Editorial

This article describes a collaborative action research process in pre-school and primary education in Spain during a four-year period (2006–2010). The aim was the need to promote a level of reflection among the participants as to their teaching practice. The methodology used was a technologically mediated action research process. The results are analysed based on the constructed meanings in the area of practice, innovation strategies used and the degree of collaboration reached in the research. Finally, conclusions are made regarding the essential need to prioritize the research and professional development of teachers in the innovative use of technology. It proved necessary to promote collaboration in action research in order to rethink and negotiate the use of technology in a social learning environment.     

The presence of the British education model in Spain: reception through the Institución Libre de Enseñanza

Spain suffered a severe political and moral crisis in the final years of the nineteenth century and the first third of the twentieth. Pedagogues and politicians belonging to the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE), or those close to it, did not consider it possible to regenerate the country without attending to education and Britain was the model to be followed. Many important figures of the ILE were declared anglophiles and therefore open to incorporating British education in Spain. This research reveals the roots of this preference for Britain on behalf of two of the key figures of the ILE: one of its most relevant founders, Francisco Giner, and his close collaborator, José Castillejo. The article then describes how the educational approach of the ILE found its answers in Britain. The paper ends with some reflections on the scope of the British reference.     

Comparative study of the evaluation of professional competencies by experienced and trainee Spanish primary teachers

Taking as reference the proposals of the European Higher Education Area, the aim of this study is to identify the competencies which a wide sample of teachers in Spanish primary schools (6–12 age group) consider to be important for their professional performance and which they use in their everyday teaching, and to what extent their university training prepared them for their practising professional development. To do this, an ad hoc instrument was devised and applied to experienced practising teachers and to teacher trainees who were on teacher training placements during the last semester of their course. The results of the study show that initial teacher training should deal in depth with the competencies related to the organisation and management of teaching–learning, the use of new technologies in the primary classroom, the involvement of the families, education in values, social skills and skills for working in professional groups. Finally, proposals are made for training based on the articulation between theory and practice, to allow the professional competencies mentioned to be developed and used in practice, as well as encouraging close collaboration between teacher trainers and experienced practising teachers.     

The quick test as a screening device for gifted students

This study investigated the utility of the Quick Test in screening for gifted students; 57 identified gifted students were administered forms of the Ammons Quick Test. This screening instrument was unable to identify 60% of the sample tested as gifted.     

Effectiveness of a digital literacy programme for primary education students / Efectividad de un programa de alfabetización digital para estudiantes de educación primaria

This study carried out an assessment of the effectiveness of a digital literacy programme for primary education students. A quasi-experimental design with repeated measures of assessment was used. The sample consisted of 364 students (206 male and 158 female) from the sixth year of primary education. The students were assessed in their own schools and the sample was divided into two groups: experimental group (N = 190) and control group (N = 174). The assessment was carried out in three sessions: pre-intervention, post-intervention and six-month follow-up. The programme was composed of three sessions aimed at improving digital literacy, as a way of developing a safe and responsible use of the internet. The results obtained after the intervention showed statistically significant differences in the comparison between the two groups. Specifically, the experimental group reached a significantly higher degree of digital literacy (conceptual, procedural and attitudinal) than the control group after passing through the programme.     

A private matter? Religious education and democracy in Indonesia and Israel

The article examines state-supported religious education and its consequences for civic attitudes in Indonesia and Israel, two democracies that grant religion a prominent place in the public sphere, particularly in education. The comparison reveals that while in Indonesia the state was able to gradually introduce a secular curriculum in religious schools and establish an accreditation system by which it could exert influence on the way religion is taught, in Israel, by contrast, state-funded religious schools over time became increasingly opposed to a mandatory ‘core curriculum’ of general studies. The comparison further suggests that in Indonesia the inclusion of a secular curriculum in religious schools in the 1970s should be seen as one of the factors promoting the production and dissemination of ‘rationalist approaches to religion’ and brought religious actors on board of democratisation, while in Israel the exclusion of a secular curriculum from religious schooling has undermined civic commitments among ultra-Orthodox Jewish citizens and as such weakened Israeli democracy. The article is based on public opinion data, data from the Ministries of Religion and Education, and court decisions in both countries.     

Foreign Languages in the Engineering Programmes in Spain: The State of the Art

Following a brief introduction, the extension of engineering education in Spain is described. A scheme of the national education system is given. We consider the impact of the current implementation of new university curricula as a way of improving the quality of the programmes. Attention is paid to the fact of including foreign languages in the engineering programmes of the Spanish universities. Throughout the article, the question of the need of communication for engineers both during their undergraduate and postgraduate studies in engineering as well as in their practical training in industry is emphasized. The core of the paper is devoted to the fact of considering English as the lingua franca for new technologies. A programme called English for Engineering Environments is presented as a way of improving not only the training and understanding of students while at university, but also as future professionals for industry.     

罗浮山药用蕨类植物资源调查

通过全面深入的野外调查, 经鉴定查清的罗浮山药用蕨类植物有22 科29属50 种