This study explores the interplay and close cooperation gap between universities, schools, enterprises, policymakers, and wider society for the joint development of actions for CCSE ‘Climate Change and Sustainability Education’. We argue that CCSE, as the integration of sustainability and eco-consciousness at all educational levels, should empower learners by providing competences to identify issues and responsible actions to shape a liveable planet for all. Underpinned by the CARE-KNOW-DO theoretical principles, we explore CCSE issues and provide a novel foundation for a new education movement to combine strategies, initiatives, and interventions towards learning ecologies. Findings of our Delphi Study with 27 expert academics, practitioners, entrepreneurs, and policymakers of the UK Green-Forum presents seven recommendations to tackle the CCSE’s challenges: 1. Promote flexible real-context curriculum; 2. Foster cross-curricular practices with teachers’ training; 3. Establish CCSE definition with benchmarks including skills and qualifications; 4. Enhance learners’ agency through the cooperation of stakeholders and organisations; 5. Raise students’ passion for nature with a hopeful curriculum; 6. Increase green careers awareness through education, and 7. Implement tangible curriculum through policy-change with equity, diversity and inclusion. We present 60 green-initiatives and 33 green-skills for the CCSE, for empowering students to CARE-KNOW-DO actions towards a sustainable world with green-careers, green-lives, and green-societies.

Authenticating the students’ identity and authenticity of their work is increasingly important to reduce academic malpractices and for quality assurance purposes in Education. There is a growing body of research about technological innovations to combat cheating and plagiarism. However, the literature is very limited on the impact of e‐authentication systems across distinctive end‐users because it is not a widespread practice at the moment. A considerable gap is to understand whether the use of e‐authentication systems would increase trust on e‐assessment, and to extend, whether students’ acceptance would vary across gender, age and previous experiences. This study aims to shed light on this area by examining the attitudes and experiences of 328 students who used an authentication system known as adaptive trust‐based e‐assessment system for learning (TeSLA) . Evidence from mixed‐method analysis suggests a broadly positive acceptance of these e‐authentication technologies by distance education students. However, significant differences in the students’ responses indicated, for instance, that men were less concerned about providing personal data than women; middle‐aged participants were more aware of the nuances of cheating and plagiarism; while younger students were more likely to reject e‐authentication, considerably due to data privacy and security and students with disabilities due to concerns about their special needs.

This study breaks new ground in educational theory by empirically validating how artificial intelligence (AI) competencies emerge through social learning ecosystems in underserved communities. Through an innovative cross-national mixed-methods design, we examined 330 secondary school students across the UK, Greece, and Brazil who developed AI competencies while addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through open schooling initiatives. Our theoretical innovation synthesises UNESCO's AI Competencies Framework with the CARE-KNOW-DO pedagogical model, generating transformative insights into AI literacy. We conceptualise AI literacy as a dynamic interplay of understanding, applying, and creating AI through social practice, where learners develop ethical awareness (CARE), epistemic-technical competence (KNOW), and responsible agency (DO) within authentic learning ecosystems. Employing a concurrent triangulation methodology of teaching and learning, we collected comprehensive longitudinal data through teacher ethnographic accounts, student self-assessments, STEM researchers’ observations and granular analysis of AI-enabled project work over a year. This robust methodological approach revealed seven dimensions of AI-supported competency linked to transversal skills development across three distinct but interrelated domains. CARE (Understanding AI) highlights how proactive exploration and affective engagement emerge socially. KNOW (Applying AI) demonstrates how problem-solving, STEM for sustainability, and future prospects become embodied through application. DO (Creating AI) reveals how scientific citizenship and authentic learning with AI catalyse new forms of participation. This research advances sociocultural learning theory in three significant ways: (1) it empirically explicates how AI competencies develop through social practice in underserved communities, challenging existing theoretical paradigms; (2) it provides a comprehensive, evidence-based framework for equitable AI education integration across disciplines; and (3) it demonstrates how open schooling methodologies can foster transformative learning experiences that prepare students for an AI-driven future while promoting social justice and sustainable development. The findings have profound implications for educational policy and practice, suggesting a fundamental reconceptualization of AI literacy development in secondary education. This work establishes a new theoretical foundation for understanding how schools can systematically develop AI competencies while addressing critical issues of equity, inclusion, and sustainable development in an increasingly AI-mediated world.

Checking the identity of students and authorship of their online submissions is a major concern in Higher Education due to the increasing amount of plagiarism and cheating using the Internet. The literature on the effects of e‐authentication systems for teaching staff is very limited because it is a novel procedure for them. A considerable gap is to understand teaching staff' views regarding the use of e‐authentication instruments and how they impact trust in e‐assessment. This mixed‐method study examines the concerns and practices of 108 teaching staff who used the TeSLA— Adaptive Trust‐based e‐Assessment System in six countries: the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Finland and Turkey. The findings revealed some technological, organisational and pedagogical issues related to accessibility, security, privacy and e‐assessment design and feedback. Recommendations are to provide a FAQ and an audit report with results, to raise awareness about data security and privacy, to develop policies and guidelines about fraud detection and prevention, e‐assessment best practices and course team support.

Understanding components that influence students’ enjoyment of distance higher education is increasingly important to enhance academic performance and retention. Although there is a growing body of research about students’ engagement with online learning, a research gap exists concerning whether fun affect students’ enjoyment. A contributing factor to this situation is that the meaning of fun in learning is unclear, and its possible role is controversial. This research is original in examining students’ views about fun and online learning, and influential components and connections. This study investigated the beliefs and attitudes of a sample of 551 distance education students including pre-services and in-service teachers, consultants and education professionals using a mixed-method approach. Quantitative and Qualitative data were generated through a self-reflective instrument during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings revealed that 88.77% of participants valued fun in online learning; linked to well-being, motivation and performance. However, 16.66% mentioned that fun within online learning could take the focus off their studies and result in distraction or loss of time. Principal component analysis revealed three groups of students who found (1) fun relevant in socio-constructivist learning (2) no fun in traditional transmissive learning and (3) disturbing fun in constructivist learning. This study also provides key recommendations extracted from participants’ views supported by consensual review for course teams, teaching staff and students to enhance online learning experiences with enjoyment and fun.

This large cross-national study investigates the development of transversal skills in the context of open schooling—an educational approach integrating schools, universities, and communities to address real-world challenges—through the CARE-KNOW-DO framework. Utilising a mixed-methods approach across five countries, this research employs a novel validated self-report instrument to evaluate the perceptions of 12,074 underserved students concerning their learning experiences in open schooling environments. An exploratory factor analysis enabled us to explore quantitative insight into students’ skill development, while thematic analysis of 20 teachers’ reports contributed qualitative depth. The study identified six critical transversal skills: self-initiative, problem-solving, emotional engagement, scientific citizenship, authentic learning, and future prospects. Significant geographic, gender, and age-related variations were found, with notable disparities in skill perceptions among nonbinary students, indicating the need for more inclusive educational support. All countries showed high levels of perceived transversal skills, with 83% of Greek and 80% of Brazilian students leading, compared to 64% in Romania and the UK, and 62% in Spain. Trends suggest secondary students exhibit stronger global citizenship and authentic learning, although they report less confidence in problem-solving and self-initiative than their primary counterparts. These findings, viewed alongside 12 teaching competencies revealed through thematic analysis, underscore the effectiveness of open schooling, which is underexplored, in fostering key skills and call for pedagogical innovations that integrate real-life issues into the curriculum. The study contributes to Agenda 2030—quality of education by demonstrating the real-world applicability of the CARE-KNOW-DO framework for educational practice and policy towards equity and sustainability. Our comparative analysis of transversal skill development across diverse student populations, as well as teaching competencies, further advances the discourse on improving 21st-century education.