Journal of Advanced Research in Education

Perception on the Importance of Technology in Education Among Hospitality Management Students at Northeastern College

2026-07-07T07:58:51+00:00

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of Northeastern College Hospitality Management Students regarding the importance and use of technology in their education. To do this, the researchers conducted a mixed-methods survey of 476 students to determine their level of technological awareness, usage frequency of tools, and how technology/technology resources have impacted their academic achievement. It was found that most students responded that they believe technology is “Important”, particularly for the purpose of improving communication, and therefore improving their academic grades. The most used technological tools are social media and basic productivity software, whereas specialized Hospitality applications are used less frequently. Overall, while the participants expressed a high degree of belief in the advantages that technology offers, they also reported having a variety of barriers, such as unreliable internet access, limited personal device access, and inadequate advanced technical training. The researchers concluded that even though the students have a strong desire to be a part of the digital transformation, post-secondary schools must provide the necessary infrastructure, as well as the appropriate level of professional training to assist their students in overcoming the discrepancy between their basic digital literacy and the required industry-relevant skill set.

From Lost Love to Discovered Knowledge: The Role of Postgraduate Education in Overcoming Heartbreak

2026-07-07T08:10:11+00:00

Heartbreak is a profound emotional experience that often results in significant psychological impacts. Although numerous studies have examined the emotional aspects of heartbreak, few have investigated how education, particularly at the postgraduate level, contributes to the recovery process. This article aims to describe the relationship between the experience of heartbreak and engagement in postgraduate education, with a focus on how advanced education helps individuals discover new meaning, enhance personal skills, and foster emotional growth. This study employed a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews with postgraduate students who had experienced heartbreak before or during their studies. The findings indicate that postgraduate education can serve as a medium for personal transformation, through which individuals utilize the learning process to overcome feelings of emotional loss and rediscover their identity and purpose in life.

The Current Status and Reinforcement Pathways of Career Stickiness Among Public-Funded Teacher Trainees for Rural Schools in China

2026-08-10T06:15:53+00:00

Public-funded teacher trainees’ education in China represents a national strategic initiative aimed at precisely supplying high-quality teachers to rural schools. As prospective rural educators, these students constitute a vital force for building future rural teaching faculties. However, the persistent structural dilemma of “retaining personnel through contract compliance while failing to retain their commitment” continues to hinder their long-term engagement in rural education. To explore the internal mechanisms underlying their retention in rural teaching, this study adopts a mixed-methods design grounded in the eastern, western, and northern regions of Guangdong Province. Drawing on 128 valid questionnaires and 11 in-depth interviews, we empirically examine the current status of career stickiness among public-funded teacher trainees. The results indicate that their overall career stickiness is above the medium level, exhibiting a distinct pattern characterized by “normative dominance and emotional deficiency.” Career choices are largely driven by external contractual constraints, whereas endogenous emotional identification and value commitment remain underdeveloped. To bridge this gap, we propose an integrated “three-pronged” support strategy: enhancing local identity at the emotional level, optimizing contractual mechanisms at the institutional level, and expanding professional growth pathways at the developmental level. We recommend coordinated efforts across universities, administrative agencies, and school management to facilitate a profound transition from “contractual compliance” to “emotional rootedness,” thereby providing robust teacher support for rural educational revitalization.

Character Development and Ethical Behavior Formation Among Trainees: A Developmental Psychology Perspective Based on Vygotskian Social Interaction Theory — A Case Study of Nsamizi Institute of Social Development

2026-08-10T06:19:30+00:00

This qualitative case study investigates character development and ethical behavior formation among trainees at Nsamizi Training Institute of Social Development (NTISD) in Mpigi, Uganda, grounded in Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. The objective was to examine how social interactions within training environments shape the moral and professional dispositions of future social development workers. Employing a qualitative approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 trainees and 8 staff, supplemented by document analysis and observations. Findings reveal that character and ethical behaviors are primarily cultivated through peer collaborations, mentorship by lecturers (More Knowledgeable Others), community outreach activities, and institutional cultural practices. These processes align with Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), where guided social interaction mediates internalization of values. Trainees reported improved self-regulation, empathy, and professional integrity, although challenges such as resource constraints persist. The study concludes that intentional scaffolding of social interactions enhances ethical formation. Recommendations include embedding structured character education modules, strengthening mentorship programs, and fostering reflective practices.

Improving the Mental Ability of Objective Scientific Reflection of the Universe

2026-08-31T07:08:47+00:00

The exploratory potential of the mental sensitivity of the Universe is revealed through the brain, as an intermediary between consciousness and the internal reality of a person and his external perceived environment using a set of methods that expand human perception. The exploratory potential of consciousness in the context of the scientific reflection of the Universe is an interdisciplinary topic that formalizes ways of extracting meaning from complex data, where neuroscience, physics, cognitive science and philosophy intersect. The main areas in which consciousness is considered as an instrument for understanding reality are, firstly, neurobiological and cognitive capabilities: integration of heterogeneous information — the brain collects data from the senses, memory and current goals into a single picture of the world; conscious control of attention — a person can purposefully focus on individual aspects of reality, enhancing them in perception and analysis; reflection and hypothesis testing — consciousness allows us to formulate assumptions, test them, notice contradictions and adjust the model of the world. The interdisciplinary formalization of consciousness’s reflection of the Universe is accomplished through mathematical formulas. Intuition and creative thinking often lead to unexpected hypotheses, which are then tested using mathematical methods and models. Particularly in fields where data is ambiguous (astronomy, cosmology, high-energy physics), it is the human ability to see patterns and analogies that helps us find new meanings. Science not only describes the world but also decides what is important to study and how the results can impact society—here, the role of consciousness and values is fundamental.

Flow Factors and Choreography Teaching Stages: A Correspondence Study

2026-09-23T07:54:10+00:00

Choreography teaching has long been organized around technique training and the production of finished works, while students’ motivational states and the quality of their experience rarely enter instructional design. Drawing on Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory and employing literature review and case analysis, this study examines the correspondence between flow factors and the stages of choreography teaching. Flow is characterized by three preconditions (clear goals, immediate feedback, and challenge–skill balance) and six experiential characteristics. Based on the conventional organization of Chinese choreography textbooks, choreography teaching is summarized into four stages: establishing motive and theme, organizing material and training technique, rehearsal feedback and self-observation, and role immersion and stage presentation. These stages are shown to correspond respectively to four groups of flow factors: clear goals together with presentation effects, challenge–skill balance, immediate feedback, and the loss of reflective self-consciousness. A logic of “condition supply–state emergence” is proposed: teachers cannot directly manufacture flow; they can only supply, through the design of each stage, the conditions under which flow becomes possible. Three cases—Wang Mei’s modern dance drama Thunder and Rain, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, and motive-development exercises in choreography classes—are used to illustrate the correspondence.

Healing Mechanisms of Therapeutic Theatre for Adolescent Mental Health: A Dual Case Study

2026-09-23T07:56:15+00:00

As adolescent mental health has risen to the top of the national policy agenda, interventions delivered through theatrical arts such as drama and musical theatre have been emerging rapidly in China, yet their healing mechanisms remain poorly theorized. Combining literature review with case analysis, this study examines two cases: the therapeutic musical theatre Feier and the stage play This Is Not Child’s Play, China’s first therapeutic production on adolescent mental health. Analysis proceeds along four dimensions: creation mechanism, narrative structure, healing mechanism, and social effect. Findings are fourfold. First, the two works achieve healing functions—emotional externalization, role reversal, the safe container, and cognitive restructuring—through a “narrative–music–interaction” framework and a strategy of “comedic narration, dual spatiotemporal settings, and clinical collaboration.” Second, music plays a key role in bypassing linguistic defenses and activating emotional channels, while comedic framing constitutes a “defense-bypassing” strategy for adolescent audiences. Third, deep involvement of professional expertise draws the critical boundary between therapeutic theatre and ordinary psychologically themed works. Fourth, moving from isolated “projects” to a replicable “model” requires resolving three bottlenecks: effect evaluation, talent training, and context adaptation. The study proposes a four-stage healing mechanism model of “emotional externalization–cognitive restructuring–relational connection–meaning making,” offering a theoretical basis for the locally grounded construction and standardization of therapeutic theatre.