Internationalisation of the Curriculum in Minority Higher Education in Slovakia: A Critical Case from J. Selye University

Internationalization of the curriculum in teacher education in Türkiye: Evidence from course syllabi at high‐ranking public universities

This article examines how internationalization is documented in the formal curriculum of undergraduate teacher education in selected high‐ranking public universities in Türkiye. Drawing on internationalization of the curriculum and internationalization at home, it reports a qualitative document analysis of 20 course syllabi purposively selected from public universities in the Research, QS and THE strata. Using deductive content analysis, the study coded each syllabus against six indicators covering international literature, intercultural or global learning outcomes, global frameworks, language of instruction, mobility or virtual collaboration, and inclusive or multicultural emphasis. The findings indicate that internationalization is present in the documented curriculum, but in limited and uneven ways. Eleven of the 20 syllabi contained at least one indicator, yet most included only a single element. Traces appeared more often in some Content Knowledge and General Culture courses than in Pedagogical Knowledge, while cross‐stratum differences remained modest and descriptive. No syllabus documented mobility, COIL or other forms of international collaboration. Overall, the study suggests that, in this sample, internationalization appears less as a clearly structured curricular pattern than as a scattered set of traces across individual course documents.

Curriculum Co-Creation in Vocational Higher Education: a Case Study From a Micro Higher Education Institution

Student engagement and ownership are persistent challenges in higher education (HE), particularly in small, vocationally led institutions. This study investigates how curriculum co-creation can address these challenges within a United Kingdom (UK) micro higher education institution (HEI) specialising in live events education. The institution has a diverse student body, comprising a high proportion of neurodivergent and non-traditional learners. Students reported limited influence over curriculum decisions and a sense of tokenism in existing feedback mechanisms.Eleven undergraduate students participated in semi-structured interviews, analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2022) reflexive thematic analysis. Findings revealed a strong interest in co-creation, with students identifying benefits such as increased motivation, confidence and a sense of community. Participants also highlighted the need for clear structures, scaffolding and inclusivity, alongside concerns about academic standards and readiness.The study emphasises the importance of staged implementation, dialogue-based feedback and harnessing relational strengths in small cohorts. It contributes to the literature by providing insights from a vocational micro HEI – an under-represented context – and offers practical recommendations for institutions seeking to move from consultation to genuine partnership in curriculum design.

Theoretical and methodological approaches to gamification in the personnel training system: domestic and foreign experience

This paper offers a theoretical examination of gamification as a systemic trend in higher education, with a specific focus on managerial training for the consumer cooperative sector. Drawing on a comparative analysis of international pedagogical models-ranging from German digital didactic labs and U.S. Web 2.0 transnational learning to Spanish ICT-enhanced motivation studies-the study conceptualizes gamification as a multi-level, hierarchically embedded phenomenon. An experimental project, conducted in collaboration with business partners, included a survey among faculty and students, revealing a pronounced conceptual gap between the acknowledged importance of game-based learning and its inconsistent classroom application. The findings highlight significant structural barriers, notably time scarcity and excessive teaching loads, alongside a generational perception divide: digital-native students (generations Y and Z) perceive gamified activities as far more sporadic than their instructors (generation X) believe. Theoretically, the paper refines the terminological framework of gamification within cooperative education and argues that its current fragmented deployment fails to unlock the full potential for developing both soft and hard skills. The sustained student demand for business games and case-based formats underscores the need to move from isolated gamified elements towards a coherent, technology-enhanced ludic pedagogy. The study contributes to the discourse on digital didactics by outlining a structured pathway for integrating game mechanics into university-wide management training, emphasizing faculty motivation, methodological advancement, and cross-institutional dissemination of best practices.

Inquiry-Based Learning in the New Greek Primary Science Curriculum: A Critical Reading of Policy Design and Implementation Conditions

This paper offers a critical, comparative reading of the new Greek primary science curriculum, promulgated through the Official Government Gazette of the Hellenic Republic and enacted in the 2024 school year, which adopts inquiry-based learning (IBL) as its organising principle. Drawing on the documentary record of the reform and on the recent body of scholarship produced by members of the design team, the paper sets the curriculum within the comparative European literature on inquiry implementation and the policy-mobility framework of Rizvi and Lingard. The analysis identifies three structural faultlines along which the gap between intended design and classroom enactment is most likely to open: the limited capacity of in-service teacher professional learning, the persistence of summative assessment cultures, and the uneven distribution of material and digital infrastructure. The paper argues that the curriculum is conceptually coherent with European competence frameworks, but that the institutional conditions for its sustained enactment are only partially in place. The Greek case is presented not as a model of completed reform but as a productive instance of the vernacularisation of global IBL discourse within a centralised, examination-oriented system, with implications for comparative curriculum scholarship.

Research and Development in Higher Education: Reshaping Higher Education Volume 33

Challenging Neoliberal Tertiary Education Systems in Aotearoa New Zealand Through Pacific-Centred Pedagogical Strategies

This article explores the contours and constraints of Aotearoa New Zealand’s neoliberal tertiary education system and presents Pacific-centred strategies for teaching social work which contradict, and yet can be deployed within, this system. A critical analysis of neoliberal ideology, discourse, and managerial practice as it plays out in the tertiary education space is followed by an articulation of Pacific values and worldviews which sit uneasily in this context. Drawing primarily on their experiences teaching social work at the bachelor’s level within a large Polytechnic in Auckland (Unitec Institute of Technology), the two main authors of this article identify pedagogical strategies which are not only culturally appropriate for a student body that includes a significant number of Indigenous students, but also aligned with social work principles and values. The authors argue that teaching approaches aligned with Pacific ways of being can serve as a counterbalance to the larger economic and social policy contexts which structure contemporary educational settings in Aotearoa, and act as a form of counter hegemony in relation to pervasive neoliberal discourses.