The aim of this study is to examine the metaphorical perceptions of pre-service special education teachers regarding the concepts of “giftedness” and “special talent,” and to reveal their views on the impact of these concepts on professional practices. The study employed phenomenology (qualitative) design, which enables an in-depth exploration of participants’ experiences and perceptions. The research was conducted in the 2024–2025 academic year with 100 volunteer pre-service teachers enrolled in the Department of Special Education at Buca Faculty of Education. Participants were asked to produce metaphors for each concept by completing given sentences. The data were analyzed using content analysis. After the analysis, 88 valid metaphors for the concept of giftedness and 87 valid metaphors for the concept of special talent were obtained, and these metaphors were categorized under specific themes. The findings indicate that metaphors for giftedness were most frequently clustered under the categories of development (13.8%), production (12.6%), and achievement (11.5%), while metaphors for special talent were concentrated under development (34.1%), originality (20.5%), and value (20.5%). Also, 95% of the participants stated that their views on these concepts would influence their professional practices. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that pre-service teachers’ conceptual perceptions and metaphorical thinking can shape their professional attitudes and practices, and emphasizes the importance of developing pedagogical approaches in teacher education programs that take into account candidates’ mental representations rather than focusing solely on theoretical knowledge.

In this study, we adapted the Epistemological Beliefs in Science Scale originally developed by Conley et al. (2004) for high school students in Türkiye. Some previous studies done in Türkiye have been conducted to adapt this scale for different target audiences and revealed different factorial structures from the original scale and lost some items. Therefore, we aim to investigate the scale's psychometric properties for high school students. We applied the scale to 1205 9th to 12th-grade students face-to-face in three public high schools in Yalova district in Türkiye. We used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the fit of the observed model to the expected model based on the theoretical framework developed by Conley et al. (2004). We also investigated the convergent and divergent validities of the scale. For scale reliability, Cronbach alpha and omega coefficients were calculated. We comparatively discussed the psychometric properties of the scale with previous studies. We have concluded that the factorial structure in this study was almost the same as in the original scale and can be considered to use in high schools in Türkiye. We also have some improvement suggestions for a better scale.

This study aims to analyze research trends in the field of educational digital games, as indexed in the Web of Science (WOS) database, from 2005 to 2025, using bibliometric analysis. A total of 906 publications were analyzed, with their distribution over the years, author productivity, country contributions, citation impact, keyword networks, and emerging trend themes assessed. The findings indicate that the number of publications in the field has increased significantly, notably since 2016, and that interest in digital learning and game-based instruction has risen rapidly since 2020, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spain, China, and Taiwan are among the most productive countries, while the researchers with the most publications include Martí-Parreño J., Hwang G.J., and Hamari J. The keyword occurrence network showed that research on educational digital games mainly focuses on the concepts of “gamification”, "motivation", "learning outcomes", and "student engagement". Based on trend analysis, "virtual reality", "self-determination theory", and "student engagement" are the fastest-growing themes in recent years. In contrast, "educational games", "computer games", and "e-learning" are established themes that form the traditional foundation of the field but currently attract less interest. The results indicate that the field of educational digital games is experiencing a theoretical and pedagogical shift driven by technological advances. While early studies focused on hardware and content design, current research emphasizes student experience, motivation, and sustainable learning. These findings suggest that future game-based learning research will be shaped by virtual reality, self-determination theory, and experiential teaching methods.

Gender roles that shape social life are also deeply embedded in organizational structures, including educational institutions. Despite the increasing number of female teachers in schools, women remain significantly underrepresented in managerial positions, indicating the persistence of the glass ceiling syndrome in educational organizations. This study explores the glass ceiling syndrome in schools from the perspective of gender roles, aiming to reveal the underlying barriers that limit women’s access to school leadership positions. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study was conducted using a case study approach. The study group consisted of 8 teachers, as well as 8 administrators working in primary and secondary schools located in the central districts of Van province in Türkiye. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. The findings indicate that female teachers encounter more glass ceiling barriers than their male counterparts. These barriers are primarily associated with socially constructed gender roles, particularly the dual expectations placed on women regarding family and professional responsibilities. Participants emphasized that leadership is often socially associated with masculinity, while women are perceived as emotionally fragile and less suitable for managerial roles. Male-dominated organizational cultures, societal prejudices against female leadership, and the internalization of traditional gender roles further reinforce these invisible barriers. The study concludes that the persistence of the glass ceiling in schools cannot be explained solely by individual preferences or competencies but is largely shaped by deeply rooted gender norms and organizational expectations. By highlighting the invisible and socially constructed nature of these barriers, this study contributes to the literature on gender, leadership, and educational administration.

Student participation in quality assurance (QA) and accreditation processes is crucial for higher education institutions (HEIs); however, existing research on this topic remains limited, indicating a need for more comprehensive investigations. This study purposes to explore students' opinions, expectations, and recommendations regarding QA and accreditation processes. This study employed a phenomenological approach. A total of 11 student representatives, who are members of the Student Quality Commission (SQC), participated in the study. Data collection was conducted through interviews. Inductive content analysis was used to analyze the obtained data. Students’ definitions of QA and accreditation processes in higher education (HE) aligned with the literature. The findings indicate that students conceptualize quality assurance and accreditation processes in higher education as a stakeholder-based planning, monitoring, and continuous improvement process aimed at enhancing institutional capacity. The results further reveal that students assume three primary roles within these processes, namely the user role, the feedback role, and the decision-making role. In addition, student participation in related activities is shown to have a positive impact on academic performance, peer relationships, and future professional careers. Students also offered constructive recommendations for strengthening and expanding participation in quality-related studies.

Social media’s rapid expansion led to emerge new forms of professional and educational engagement. The phenomenon of teacher influencer is one of them. This study aims to review research on teacher influencers, focusing on their characteristics, effects on teaching and students, and its importance is in showing the opportunities, challenges, and gaps in this emerging field. So, this study designed as a scoping review in line with PRISMA-ScR guidelines, synthesizes 30 studies published between 2020 and February 2025 to examine the scope of research on teacher influencers. The findings show that teacher influencers are characterized by sharing their knowledge, professional experiences, and classroom strategies, while at the same time being perceived as young, inexperienced, and seeking popularity. Their contents are shaped by authenticity, personal branding, and educational purposes, but also by commercialization, lifestyle sharing, in some cases, ideological use and violations of children’s rights. Regarding the effects on the teaching profession, teacher influencers contribute to collaboration and professional development, yet they also risk negative impact on the status of teaching profession. In terms of the effects on students’ educational processes, they increase motivation, engagement, and accessibility, but may also cause superficial learning, negative role models, and privacy problems. The review identifies research gaps in cross-platform comparative studies, longitudinal and cross-cultural approaches, professional identity and ethics, pedagogical and learning outcomes, economic and policy dimensions, and methodological innovation. Overall, the study maps the phenomenon of teacher influencers as a dual structure that creates both opportunities and risks for education, while providing insights for researchers, teachers, and policymakers navigating digital transformation.

In the time of rapid transitions and global conflicts, there is an increase in the desire for stability and safety among young adults. As they seek answers and ideas to understand these uncertainties and clarify confusions, the pursuit of self-discovery becomes particularly relevant in educational settings. This study aims to explore students’ learning about self-discovery through a project, which involves uncovering the multidimensional aspects of their family, culture, and space across the past, present, and future. The project is drawn from a course that combines family science and interior design. This interdisciplinary course is a unique and effective context to invite self-exploration and out-of-the-box thinking to enhance student learning and development. Using a qualitative, phenomenological lens, this study analyzed three exemplary final projects selected through instructor assessment of depth and creativity. Each artifact was examined through thematic and content analysis to identify elemental meanings and the culmination of major learnings and insights emerging as a result of the projects. The results of this study affirmed that the project successfully achieved its goal of fostering deep insight, meaningful reflection, and a strong sense of personal integration among students. The emergent themes were “Family bonds, Adaptation and Resilience, Historical architectural significance, and the Tension between old and new” and showed students’ deeper understandings of themselves, their family dynamics, history, and historical family homes, and the environments that shape their lived experiences.

The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of teachers' multicultural education attitude, empathic tendency and burnout in explaining the relationship between intercultural sensitivity and cultural intelligence. Data were collected from 603 teachers using validated measurement tools, and structural equation modeling was employed for the analysis. The results indicated significant positive relationships between cultural intelligence and intercultural sensitivity, empathic tendency, and attitudes toward multicultural education, while a significant negative relationship was found between cultural intelligence and burnout. Intercultural sensitivity was positively associated with attitudes toward multicultural education, which, in turn, was positively related to empathic tendency. Empathic tendency was negatively associated with burnout. Furthermore, attitudes toward multicultural education, empathic tendency, and burnout were found to partially mediate the relationship between intercultural sensitivity and cultural intelligence.

The aim of the Philosophy for Children (P4C) education program, designed to structure preschool curricula on a philosophical basis, is to foster students’ attentive, critical, creative, and higher-order thinking skills through collaboration. This research was carried out to evaluate the implementation of Philosophy for Children (P4C) in preschool education through the perspectives of teachers and academicians, employing a case study design as part of qualitative research methods. The participants of the study were selected with the purposive sampling method, who were officially registered for the P4C application and content development training for children organized at Bursa Uludağ University in the fall semester of 2022-2023 and who received training in different periods, and teachers from different regions of Turkey and academicians who were knowledgeable about the application. The research was conducted with 26 teachers and 11 academicians. The opinions of teachers and academicians regarding P4C applications were collected with semi-structured interview forms. Data were analyzed using content analysis with the MAXQDA software. The findings indicated that the P4C approach helps preschool children develop higher-order thinking skills, empathy, self-expression, 21st-century skills, and problem-solving abilities by supporting children’s holistic development. All participants agreed that P4C practices should be effectively incorporated into preschool curricula.