Vol 2025 No. 2

This study examines linguistic shame (emotional distress experienced while using English) and linguistic shaming (actions inducing shame about language use) among adult migrant learners and English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners in a tertiary educational institute in Australia. Through qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with 16 diverse ELT educators and learners from different EAL programs at the institute, the research identifies key manifestations, including self-shame versus collective shame, overt versus covert shaming, judgmental versus non-judgmental shame, toxic versus healthy shame, hierarchical versus peer shame, and validating versus invalidating shame. Findings reveal that learners grapple with anxiety, reduced participation, and hindered progress due to internalized inadequacy about accents or fluency, exacerbatedby native-speaker biases. Non-native educators also face professional self-doubt, as students sometimes prefer native-speaking instructors, reinforcing systemic linguistic hierarchies. These dynamics underscore how linguistic shame is socially constructed, embedded in institutional and cultural norms, with far-reaching impacts on psychological wellbeing, classroom engagement, and teaching efficacy. To mitigate these effects, the study recommends institutional training on linguistic diversity and bias awareness, inclusive feedback practices to foster growth without shame, support networks for non-native educators, and policy interventions to address systemic inequities. By highlighting the emotional dimensions of language learning, this research advances understanding of migrant learners’ challenges in native English-dominated settings and calls for pedagogical and structural reforms to promote inclusivity. Its insights are vital for improving educational equity, social integration, and educator support in multilingual tertiary environments.

Aristotle stated that “to find yourself, think for yourself.” The concept of independent thought was first articulated by Socrates, regarded as the father of Ancient Greek philosophy. Socrates exemplified the ideal philosopher and teacher by maintaining humility alongside intellectual rigor. As an educator, he imparted knowledge to his students while also learning from them. In my teaching practice, I aspire for my high school history classroom to serve as a transformational bridge that advances students’ moral, academic, and cultural excellence. Within this environment, each student can autonomously develop their distinct talents (Mezirow, 1997) and become positive role models and authentic leaders who demonstrate integrity and ethical commitment to the social welfare of their communities. I believe that empathy, compassion, trust, and integrity are essential ethical principles and communicative elements that educators should foster in adolescent learners, enabling them to embody these values in both their future professions and personal lives. Cornel West advocates for a democratic paideia, a form of education in which learners perceive themselves as agents of change, recognizing their capacity to make mistakes, learn from them, and use that knowledge to empower others (West, 2013). West’s interpretation of democratic paideia within the social and political structure of American society reflects an ideal human society that can ultimately be achieved through education (West, 2013). Socratic seminars engage students by fostering interest, passion, and creativity, thereby making historical content relevant and applicable to their lives. Furthermore, Socratic seminars promote the development of historical empathy and critical thinking, as students are encouraged to connect their present experiences with those of earlier civilizations (Nouri & Pihlgren, 2018). Participation in Socratic seminars enables students to cultivate their intellectual and ethical capacities, positioning them as positive role models and prospective leaders who demonstrate integrity and a commitment to their communities' social welfare.

Neuroergonomics is the application of advanced neurotechnologies that are miniaturized, wearable, wireless, and mobile to monitor and enhance cognitive ability in real-world work environments. In a knowledge-based, technology-driven economy, neuroergonomics could produce significant benefits such as improved workplace productivity but also raises serious concerns about the privacy of workers’ cognitive data and the potential for coercion and discrimination against workers over its use. The implications for workplace policy and practice need to be thoroughly considered in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the concerns.

“It has become obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Albert Einstein

This paper examines the challenges and strategies involved in creating inclusive educational programs for students and faculty, focusing on both, disparities between student populations and effective design choices to insure equity and access, as well as the disparities between institutional climates and resources in the United States and Colombia. Throughout a two-year initiative, significant obstacles were identified, including differences in access to necessary documentation and financial resources for student mobility, which can dramatically affect the development, implementation, and sustainability of such programs if not adequately addressed. The research highlights the critical role of recognizing and accommodating these differences in ensuring program success. By investigating specific demographic challenges, economic and language barriers, and the effectiveness of digital pedagogical strategies and intercultural communication, this paper aims to operationalize concepts pertinent to these issues both in content and form. The findings provide insights into the complex "wicked problems" that arise at the nexus of intercultural communication and educational program design, offering a detailed analysis of how to approach and mitigate these challenges to foster inclusivity and effectiveness in educational settings.

The occupational therapy field is evolving towards a doctoral-level profession based on expectations from the American Council for Occupational Therapy Education and the American Occupational Therapy Association. At this time, entry-level doctorate fieldwork research remains limited due to the coexistence of masters-level programs. According to regulatory standards, students must complete and pass their level II fieldwork rotations, during which they should demonstrate proficiency as entry-level practitioners. Fieldwork aims to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge gained through didactic coursework and practical application in real-world scenarios. This quantitative pilot study sought to determinewhether a doctoral student’s grade point average was correlated to their level II fieldwork rotation performance scores. Fifteen participants completed the online survey with questions regarding demographics, fieldwork placement setting, final evaluation score, and their cumulative grade point average. While the findings of this pilot study did not reveal a significant correlation between the grade point average and the successful completion of fieldwork, those who passed both rotations had grade point averages above 3.55 on a 4.0 scale. Additionally, there was a positive correlation found between the two level II fieldwork performance scores. These findings indicate the need for further research with a larger sample size to yield more comprehensive results, ultimately enhancing the understanding of grade point averages and level II fieldwork.

Chinese students in Kyrgyzstan constitute a highly mobile social group operating across Chinese and Kyrgyz cultural contexts. Based on the theory of cross-cultural communication and role theory, combined with the framework of Kyrgyzstan cultural identity construction and cross-cultural teaching factors, this study explores the role positioning, practical mode, practical dilemma and optimization path of Chinese students in Kyrgyzstan cultural communication through literature analysis, own empirical cases and logical deduction methods. The study finds that Chinese students play an irreplaceable role in the two-way interaction of cultural information by relying on the unique advantages of flexibility and authenticity in the process of assuming the role of cultural intermediary, but they also face multiple challenges such as role conflict and insufficient adaptation to the local context, low degree of media integration, and imperfect support system.

In Canada’s past, education was used to perpetrate genocide on Indigenous Peoples through residential schools. Today, education is attempting to move in the opposite direction, Indigenizing curricula, teaching true history, and decolonizing classrooms. However, the general public’s knowledge has not kept pace. Public pedagogy initiatives are emerging in response, yet they remain understudied. Drawing from decolonizing approaches, I use multiple case stories from community-based grassroots initiatives in rural places on the Canadian prairies to explore how communities are educating the general public outside of formal education systems. These case stories include a marathon from a residential school to a reserve, honouring students who died while educating non-Indigenous runners, a church recording Indigenous Elders’ stories and songs, and a board game. For each case, I examine who the pedagogues are, what the pedagogical process is, what spaces it inhabits, what the various actors are intended to learn, who determines this learning, how it is transferred to others, and to what effect. The principles shared from these case stories explore differences between planned outcomes and education as a by-product of social action, public pedagogy which moves against neoliberal trajectories and which views education as a possibility for all, the importance and centrality of place, teaching as a fragile and unpredictable art, and the key intersections of criticality, creativity, and hope. Taken together, these insights offer a starting point for imagination and inspiration for both educators and community members.

This paper explores the Baha'i Faith as a complex spiritual phenomenon that transcends traditional definitions of religion. It argues that Baha'i scriptures reflect three interconnected yet distinct dimensions: the Cause of God as a universal spiritual phenomenon, the Baha'i Faith as a transformative way of life, and the Faith's role as a modern religion that demonstrates a new era in the lineage of longstanding traditional religions. Utilising social constructionist theory and frameworks from the study of new religious movements, the paper positions the Baha'i Faith as a neo-religion that combines inclusivity, progressive revelation, and structured practice. 

Through the lens of Peter Berger's theory of the social construction of reality and Brian Wilson's typology of new religious movements, this paper examines how the Baha'i Faith adapts to social needs while maintaining a coherent spiritual identity. It emphasises the inclusive ethos of the Baha'i community, where participation does not require formal conversion, and engagement in practices such as the Ruhi System fosters both spiritual development and social transformation. These characteristics challenge traditional notions of exclusivity and rigid religious boundaries. 

In addition to providing an in-depth exploration of the Baha'i Faith, this paper contributes to broader religious studies by offering a dynamic and flexible framework for understanding religion. It demonstrates how religious identity can be both rooted in doctrine and adaptable to cultural diversity. The concept of a "neo-religion" provides scholars with a new analytical category to examine contemporary spiritual movements that blend tradition with innovation. Furthermore, by bridging theory and lived practice, this study promotes a more holistic and inclusive approach to the academic study of religion in a global context. 

Ultimately, this paper positions the Baha'i Faith as a unique and evolving spiritual paradigm that exemplifies religion's potential to foster unity, justice, and transformation in the modern world. 

Health disparities are differences in disease prevalence, mortality rates, and adverse health outcomes across social demographics. The prevalence of health disparities stems from sociopolitical inequities that contribute to the ongoing marginalization of different communities, the majority of which occur along racial and ethnic lines in the United States. As moral wrongs in need of moral repair, health disparities require a different approach towards redressal that reconsiders policy and educational and clinical interventions. Engaging a case study of black birthing people whose maternal mortality rates are worse than most of their racial/ethnic peers, this article addresses the violations of personhood experienced by health disparate group in the United States. Bridging data on health disparities with Catholic theological and moral claims, the lens of Jacques Maritain’s ontologically informed personalism is employed to reclaim personhood as a viable concept that attends to the sacrality of humanity and our status as social and political beings. Maritain’s Thomist informed understanding of a person, comprised of individuality and personality, requires a reorientation towards rights to health and citizens’ participation in the common of good that promotes a communitarian ethic based on rights owed to and from one another. Concluding with the ways Maritainian personalism promotes community, the article returns to reparative steps towards health disparities inclusive of public health, clinicians, and community health partners.

What roles do green citizen-driven initiatives (GCDIs) play in promoting pro-environmental behaviour and what factors determine how they foster environmental citizenship? In this article, we examine the potential of Danish Green CDIs in promoting environmental citizenship. Drawing upon environmental citizenship literature and social movement studies, we analyse how green CDIs work with the concept in practice and examine their potential roles as agents for change in both the private and public spaces as well as across political scales. Using environmental citizenship as an analytical framework, we group the selected cases into four overarching organisation types, namely Protest, Solution-focused, Conservation and Learning-by-experiences GCDIs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that while they share certain characteristics, there are notable differences in both strategies, aims and foci which plays a role in determining the scope the GCDIs have for fostering environmental citizenship. We argue that this scope is determined by 3 key factors: crisis awareness, environmental literacy, and community-building.

This article employs the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality, Othering, and hate discourse to critically interrogate the evolving agency and discursive marginalization of the Baháʼí community in Iran, across two pivotal periods: before and after the 1979 Revolution. As a marginalized religious minority, Baháʼís have long been subjected to systemic exclusion and discursive erasure within Iran’s religious-political order, often constructed as an “undesirable Other.” This study reconsiders both individual and collective forms of Baháʼí agency, grounded in their spiritual teachings and lived experiences of repression. By doing so, it offers a counter-narrative that challenges dominant state frameworks and reclaims space for alternative representations.

In the rapidly changing U.S. higher education landscape, an increasing number of adult learners are returning to college to complete undergraduate or graduate degrees. Many of these students choose online programs to balance their studies with professional and personal responsibilities. The expansion of online education has led to diversification in course modalities, particularly accelerated cohort-based and self-paced formats. However, this trend raises concerns about maintaining academic standards across delivery modes. This empirical study examines adult learners’ perceptions of online course rigor and accompanying factors such as instructional support, peer learning, and social connectedness in self-paced versus accelerated cohort-based courses. A survey was conducted among current adult students and recent graduates. The sample size supported a pilot study, allowing for analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. Findings indicate a preference for accelerated cohort-based courses, with students citing greater accountability, peer learning, and clearer pacing as advantages. While certain benefits of self-paced learning—such as flexibility—are acknowledged, results suggest that accelerated cohort-based courses may serve best as the primary format, enhanced with limited self-paced components to increase flexibility without sacrificing rigor and engagement. This research contributes insights into ongoing efforts aimed at enhancing online learning experiences for adult students.

As part of a state institution, the US military chaplaincy occupies the space between ‘religious freedom’ and the ‘separation of church and state’. This research explores the chaplaincy from a critical-cultural communication model, focusing on how the representation of the military chaplain has been understood within culture and how they communicate their messages to military members considering growing religious diversity.

This article examines how the military chaplaincy is represented in popular media such as television and motion pictures. Through qualitative interview reactions to these media depictions, military chaplains reflect on the duality many of them face with their own personal ethics surrounding war and violence, and the language they use when counseling soldiers in the field. The findings predominantly show a disparity between reality and fiction, but the tone of communication struck a chord.

The heart of this research is in-depth, qualitative interviews with US National Guard chaplains and those responsible for their training. The collection of data progressed through observations and chains of conversations and informants, and the emphasis was on identifying events and people that contribute to the narrative.

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive case study was to study how teachers utilize cemeteries as a teaching space for instruction in Black history and for enacting social studies curriculum by examining the curricular and instructional strategies two educators use with historically Black cemeteries as a place of learning for students in west coastal central Florida. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to select the two educators who used historically Black cemeteries as part of their curriculum. Though they have vastly different approaches, their stories can help other educators consider how to use place-based education using cemeteries to increase student engagement and ownership of learning. The data was gathered primarily through three semi-structured interviews, including a walking tour that the participant led. Other sources of data were archival research as well as on-site observations of the cemetery spaces; the purpose of these sources of data were to better understand the sites that the teachers were using with their students. I shared my learnings for how teachers can use cemeteries as places of learning for students in the full study, but here I share the learnings and implications of my learnings about using place-based cemetery education for teaching social studies content.