In this article, I argue that the scalability and effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness interventions for adolescents will always be limited by the high motivational commitment required to meditate. Mindfulness interventions rely on a single and demanding health behavior--namely, meditation--to cultivate mindfulness skills. But…

This article argues that schooling's driving purpose should be to "educate." Given heightening global crises and the potential of education to respond, we agree with the spirit and focus of UNESCO's (2021) "A new social contract for education" intervention. Education/schooling should be motivated by progressive, critical…

The top-down approach of assigning the whole class articles by authors of historically privileged identities, and expecting students to dutifully read and reflect in writing, is an ineffective way to respect, excite, connect with, and challenge students, most especially students of identities historically marginalized in the online academy. In…

Effective teaching requires the use of techniques and strategies to counter student passivity and enhance engagement. Research demonstrates that drawing improves memory retention, increases motivation to learn, provides an opportunity to learn what makes an image an effective communication tool, allows demonstration of conceptual understanding,…

Bullying is widely accepted as a significant issue confronting schools across the globe. The potential short and long-term consequences of bullying for involved students include negative academic and mental health impacts. It is known that a whole-school approach is required to effectively manage bullying. As such, school psychologists and…

There is a persistent view that reading Shakespeare's writings is automatically 'good' for student learning, and its persistence can be traced back to the beginnings of the modern education system as a tool of British imperialism. This article argues that his plays challenge audiences and readers in ways that can represent barriers to learning. In…

The periodic table is a fundamental tool used in chemistry classes that allows students to systematically understand different types of elements and their physical and chemical properties. While many textbooks emphasize the historical process of classifying substances, they often superficially elucidate the achievements of chemists such as Dmitry…

Contemporary education increasingly involves a blended learning environment, which consists of a combination of offline and online delivery methods. Blended learning environments can motivate students to learn, but designing motivating blended learning environments is challenging and can result in environments that demotivate students. This…

To be academically successful, students need to delay gratification, sustain motivation, keep a high level of self-efficacy, and maintain an appropriate balance within their hot/cool cognitive-affective system. The cognitive-affective personality system includes 5 cognitive-affective mediating components (i.e., individuals' way of…

In her Exemplarist Moral Theory, Linda Zagzebski argues that we can empirically discover the meaning of moral terms like 'virtue' and 'the good life' by direct reference to moral exemplars -- those people we admire as morally exceptional. Her proposal is promising, because (1) moral exemplars play an important motivating role in moral education,…

Brain studies have revealed that 2 neurological systems, one for "wanting" and one for "liking," are responsible for many instances of motivated behavior. If wanting and liking are fundamental elements of motivation, then we should also expect to see them represented in educational models of motivation for learning. However, it…

This study examined 10 urban middle school teachers' practices to motivate their emergent bilingual students (or English-language learners) and the ways in which their practices were associated with their positioning of their students in reading intervention classrooms. Our findings showed that teacher positioning that afforded or constrained…

This paper examines how people find happiness and create wellbeing when confronted by extreme adversity. Utilising the Dialogical Self Theory for an analysis of published autobiographies, it investigates two case studies, Nick Vujicic, who was born without limbs, and Austrian author Barbara Pachl-Eberhart, who narrates creating a fulfilled life…

Physical built environment conditions affect occupants' health, attitudes, motivations, and general well-being. The state of classrooms is no exception. Classroom conditions have direct effects on teachers and students and ultimately on academic outcomes. In addition to the physical condition of classrooms, the atmosphere of the environment, which…

This book analyses discourses of effective learning environments globally. It focuses on the student's cultural identity and academic achievement, the significance of cultural and social capital to student's academic achievement, motivational strategies enhancing engagement and performance, effective teaching strategies, and quality in education…