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Social networking (SN) technology has been presented to human beings as a means of communicating, collaborating, connecting, and cooperating to exchange knowledge, skills, news, chat, and to maintain contact with peers world-wide. This article examines SN awareness in the Asia-Pacific (AP) education sector (ES) with a specific focus on the advantages and disadvantages of SN; and investigated whether AP culture influences SN adoption by the ES. An online survey was distributed to 1014 AP students and a total of 826 students responded. Several new advantages of adoption emerged from the data analysis. SN enabled students to accomplish their study tasks more quickly; it allowed them to communicate and collaborate with peers world-wide; and it fostered sustainability. The disadvantages perceived by students include depression, loneliness, and distraction, lack of interest in pursuing traditional activities, and security and privacy concerns. Finally, culture does influence SN adoption by ES institutions in AP countries.

Sustainability plays a significant role in all levels of education. Paying attention to strategies for accessibility in educational levels is highly needed. This research aims to evaluate accessibility strategies in vocational education training (VET). It is significant to put efforts into VET to raise awareness on accessibility for the societal benefits of inclusivity and digital transformation in services for all. While preparing the educational context for digital education, accessibility strategies are essential for establishing the future of education. The study adopted the qualitative research approach and used semi-structured interviews and public reports for data collection. The sample of the study comprised the staff working at the management/administrative level in VET and at the ministry of education. Results indicated that suitable strategies are crucial for sustainability and accessibility in VET. Active citizenship for the global world requires understanding the practical sides of accessibility. In this respect, this study recommends vocational training activities based on sustainability and accessibility. To set sustainable strategies in VET, defining the proper roles and responsibilities of teachers, trainers, and staff are essential. The administrative authority, protection of school fixtures and procedures, resolving financial issues, overcoming obstacles such as quality activities, and the professional inadequacy of teacher training are basic steps for developing VET.

AbstractInternational partnerships are a mechanism for supporting the academic development of occupational therapy and promoting cultural competence. This case study describes the factors that have helped to sustain a post‐qualifying programme implemented by five higher education institutions in Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK since 1999. Data collection methods were documentary analysis and the reflections of a purposive sample of six key informants. Cohort and outcome data, from 193 students from 31 countries who enrolled between 1999 and 2011, are reported. Each cohort comprises students from an average of eight countries to optimize inter‐cultural dialogue. Four factors support sustainability. These are 1) supportive professional European networks; 2) timeliness and alignment with European higher education policy; 3) partnership structures and processes that emphasize joint decision making and accountability; and 4) the stimulus and satisfaction associated with internationalization. The main limitations are considering the OT‐EuroMaster as an intrinsic case study and using opportunistic data collection that undermines the rigor and transferability of the findings. Future opportunities include doctoral networks, transnational research and sharing our curricula design with other Regions to spread the collaborative, capacity building endeavours more widely. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ABSTRACT Context: Climate change is the biggest global health threat and also the greatest health opportunity of the 21st century. Five warmest years among the last 140 years occurred between 2015 and 2019. Limited information is available regarding the knowledge and practices of medical students towards climate change, especially in India. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two medical colleges of Karimnagar city from January 2021 to July 2021 involving MBBS and Post-graduate students as study participants. Methods and Material: 903 undergraduate and post-graduate medical students who consented for the study were included. A pre-structured questionnaire was used. Statistical Analysis Used: Data is presented in frequencies and proportions with 95% confidence interval and Chi-square test is used as test of significance. Results: Poor knowledge regarding Sustainable Developmental Goal for climate action, Organisations dealing climate change and Government actions towards climate change were observed among study participants. Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases (84%) were answered as the major health impacts of climate change. Majority (97.4%) of the participants agreed that ‘human actions are also the cause for global warming’. Environment-friendly practices were observed significantly high among participants with adequate knowledge. Major (72%) source of learning about climate change was via internet. Conclusions: Our study found that major proportion of participants doesn’t have environment-friendly practices. However, the participants with adequate knowledge about climate change were observed to have more eco-friendly practices compared to participants with inadequate knowledge.

A lifelong process to learn new things is education which has a continuous focus on the learners. In the life as well as evolution of mankind, the education plays a significant role through the creation of knowledge, attitudes and awareness among the children as learners for the betterment and sustainable society. In the present study, different significant reasons for dropping out of education by the children in the province of Odisha in India were found through literature and experts’ opinions. Then, the “Step Wise Assessment and Ratio Analysis (SWARA)” method was utilized to rank these significant reasons based on their preferences.

Learner-centered sustainability education has been advocated to be used in higher education, but the pedagogy is blurry. In the discussions, also an idea of a learner-driven approach has been promoted. The aim of this study is to study how these pedagogies have been described and suggested to be used by a group of higher education students responsible for planning a teacher education course on sustainability education. This case study uses grounded theory to analyze the higher education students’ beliefs about learner-centered and learner-driven sustainability education. The data was obtained from audio-recordings of the planning process and two semi-structured interviews of five students acting as course designers. The course designers showed to have beliefs about the nature of learner-centered/learner-driven pedagogy, freedom, meaningfulness, acting and making an influence in the learning environment, the nature and ownership of sustainable development knowledge, the diversity of the learners, and pedagogical support. The results indicate that the learner-centered and learner-driven approach are fundamentally different in terms of all of the categories. In conclusion, it is suggested that the terminology concerning learner-centered and learner-driven approaches should be more precise, and sustainability education should be developed towards a more transformative, learner-driven education.

Transitioning from fossil to renewable energy is a global challenge, especially for countries with large fossil-fuel reserves and exports, such as Iran. This study analyses agricultural students’ knowledge of, attitudes toward, and perceptions of renewable energies in the agriculture sector in Guilan Province in Iran. The research was based on a structured questionnaire comprising three sections: (i) respondents’ socio-demographics; (ii) practicality and relevance of academic material and curriculum; and (iii) respondents’ knowledge of and attitudes and perceptions toward renewable energies in agriculture. The results showed that students’ attitudes regarding renewable energies ranked highest, and their perception was lowest. The results also showed a positive and significant relationship between the respondents’ knowledge, marital status, age, and level of education. Moreover, respondents’ age and educational level significantly impacted their attitudes. Cluster analysis divided students’ behavior into three different clusters. These clusters were most affected by attitude. In clustering students’ behavior towards using renewable energies, 38.5%, 33.5%, and 28% of respondents were positioned in the first, third, and second clusters, respectively. This is a pioneering study analyzing agricultural students’ behavior regarding renewable energies in agriculture in Guilan Province, Iran. The results of this study can assist agricultural organizations, politicians in the field of energy, and local authorities in promoting sustainable energy in Guilan Province.