Scientific journals play a critical role in disseminating knowledge, and staying up to date with research findings in a particular field can be challenging given the vast number of journals and research topics available. Therefore, there is a need for researchers to occasionally summarize the main research topics in order to help fellow researchers navigate the contents more effectively. In this context, this article aims to review the research topics published in the Problems of Education in the 21st Century journal between 2018 and 2022. A total of 285 abstracts were retrieved from the Web of Science database and analyzed to identify the most common research topics and the contributing countries. The top 10 research topics identified were self-efficacy, distance education, professional development, critical thinking, foreign language, thinking skills, Covid-19, academic achievement, emotional intelligence, and special education. The authors of the papers came from 62 countries, with most of the papers coming from Türkiye, South Africa, Indonesia, Brazil, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Sweden, Lithuania, and Serbia. In conclusion, this study highlights the relevance and diversity of research topics in the Problems of Education in the 21st Century journal, underscoring the need for a nuanced, context-specific approach to education research. The findings of this study have important implications for researchers, policymakers, and educators seeking to address the key challenges and opportunities facing education in the 21st century. Keywords: content analysis, scientific journals, Problems of Education in the 21st Century, research topics

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to measure students’ knowledge and skills needed for today’s society. PISA is a large-scale assessment of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science. In this analysis of PISA data from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH), we examined the relationship between gender, mathematics achievement, and perceived meaning in life in BIH students. The sample for this analysis comprised 6480 students (3148 females and 3332 males). The results of the analysis revealed a small but statistically significant, negative relationship between mathematics and the student’s perception of the meaning in life. Boys achieved higher scores in mathematics than girls, but the difference was relatively small. In addition, boys’ rating of meaning in life was higher than that of girls. Knowing what factors influence mathematical achievement might help educators create better intervention programs. In conclusion, we provided some possible explanations for these data.

Introduction: Adolescence is characterised as a period of further development and maturation of higher executive functions (EF). It is well established that EF play an important role in social skills and academic competence of typically developing adolescents. Purpose: The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between executive functions (EF) and academic competency and social skills in adolescents with a mild intellectual disability. In particular, we were interested to examine which EF have the greatest impact on social skills and academic competency. Methods: EF were measured with the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF), and social and academic competences were measured with the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). The sample for this study consisted of 44 adolescents with mild intellectual disability aged 15-18 years old (mean age 16.7 years, SD1.4). Results: The results of this study clearly pointed to the strong relationship between these constructs. Of all EF, planning had the strongest impact on academic success, and monitoring had the strongest impact on social skills. Conclusion: EF are susceptible to training effects, we thus propose early interventions in these domains in order to increase the social and academic competence of persons with an intellectual disability.

Learning to read is one of the most important academic accomplishments in the early grades of elementary school. Knowing what factors contribute to reading ability would improve instructional practices. The goal of the present study was to examine the effects of semantic fluency, phonological fluency, rapid naming, inhibitory control, selective attention, and visual motor integration on reading fluency in 140 second and third grade students. The results of this study indicated that significant predictors of reading fluency were: selective attention, semantic fluency, inhibitory control, and rapid naming. However, the association between predictor variables and reading fluency was moderated by the students’ grade. The article concludes with some suggestions on how to improve reading fluency in elementary school children, given that all predictors are susceptible to instruction.