Education of deaf students in Spain: legal and educational politics developments

This article examines the legal instruments and educational politics affecting deaf persons' educational rights in Spain. We present a historical view of deaf education in Spain before and after the Congress of Milan (1880) and then introduce educational legislation and practices in recent decades. At present, Spanish legislation is moving toward recognition of sign languages and the suitability of bilingual education for deaf students at all educational levels. This is a consequence of taking into account the low academic achievement of two generations of deaf students educated in a monolingual model. Bilingual projects are now run throughout Spain. We emphasize that efforts must be made in the legal sphere to regulate the way in which professionals who know sign language and Deaf culture-teachers, interpreters, deaf adult models-are incorporated in bilingual deaf schools.     

Useful interactive teaching tool for learning: clickers in higher education†

Many university lecturers are encouraged to implement innovative teaching tools and methodologies such as clickers in order to create an interactive learning environment and improve student learning, but its performance must be evaluated. The aim of this paper is to test empirically the impact of the use of clickers on students' learning processes. The teaching experience applied to the subject of Financial Accounting is specifically described. The total sample size is 77 students from a Business Administration and Economics Degree, taught in English and in Spanish. The analysis, using multivariate techniques, of the questionnaire responses, students' grades and a reflexive experience of the lecturer conclude that learning with clickers is effective. There is a positive relationship between grades and intrinsic motivation through clickers. Consequently, the students' marks are related to its intrinsic motivation, feedback to understanding, students' discussion and its negative aspects but not gender nor age.     

Transfer of control between causal predictive judgments and instrumental responding

Four experiments were conducted to explore outcome-specific transfer from causal predictive judgments to instrumental responding. A video game was designed in which participants had to defend Andalusia from navy and air force attacks. First, they learned the relationship between two instrumental responses (two keys on a standard keyboard) and two different outcomes (destruction of the ships or destruction of the planes). Then they learned to predict which of two different stimuli predicted which outcome. Finally, they had the opportunity of making either of the two instrumental responses in the presence of either stimulus. Transfer was shown as a preference for the response that shared an outcome with the current stimulus. The presentation of the stimulus during the test produced a decrease in the overall rate of response. Responding to a neutral stimulus in Experiments 2 and 3 suggested that this overall decrease in responding was due to a combination of the time needed to process the meaning of the stimulus and the activation of the representation of the outcome in the presence of the stimulus during the test. Transfer between predictive judgments and instrumental responding mirrors the outcome-specific Pavlovian instrumental transfer observed in conditioning studies with rats.     

Learning contexts for young children in Chile: process quality assessment in preschool centres

ITERS (Infant and Toddler Environment Rating Scale), ECERS (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale) and SACERS (School Age Care Environment Rating Scale) are used to measure process quality. The psychometric characteristics of the three scales are established, and high reliability and adequate validity are observed. The global quality process for the classrooms under study is less than good; process quality based on the direct interaction of adults with children in the classroom is better when compared with quality related to the experiences that children have with learning materials, equipment and space. The associations between child development outcomes and childcare quality are examined. Vocabulary, social development and adaptive behaviour show a strong and positive association with ECERS. Hierarchical regression analyses show that preschool quality has a significant and persistent effect in the variation of child outcomes (5%). These effects are maintained three years later, when children are in primary school (8%).     

Beyond Mother Education: Maternal Practices as Predictors of Early Literacy Development in Chilean Children from Low-SES Households

Research Findings: To extend findings that are mainly based on North American studies with English speakers, we studied 989 Chilean mothers from households of low socioeconomic status and their prekindergarten children, posing 2 questions: (a) Do mothers’ self-reported practices about literacy development predict early literacy outcomes over and above child characteristics and maternal education? (b) Do these maternal practices mediate the relation between maternal education and these child outcomes? Confirming previous studies, exposure to texts and non-present talk predicted vocabulary, and teaching practices predicted child code-related skills. Contrary to previous studies, exposure to texts also predicted child code-related skills. We also found that maternal practices partially mediated the relation between maternal education and early literacy skills. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest the need to target children before prekindergarten with interventions that increase the studied maternal practices and to do so in family, day care, and health care settings with special emphasis on families with incomplete elementary education. The broad effect of exposure to texts on early literacy outcomes and the low social value on reading in Chilean culture suggest that teacher preparation programs need to include ways to engage children in literature as a frequent experience.     

Hard Cash and Soft Skills: Experimental Evidence on Combining Scholarships and Mentoring in Argentina

Abstract

We evaluate a long-standing program run by one of the largest education foundations in Argentina that offers scholarships and nonacademic mentoring to secondary school students. We randomly assigned 408 grade 6 students within 10 public schools in the Province of Buenos Aires to either receive the program throughout secondary school or not to receive it. After three years, the program improved students’ academic behaviors (e.g., studying before an exam or catching up on missed work), but we find little evidence that these changes translated into broader improvements in students’ academic mindsets (e.g., self-beliefs about performance and efficacy), perseverance (e.g., grit), or learning strategies (e.g., metacognition). The program also improved students’ performance in school during the first year (e.g., grades, attendance, and passing rates), but we do not find similar gains in subsequent years. This may be due to a large share of treatment students being expelled from the program for not meeting its requirements. The program did not improve student learning or personality traits (e.g., conscientiousness). Finally, we find some heterogeneous effects for female students and students from low-income families.     

Cooperative learning: a methodological innovation in teacher training / El aprendizaje cooperativo: una innovación metodológica en la formación del profesorado

Cooperative learning is an important methodological strategy to develop students’ general competencies. In this paper, we show an educational innovation experience of cooperative learning developed as part of the ‘Educational contexts and processes’ subject of the Speciality in Technology and Industrial Processes of the Master’s Degree in Secondary Education Teaching at the University of Valencia, during the 2011–12 academic year. The innovation experience becomes ‘meta-experience’ since it allows students to reflect on their own knowledge in building the learning process. The overall objective of this experience is to develop attitudes and skills for cooperative learning in future secondary education teachers. To this end, we designed the activity ‘Short Film’ that employs cooperative learning as a methodological strategy to foster learning and media literacy. The experience gave students the opportunity to reflect, discuss and be involved in their learning process. Furthermore, the academic results were excellent and students valued the educational innovation in a positive way.     

Are teachers ready for CLIL? Evidence from a European study

This article presents the outcomes of a European study on the main training needs which pre- and in-service teachers, teacher trainers, and coordinators consider they have in order to adapt to a bilingual education model. The macro-study has designed, validated and administered four sets of questionnaires to 706 informants across the whole of Europe, which have allowed a detailed diagnosis of language teachers’ training needs in terms of linguistic and intercultural competence, theoretical and methodological aspects based on the new options associated to Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), teaching materials and resources, and ongoing professional development. After framing the topic against the backdrop of prior investigations, the article expounds on the research design of the study and outlines its main findings in relation to the afore-mentioned fields of interest. A detailed diagnosis of where we currently stand in this process of preparation for CLIL models in Europe is provided and within- and across-cohort comparison is carried out in terms of a series of intervening variables. The ultimate aim is to base decisions regarding language degrees and teacher training courses on empirically grounded guidelines in order to guarantee a success-prone implementation of CLIL in our continent, country and region.     

Why braille reading is important and how to study it / Por qué es importante la lectura en braille y cómo estudiarla

Despite its relevance in theoretical and practical terms, braille reading has received little attention from researchers. Awareness of the pros and cons of the different procedures used to examine braille reading is needed to facilitate the realization of systematic studies and to improve teaching methods in braille reading. This study provides a critical examination of braille reading methods and highlights key points for future studies on tactile reading.