Editorial - VARIA Issue

The third issue of volume fifteen of the CEPS Journal is not a focus issue.It is devoted to thematically diverse papers by 31 authors from six different countries: Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Croatia and Slovenia.The papers discuss various educational areas, including science education, arts education, preschool teacher education, educational psychology, pedagogy and educational leadership practices, reflecting the broad scope of research in education.The CEPSj issue concludes with a book review.Recent research in education emphasises the complexity of learning, development and leadership across different educational levels and disciplines.Studies examining student goals suggest that choices made in upper secondary education have a strong influence on higher education goals, highlighting the importance of timely and well-informed guidance during critical transitions.Research on science literacy and scientific creativity in primary school students indicates gaps in procedural knowledge but also shows that integrating the arts into STEM curricula can promote problem solving and creative thinking.In arts and music education, experiential learning is proving to be key, and activities such as remodelling artworks, providing inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities, and engaging students in distance learning -especially during a pandemic -have been shown to promote deeper understanding and motivation, with digital tools and the home environment playing an important role.Teachers' beliefs and professional practices are critical to promoting developmentally appropriate teaching, while targeted professional development can improve the implementation of adequate teaching approaches.In higher education, distance education in emergencies raises ethical and practical challenges related to equity, quality and assessment.Finally, research on academic leadership shows that personality traits, particularly conscientiousness and openness, significantly predict effective leadership practices.Taken together, these studies underscore the interplay of student competencies, teacher beliefs, instructional design, learning environments and leadership in shaping educational outcomes, providing important evidence for policy, curriculum development and teacher education.The first paper in this issue, Examining the Dynamic Nature of Pupils' Educational Aspirations: A Longitudinal Mixed-Model Study by Boris Joki and Zrinka Risti Dedi, describes the results of a fully integrated longitudinal mixedmodel study examining the nature of changes in, and interaction between, the upper secondary and higher education aspirations of Croatian pupils.The results indicate significant changes in upper secondary aspirations and stable higher education aspirations over time.Qualitative analyses indicate five patterns of