Background: Interactive learning environments have emerged as transformative tools in education, enhancing engagement, academic performance, and addressing challenges like learning anxiety. This study examines the influence of multiple variables, including anxiety, internet usage for problem-solving, attitude towards a history course, metacognitive awareness, and interactive learning environments, on seventh-grade students’ academic performance. Methods: Using the Exploration of Attitudes Towards History Scale (EDIS) scale to measure attitudes and the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory-Revised Two-Factor Version (MARSI-2fR) to assess metacognitive awareness, the study evaluated historical knowledge across three stages, namely pre-intervention, post-intervention, and a one-month-later retest. A comparative analysis was conducted between the control group and the intervention group. The statistical analyses involved the calculation of correlation coefficients, the implementation of general linear models, and the performance of Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results: The findings indicated that prior to the intervention, factors such as learning anxiety and the extratextual component of metacognition were statistically significant predictors of achievement. However, the aforementioned factors ceased to be statistically significant when the parameter of study strategies was incorporated into the statistical model. The impact of the interactive learning environment on students’ achievement is highly statistically significant in terms of post-test scores, while the influence of all other predictors becomes insignificant. The retest confirmed the continued maintenance of the achieved results as evaluated following the intervention. Conclusions: The study confirms previous research demonstrating that interactive learning environments are an effective method of enhancing students’ academic performance and reducing the negative impact of learning anxiety.

This article examines how a STEAM-based teaching intervention supported by Digital Learning Objects (DLOs) influenced primary school teachers’ preferences and attitudes toward ICT use in teaching. The intervention was designed based on the STEAM approach, implemented using the project method, and its activities focused on cultivating soft skills. The goal of the intervention was to familiarize teachers with a list of clearly defined characteristics of ICT-based teaching, which included three general characteristics: Grade level, Subject area of technology use, and the Interactive nature of digital resources; three teaching features of digital learning objects: Reusability, Generativity, and Adaptability; and four technical features of DLOs, namely Interoperability, Accessibility, Durability, and Interactivity. To explore the significance of these characteristics in primary school teachers’ choices to integrate digital resources into their teaching, Discrete Choice Models were employed to a sample of 102 participants. The analyses revealed a statistically significant increase in the influence of DLOs’ teaching and technical features on teachers’ preferences post-intervention. Regarding general characteristics, teachers continue to favor interactive resources, while differences between Subject areas disappear. Additionally, a UTAUT-based scale measured attitudes toward ICT, with Wilcoxon tests indicating significant improvements in four factors within the experimental group. The findings could inform the development of more suitable digital resources and targeted professional development programs for DLO integration. Moreover, the intervention’s methodology, structure, and content could serve as a model for future activities within Skills Workshops.

The current study explores the factors that influence teachers’ perception of the development of their own “teacher expertise” due to the distance teaching during lockdowns because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consists of 133 primary and secondary school teachers in Greece. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, hierarchical regression and correlation coefficients are used for the analyses of the data. The results show that teachers’ readiness regarding the use of software and hardware is positively correlated with a. teachers’ perception of students’ learning outcomes, b. cognitive and behavioural reaction to change for primary school teachers. Cognitive reaction to change and teachers’ perception of the students’ learning outcome, in turn, influence teachers’ perception about the development of their own “teacher expertise”. The importance of readiness and the cognitive reaction to changes in the teachers’ perception of the development of their “teacher expertise” highlights the need for continuous training of teachers in computer use and technology literacy.

Τhis study aims to discuss and analyze the reliability as well as construct the validity of the Attitudes of Young Children Parents Towards Animals Scale (PATAS) to be used in parents of preschool children. Data were obtained from eight hundred eighty-one parents of preschool children who participated in an educational program regarding pets. The initial model comprised four factors: Learning for and from animals (F1), Cruelty and stereotypes against animals (F2), Fears for children (F3), and Delinquency (F4). In the brief version of the scale, the factors proposed were Learning for and from animals (F1) and Cruelty and stereotypes against animals (F2). The PATAS presented satisfactory validity and reliability (internal consistency and reproducibility), allowing its use in parents. Results are discussed in terms of helping parents to promote positive changes in their approaches towards animals and influencing children to cultivate positive attitudes towards animals at the early stage of their development.

In this study, we apply a stated preference experiment and discrete choice modelling to examine Greek primary teachers’ preferences for reward and consequences strategies in supporting students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. We also investigate how these preferences differ based on teacher gender, educational attainment, and special education training. A total of 430 general and special education teachers completed 2,948 choice cards. Each card presented hypothetical scenarios combining five behavioural management attributes: verbal praise, responses to undesired behaviours, privilege removal, point-based systems, and tangible versus intangible rewards. Data were analysed using an alternative-specific conditional logit model. Verbal praise and intangible rewards (e.g., free time, token economies) received the highest preference ratings, while reprimands and privilege revocation were consistently disfavoured. Female teachers, those with postgraduate degrees, and special education trained educators assigned significantly greater utility to informational consequences and tangible rewards. Findings reveal a strong consensus among teachers in favour of positive reinforcement strategies and a reluctance to employ punitive measures. Professional development should emphasise reward-based techniques. Future research should link these stated preferences to actual classroom practices and student outcomes to assess their real-world effectiveness.