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

Este nuevo número de Cuadernos de Investigación Educativa recoge aportes de diversos contextos y ámbitos, que esperamos sean de interés para investigadores, tomadores de decisiones, docentes y estudiantes comprometidos con el estudio de la realidad educativa.

This work is dedicated to the study of immigration of extra-peninsular origin established in the colony of Barcino from the analysis of epigraphic documents. We will study elements such as the regions and cities of origin of these immigrants, their occupations, the causes that generated their mobility and the role they played in Barcino after their settlement in the city. Chronologically, our contribution is centered on the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

The initial training of secondary school teachers in Uruguay includes activities of observation and didactic analysis of classrooms in educational centers of this level, in face-to-face and mainly individual modalities. With the objective of enhancing and diversifying this training, the ongoing research proposed to make visible the perceptions of teachers and students, and to analyze the levels of reflection achieved, through the observation of lessons filmed in 360°, as well as the incorporation of class works that are asynchronous, virtual, interdisciplinary and in groups. The methodology was based on a qualitative design. It included six quasi-experimental instances where students (n = 61) were distributed in six groups, oriented by one or several teaching trainers (n = 8), and performed observation and didactic analysis of the film units in 360°. Data were collected through non-participant observation of quasi-experimental instances, content analysis of forums, e-mails and documents with student productions, as well as 39 surveys and 8 in-depth interviews to students and trainers. Both trainers and students that participated in this research favorably valued the resource as a complement to the current training modality, and expressed that it promotes didactic analysis and reflection. The film units fit the trainers’ targets, the various work modalities and the diverse ways of learning. They found that both flexibility of training time and collaboration were fostered. Various levels of reflection were reached, although the deepest level was not attained. It is necessary to complete the study to understand the reasons for it. A website with an open repository with the film units (http://recyreap.cfe.edu.uy) was created, and a number of protocols designed by the team, which could serve as a guide for didactic analysis and reflection, are also offered.

This research analyzes the development of motivation among eight-grade students at a public secondary school in Costa Rica in Plastic Arts classroom, through the implementation of an educational program based on Cooperative Learning (AC) (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1994). The Academic Motivation Scale (EMA) (Manassero & Vázquez, 2000) was adapted and validated to determine the Motivation (M) among these students. Qualitative techniques such as questionnaires and observation were used to collect information, so as to make evident the different aspects of Motivation. The population under study consisted of eight-grade students, ranging from ages 13 to 15, divided in two groups: a study group and a control group. It was concluded that motivation development was improved in the experimental group with the intervention of cooperative learning strategies from a qualitative approach. However, quantitative methods for collecting information did not contribute with statistically significant evidence in favor of the study group, because the instrument was not sensitive to the passing of time. Therefore, this scale is not recommended for studies of experimental longitudinal design. 

In order to face the challenges towards a knowledge society, teachers need the use of instruments to identify and be aware of their interventions in the classrooms, for students to develop metacognitive skills. This will allow them to learn through their life and to face, in a competitive and autonomous way, situations they may encounter. This will be possible if strategies oriented to knowledge and regulation of their own cognition were implemented in the classrooms. Considering the above, the aim of this article is to present about and validate the instrument known as Teaching Intervention Scale Oriented to Promote Metacognition in the Classroom [in Spanish EIDOPMA, from the initials of  Escala de Intervención Docente Orientada a Promover la Metacognición en el Aula]. The purpose of this instrument is to help teachers to identify and lead the actions they carry out towards the development of metacognition in their students. In order to fulfill the objective, the following six stages were implemented: 1) revision of existing instruments to get a diagnosis on the use and promotion of metacognitive strategies; 2) design and construction of the instrument based on a Likert type scale; 3) revision and improvement of the instrument by a group of three experts; 4) content validation by a group of 13 expert judges in the field; 5) application of the instrument to a pilot group consisting of 12 teachers; and 6) final improvement of the instrument based on the judges’ suggestions and assessment. Main results for these phases were: the instrument was approved by the experts; contents were validated by expert judges with Aiken’s V value for all items over 0.8 for relevance and wording criteria; good level of understanding of instructions and items was reached, as well as good satisfaction regarding the instrument by the pilot group. Conclusion: these results indicate that the instrument developed may be considered relevant and valid to identify and lead teachers’ intervention for metacognition development in the classroom.

The improvement of the quality of education has been one of the issues the Uruguayan academic community has put most effort into. However, the learning outcomes from students bear little relation with the efforts devoted. Today, the traditional schools fail to meet the students' expectations and thence learners lose motivation in the classroom. The objective of the present research is to analyze the influence of the Workshop format on both motivation and improvement of learning achievements by elementary students. A mixed methodology was implemented with a sequential comparative approach on a population of 172 students from grades 4-6, ranging from ages 10 to 14, at two schools in the locality of Paysandú (Uruguay). A quasi-experimental design was implemented: a control group with which traditional pedagogical methodologies were used and an experimental one, with the innovation of Workshop format. Students were subjected to two tests: a Comprehensive Study Diagnosis (DIE I) and an Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS), while teachers were subjected to a Dilemmas Questionnaire on Teaching and Learning and an Analysis of printed documents. The conclusion was that the children's active participation in game-like scenarios improves their attitude towards study and, at the same time, has a boosting effect on their motivation. Furthermore, the former facilitates the self-regulation process and optimizes school performance. Therefore, there is a clear need for redesigning the traditional school formats. Conceived as an experience that goes beyond the linear model, the new format organizes time and space universally, promoting the encounter and the exchange of knowledge. Besides, this new format has good impact on teachers too, who must organize their teaching practices with a more creative configuration to meet the real needs of their students.

Taking into account that the subjective well-being of children and teenagers has gained an important place in the educational field, this article analyzes their level of satisfaction as regards school experience, educational quality and perceived support from teachers and family. Using a model of structural equations with data obtained from the Human Development Survey in Boys, Girls and Teenagers conducted by UNDP, we found that the feeling of school satisfaction is strongly connected with participation and feeling of safety at school. Moreover, the perceived support from teachers and parents reinforces the conditions of educability and skills to face academic and social challenges. School satisfaction as an expression of subjective well-being would be the result of a dynamic balance among school, pedagogical and family resources. The important thing is, not only to be part of a certain place, but also to be able to collaborate and build up a pleasant environment where to live and feel emotionally safe.

The General Education Law (N° 18.437) passed in 2008 drove important institutional changes in the sphere of Higher Education (HE). New projects emerged regarding the area of evaluation, such as the creation of the National Institute of Educational Evaluation, or the recent creation of the National Institute of Accreditation and Evaluation of Tertiary Education. Given these precedents, the discussion about dimensions and indicators for the evaluation of HE from a systemic viewpoint is more than relevant, having elapsed a decade since the onset of this process. In this sense, departing from a literature review on topics related to HE, we propose seven dimensions to address an evaluation of HE from a systemic perspective. These include: institutional designs, territorial issues that are gaining more attention due to the decentralization process in the higher education policy, socio-demographic aspects, characteristics of the educational process, curriculum issues, budgetary structure, and a growing process of internationalization. Through examination of institutional reports and laws, among others, we describe these seven dimensions for the Uruguayan case. Since the process of institutional diversification experienced in HE implied the development of particular strategies by the different institutions, we consider that the biggest challenge relies in achieving consensus between the system institutions in order to move up towards the evaluation of the above mentioned dimensions.

The diverse strategies that teachers implement in the classroom have as fundamental purpose the meaningful learning of their students. One of them is the formulation of questions, a pedagogical strategy that allows not only the learning of contents, but also the reflection in the classroom. This reflection arises from the first years of teacher training. In this context, this article presents an empirical study in which 40 preservice teachers from a University of the Biobío Region, Chile, participated. The general objective was to analyze the importance of the question as a didactic and reflection strategy for teachers in language training, through a questionnaire of open and closed questions. The methodology used considered both a qualitative and quantitative analysis, with a descriptive approach. The results show that the questions empower teachers in training the skills of arguing and explaining, essential skills in teaching practices. In turn, the question manifests itself as a strategy based on a bidirectional relationship, directly associated with systematic reflection and the acquisition of new meaningful learning for academic training. The use of this strategy in the classroom strengthens a critical attitude and encourages self-learning of students, fundamental aspects for the establishment of permanent knowledge over time.

This article analyzes experiences of didactic transposition, as a creative expression of the pedagogical practice carried out by Chilean university academics. A quantitative approach of a descriptive and analytical nature was conducted to a purposive sample of 59 teachers from three Chilean regional universities, to whom a pattern of class observation was applied during the period 2014-2015. The results indicate that there are two aspects of creativity that are expressed in the didactic transposition: the use of innovative didactic resources and the relationship they establish between their teaching and the field matters or future profession of students. It is concluded that in their didactics teachers use creative processes, as they seek innovation, while in the assessment of learning, the trend is reproductive, due to the requirement of the current curricular framework.