The Human Development Index, which accounts for both net foreign income and the total value of goods and services generated domestically, illustrates how income becomes less significant as Gross National Income (GNI) rises by using the logarithm of income. South Africa ranks 109th out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) within the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economic bloc, raising long-term sustainability concerns. The study explores the relationship between economic, demography, policy indicators and human development in South Africa. South Africa’s unique status as a developing country within the BRICS economic group, alongside its lengthy history of racial discrimination, calls for a sophisticated approach to understanding Human Development. Existing research considered economic, demography, policy indicators independently; the gap of understanding their interconnection and long-term effects in the South African contexts exists. The study addresses the gap by using Autoregressive-Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to investigate the short-term and the long-term relationship between economic, demography, policy indicators and human development in South Africa. By discovering these links, the study hopes to provide useful insights for policymakers seeking to promote sustainable human development in South Africa. The findings indicate that growth in GDP is a key factor in the HDI since it shows that there are more financial resources available for human development. By discovering these links, the study hopes to provide useful insights for policymakers seeking to promote sustainable human development in South Africa.

This study explores the impact of technology effectiveness, social development, and opportunities on higher education accessibility in Myanmar, focusing on private higher education institutions. Utilizing a sample of 199 respondents, with an average age of X (SD = Y), the research employs standardized questionnaires and descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis to examine the relationships between these variables. The findings indicate that technology effectiveness significantly enhances higher education accessibility, with strong positive correlations (r = 0.752, p < 0.001) and substantial impacts on educational outcomes (β = 0.334, p = 0.001). Social development also plays a crucial role, demonstrating that supportive social norms and community engagement significantly improve accessibility (β = 0.405, p < 0.001). Opportunities provided by technological advancements further contribute to enhanced accessibility (β = 0.356, p < 0.001), although socio-political and economic challenges pose significant barriers. The study highlights the interconnectedness of these factors and their collective influence on educational accessibility. Practical implications include the need for strategic investments in technological infrastructure, promotion of supportive social environments, and innovative solutions to leverage opportunities. Future research directions suggest longitudinal studies, broader demographic scopes, and in-depth analyses of specific technological and infrastructural challenges. By addressing these areas, stakeholders can develop effective strategies to improve higher education accessibility, ultimately contributing to the socio-economic development of Myanmar.

An extensive assessment index system was developed to evaluate the integration of industry and education in higher vocational education. The system was designed using panel data collected from 31 provinces in China between 2016 and 2022. The study utilized the entropy approach and coupled coordination degree model to examine the temporal and spatial changes in the level of growth of the integration of industry and education in higher vocational education, as well as the factors that impact it. In order to examine how the integration of industry and education in higher vocational education develops over time and space, as well as the factors that affect it, we utilized spatial phasic analysis, Tobit regression model, and Dagum’s Gini coefficient. The study’s findings suggest that between 2016 and 2022, the integration of industry and education in higher vocational education showed a consistent improvement in overall development. Nevertheless, there are still significant regional differences, with certain areas showing limited levels of integration, while the bulk of regions are either in a state of low integration with high clustering or low integration with low clustering. Most locations showed either a “low-high” or “low-low” level of agglomeration, indicating a significant degree of spatial concentration, with a clear trend of higher concentration in the east and lower concentration in the west. The progress of industrial structure and the degree of regional economic development have a substantial impact on the amount of integration of industry and education in higher vocational education. There is a notable increase in the amount of integration between industry and education in higher vocational education, which has a favorable effect. Conversely, the local employment rate has a substantial negative effect on this integration. Moreover, the direct influence of industrial structure optimization is restricted. The Gini coefficient of the development level of integration of industry and education in higher vocational education exhibits a slight rising trend. Simultaneously, there is a varying increase in the Gini coefficient inside the group and a decrease in the Gini coefficient between the groups. The disparities in the level of integration between Industry and Education in the provincial area primarily stem from inter-group variations across the locations. To promote the integration of industry and education in higher vocational education, it is recommended to strengthen policy support and resource allocation, address regional disparities, improve professional configuration, and increase investment in scientific and technological innovation and talent development.

Use of technologies and online presence is now almost inevitable in language learning. The practice of virtual exchanges (VEs) has been receiving a lot of attention among educators at all levels over the past years. This research paper sheds light on 13 VEs carried out in pre-service teacher education in the last six years and proposes its own VE design based on recommendations from the literature with the future perspective of designing a specific VE for the research. The aim of the systematic review was at first to determine the exchange and interaction set-ups and the potential gains in the terms of pre-service teachers’ skills development. Afterwards, we identified areas for improvement and proposed our design of a VE between pre-service teachers of English in Slovakia and Turkey. Some of the expected contributions of the proposed VE design are development of a linguistic and intercultural communicative competence, digital literacy, and other competences relevant for development of VEs.

In 2015, the newly built undergraduate colleges have accounted for half of the ordinary undergraduate colleges. Through the investigation, it is concluded that the newly built undergraduate colleges in Sichuan have the following commonalities in the transformation: the school positioning of "application-oriented"; The embodiment of the new university spirit of "serving local construction"; The talent training goal of "innovative and composite applied talents"; Flexible personnel training curriculum system.

The article addresses the issue of educational development policy in Ukraine: the main trends and ways, means, technologies of their implementation. It has been observed that educational policy is developing and changing under the influence of such factors as Russia’s military actions against our country, European integration and globalisation. It has been taken into account that globalisation trends in the world integration, according to which globalisation processes should be reflected not only in the foreign economic, political or technological spheres, but also, as a consequence, in the development of technologies for training future teachers. Integration of digital technologies in the educational process is one of the key tendencies in the modern educational policy in Ukraine. The characteristics of the most used technologies of augmented reality in the modern school of Ukraine have been outlined. The algorithm for displaying generalized information about a particular application was proposed, namely: payment, accessibility, language, system requirements; learning opportunities; practical value; website; video about the application. The model of the formation of future teachers’ skills to use augmented reality technologies in the process of natural sciences studying has been proposed. We consider it as a component of a holistic system of future teachers’ professional training. The conceptual basis for the development of the model is a multi-subject educational paradigm, which is considered to be open, self-developing and self-organizing, causing a fundamental change in the behavior and relationships of the educational process participants. The proposed model is implemented in the authors’ methodological system, which ensures the interconnected activities of all participants in the educational process. Its systemic factor is the goal of improving the quality of the future natural sciences teachers’ professional training by developing their skills in using AR technology. The end result is an increase in the level of future natural sciences teachers’ readiness to use AR technology in their professional activities.