Media Archeology in Spain

Based on a carefully selected list of references in Spanish, the following text presents a brief history of the magic lantern in Spain, from its invention to the beginning of its decadence as a social medium of communication. The magic lantern emerged in the seventeenth century, with the application of a series of physical principles that allowed the first attempts and experiences of image projection, such as the one described by Juana Inés de la Cruz in Sueño, a silva strophe published in Seville in 1692. As a device, the magic lantern finally was consolidated during the last quarter of the eighteenth century, mainly due to the popular sessions of phantasmagorias, which, in Spain, were run by projectionists such as Juan González Mantilla, or Robertson himself. After the magic lantern became institutionalized and commercialized throughout the whole Iberian Peninsula—the same as in the rest of Europe—its decline took place in the last decade of the nineteenth century, when it had to compete with the cinematograph.     

Combining Data on Criticality and Frequency in Developing Test Plans for Licensure and Certification Examinations

Job analysis is a critical component in evaluating the validity of many high-stakes testing programs, particularly those used for licensure or certification. The ratings of criticality and frequency of various activities that are derived from such job analyses can be combined in a number of ways. This paper develops a multiplicative model as a natural and effective way to combine ratings o f frequency and criticality in order to obtain estimates of the relative importance of different activities for practice. An example of the model's use is presented. The multiplicative model incorporates adjustments to ensure that the effective weights of frequency and criticality are appropriate.     

Students’ continuity norms in the university and exam calendar: do they affect university academic performance? / Normas de permanencia y calendario de exámenes: ¿afectan al rendimiento académico universitario?

Students’ academic performance is a key factor in evaluating the efficiency and quality of university degree programmes. Not only do personal characteristics and the students’ own performance affect these results, but so does the university’s academic organization. Based on a database that contains the overall results by course and exam period in three different degree programmes from 2007–15, we estimate what external factors influenced the percentages of students sitting for and passing exams. The analysis of the data panel shows that the order of the exams and the students’ continuity norms established by the university to penalize failing grades are two incentives that improve student performance only in the ordinary exam periods. These results also imply first keeping the incentive system at the university and secondly strategically using the exam calendar for the courses with the worst overall results.     

The Adidactic Interaction with the Procedures of Peers in the Transition from Arithmetic to Algebra: A Milieu for the Emergence of New Questions

The purpose of the present article is to give an account of the emergence of knowledge pertaining to the transition from arithmetic to algebra in the course of a debate in a grade 7 classroom. This debate follows two other instances of work: (1) the adidactic interaction between each student and a given problem, (2) the adidactic interaction of each student with the procedures generated by other students during stage 1. The two kinds of processes – adaptation to a milieu and social interactions – play a critical role in the change of “rationality” required for the move from arithmetic to algebra. Both the design of the initial mathematical problem given to the students and the organization of the interactions leading to the debate under study in this article are based on this hypothesis. The research presented in this article is set in a broader work of didactic engineering that aims at studying didactic conditions for making a connection between arithmetic practices and algebraic practices.     

Book clubs: an ethnographic study of an innovative reading practice in Spain

The most innovative reading practices currently rely on the paradigm of dialogic reading. Book clubs, literary gatherings and study circles are emerging in different social spaces to promote reading and literary discussion amongst adults, and libraries, bookshops, cultural centres, etc. are increasingly developing strategies in this direction. Despite the vast development of reading clubs throughout Spain, empirical research on this phenomenon is still at the embryonic stage. This paper queries the ability of this practice to encourage the pleasure of reading, as well as civic and literary education. The results, obtained from an ethnographic study of nine book club meetings and six key informant interviews, show that the discussions contribute to: (1) developing a taste for reading, literature and reading habits; (2) fostering debate about values and learning about personal experiences related to the stories covered in the various readings; and (3) learning academic skills that go beyond the scope of an informal literary analysis. The main conclusion of our study is that book club meetings generate a very favourable context for literary analysis, as they foster reading innovation and the cultivation of literature, as well as promoting values education and adult learning from a dialogic perspective.     

The perception of generic capabilities and learning environment among undergraduate nursing students after the implementation of a senior intake scheme

Hong Kong has introduced a senior intake admission scheme which is similar to the US model of credit transfer from community college programmes to university bachelor programmes. The study aimed to assess the outcomes, in terms of generic capabilities, of introducing a senior intake articulation scheme to a bachelor of nursing curriculum in Hong Kong. One hundred and seventy-four nursing students completed and returned the Student Engagement Questionnaire. The senior intake students reported significantly higher scores in creative thinking, active learning, teaching for understanding, feedback to assist learning, and relationship between teachers and students than the mainstream students. Self-managed learning and relationship with other students were positively and significantly related to academic performance. The senior intake students appeared to adjust well in university education. Greater effort should be made to nurture their relationship with other students and a review of the denseness of the mainstream curriculum is warranted.     

Construction and validation of a questionnaire to study future teachers' beliefs about cultural diversity

The article presents the construction and validation process of a questionnaire designed to study student teachers' beliefs about cultural diversity. The study, beyond highlighting the complexity involved in the study of beliefs, emphasises their relevance in implementing inclusive educational processes that guarantee the right to a good education for all. The questionnaire was administered to 1464 students from the different Teacher Education specialties. The results show that the instrument has a satisfactory internal consistency and is structured in seven components that largely correspond to the theoretical proposals used as the basis for constructing the questionnaire. The actions and analyses performed in the process of elaborating this inventory represent an advance compared to other similar studies in this line of research. From a methodological point of view, they provide detailed information about the questionnaire's psychometric characteristics, reliability and validity, with particular emphasis on the empirical data stemming from its application. From a conceptual point of view, the study incorporates beliefs related to different theoretical models of attention to cultural diversity, as well as their possible practical derivations at different levels of specificity.     

Latinx* popular culture imaginaries: examining Puerto Rican children’s social discourses in interpreting telenovelas

Abstract

In this paper, we present a collaboration project within one urban Puerto Rican classroom, focused on constructing a critical literacy inquiry curriculum grounded in the students’ out-of-school literacy practices in their communities, including their experiences with media and popular culture. We focused on a critical literacy and media inquiry unit centered on the students’ self-selected subject of the telenovela. Here, we examine one student’s work to highlight two overarching findings: (1) the visibility of the students’ complex understanding of the media landscapes in telenovelas, particularly the construction of dominant social discourses across telenovela worlds, and (2) the ways that bringing children’s mediatized cultural imaginaries in their creative work supports an approach to literacy in classrooms, where explorations of discourses of power emerge from the students’ knowledge. In order to articulate how children actively examine and construct discourses across multiple social worlds, we examine these findings using the Four Resource Model, and elements of discourse analysis, as theoretical and analytical frameworks, focusing on the construction of identities, worlds and meanings in relation to the social discourses of telenovelas.     

New Approaches to University in Spain: Academic Change,Creative Dimensions and Ethical Commitment in the Establishment of the European Higher Education Area

This paper discusses the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), its creation, its guidelines, and its inherently innovative potential. It looks closely at the theoretical proposals, the innovative regulations and institutional practices in the process of academic change that relate to teaching, research and management. It also describes the emergence of creative processes in quality assurance and methodological renewal. These bring new professional challenges and educational opportunities to the fore; challenges which raise ethical issues for those involved in these approaches to universities in Spain and the European Union.