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Editorial Volume 52 Issue 1 / Éditorial Volume 52 Numéro 1

Martha Cleveland-Innes

Education Intervention and Leadership / Intervention éducative et leadership

Hyeyung Park and Rob Fahlman
The aquaculture industry plays a crucial role in food security, employment, and economic development. However, the planned phase-out of open net-pen salmon farming brings significant challenges, including environmental concerns, economic uncertainty, and the need for regulatory adaptations. Indigenous communities, which are heavily reliant on aquaculture, face financial and technical constraints. Moreover, the absence of a dedicated postsecondary program in aquaculture management impairs sustainable business innovation. This study proposes a Bachelor of Management in Aquaculture (BMA) as an education intervention to tackle social and economic challenges. The BMA program combines business management, aquaculture operations, and Indigenous knowledge, equipping graduates with the strategic skills needed for sustainable aquaculture. Delivered through blended learning, the program promotes flexibility, accessibility, and collaboration within the industry. Guided by transformational leadership within a quintuple helix innovation model, this initiative emphasizes collective interaction among government, academia, Indigenous groups, industry, and the environment. By bridging knowledge gaps and promoting innovation, the BMA program represents a critical step toward strengthening the aquaculture sector, ensuring economic resilience, and fostering sustainable environmental stewardship. The study emphasizes the importance of education intervention and leadership to address social and economic problems.

Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools by Future Teachers

Ana González-Cervera, Jorge Burgueño-López and Belén Urosa-Sanz
This study analyses how pre-service teachers use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in academic contexts and their perceptions and practices regarding ethical use. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was applied to 136 teacher education students from a Spanish university using convenience sampling. A custom questionnaire comprised three sections: general AI usage frequency, usage in specific academic tasks, and a Likert scale assessing ethical perceptions. Findings indicate that AI tools are mostly used for content comprehension, academic writing, and exam preparation, while their application in time management, presentations, and research remains limited. Ethically, students mostly engage in responsible practices, though issues such as blind reliance or uncited use still emerge. The discussion highlights a partial and functionally restricted integration of AI, constrained by insufficient digital competence and limited ethical training. No significant differences were found by age, academic major, or year of study. The study concludes that targeted training programs are urgently needed to promote ethical AI literacy among future teachers, ensuring a critical, autonomous, and pedagogically sound integration of these tools in higher education.

Investigating Virtual Reality in Postsecondary Anatomy Education

Ashley A. Bernardo and Joanna C. MacDougall
The use of virtual reality (VR) in education is rapidly increasing, and research supports its potential to enhance student understanding, motivation, and satisfaction. This study examined the perceived value, helpfulness, and limitations of VR in a first-year postsecondary anatomy course. The course included weekly labs with anatomical models and integrated VR sessions using head-mounted devices and the anatomy software application 3D Organon. Eleven students completed an anonymous survey and participated in a focus group. Participants rated both VR and traditional lab materials as somewhat or very helpful, reporting improvements in understanding (n = 9), enjoyment (n = 8), and motivation (n = 6). Focus group feedback highlighted VR’s ease of use and its ability to provide interactive three-dimensional views beyond what physical models or flashcards offer. Disinfection procedures and ease of use were identified as potential challenges; side effects were minimal and may have been mitigated by following usage guidelines. The course professor noted that VR fostered a barrier-free environment and increased student confidence and collaboration. These findings support VR as a valuable complementary tool in education.

Online Professional Courses’ Impact on Teaching and Personal Growth

Richa Singh, Tara Menon and Subi Yoosuf
Online professional courses (OPCs) offer educators a flexible way to enhance their expertise and maintain teaching standards. The current study evaluates the significant role of OPCs in the professional lives of educators by analysing 62 participant responses obtained via an online survey. A notable proportion of 58.1% accessed OPCs through MOOC platforms, with 74.2% favouring subject-specific content. The motivators for OPC participation included professional development requirements, technological skill acquisition, teaching improvements, and personal growth. Post-OPC, educators reported substantial enhancements in topic delivery, technology utilization, and student engagement. Furthermore, chi-square tests of independence and Fisher's exact tests revealed notable improvements in soft skills, including a stronger growth mindset, increased confidence, enhanced problem-solving, greater adaptability, improved time management, and better communication. A significant association (p<.05) was observed between educators prioritizing teaching skills and trend awareness, and improved student engagement, adaptability, and problem-solving abilities. Participants who completed more OPCs demonstrated greater enthusiasm for self-directed learning and more effective topic delivery. The findings underscore the crucial role of OPCs in fostering educator development. The findings in this study suggest that the accessibility of self-paced, affordable online modules could encourage broader participation and contribute to improvements in teaching quality.

Apprentissage en ligne et développement professionnel des enseignants universitaires : une métasynthèse qualitative

Yassine Hadj Sadek and Adil Boulahoual
Professional development in higher education is a multidimensional process shaped by pedagogical, technological, and institutional conditions, in contexts marked by the expansion of digital teaching, blended learning, and the post-pandemic reorganization of higher education. Understanding how university teachers adapt their practices has become increasingly important. This qualitative meta-synthesis examines the experiences and perceptions reported in 24 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2025. The analysis identified six recurrent dynamics: transformation of pedagogical practices, technology acceptance and appropriation, the catalytic role of COVID-19, barriers to digital integration, professional learning and support needs, and the evolution of professional roles and identities. Beyond a descriptive review of barriers and enablers, the study proposes an interpretive framework that integrates technological acceptance, techno-pedagogical development, and institutional mediation across micro, meso, and macro levels. It also introduces the notion of a disruptive event to explain how periods of rupture may temporarily reshape the relative weight of professional, organizational, and technological factors in faculty development trajectories. The findings highlight the need for contextualized and sustained professional development strategies that combine pedagogical support, technological guidance, and institutional responsiveness.

Bridging Theory and Practice: A Scoping Review Examining Postsecondary Vocational Flipped Classrooms

Tracy Byers Reid and WanQi (Belinda) Jin
This scoping review explores flipped classroom (FC) instructional design strategies in postsecondary vocational education, specifically focusing on how they influence student engagement. As institutions increasingly adopt blended learning to address the evolving needs of adult learners, the FC model offers one approach by shifting foundational content delivery to pre‑class online activities and reserving in‑person sessions for interactive tasks that foster deeper engagement and active learning. Guided by Arksey and O'Malley’s (2005) scoping review framework, this review analyzed 18 peer‑reviewed sources published between April 2018 and February 2025. Findings reveal that effective FCs intentionally align online and in‑person components, using pre‑class materials to build foundational knowledge and in‑class activities to support higher‑order thinking. Engagement is most often conceptualized behaviourally and fostered through purposefully designed pre‑class content, in‑class collaboration, and ongoing instructor support. The review also identifies challenges such as students’ inconsistent pre‑class preparation and instructors’ need for pedagogical and technical skills. Gaps in the literature highlight limited research on assessment design and longitudinal FC implementation. This review highlights the need for ongoing research into targeted engagement strategies and offers practical guidance for educators and instructional designers aiming to bridge the gap between theory and practice in vocational FC contexts.