Current Issues in Education

I am honored to introduce Volume 24, Issue 1 of Current Issues in Education. 

This year, CIE is celebrating 25 years as a student-led, open-access journal! The celebration of this milestone serves as a reminder of the vital role student-led journals play in providing hands-on experiences for graduate students in publishing, editing, and contributing to the field. Over the past 25 years, student editors like myself and everyone else on the editorial board have published issues featuring articles on wide-ranging topics, from innovative student engagement strategies to critical discussions on foundational concepts of teaching and learning. This experience has been transformative in preparing us for academic careers through experiential learning opportunities. 

This anniversary also provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the progress made and the work that still needs to be done to advance the quality of education for everyone. CIE’s continued commitment to being open access ensures that its articles and insights reach a wide audience, fostering greater collaboration and dialogue in the field of education. This issue is no exception. The articles in this issue are a collection of insightful and thought-provoking articles that delve into the complex and multifaceted nature of the international education landscape. The articles highlight important research that seeks to challenge conventional thinking, provoke dialogue, and provide practical insights into critical educational issues.

The first article, "Not motivated but frustrated": Preservice Teachers’ Career Choice Motivations and Professional Identity in an African Context, written by Adaobiagu Obiagu at the University of Nigeria, examines the career choice motivations and professional identity of preservice teachers in Nigeria. Through a narrative research method, the study sheds light on the factors that influence the choice of teaching as a profession and the development of teacher professional identity. This research provides crucial insights into the development of social education teacher pedagogy and ethics training programs in developing contexts.

The second article, TeleNGAGE: Enhancing Collaboration Between Families and Schools, written by Katherine Curry and colleagues at Oklahoma State University, explores the potential of TeleNGAGE, a new ECHO® line, in facilitating engagement between families and schools. The study uses a qualitative case study approach and the lens of Communities of Practice (CoP) to examine how relationships between families and schools change due to participation in TeleNGAGE. The findings promote a shift in perspectives and practices in equitable family engagement.

The third article, Complementary Medicine in the Classroom: Is it Science?, by Frank Trocco at Lesley University, provides a strategy for teaching complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the classroom. This essay demonstrates how educators can use inquiry-based constructivist pedagogy to enhance students' critical reflection skills when examining controversial and polarizing medical topics. By incorporating hands-on CAM experiments in the classroom, students can deepen their learning and better understand the complex nature of medical knowledge.

Derek Thurber
Assistant Editor, on behalf of the CIE Editorial Team