناختی، متغیرهای خانوادگی و عوامل مدرسه بود. یافته‌ها: از میان ۱۳۳۲ شرکت‌کننده، ۲۵ دانشجو به عنوان کاربران پرخطر پورنوگرافی سایبری (۱/۹٪) طبقه‌بندی شدند. مدل XGBoost یادگیری ماشین، ۱۵ ویژگی مهم استفاده از پورنوگرافی سایبری از جمله طرد اجتماعی، گسست اخلاقی، جنسیت، انصاف معلم، سال تحصیلی، سن، خودمختاری، خودکنترلی، افسردگی، سبک فرزندپروری پدر و مادر، ارتباط، تجربه رهاشدگی، تنهایی و نزدیکی خانوادگی را شناسایی کرد. در تحلیل شبکه‌ای، طرد اجتماعی قوی‌ترین گره در کل نمونه و در میان مردان بود، در حالی که افسردگی قوی‌ترین گره در زنان بود. نتیجه‌گیری: عوامل روان‌شناختی، خانوادگی، مدرسه و جمعیت‌شناختی (مانند جنسیت) ممکن است به طور مستقیم یا غیرمستقیم با استفاده از پورنوگرافی سایبری در میان دانشجویان دانشگاه‌های چین مرتبط باشند. نتایج نشان می‌دهد که نظریه نظام‌های بوم‌شناختی، شامل خردنظام، میان‌نظام، کلان‌نظام و کرونونظام، می‌تواند به عنوان یکی از نظریه‌های اصلی در فهم استفاده از پورنوگرافی سایبری مورد توجه قرار گیرد. علاوه بر این، تعامل عوامل مرتبط نیز باید به طور عمیق‌تری بررسی شود تا به پیشگیری و مداخله در استفاده از پورنوگرافی سایبری در آینده کمک کند.

Background The implementation of the Lesotho Inclusive Education Policy 2018 is complex and requires a collaborative approach. Given the complexity of inclusive education, the paper acknowledges that there must be participation of different role players in helping teachers to effectively carry the mandate of the policy. Aims The study aims to explore how collaboration is effective in supporting the education of Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) through the perspectives and experiences of teachers and provides a comprehensive evidence-based approaches for improving the implementation of inclusive education policies through a collaborative approach. Methods The paper is framed within ecological systems theory to understand how collaboration as premised on the LIEP 2018 could effectively help the implementation phase of the policy. The paper is lensed under the interpretive paradigm and designed with a qualitative research approach. Nine teachers were purposively selected from a regular school and were engaged in a focus group discussion. The study was analysed thematically to identify the themes and patterns that emerged from teachers’ collaborative practices. Results The findings reveal that teachers collaborate with other schools to share best practices for inclusive classrooms. They also receive external training from different experts from various organisation who trained them on inclusive education and empowered them on inclusive strategies suitable for their teaching environments. Despite the policy’s pronunciation on collaboration, the school works in isolation; parental involvement is minimal and there is lack of support staff such as health personnel and psychologists for diagnosis, psychological and emotional support. Conclusion The study highlights the dynamics of stakeholder collaboration and its multifaceted nature in building more inclusive responsive practical strategies and frameworks that support teachers in building strong partnerships that foster inclusive educational environments. Recommendations On the basis of the findings, the study recommends that there is a need to sensitise parents and the communities about inclusive education. The MOET should further work collaboratively with the Ministry of Social Development to mobilise resources to pay for other hidden costs of schooling and the Ministry of Health for proper diagnosis to ensure that these learners attend schools and complete their education.

زمینه: اجرای سیاست آموزش فراگیر لسوتو ۲۰۱۸ پیچیده است و نیازمند رویکردی مبتنی بر همکاری می‌باشد. با توجه به پیچیدگی آموزش فراگیر، مقاله اذعان می‌کند که باید مشارکت نقش‌آفرینان مختلف در کمک به معلمان برای اجرای مؤثر مأموریت سیاست وجود داشته باشد. اهداف: این مطالعه با هدف بررسی اثربخشی همکاری در حمایت از آموزش دانش‌آموزان با نیازهای ویژه آموزشی (LSEN) از منظر دیدگاه‌ها و تجربیات معلمان انجام شده و رویکردهای جامع مبتنی بر شواهد را برای بهبود اجرای سیاست‌های آموزش فراگیر از طریق رویکردی مشارکتی ارائه می‌دهد. روش‌ها: این مقاله در چارچوب نظریه نظام‌های بوم‌شناختی به منظور درک چگونگی کمک مؤثر همکاری مبتنی بر LIEP 2018 به مرحله اجرای سیاست تدوین شده است. مقاله در پارادایم تفسیری قرار دارد و با رویکرد پژوهش کیفی طراحی شده است. نه معلم به‌صورت هدفمند از یک مدرسه عادی انتخاب و در یک بحث گروهی متمرکز شرکت داده شدند. مطالعه به‌صورت تحلیل تماتیک انجام شد تا مضامین و الگوهای ناشی از تجارب همکاری معلمان شناسایی شود. یافته‌ها: نتایج نشان می‌دهد که معلمان با مدارس دیگر برای به‌اشتراک‌گذاری بهترین تجارب کلاس‌های فراگیر همکاری می‌کنند. همچنین آموزش‌های بیرونی از سوی کارشناسان مختلف از سازمان‌های گوناگون دریافت می‌کنند که آن‌ها را در زمینه آموزش فراگیر و راهبردهای مناسب برای محیط تدریس‌شان توانمند می‌سازد. علی‌رغم تأکید سیاست بر همکاری، مدرسه به‌صورت منفرد عمل می‌کند؛ مشارکت والدین حداقلی است و کمبود نیروی پشتیبان مانند کارکنان بهداشتی و روان‌شناسان برای تشخیص، حمایت روانی و عاطفی وجود دارد. نتیجه‌گیری: مطالعه به پویایی‌های همکاری ذی‌نفعان و ماهیت چندوجهی آن در ایجاد راهبردها و چارچوب‌های عملی پاسخگو و فراگیر که از معلمان در ایجاد مشارکت‌های قوی برای تقویت محیط‌های آموزشی فراگیر حمایت می‌کند، اشاره دارد. توصیه‌ها: بر اساس یافته‌ها، مطالعه توصیه می‌کند که نیاز به آگاه‌سازی والدین و جوامع درباره آموزش فراگیر وجود دارد. وزارت آموزش و پرورش باید با همکاری وزارت توسعه اجتماعی برای بسیج منابع جهت پرداخت هزینه‌های پنهان تحصیل و با وزارت بهداشت برای تشخیص صحیح همکاری نماید تا اطمینان حاصل شود این دانش‌آموزان در مدارس حضور یافته و تحصیلات خود را به پایان می‌رسانند.