Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The Spanish education system is characterised by a high university dropout rate. This dropout rate can be reduced through the identification of its most important factors. This research focuses on bridging the dropping out factors with the students’ background before their admission to the Complutense University of Madrid. Our data analysis takes into account   of 12035 students who enrolled in the academic year 2017/8. Multilevel- logistic-regression techniques and decision trees have been applied in the search for answers. Fourteen independent variables have been  studied (such as the demographic, socioeconomic and academic background). Surprisingly, student’s dedication is the main factor affecting the dropout rate: a higher rate is observed in part-time students instead of those who have enrolled full-time. Other factors contributing to dropping out are the student’s perseverance, their age, the results achieved in their A-levels and the field of their studies. Generally, students dropping out from university are characterised by being enrolled part-time, mature students, not high A-levels results, and most of them are enrolled in degrees of the following fields: science, arts and humanities, engineering and architecture, and social sciences. To conclude, we show that the main factors linked to the dropping out of university are independent of the student’s college performance,  and only depend on student’s background-factors. Therefore, it is essential to develop preventive and diagnostic approaches to tackle this  issue.

Generic skills have gained increasing importance in the business world since 1973, and since the year 2000 in the area of higher education as well. Within this context the EHEA explicitly states that universities must educate both specific and generic skills. The education of specific skills has been well undertaken within the various courses of each degree program. However, the same cannot be said of generic skills. Currently at universities, these skills are developed indirectly through optional courses or complementary education activities (CEA). Thus, although the EHEA recognises the importance of learning these skills, the majority of universities do not offer specific courses for their  acquisition. This study proposes the creation of an obligatory and specific course, transversal to all university degrees, for the development of generic skills. The aim is to demonstrate that a structured and specific course on generic competences can be an important vehicle for their development. A valid  and reliable questionnaire on generic skills was designed and  administered  to 610 students, of whom 387 received specific training in generic skills and 223 of whom did not. The results confirm the hypothesis regarding the effectiveness of a specific course in significantly enhancing the acquisition of generic skills, both intrapersonal, dealing with personal growth and introspection, and interpersonal, dealing with communication and teamwork. Evidence shows that specific courses on generic competences are an effective means of developing these skills. Thus, study programs should be revised to ensure student acquisition of both competences, specific and generic, as recommended by the EHEA and the employment market.

The fundamental rights of hospitalized minors include the need to offer educational care, including emotional aspects during the situation of illness and convalescence. The guarantee of these rights from a perspective of hospital pedagogy accompanied by specialized professionals facilitates good practices. Currently the teaching of computational thinking and programming constitutes a new literacy that must be carried to all classrooms, including hospital classrooms. Literacy should involve learning about emotional regulation.                                                                                  This paper presents a case study on an educational intervention that is inclusive and adaptable to the characteristics of hospital classrooms for the teaching of computational thinking in a transversal way and programming without screens and robots, having the development of emotional competence as one of the important elements. The results indicate that the intervention improves the emotional state of the children, as well as their knowledge regarding computational  thinking.

This study proposes a change in perspective with regards to the educational model so that teacher-student interaction may be conducted in a bidirectional-dialectical manner. Teachers must be an innovative and intellectually challenge students through case resolution, encouraging them to ask questions, strengthening their oral skills and assess learning through argumentation as well as logical, rational and valid reasoning. Teachers should help students identify their errors instead of providing the correct answer immediately as soon as a student makes a mistake. Teachers should also expect student participation to be active.

Conditions related to how habitable classrooms were at a school in the commune of La Florida, Chile were analyzed and assessed. The purpose of the study is to measure how color and lighting impacts the performance of 3rd grade primary school students after minimal changes were made to classrooms. The study design was partially cross-sectional and correlational which facilitated collection of academic performance data to be collected so as to better understand the causal relationship between classroom color and learning. A prototype technique was used through which an actual classroom was remodeled and the results measured in two manners. Results were compared among students in the Math and Language class, before and after the classroom was remodeled. The same results of the students were compared in the remodeled classroom with students at the same grade level in a conventional classroom. The study revealed that an appropriate and focused complementary color combinations in the classroom help stimulate and improve student learning, in disadvantageous conditions where conventional classrooms cannot afford significant remodeling. Overall improvement in student learning requires classroom environments that incorporate elements to make classrooms more conducive to learning.

Encouraging healthy habits in schools through appropriate teaching strategies and resources  promotes good health. The objectives of this study are to instill correct hand washing techniques as a method of preventing foodborne illnesses and other diarrheal and respiratory diseases, strengthen daily hygiene practices at two schools in Cordoba, Argentina during a two-year period of 2016-2018, specifically  among pre-school and primary school levels, and, finally, develop educational materials on hand washing. Health promotion activities were conducted by five instructors and ten students from the National University of Córdoba. Each year, an assessment of the situation was made to introduce the teaching teams and agree on how the information would be presented while taking the school curriculum into account. Educational workshops were carried out with practical work in school restrooms to teach proper handwashing. During the 2016 and 2018 period, 504 students and 20 teachers from both schools attended the workshops. The outputs resulted in a children's book, dissemination posters and 32 examples of original artwork by children to be used as educational material which was exhibited at an event called, Night of the Museums  in 2018.  The workshops and outputs were readily accepted and considered appropriate by the school teachers. As a result, girls displayed better assimilation of hand washing after using the toilet more than boys. Yet, the number of students that acquired the habit was lower than expected. It was concluded, however, that schools are favorable environments to encourage and promote  healthy behaviors, but that more work is needed to continue to strengthen this practice.

The study for consideration shows the importance of problem-based learning that was developed under the quantitative approach, of quasi-experimental design, the objective was to verify the effects of the application of literal problem-based learning (ABP) in schoolchildren of the level Primary of the 4th grade of the Educational Institution of Peru. In order to know the effects of the ABP, the students of the experimental group were asked: challenges, curiosities, uncertainty about the phenomena or problems of daily life through the three units of the ABP, following the ten steps John Barell sequentially with the In order to motivate students to become involved in reading by looking for information that allows them to solve the challenges posed, while the control group developed their classes on a regular basis. The results obtained show that 74,07% of the students in the experimental group are at the outstanding achievement level, and 25,93% in the expected achievement compared to 14,81% of the control group who are at the expected achievement level and 85,2% in the two lower levels (process and onset), this comparison was evidenced by the Mann-Whitneya U test whose contrast results were p <0.05. Who allowed to affirm that the problem-based learning of John Barrel has a significant effect on literal understanding.

The essay describes the transcendence of Smart Schools and their impact on developing mental states of happiness. Schools are responsible for building social and creative surroundings through faculty and researchers and develop approaches so students can distance themselves from any inappropriate habits from past generations. Schools should also help contribute to various aspects of student life such as: help develop common sense as well as cognitive and social skills, strengthen interactions through cooperative learning and recreational strategies, develop thought  and systematize drills, strive to rebuild teacher-student relationships, connect their schools with external agents, appreciate the value of work and democratize school authority. These efforts all contribute to making schools smarter. It is important to state that schools that operate according to rigid structures either regarding their administration or teaching methodologies do not foster mental states among students that promote creativity and learning.

Initial and continuing education for teachers is an essential means for achieving quality teaching. Teacher training must include development of social-emotional competences that can be applied throughout their future teaching career. This study aims to assess how first and fourth year Education Majors perceive their own level of Emotional Intelligence (EI) ad Empathy and explore if there are any differences among other college majors. The sample used included 569 first- and fourth-year college students majoring in Preschool Education, Primary School Education, Medicine and Chemistry, who completed the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) Scale for IE assessment and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to assess empathy. A correlation and covariance analysis were undertaken. The main results regarding perceived levels of EI, reveal that Education Majors had higher levels of emotional attention upon entering college and that fourth year Education and Medical students had higher levels of emotional clarity and repair compared to first-year students. Education and Medical students showed higher levels of perceived empathic concern both upon entering college as well as at the end of their college careers. Yet, students majoring in Education, unlike students majoring in Medicine, did not show a higher level of perspective taking or empathic concern upon finishing their studies compared to first year students. In addition, personal distress levels were higher among Education and Chemistry majors. These results reflect the importance of changing Education Major curriculums to foster the development of empathic skills.  

This aim of this study is to understand how high school counselors (also referred to as head teachers) interpret educational policies in Chile, specifically through analysis and execution of PACE (Program for Assistance and Effective Access to Higher Education),  an affirmative action program that provides low-income students the possibility to continue their college education. Counselor subjectivity was highlighted as the basis to understanding how they help design, implement and assess educational policies and their participation in executing the  PACE program. The qualitative approach for this analysis was based on a case study that was developed, in-depth interviews and a focus group to collect data. Results show that the PACE program reflects educational policy that focuses on specific stakeholders within the educational community, seeking to subsidize social rights without altering the structure of the educational system. The program is also characterized by the low level of involvement of the counselors despite the pivotal role they carry out in the student´s journey through high school to college.