A Qualitative Investigation Into Chinese International Doctoral Students’ Navigation of a Disrupted Study Trajectory During COVID-19

This study delves into emic perceptions of Chinese international doctoral students’ navigation of a disrupted study trajectory during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with students and the conceptual framework of bioecological systems theory and needs-response agency, the article reveals a nuanced picture of how activities, relations and roles nested in a PhD study trajectory are impacted by and respond to the crisis. Specifically, the pandemic has instigated a ripple effect upon PhD study that is embedded within a complex system of person−environment factors in the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. Confronting these changes and challenges, the students enact needs−response agency to cope with these impacts so as to restore stability. The study concludes with some practical implications for related stakeholders in the bioecological system to generate conditions and support for students to harness possibilities for growth amidst and beyond the health crisis.

Honoring Children’s Ways of Knowing: A Story of Trust and Transformation in a Kindergarten Classroom

This article spotlights the transformation of a kindergarten classroom culture as told through the story of selecting and naming a class pet, emphasizing the teacher’s understanding of children’s ways of knowing and the role of trust in building an inclusive and equitable classroom environment. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory serves as a lens in understanding the teacher’s efforts to build a culture respectful of each individual child, the group as it formed, and class’s identity in the broader learning community. The seemingly simple story is considered through the concept of rich normality, which recognizes the potential of everyday moments and experiences.

The Significance of Specialist Teachers of Learners with Visual Impairments as Agents of Change: Examining Personnel Preparation in the United Kingdom through a Bioecological Systems Theory

Introduction The unique challenges to learning and participation in education associated with visual impairment are well documented in the literature, as is the importance of addressing these challenges through ensuring practitioners who support them are equipped with appropriate knowledge, understanding, and skills. We use a bioecological systems theory as a lens through which to examine the personnel preparation of vision specialist teachers to act as agents of change. We draw on the different teacher preparation programs for specialist teachers of learners with visual impairments in the United Kingdom to demonstrate how this theory can be applied. Methods We use a bounded case study to bring together the respective teacher preparation programs in the UK in order to demonstrate complementary characteristics of the theoretical model proposed. Results and discussion We argue that a bioecological systems theory offers a holistic framework for educators involved in personnel preparation to explicitly engage with vision specialist teachers in their role as potential agents of change. This preparation includes developing distinctive knowledge, understanding, and skills to facilitate learner participation in education through promoting “progressive” and “mutual” accommodation between the active learner and the changing learning environments in order to achieve successful outcomes. Implications for practitioners The article is original in applying a bioecological systems theory to the preparation of these specialist teachers, with a focus on their role as agents of change. We argue that it has significance, therefore, for practitioners and researchers concerned with the personnel preparation of other practitioners for learners with distinctive educational needs across national contexts and settings.