Co-operative production and technical education in the Basque Country

Conclusion In synthesis, we cannot assert that a complete process of learning, doing and creating is occurring at the EPP because its development is necessarily constrained by the dominant larger society as well as its internal contradictions. In spite of that, on the basis of the democratic mode of operation of the co-operatives and the EPP, and on the incipient process of technical education (bodily exercise, mental instruction and technological training) combined with paid productive labour, it seems that at Mondragón's EPP a significant step is being taken towards an effective process of appropriation of knowledge. In this framework, students of the EPP, members of Alecoop, are creating the necessary conditions to become fully developed individuals.     

The current effects of age, sex, and social class on conformity

It was expected that if high school females are currently rejecting the feminine role to a greater extent than college females, the former should conform less than the latter; furthermore, this would be the case for middle-class but not for working-class females. A conformity instrument and a measure of psychological femininity were administered to college males and females, and to freshmen and seniors at middle-class and working-class high schools. It was found that for the middle class, high school seniors and college students conformed to the same extent, and both conformed less than high school freshmen; for the working class, high school freshmen and seniors conformed more than college students, and the first two groups conformed to the same extent. Generally, conformity was not related to psychological femininity. Several interpretations were offered, one of which suggesting that there has been a definite change in the socialization of middle-class high school seniors in the direction of less sensitivity to peer pressure.     

The political economy of higher education in the era of neoliberal globalization: Latin America in comparative perspective

During the last two decades, Latin American universities have experienced intense pressure to abandon the main principles established in the 1918 Córdoba Reform (i.e., autonomy and autarchy). While funding for public higher education has declined, they are pressured to relinquish a large portion of institutional autonomy in order to accommodate to market demands and to a new set of control strategies emanating from the state.We argue that current changes in Latin American higher education cannot be examined in isolation from larger political and economic changes in the region, which in turn are related to the dynamics of globalization. After the decline of socialist and welfare-state models, neoliberal regimes have become hegemonic in many parts of the world. In most countries, changes in financial arrangements, coupled with accountability mechanisms, have forced universities to reconsider their social missions, academic priorities and organizational structures. Concerns about equity, accessibility, autonomy or the contribution of higher education to social transformation, which were prevalent during previous decades, have been overshadowed by concerns about excellence, efficiency, expenditures and rates of return. The notion that higher education is primarily a citizens right and a social investment – which has been taken for granted for many decades – is being seriously challenged by a neoliberal agenda that places extreme faith in the market.Though we focus on the international dimension of university change, it is important to note that global trends are promoted, resisted and negotiated differently in each national context and in each individual institution. In the emerging knowledge-based society, the polarization between North and South is expected to increase even further if the scientific and technological gaps are not narrowed. Latin American universities have a crucial role to play in this regard. The paper is organized in two parts. The first describes the context of university change, focusing on issues of globalization and neoliberalism. The second examines the main features of university restructuring in comparative perspective, with a particular focus on Latin America.     

Comparison of two concept‐mapping techniques: Implications for scoring,interpretation, and use

We examine the equivalence of two construct‐a‐concept‐map techniques: construct‐a‐map with created linking phrases (C), and construct‐a‐map with selected linking phrases (S). The former places few constraints on the respondent and has been considered the gold standard; the latter is cost and time efficient. Both their products and processes are compared quantitatively and qualitatively as to total accuracy score, individual proposition scores, proposition choice, map structure complexity, proposition generation rate, and proposition generation procedures. We conclude that the two mapping techniques are not equivalent: The C technique is better than the S technique in capturing students' partial knowledge, even though the S can be scored more efficiently than C. Based on their characteristics, if used as an assessment tool, the C technique is more suitable for formative assessment while the S technique is a better fit for large‐scale assessments. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 166–184, 2005     

Learning from human cadaveric prosections: Examining anxiety in speech therapy students

Human anatomy education often utilizes the essential practices of cadaver dissection and examination of prosected specimens. However, these exposures to human cadavers and confronting death can be stressful and anxiety‐inducing for students. This study aims to understand the attitudes, reactions, fears, and states of anxiety that speech therapy students experience in the dissection room. To that end, a before‐and‐after cross‐sectional analysis was conducted with speech therapy students undertaking a dissection course for the first time. An anonymous questionnaire was administered before and after the exercise to understand students' feelings and emotions. State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaires (STAI‐S and STAI‐T) were used to evaluate anxiety levels. The results of the study revealed that baseline anxiety levels measured using the STAI‐T remained stable and unchanged during the dissection room experience (P > 0.05). Levels of emotional anxiety measured using the STAI‐S decreased, from 15.3 to 11.1 points (P < 0.05). In the initial phase of the study, before any contact with the dissection room environment, 17% of students experienced anxiety, and this rate remained unchanged by end of the session (P > 0.05). A total of 63.4% of students described having thoughts about life and death. After the session, 100% of students recommended the dissection exercise, giving it a mean score of 9.1/10 points. Anatomy is an important subject for students in the health sciences, and dissection and prosection exercises frequently involve a series of uncomfortable and stressful experiences. Experiences in the dissection room may challenge some students' emotional equilibria. However, students consider the exercise to be very useful in their education and recommend it. Anat Sci Educ 10: 487–494. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Applying robust regression techniques to institutional data

Regression techniques are used frequently to analyze the relationships between university activity variables and the needs for different categories of resources. The ordinary least squares method (LS) has the disadvantage of being very sensitive to outliers. As an alternative the least median of squares (LMS) technique is discussed, which can resist a large fraction of contaminated data. To demonstrate the advantages of LMS, the parameters of some regression equations, estimated some years ago by means of ordinary least squares, and describing the needs for nonacademic staff and operating funds in a university, will be reestimated by means of this robust regression technique.     

Mainstreamed or Self‐Contained Classes for Students with a Mild Learning Disability: The Case of Israel

Two studies compared students with a mild learning disability who were enrolled in the Israeli version of self‐contained classes, with comparable peers who were assigned to mainstreamed classes. The first sample comprised 33 pupils in self‐contained and 34 children in mainstreamed elementary school classes. The second sample consisted of 20 high school students in self‐contained and 21 students in regular classes. The data did not support the contention that student growth was fostered more readily in the self‐contained classes. Students of these classes tended to have somewhat higher academic self‐concept, whereas their academic attainment was generally similar to the academic performance of mainstreamed students. Results were discussed in terms of learning opportunities extended to students in the self‐contained classroom.     

Unraveling sources of stimulus control in a temporal discrimination task

In temporal discriminations tasks, more than one stimulus may function as a time marker. We studied two of them in a matching-to-sample task, the sample keylight and the houselight that signaled the intertrial interval (ITI). One group of pigeons learned a symmetrical matching-to-sample task with two samples (2 s or 18 s of a center keylight) and two comparisons (red and green side keys), whereas another group of pigeons learned an asymmetrical matching-to-sample task with three samples (2 s, 6 s, and 18 s) and two comparisons (red and green). In the asymmetrical task, 6-s and 18-s samples shared the same comparison. In a subsequent retention test, both groups showed a preference for the comparison associated with the longer samples, a result consistent with the hypothesis that pigeons based their choices on the duration elapsed since the offset of the houselight (i.e., sample duration + retention interval). Results from two no-sample tests further corroborated the importance of the ITI illumination as a time marker: When the ITI was illuminated, the proportion of choices correlated positively with the retention interval; when the ITI was darkened, choices fell to random levels. However, the absolute value of choice proportions suggested that the sample stimulus was also a time marker. How multiple stimuli acquire control over behavior and how they combine remains to be worked out.