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

Different levels of physical activity were observed during recess among students at six public schools in the Costa Rican province of Heredia and recorded according to sex, school semester and schedule. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using the System for Observing Play and Leisure Activities (SOPLAY) in a sample group of 1098 schoolchildren. A descriptive and a non-parametric analysis of U-Mann Whitney was also used to compare two independent samples according to sex, school semester and schedule with a statistical criterion of p <0.05. Results show that girls have a preference towards more sedentary activities than boys. Children attending schools with extended school day are more sedentary than children who attend schools with double shift schooling schedules. No significant differences were found with regards to the school semesters. It was concluded that, although childhood physical inactivity levels have not risen dramatically, certain findings warrant attention, particularly when physical activity is not promoted during recess or school activities.

This study investigates and analyzes the strengths of educational games to enhance the acquisition of digital skills capabilities among faculty. Through a bibliographic review, a comparative analysis of the main characteristics of a series of educational games selected according to the analysis criteria used for this study: a) Country of origin of the game and languages it supports, b) Pedagogical intent, c) Individual or interaction with others, d) Guides/aids available, e) Recipients of the game, f) Results, and g) Gaming strategies. The games that were chosen had been used previously during the last decade (2009-2019) for training university faculty. Findings reveal that educational games facilitate changes in attitude and behavior, enable pedagogical innovation, enhance interaction with others, promote research, facilitate the acquisition of technological competencies and skills, and encourage respect and promotes awareness about social, ethical and legal use of ICTs. Aside from being innovative and interactive, games promote research and help maximize digital skills acquisition among teachers in different areas of knowledge.

Rosa Navarro-Haydon played a fundamental role during a critical turning point in the history of science education in Puerto Rico. This eminent scholar developed and implemented elementary-level science curricula for public schools, wrote and published science booklets, articles and textbooks and trained thousands of science teachers. Rosa Navarro-Haydon was one of the first scholars to engage in science communication activities in Puerto Rico, such as writing science magazine articles for the general public. Unfortunately, education and scientific communities are unaware of the countless professional contributions made by Rosa Navarro-Haydon and her life as a science educator pioneer in Puerto Rico.

Management Education is characterized by scarce research, interest in disciplinary development and little social projection. This is a qualitative, cross-disciplinary research that consisted of a  diagnostic phase during which faculty, management staff and students were asked to complete a survey. The second phase involved an in-depth group discussion and the third phase a cross-disciplinary learning workshop. The results of the three sectors of the survey were used to develop pedagogical recommendations to enrich pedagogy and Management Studies at the Management School.

The article addresses the importance of cognitive mediation conducted by teachers as an essential resource for developing student autonomy, metacognition and self-regulated learning in order to improve regulation of learning strategies and foster new approaches to learning. Practices and experiences of Mediated Learning enhance differentiated instruction where teachers and students actively co-operate and all students work consistently on challenging activities. The point of departure is a socio-constructivist pedagogy paradigm designed to improve student learning. It also recognizes students as central actors of their own intellectual development. The theoretical basis of the article builds on the analysis of relevant theoretical constructs for teaching and learning.

The Educational Quality Measurement System [SIMCE] has the institutional objective of improving the quality of education and keeping citizens abreast of the different types of learning achievements of the student body in Chile. However, not much tangible research has been done in this regard. The main purpose of this study is to establish a correlation between end of the year grades for 8th grade students and SICME scores attained by the students in Language and Communication, Mathematics and Natural Sciences tests. The data was collected from 8th grade students by the Quality Education Agency which pertains to Chile´s Ministry of Education. The original information included 12,586 students from the Southern Area of the country since it comprises the census of the five most important cities in Southern Chile which include Temuco, Valdivia, Osorno, Puerto Montt and Ancud which represents an extreme scenario. In order to complete this correlational analysis and unmask the results which had only took census data into account, a targeted sample was developed using the city of Temuco, the largest city, Ancud, the smallest and most remote city and a high school selected randomly among the five cities. It was determined that there is a weak relationship between SIMCE test scores and student grade point averages which proves that the national instrument used to gauge student learning in Chile´s Basic Education Cycle, differs significantly from those used by school faculty.

This article presents the findings of a study that characterizes the professional identity of student teachers from the Faculty of Education at the Catholic University of Santísima Conception (UCSC) in Chile. The study had a qualitative and quantitative focus, thereby facilitating analysis of the origin of the attributes of the 107 participating student teachers. This qualitative study was complemented with quantitative data. Data analysis was triangulated following both a quantitative (analysis of the frequency) and qualitative (text analysis) logic. The findings underscore personal vocation and professional development as key factors required for defining professional identity. Once identified, it was possible to explain the relationship and pedagogical effect on students.  It is concluded that student teachers develop their identities based on factors such as, personal vocation and a professional development process which is permanently linked.

The objective of this study was to analyze academic self-regulation among university students based on their learning strategies, emotions and motivational thoughts, attained through this quantitative, ex post facto study. The sample group included 83 first-year Psychology majors in the city of Corrientes, Argentina.  The students responded to questionnaires to assess student motivation and emotions before and after performing a specific task and to determine perceived learning strategies. A one-way ANOVA was conducted as well as a MANOVAS for data analysis based on the objectives, variables and its dimensions. Results reveal significant differences regarding student anxiety based on sex and age as well as  the amount of concentration required to perform a task, according to sex. Variances were also observed in the average scores for the task according to student information processing, that is, the subjective skill perceived to be required to perform the task and the emotion centered on student results. The importance of student self-regulation was observed which is consistent with the reviewed literature, leading to the attainment of goals via cognitive and emotional pathways. Future research recommendations include increasing the sample size as well as including other variables for a broader picture of the self-regulation process.

Acknowledging that schooling comprises a complex and contradictory gamut of ideological and material procedures that juxtapose specific lifestyles to transform life experiences, this article proposes certain possibilities or clues to render the ethical-political dimension of education as more humane and humanistic and contribute to building another type of democracy, given that today´s democracy is based on a post-dictatorship, neoliberal, logical perspective and emphasizes formal rather than substantial aspects of democracy. This implies including human rights as part of education and, thus, contribute to how students develop affective and semantic attachments in their attempt to regulate ideas and give their lives meaning, thereby, permeating the ordinariness of the current system. The conclusion highlights the need to consider the ethos of democracy, imbued with an ethics of cordiality that distorts aspects such as poverty, exclusion, commercial exploitation and corruption. Finally, the need to discuss the transformational potential of education is proposed.

A diary is perceived as reflective writing that can help teachers establish a direct communication channel with students. The purpose of this article is to substantiate that daily journal writing helps facilitate the development of student metacognition skills. Using a qualitative methodology with Atlas Ti software, a group of 82 postgraduate Education Majors from two universities shared their experiences with regards to journal writing. The results reveal that keeping a diary stirs thought among students, leading to the development of skills that contribute to metacognition and greater awareness about learning. We also observed that journal writing helps teachers identify guidelines for improving their performance with actions that will assist them in facing the challenges of Higher Education in this XXIst century.