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

The aim of the article to demonstrate the necessity of a critical view on the construct of «competence» because of semantic and epistemic gaps. The analysis of the historical evolution of «competence» clarifies its origin and meanings. The epistemological analysis identifies the principle of efficiency as the basis of competence and also of programming and organization of educational process, based on this approach. The result of this double analysis highlights the intrinsic limits of the educational approach by competencies putting it in question.

This research explores sex and discipline-area differences in empathy across theInterpersonal Reactivity Index developed by Davis. A descriptive cross-sectionalstudy was performed with the participation of 680 university students, divided into351 women and 329 men belonging to Physics-Mathematics, Social-Humanisticand Biological-Chemistry areas. The results show sex differences in threedimensions of the inventory with higher scores for women. No differences inrelation to the subject area of the students were observed. There is interactionbetween sex and discipline in the mathematical-physicist women who obtainedhigher scores in Personal Distress than other participants.

This paper stresses the need to incorporate Comprehensive Sexuality Education(CSE) during the Early Childhood and Preschool school stages in Mexico. Adetailed analysis of the content of strategies, courses of action and policies forearly education was made for both, the local and Latin-American level. Findingsindicate that there remains a need for CSE for 0 to 6-year-old Mexican children.The inclusion of a human rights and a sociocultural perspective of genderedsexuality is strongly recommended. Early life-course interactions between childrenand their caregivers have the potential to influence developmental outcomes in anenduring manner because they become internalized in the form of generalizedmental representations. CSE encompasses the history of care where consistent andcoherent secure base support is needed.

This article provides knowledge about the state of affairs on policies and dynamicssurrounding the performance skills of school principals regarding the promotionof participation. Using a qualitative approach and methodology Case Study resultsshowed traditionalist practices and promotion strategies, passive involvement offamilies, with minimum levels of participation were obtained. The managementperformance is presented restrictive weak presence of attitudes toward empathy,trust and do dialogic, thus weakening the commitment of parents to participatein schools. The importance it attaches to social skills, personal qualities and valuesthat should mobilize managers to adequately promote parent and communityparticipation is emphasized.

Worldwide, the subject of inclusion in higher education has become moreimportant in recent years and has brought about actions for the full inclusion ofstudents. In this work the substantive and contextual aspects that are present inMexican and Spanish universities to the attention of students with disabilities areanalysed, considering the historical development axis of the process of inclusiveeducation in both countries and identifying similarities, differences, needs anddeficiencies to the attention of those students. Likewise the different programsand actions that have to finally make some considerations to overcome somefactors that still persist and limit the effectiveness in dealing with diversity andintegration of the group of persons with disabilities will be analysed.

This article analyses the status of education as a fundamental right. The recenteconomic crisis and associated austerity policies have worsened the situation and,rather than diminish, educational inequalities have in fact increased. Firstly, thesignificance of education as a Human Right is examined. Secondly, the extentto which the MDGs have been met is reviewed, particularly with regard toeducation, where, as detailed in various reports produced by NGOs and by theUnited Nations, certain difficulties have impeded their being met. The Right toEducation is examined in a projective way as a right that should not be limitedto the vision contained in the new Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.It is necessary to go still further and advance towards a true democratisation ofeducation.

The research shows that school leadership influences school management resultsin general, and it particularly impacts student learning. This article presentsand analyzes the VAL-ED (Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education)as a school leadership assessment tool that is based on the research on learningcentered leadership.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are experiencing aperiod of great interest and relevance within the learning curriculum of Secondary Education. With this work, we aim to show some of the results obtained with the creation and implementation of an educational program based on the use of ICT’s for teaching the subject of Technology in Secondary Education.Some of the research objectives are to analyze the influence of ICT’s onacademic performance and student motivation, and to analyze the opinions of teachers and students on the use of ICT’s in the teaching of the subject. In the research process, a quasi-experimental method has been used, adopting the pre-test/post-test design with a control group. The experimental group has used ICT’s and the control group has not. In both cases, the syllabus and course contents have been the same. An intentional non-probability sampling has been used for the selection of the sample. The sample consists of 194 students.A questionnaire has been used as a research tool. The research results indicate that students who use ICT’s also achieve better grades and are more motivated.From the analysis of the results we conclude that the application of ICT’simproves the academic performance and motivation of students significantly.

Contemporary educational policies, according to the new axes that determine (quality-equity-education), have directed their main lines of action to tackle exclusion and social inequalities by compensatory positive discrimination policies on sectors most vulnerable of the school population. The research problem, therefore, focuses on the evolution of the process for inclusion in the Primary Schools, as a result of the subsequent implementation of educational policies designed to ensure equal opportunities in education. Our purpose is to investigate the conceptions and perceptions of teachers on the functioning of the structures of educational support in schools. The model adopted in our research is comprehensive in nature, exploratory, descriptive and confirmatory, using the questionnaire as instrument to serve the research objectives. The findings show that the operation of the support structures have many implications for practitioners and for the centers, emphasizing that support policies and educational support are little impact on the organizationalstructures of schools.