The emergence of gestures in the first year of life in the Infant School classroom

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The psychological literature on the development of gestures during the first year of life has been limited. It has mainly focused on the development of...     

Multiperspectivistic management of discourse in oral argumentation in academic settings / Gestión multiperspectivista del discurso en la argumentación oral en contextos académicos

The relationship between perspectivism and oral argumentation is explored by observing eight triads of high school and university students discussing an environmental dilemma, with the aim of convincing their peers. No differences are appreciated between high school and university students regarding the frequency and duration of perspectivistic levels of discourse. When analysing such levels in the whole sample, significant differences are revealed in favour of the me (defence and explanation of own perspective) and other as an obstacle (demolition of others’ positions) levels, compared to the other strategy (legitimate persuasion) and us (search for agreement) levels. Therefore, argumentative discourse is anchored in a reasoned defense of one’s own perspective as well as in the attack on others, displaying a limited perspectivistic development. In relation to the interaction sequences, symmetrical responses are observed towards the me and other as obstacle levels, both in high school and university students, and also towards us in university students. The potential of perspectivism to improve expert argumentation is discussed.     

NARST: a lived history

In this Forum, we construct a history of the National Association for Research in Science Education (NARST) through the analysis of documents and through the personal perspectives of individuals. The history of NARST is inseparable from the biography of the individuals through whose lives it was produced and reproduced. The history of NARST is a living history that both shapes and was shaped by the biographies of its members.

Struggling to Recognize their Existence: Examining Student–Adult Relationships in the Urban High School Context

In today’s reform context, much attention is placed on policies and outcomes and far less emphasis on understanding the social and cultural processes in schools. Using case-study methodology, I examine relationships between low-income, urban high school students of color, and the school adults with whom they interact. Using grounded theory, students’ experiences are analyzed and interpreted through the lens of recognition. Recognition is used as both a theoretical and empirical concept to illuminate students’ experiences and voices, especially since the construct is largely absent in the U.S. education discourse. Students revealed that being known by adults, talking with adults, engaging with adults personally, and experiencing encouraging adults were all critical elements of recognition. I suggest that student–adult relationships, via the practice of recognition in urban schools, needs to be interrogated, deliberate, and political so that the transformative purpose of education can be realized.

Examining entrepreneurial attributes of Latin American female university students

The phenomenon of women engaging in entrepreneurship is expanding and becoming acknowledged as a valuable resource that must be institutionally and socially supported. Through entrepreneurship education, female students, as potential entrepreneurs, can develop and strengthen those skills and behaviours identified as characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. This paper explores four attributes associated with entrepreneurship (creativity, problem management, risk management, and self-confidence) of 1838 undergraduate students from 11 universities in Latin America (Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Uruguay) and one in Spain, used as a control group. By comparing the results for the male and female student population, self-confidence appears as an attribute that is present at the same level in both groups; statistically significant differences were reported for the other three attributes (creativity, problem management, and risk management). Entrepreneurship programmes can utilise such information to strengthen in female students those attributes for successful engagement in entrepreneurial activity.     

Research Active Programme: A pilot inclusive research curriculum in higher education

Participation of people with disabilities in producing and using research is critical for monitoring the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Research Active Programme (RAP) is a module designed to build research capacity of students with intellectual disabilities. RAP was implemented over 11 weeks in 2 Irish universities. The mixed methods programme evaluation was completed from the students' perspectives, attending to curriculum content, pedagogical approach, the research knowledge and skills acquired by students. Twenty-five students completed interviews before and after engaging in RAP. Focus groups and quizzes were held after sessions to assess learning outcomes. Content analysis was used to interpret student perspectives. RAP was an effective approach for supporting students with intellectual disabilities to develop introductory research knowledge and skills; however, across the cohort, there were differences in demonstrated learning. Student expectations with respect to overall curriculum design, learning outcomes and delivery were reviewed. Specifically, learning outcomes, module delivery and assessment strategies were critiqued. Overall, the RAP curriculum supported research skill development in students. This module prepared people with intellectual disabilities to engage more fully as research partners in monitoring the implementation of the CRPD.     

Professional Learning Community Assessment-Revised (PLCA-R) questionnaire: translation and validation in Spanish context

Learning Environments Research - The analysis of professional community is a good indicator of the degree of professional and institutional development of a school. The Professional Learning...     

Predictor variables of written picture naming in the deaf

Studies conducted in recent years on oral andwritten language production show that the ageat which words are learned is the main variablethat influences lexical access in both hearingpeople and people who have suffered brainlesions. No studies have been done with deafpeople and, since they use sign language inaddition to oral language, differencesregarding hearing people might be found intheir lexical organization. The aim of thisstudy was to test which variables determine thelexical production of deaf people. For thispurpose, 40 deaf people between the ages of 13and 58 years were asked to write individuallythe names of 100 pictures. The regressionanalyses performed on a total of 4000 responsesshow that the main predictor variable ofperformance was also age of acquisition. It isconcluded that the organization of the lexicalsystem in deaf people is similar to that of hearing people, although the phonologicalrepresentations of deaf people may be moreinaccurate.     

The influence of aspirations on higher education choice: a telecommunication engineering perspective

This paper analyses the influence of external factors that affect the decision-making process in the selection of telecommunications engineering studies. Particularly, we have studied the influence of factors related to the generation of expectations about the studies. A survey was conducted on a sample of 701 male and female telecommunications engineering students. The results show the existence of a direct relationship between the choice of telecommunications studies in non-vocationally oriented students and their expectations of finding a job more easily, getting higher salaries and more prestige. On the other hand, non-vocationally oriented students show similar academic performance to that of vocationally oriented students.