Academic stress is becoming an alarming mental health problem in Pakistan. The study aims to explore the causes of academic stress in the undergraduate students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Qualitative exploratory research design is adopted for this study. Data is elicited through structured-interview guide from 80 students from different study programs at the University of Malakand. Findings of the study show that nearly all (96.25%) students experienced an academic stress. Further, main causes of academic stress mentioned by students include: the lack of time management (90%); the semester system and frequent exams (86%); high study load and lengthy syllabi (80%); financial constraints (78%); favouritism and discrimination (72%); ineffective teacher-student relationship (68%); conventional and multilingual teaching style (60%); family and parental expectations (56%); and difficulty in adjustment to the university environment (44%). This study concludes that academic stress can be curbed by revamping on the identified factors, establishment of effective counselling services, and other efficient coping strategies.

This study investigates the impact of corporal punishment on school students in Pakistan. The data was collected through a survey from N=250 students (96 females and 154 males) from government schools (n=109) and madrassas (n=141) in District Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study found that corporal punishment is rampant (83%) in schools and madrassas. The study reveals male students receiving more punishment and exhibiting higher levels of emotional adjustment, delinquency, and aggression with mean differences with t-value of 248= 4.92, p < .001; 0.87, p < .05; 3.67, p < .000 and 7.89, p < .001 than female students. Schools use more corporal punishment than madrassas, causing higher emotional adjustment for students, indicated by significant mean differences with a t-value of 248= 1.20, p < .003, and 3.18, p < .001. Madrassa students exhibited higher juvenile delinquency and aggression with mean differences with a t-value of 248=1.67, p < .095, and 9.90, p < .000 than school students. The predictor variables showed a positive correlation with the outcome variable (? = .034, t = .530, p < .01) and emotional adjustment (? = .388, t = 6.63, p < .001) for students.

This study aims to explore the drivers of the temporary migration of workers from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. Nearly two million Pakistanis work and live in Saudi Arabia; however, no such research has been conducted to study and configure their migration drivers. This research attempts to fill this gap. Data was qualitatively elicited from 90 workers in different cities of Saudi Arabia. The analysis depicts that a complex combination of the push-pull drivers such as poverty (96.66 %), un/employment (95 %), income/wage differentials (85%), family and peer pressure (80%), strong networks of relatives (76.66 %), desire to change the social status (68.33 %), turbulent environment (65 %), and religious affiliations and connectedness (95 %) provoke migration to Saudi Arabia. This study posits that the recent socioeconomic changes in Saudi Arabia, specifically the Saudization policy, quickly alter the economic migration inflow. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia will remain the top destination for religious migration.

Service-learning is an emerging pedagogical method generating effective outcomes. However, its long-term outcomes are contingent on plausible planning, realistic target designing, and pragmatic execution and implementation. This study, drawing on elementary school teachers’ views from the Punjab regions of Pakistan, attempts to explore the factors influencing service-learning implementation in the vocational field. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews from 30 teachers from different regions of the Punjab province who had participated in service-learning projects. Study samples were selected through the purposive sampling technique. Thematic analysis technique was used for data analysis. The analysis process included data coding, categorizing, and clustering the categories into themes. The findings showed that planning, training and orientation, student placement, duration, collaboration, and reflection were major influencing factors of service-learning implementation in vocational education in Pakistan.