Learning a foreign language is not only an interesting cognitive process. It is also a means of communication with other peoples and becoming acquainted with their cultures. Therefore, learning a foreign language can contribute to the development of intercultural competence, i.e. the competence to manage new communication conditions and…

This study proposed a robot-assisted digital storytelling approach to reduce hospitalized children's anxiety about intravenous injections and to improve their therapeutic communication and therapeutic engagement. In order to verify the effectiveness of the robot-assisted digital storytelling approach, a randomized controlled study was implemented.…

Social engagement is critical to the personal and social development of children. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often exhibit low levels of social engagement with peers and adults, with clearly fewer instances of eye contact, initiation, joint attention, and empathy. Given the pivotal role of social engagement, procedures that…

Background: Previous literature pinpointed the limitations of behavioural treatment in helping families of people with intellectual disabilities to transit lifecycle adjustment and suggested the contributions of systemic intervention made to this population. Methods: This study aimed to explore the applicability of structural family therapy to…

Technological advancements and changes in online survey participation pave the way for new data collection methods. Particularly, the increasing smartphone rate in online surveys facilitates a re-consideration of prevailing communication channels to, for instance, naturalize the communication process between researchers and respondents and to…

Public administration faculty commonly use discussion forums in their asynchronous courses to engage students about course content. However, the typical pedagogical approach for online discussions forums is for the professor to post questions and students respond, in writing. In this paper, we suggest public administration classes should consider…

The professionalization of paraprofessionals through training is elemental in providing supports to students with disabilities. Through a systematic review of experimental studies (n = 18), we sought to explore the mechanisms of paraprofessional training programs, and the fidelity of implementation of those programs. For inclusion, studies were…

Research consistently demonstrates that the quality of student-staff interactions matters for positive student outcomes. Some research studies also suggest that identity similarities (homophily) often contribute to meaningful human connections. Yet, the influence of student and staff identities on teaching and learning in higher education is less…

Several, large-scale quantitative studies suggest virtual coaching is an effective professional development strategy capable of producing similar results as face-to-face (F2F) programs. Virtual coaching can also be cost-effective, convenient, and even essential when in-person learning is disrupted. However, existing research offers few…

In this study, we examined interaction behaviors between a small number of participants in two massive open online courses (MOOCs) and an FAQ chatbot, focusing on the participants' native language markers. We used a binary native language marker (non-native English user vs. native English user) to distinguish between two groups in this multiple…

For many years, intercultural communicative competence (ICC) has been discussed to elucidate the development of students' awareness, skill, and experience in regard to intercultural communication. Yet, practical suggestions for enhancing teachers' or teacher educators' practice in intercultural communication classrooms are scarce. To fill this…

The hidden curriculum (HC) consists of implicit knowledge rooted in curricula and found throughout students' experiences navigating higher education (e.g. understanding professional email etiquette, graduate school applications and funding opportunities, or often taken-for-granted programs like Title IX and disability accommodations). In this…

This paper identifies and considers issues of perspective taking and communicative agency in applying Jürgen Habermas's discourse theory to policymaking in educational settings. The central question is whether Habermas provides an epistemic framework that supports reciprocal and sincere expressions of the views and interests of individuals in a…

A large body of research has been conducted on the requests employed by monolingual children, whilst knowledge about the requests uttered by bilingual children has remained scarce. To address this issue, this paper, for the first time in the literature, focuses on the request strategies and purposes employed by preschool children bilingual in…

Intercultural communicative competence has been offered as an open-minded replacement for ego-centric biases stemming from dogmatic national prejudice and its associated self-aggrandisement. While being a commendable proposal, its implementation in foreign language education has not been a widespread success story. Recent attempts to theorise…