Mapping the intellectual structure of mobile gaming in education: insights from bibliometric methods

Mobile gaming in education encompasses using games on mobile devices to achieve educational goals, offering an interactive platform that can make learning more engaging and accessible. This study addresses the gap in understanding how mobile gaming can enhance educational outcomes by mapping the intellectual landscape of mobile gaming research in education through bibliometric methods. The problem is the growing need to adapt educational tools to students’ digital preferences, balancing engagement with academic rigor. A total of 247 articles were identified from the Web of Science (WoS) database. Through co-citation and co-occurrence analyses, the study identifies influential research themes and emerging trends, such as gamification, serious games, and augmented reality. The findings demonstrate that mobile gaming fosters engagement in promoting motivation and supporting problem-solving skills in educational contexts. However, it also highlights the importance of aligning mobile gaming with curriculum objectives and ensuring instructor readiness, supporting sustainable development goal 4: quality education, which aims to improve inclusive and equitable learning outcomes. It identifies emerging trends, including serious games, technology acceptance models, and the use of augmented reality in educational settings. This study provides a significant impact for educators and researchers seeking to incorporate mobile gaming into educational settings actively. The study suggests a balanced approach to mobile gaming, ensuring its introduction enhances educational goals while minimizing the potential for distraction, fostering innovation in line with sustainable development goal 9: industry, innovation, and infrastructure

Shaping competence of intercultural communication during the COVID-19

Shaping intercultural communication competencies during the educational process in higher education institutions is a crucial criterion for modern global education. This study considers using digital learning technologies in foreign language teaching as an efficient pedagogical strategy for developing intercultural communicative competence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research methodology was based on a pedagogical experiment. A total of 43 students from the People’s Republic of China, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of India, and Turkmenistan participated in three study groups. Before the experiment, the indicators of digital competence and willingness to engage in intercultural communication were low, with a high correlation between them. During the one-year academic experiment, the students studied foreign languages using digital technologies. They were involved in cultural immersion programs, master’s classes on intercultural communication, language exchange programs, virtual intercultural events, and online cultural resources. This contributed to improving intercultural communication and, at the same time, students’ digital competence

The impact of meme integration on university students’ active learning

This study investigates the application of memes as a didactic tool in university-level social sciences education to address the learning needs of generation Z students. In the present study, the problem of the reduction in the academic performance of students is presented to us. With this research we have sought to contrast if the meme tool can help to give an answer to this problem. The methodology was implemented in business administration, economics, and law courses. Students were tasked with designing memes related to course content. A total of 110 memes were submitted by students, and 45 participants completed an evaluation questionnaire. Correlations and a linear regression model were used mainly for data analysis. Regarding the analysis of the results obtained in specific business subjects, where 68 students were evaluated, it should be noted that the meme variable is the second most significant variable in the final grade obtained. This data seems to indicate that, if the students have been able to synthesize part of the contents in memes, this has helped them in a better assimilation of the subject, and to pass it successfully. We certainly know that young people spend a lot of their time on platforms, and the language of memes is familiar to them. These findings suggest that memes can be an effective and engaging educational tool, offering valuable benefits in the digital age for both students and educators

Effect of integrating student-developed videos into a virtual environment

Many users experience loneliness’ and feel disconnected from teachers and friends during online learning. Lack of engagement between teacher and students can hinder learning and lead to unpleasant feelings such as anxiety and a lack of motivation. Hence, some lecturers require students to develop videos in pairs and share them with peers. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of integrating of student-developed videos into a virtual environment. The quasi-experimental method with was conducted to investigate students’ perceptions of interest, motivation, engagement and performance. A total of 333 students was divided into experimental and control group. Results showed a positive impact of this approach, which can draw out students’ creativity and their understanding of the content knowledge to integrate these with information and communication technology skills. Examination of the qualitative results suggest that the students need to be closely monitored while making the video to prevent free-riders. This study also recommends that the design of the video must be integrated into the course in order to achieve the learning outcome. This study contributed to literature on the effect of student-developed videos

Academics’ research productivity dynamics: psychological needs, research orientation, and desire for recognition

Malaysian higher education institutions aim to improve their reputation and visibility by focusing on research publications. Consequently, they face complexity in motivating research productivity compared to the high demand for academic research output and diversity of academics. This paper aims to fill the knowledge gap in investigating the dynamics of research productivity through the interplay of psychological needs satisfaction (PNS) to share knowledge, research orientation, and desire for recognition as intrinsic motivators. This quantitative research surveyed academics (N=310) in public and private Malaysian universities and data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that both research orientation and desire for recognition play a critical role in motivating academics’ research productivity. Additionally, the study demonstrates that when academics perceive their psychological needs as satisfied, they engage in knowledge-sharing behavior (KSB), which positively affects research productivity, though not as significantly as previously assumed. The study contributes to the literature as pioneering research investigated the role of research orientation, and desire for recognition in motivating academics’ research productivity. It widens the decision makers awareness in higher education institutions to understand the intrinsic motivations of research productivity that motivate them to develop research productivity policies

Adult education in Greek municipalities during COVID-19 pandemic

State and local governments’ primary purpose is to provide services to their populations by shaping their social and economic life. Adult education is a good example of a public service that extends deeply into people’s everyday lives. It helps adults increase their social roles as employees, parents, and retiree, gain more fulfilment in their personal lives, and solve personal and community problems. The main research purpose of this paper is to investigate and describe adult education in Greek Municipalities during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in the Municipality of Piraeus. For this purpose, the research was conducted using the focus group research method. Two groups participated, the first consisting of four employees of the Center for Lifelong Learning of the Municipality of Piraeus and the second group of four adult learners representing the four courses held. The results of the survey show that the unprecedented situation of COVID-19, particularly affected adult education which had stopped for a while and then many courses were discontinued. The imperative to strengthen digital skills, the uncertainty of continuing education and the change of education as a result of the changing world were also identified

Modeling blockchain technology in assessment management: the initial readiness investigation

The implementation of the school-based assessment (SBA) came with a system as part of the effort to reduce the workload of teachers in managing the SBA. However, a traditional system is costly and heavily centralized, frequently leading to impediments, delays, irregularities and may even create opportunities for dishonest activities. To enhance the existing traditional system, integrating emerging blockchain technology (BC) is proposed. Given the challenges, complaints, and rejection faced by traditional assessment management systems, this paper presents a conceptual framework based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and diffusion of innovation (DOI) to examine pre-university teachers’ perception of implementation and readiness to adopt BC-based project paper management (BPPM) which is subsequently verified through a qualitative study. This study employs a process that consists of three main steps: a thorough review of existing literature, thematic analysis, and the process of gathering and determining readiness factors. Teachers’ perspectives were successfully gathered from 59 pre-university teachers by posting semi-structured questions in a Telegram group of Malaysian pre-university teachers. The study found that most pre-university teachers support the BPPM implementation with the condition that the system can address two primary concerns: server scalability and confidentiality issues. The effectiveness of BPPM implementation depends on its capacity to meet user needs and expectations while delivering clear benefits, along with superiority compared with existing systems

Technology of adaptive physical education for children aged 7-9 years with autism spectrum disorder

Analysis of the scientific and methodological literature indicates that the issue of scientific and methodological support for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is insufficiently addressed, particularly for the age group of 7-9 years, which is the focus of this study. The aim of the research is to develop and empirically demonstrate a method for adaptive physical education for children with autism aged 7-9 years. The study involved 20 children attending a neurological rehabilitation center and a general education school. The methodology included the use of paired t-tests to compare indicators before and after the intervention. Key findings included significant improvements in physical indicators such as lung vital capacity (LVC), hand strength, and motor coordination. The practical significance of this research lies in the development of an effective adaptive physical education program that can be implemented in educational and rehabilitation institutions to support children with ASD. Future research prospects include increasing the sample size and conducting long-term observations to examine the sustainability of the obtained results

Advancing practice-oriented education in the training of future pedagogic psychologists

This research aims to explore the characteristics of practice-oriented training within universities and identify the psychological and pedagogical factors that influence the development of professional competencies in future specialists. A comprehensive combination of content analysis of training conditions for future professionals in higher education and an analytical review of the formation of professional competencies among teacher-psychologists in the context of educational system modernization were applied. The conclusions highlight the challenges of implementing practice-oriented training in Kazakhstan’s higher education system, detailing its forms and methods in preparing competitive and competent specialists. Additionally, the study addresses strategies for effectively organizing pedagogical conditions that foster the development of core competencies in future professionals within social and psychological fields. The findings are critical for educators educating future teacher-psychologists, as they emphasize practice-oriented methods during educational modernization

Instructional leadership as a catalyst for organizational commitment: insights from a systematic literature review

This research intends to provide insight on the relationship between instructional leadership and organizational commitment, with a specific emphasis on the timeframe spanning from 2009 to 2023. Using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) approach, this study conducted a systematic search of academic databases, including Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and ERIC. The search produced a large selection of papers, reviews, and articles about organizational commitment and instructional leadership. The analysis demonstrated the critical role that the impact of instructional leadership on organizational commitment played by using an advanced search strategy involving keywords, such as “instructional leadership,” “educational leadership,” “school leadership,” “organizational commitment,” “employee commitment,” and “workplace commitment.” The review identified three main themes from the final dataset, which included 33 items. These themes were: i) instructional leadership and teachers; ii) organizational commitment and school leadership styles; and iii) leadership in diverse educational contexts. The key themes were then validated by experts. The analysis reveals school leaders’ potential contributions to organizational commitment, which has consequences for educational leadership and management