Tong Zhou

Multicultural classrooms can be understood as complex adaptive learning environments in which cultural diversity, collaborative interaction, and systemic reasoning interact in non-linear ways. Although systems thinking, cooperative learning, and multicultural education have each received substantial scholarly attention, their intersections remain insufficiently synthesized. We conducted a scoping review of 120 empirical studies identified through searches of Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus, using a search window from January 1992 to June 2024. The earliest eligible empirical study was published in 2003. The review mapped publication trends, educational contexts, geographical distributions, teaching strategies, historical paradigms, and epistemological orientations in systems-thinking education. The findings identified 11 teaching-strategy categories, three analytical paradigms, and three epistemological orientations. Based on thematic coding, we developed the Integrative Systems Education Model (ISEM) as a heuristic framework rather than an empirically validated theory. The model identifies three proposed intersections: Cognitive Diversity Loops, Collaborative Resonance, and Nonlinear Innovation Paths. These constructs highlight how cultural epistemologies, collaborative interaction, and systems reasoning may become mutually related in complex learning environments, while also recognizing that such relationships may be moderated by facilitation quality, group composition, and cultural context. The review therefore positions ISEM as a provisional conceptual map that generates testable questions for future longitudinal, mixed-methods, and comparative research.

Background: Sports injuries not only impose periods of physical rest, but they can also provoke negative psychological responses, particularly fear, that can delay return to sport (RTS) and elevate reinjury risk. Although various instruments, including the Athlete Fear Avoidance Questionnaire (AFAQ) and the Fear of Return to Sport Scale (FRESS), are available to assess such fear-related factors, validated Simplified-Chinese versions have not yet been developed. Methods: This study conducted a systematic cross-cultural translation and psychometric validation of the AFAQ and the FRESS into Chinese (AFAQ-Ch and FRESS-Ch), following established international guidelines. Phase 1, which involved 30 athletes who had sustained an injury within the previous year (age: M = 20.6, SD = 2.4), comprised forward–backward translation, an expert panel review, and a face validity evaluation. Phase 2 assessed internal consistency, test–retest reliability, structural validity, and convergent validity among a larger sample of 204 Chinese injured athletes (age: M = 21.4, SD = 3.2), using the Simplified-Chinese Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (SC-TSK) and the Injury–Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport Scale (I-PRRS-Ch) as theoretically related comparison instruments. Results: Both the AFAQ-Ch and the FRESS-Ch demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.748 and 0.736, respectively) and acceptable test–retest reliability. The AFAQ-Ch showed good test–retest reliability, with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.855 (95% CI [0.790, 0.900], F[96, 96] = 12.759, p < .001), whereas the FRESS-Ch demonstrated moderate test–retest reliability, with an ICC of 0.729 (95% CI [0.620, 0.810], F[96, 96] = 6.372, p < .001). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the structural validity of the AFAQ-Ch and FRESS-Ch, with acceptable model fit for the AFAQ-Ch and generally acceptable fit for the FRESS-Ch. Evidence of convergent validity was demonstrated through significant correlations. A significant moderate positive correlation was observed between the AFAQ-Ch and the FRESS-Ch ( r = .484, p < .001). Conclusions: These findings indicate that the AFAQ-Ch and the FRESS-Ch can be reliably used in clinical and research settings to assess fear among Chinese-speaking athletes following injury.

While volunteerism is essential for the successful delivery of international sporting events, most motivation measures have been developed in Western contexts and lack validation in China. With China’s growing role as a host of such events, a culturally adapted and validated tool is needed to accurately capture volunteer motivations. The researchers translated the Volunteer Motivations Scale for International Sporting Events (VMS-ISE) into a Chinese version (VMS-ISE-Ch), which was then validated among Chinese volunteers at the Chengdu 2023 World University Games. This study consisted of three phases. In Phase I, the VMS-ISE underwent translation and cross-cultural adaptation. Phase II involved a pilot study that invited participants ( n = 30) who had volunteered at the 2022 Winter Olympics to assess the face validity of the VMS-ISE-Ch. In Phase III, the VMS-ISE-Ch was validated with volunteers from the Chengdu 2023 World University Games ( N = 1,195). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the scale met the criteria for internal consistency, composite reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The findings indicated that the VMS-ISE-Ch demonstrated a good model fit (comparative fit index [CFI] = .967, Tucker–Lewis index [TLI] = .963, and incremental fit index [IFI] = .967), establishing its reliability for assessing volunteer motivations at international sporting events. The VMS-ISE-Ch provides a practical tool for organizers to better understand volunteer motivations, optimize recruitment strategies, develop targeted training programs, and enhance volunteer engagement and satisfaction, thereby supporting the sustainability of international sports events.

Adolescent obesity is an urgent global public health challenge. Based on a survey dataset of 2,233 adolescents in Wuhan, China, this study integrated the Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT) with network analysis to examine nonlinear associations of objective built environments and the subjective perceived environment with obesity risk, and to characterize the network linking environmental, behavioral, and psychological factors. Destination accessibility and urban design features contributed substantially to obesity risk, with City center accessibility ranking second in importance. Both objective built environments and the subjective perceived environment exhibited pronounced nonlinear relationships with obesity risk, suggesting that linear assumptions may be inadequate. In the network model, Water Proximity Index, NDVI, physical activity, population density, and functional diversity emerged as central nodes, while sedentary behavior and mental health acted as bridges connecting environmental factors to obesity risk. Overall, adolescent obesity risk is not driven by a single environmental factor but shaped by synergistic effects of multidimensional environmental characteristics together with behavioral and psychological factors. Accordingly, policymakers and urban planning practitioners should optimize spatial layout and facility provision while also improving adolescents' environmental perception, and pursue reducing sedentary behavior, promoting physical activity, and enhancing mental health as synergistic goals to strengthen the effectiveness of adolescent obesity prevention and control.

Traditional sports and physical education programs often generate substantial carbon footprints through facility operation, equipment production, and activity-related energy consumption. While physical education offers unique opportunities for experiential environmental learning, limited research has examined how contextualized cooperative challenges specifically enhance pre-service teachers’ low-carbon awareness. This quasi-experimental study investigated whether situational cooperative environmental challenges within a low-carbon physical education program could more effectively develop environmental awareness compared to non-situational cooperative approaches. A pre–post quasi-experimental comparative design involved 143 Spanish pre-service teachers (ages 21–26, 58.9% female) from the University of Girona during 2022–2024. The Experimental Group (n = 104) received situational cooperative environmental challenges with 20 h of preparatory seminars, while the Control Group (n = 39) received traditional reciprocal teaching without preparatory training. Environmental awareness was assessed through reflective narrative portfolios. Despite significant baseline differences between groups, both demonstrated significant pre–post improvements (EG: 105% improvement; CG: 93% improvement). ANCOVA controlling for baseline differences confirmed EG’s superior performance, with a large effect size. The study provides preliminary evidence for integrating contextualized low-carbon concepts into physical education teacher preparation.