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Redefining Education for Gen Z: Heutagogy, Internships, and Collective Efforts Toward a Resilient Future
No full textAs Gen Z enters an era of rapid technological change, economic uncertainty, and global challenges, traditional education models must evolve to foster adaptability, autonomy, and resilience. This article explores the role of heutagogy (self-determined learning), internships, and collective action in redefining education to prepare students for an unpredictable future. By shifting from passive knowledge acquisition to learner-driven exploration, integrating real-world experience through internships, and fostering collaborative problem solving, education can empower Gen Z with the critical thinking, creativity, and resilience needed to thrive
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Academic Work of Preservice Teachers
No full textThe integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education has rapidly transformed the learning environment, with significant implications for pre-service teacher education. AI tools such as adaptive learning platforms and virtual simulations offer opportunities to enhance instructional design and develop essential teaching competencies. At the same time, challenges related to data privacy and equitable access underscore the need for careful implementation. This study examined pre-service teachers’ use of AI in education methods courses, with the dual aim of understanding their perceptions of AI’s impact on learning and exploring the relationship between academic and everyday AI use. Participants completed the EDUCAUSE AI Landscape Study Survey Instrument (Robert, 2024). Descriptive and correlational analyses revealed that while a majority of students reported limited AI use, a strong positive relationship was found between AI use in academic and everyday contexts. These findings suggest that educator preparation programs carry important implications for redesigning teacher education curricula to prepare future educators for AI-rich classroom environments while maintaining high standards of academic integrity
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Parkinson\u27s Disease Patients in the Rural Midwest: A Mixed Methods Study
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic brought challenges for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This concurrent mixed methods study explored the perceived pandemic’s impact on the quality of life and functional ability of individuals with PD in the rural Midwest. Thirty-one participants with Parkinson’s disease (Mage=73.48, SDage=7.18) completed the quantitative stage, which included measures of self-reported daily functioning. There was no statistically significant difference in self-reported daily functioning between participants who perceived they have had COVID and those who did not, t(29)=-.27, p=.46. Twenty-two participants completed semi-structured interviews that explored perceived quality of life. Thematic analysis identified five themes: symptom overlap, varied pandemic reactions, health literacy challenges, dimensions of isolation, and diverse perceptions of physical and emotional well-being. Findings highlight the multifaceted characteristic of quality of life, the need for comprehensive interdisciplinary approaches, peer support, and community-based programs to address the complex needs of PD patients
Special Focus Introduction: Refugee Voices in Contemporary Literature
Get PDFSpecial Focus Introduction: Refugee Voices in Contemporary Literatur
Migration and Diasporic Identity in Scholastique Mukasonga’s Un si beau diplôme !
No full textIn Un si beau diplôme! (2018), Franco-Rwandan author Scholastique Mukasonga recounts her experiences as a refugee in Burundi and her quest to obtain a degree in social work. She also describes the challenges she had to overcome to get her foreign degree recognized and to be able to practice her chosen profession when she and her family immigrated to Djibouti in 1986, and then to France in 1992. Mukasonga concludes her text by narrating a recent visit to an economically and socially transformed Rwanda. As a whole, the text underscores the importance of her degree, which was ultimately essential to her survival. However, this essay focuses on how Mukasonga navigates each of these physical displacements. For instance, she was able to navigate the gender-specific perils of exile as a female refugee in Burundi by developing her professional identity of social worker, by refusing to be immobilized by her refugee status, and with the support of other female refugees. I also study her experiences of inclusion and racial exclusion in Djibouti and France and how she developed a more expansive and inclusive sense of identity, that of an African and French woman. Finally, I examine how Mukasonga’s return to a changed Rwanda allowed her to reconnect and altered her perspective on her homeland. This essay argues that Mukasonga’s experiences expand our understanding of migration by not only engaging with issues of gender, hegemony, belonging, agency, otherness, solidarity, and diasporic identity, but also by counteracting and transcending dominant discourses and expectations of migratory experiences
Southeast Research and Extension Center Agricultural Research 2025
Get PDFThe 2025 Southeast Research and Extension Center Agricultural Research report includes research conducted in the areas of beef cattle management, cropping systems, and forage crops
School-Based Mental Health Practice: The Impact of Physical Activity on Depression
Get PDFThe relationship between physical and mental health has long been theorized to be profoundly important in understanding human behavior and development. This article aims specifically to highlight the state of existing research about the relationship between physical activity and the state of depression. Studies across the nation, summarized here, have found that healthy physical activity levels generally correlate with health within the mental and emotional arenas. Despite the abundance of existing literature on this topic, research remains scarce on the longitudinal effects of physical activity beginning with pre-puberty children into adulthood. Physical activity is a relatively cheap and non-harmful lifestyle intervention that school-based mental health practitioners can quickly implement in school settings. School social workers aligned with evidence based practice could stay current on advancing literature in this arena to learn what research has gleaned and apply that research within school settings. School social workers should also be encouraged to publish innovative ways they’ve implemented physical activity in addressing student depression. This is an opportunity for school social workers across the globe to influence future generations to live healthier and happier lives positively
Towards a Learning Society: Four Waves Shaping the Future of Lifelong Learning
Get PDFThis paper develops a theory of the learning society through four transformative waves—human potentiality, corporate employability, scholastic inflexibility, and communal responsibility—shaping future paradigms in lifelong learning. By exploring these waves\u27 interconnections, the presentation examines how learning cities and educational democracy can create inclusive, adaptable frameworks for adult and continuing education, fostering global collaboration and unity
