Keyword: age

ABSTRACT: This study examined the relationship between AI-powered learning tools, student engagement, and academic performance in higher education, with a focus on differences across academic disciplines, age groups, and gender. The study employed a quantitative, correlational, and causal-comparative research design, involving undergraduate students from both STEM and non-STEM disciplines through a multi-stage sampling approach. Data were obtained from AI-generated learning metrics, specifically Time-on-Task, Interaction Frequency, and Knowledge Mastery, alongside a structured questionnaire measuring behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects of student engagement, as well as students’ self-reported academic performance. The findings revealed that student engagement varied according to the type of AI learning tool utilized. Tools designed to support knowledge mastery were associated with higher levels of engagement compared to those focused primarily on interaction frequency or time spent on tasks. Students in STEM-related disciplines generally demonstrated stronger engagement than those in non-STEM fields, although the pattern of association between AI tool use and engagement was consistent across disciplines. Knowledge Mastery also emerged as the most influential factor in predicting academic performance across different age groups, with older students tending to achieve better academic outcomes. Additionally, gender differences were observed in how students benefited from specific AI tools, suggesting varying learning preferences and responses to AI-supported instruction. Overall, the study highlights the significant role of AI-powered learning tools in shaping student engagement and academic performance. It emphasizes the need for mastery-oriented, learner-sensitive, and discipline-responsive AI interventions to optimize learning outcomes in higher education.

ABSTRACT: Teacher burnout has become a critical issue in education, threatening the sustainability of schools by diminishing the well-being and effectiveness of educators. This qualitative study explores the causes, consequences, and potential interventions for teacher burnout through in-depth discussions with eleven participants. The study draws on thematic analysis to uncover key stressors, including excessive workload, lack of administrative support, and systemic pressures. Our findings highlight the impact of burnout on classroom management, teacher-student relationships, and institutional cohesion. The discussion underscores the importance of strategic planning by school districts, emphasizing the need for well-paced, teacher-friendly programming to support educators. The study concludes that reducing administrative burdens and fostering a supportive work environment is essential to mitigating burnout and ensuring a sustainable education system.

ABSTRACT: In Vietnamese public schools serving ethnic minority learners, English language instruction often unfolds in linguistically complex and culturally mismatched classrooms. This narrative case study explores how one Vietnamese English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher responds to the challenges of teaching English to Khmer learners in a rural secondary school in the Mekong Delta. Drawing on a written reflection composed during a professional development course, the study examines how the teacher makes sense of her learners’ persistent grammatical difficulties, rooted in first language (L1) transfer from Khmer, and how she navigates the cultural dissonance between textbook content and learners’ lived experiences. Findings reveal that the teacher reframes language “errors” as patterned responses to structural distance, and that she enacts responsive teaching through chunk-based instruction, visual scaffolding, and culturally localized tasks. Her practice illustrates how small, context-driven adaptations are reconfigured when English is learned through Vietnamese by Khmer-speaking learners, making visible the interpretive work teachers do to turn structural distance into pedagogical resource. By foregrounding the voice of a teacher working in a triadic language environment (Khmer, Vietnamese, and English), the study theorises teacher responsiveness in such settings and offers an empirically grounded account of multilingual pedagogy and teacher agency in under-researched Southeast Asian classrooms.

ABSTRACT: Kazakhstan’s trilingual education policy and ongoing educational reforms have created unique challenges for teachers, yet systematic research on educator job satisfaction remains limited in post-Soviet contexts. This study addresses critical gaps by examining how Kazakhstan’s specific educational landscape – including language policy disparities, reform pressures, and cultural transitions – influences teacher job satisfaction across demographic and professional variables. Using the Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (TJSQ) with 383 teachers nationwide, we employed Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and the Job Demands-Resources Model to analyze satisfaction patterns across grade levels, teaching subjects, academic qualifications, marital status, and teaching language. Results reveal significant disparities: Kazakh-medium teachers report lower responsibility satisfaction than Russian/English-medium teachers (p < 0.001), STEM teachers show higher security and recognition satisfaction than non-STEM teachers (p < 0.001), and unmarried teachers demonstrate greater job satisfaction across multiple dimensions. These findings illuminate how Kazakhstan’s unique socio-cultural and linguistic context mediates traditional job satisfaction factors, necessitating culturally adapted policy interventions. Recommendations include targeted resource equity for Kazakh-medium instruction, differentiated support for primary teachers, and recognition programs addressing cultural values of collective responsibility.