Leading for social justice in challenging school contexts

This article is part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) and aims to analyse the success factors of two Spanish secondary school principals working in the line of social justice in challenging contexts. The factors are arranged in traits and beliefs of principals and in the strategies they used to bring successful leadership. The article concludes by showing a model of leadership that emphasizes both personal and professional characteristics of principals and their central role as agents of social change.     

Accuracy,intra- and inter-unit reliability,and comparison between GPS and UWB-based position-tracking systems used for time–motion analyses in soccer

There is interest in the accuracy and inter-unit reliability of position-tracking systems to monitor players. Research into this technology, although relatively recent, has grown exponentially in the last years, and it is difficult to find professional team sport that does not use Global Positioning System (GPS) technology at least. The aim of this study is to know the accuracy of both GPS-based and Ultra Wide Band (UWB)-based systems on a soccer field and their inter- and intra-unit reliability. A secondary aim is to compare them for practical applications in sport science. Following institutional ethical approval and familiarization, 10 healthy and well-trained former soccer players (20?±?1.6 years, 1.76?±?0.08?cm, and 69.5?±?9.8?kg) performed three course tests: (i) linear course, (ii) circular course, and (iii) a zig–zag course, all using UWB and GPS technologies. The average speed and distance covered were compared with timing gates and the real distance as references. The UWB technology showed better accuracy (bias: 0.57–5.85%), test–retest reliability (%TEM: 1.19), and inter-unit reliability (bias: 0.18) in determining distance covered than the GPS technology (bias: 0.69–6.05%; %TEM: 1.47; bias: 0.25) overall. Also, UWB showed better results (bias: 0.09; ICC: 0.979; bias: 0.01) for mean velocity measurement than GPS (bias: 0.18; ICC: 0.951; bias: 0.03).     

The use of augmented reality to improve the development of activities of daily living in students with ASD

Education and Information Technologies - In today's society, technology plays a fundamental role. More and more activities of daily life are being developed with the help of technology. One of...     

Factors Influencing Scientific Achievements of Medical Students in the Anatomy Research Group: An Analysis From the Autonomous University of Nuevo León in Mexico

Scientific research and student involvement are critical to the formation of physicians, yet the number of medical researchers has decreased over time. To implement corrective strategies, the variables associated with positive research attitudes and productivity among medical students must be identified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variables associated with students interested or involved in research. A validated questionnaire was applied to the student members of an established anatomy research group in a Mexican medical school with a six-year medical program. Data were collected and analyzed. A total of 85.5% (n = 77/90) students answered the survey with most respondents being second-year medical students. The majority of respondents indicated that the important component of conducting research was a contribution to the new knowledge (45.5%) and to the scientific community (42.9%). More than half of respondents mentioned a professor or a peer as the initial motivation to become involved in research. Lack of time was the main limitation (59.7%) to research involvement. Perceived benefits were knowledge and team work skills. Of those involved, most (85.7%) wished to continue participating in research as a complement to their clinical work. Professors and student colleagues were found to play an important motivational and recruitment role for medical research. These efforts in turn have developed into long-lasting mentor-mentee relationships. Students also anticipated that early involvement in research will positively influence the likelihood of future physicians' contribution and collaboration in research.     

Perception of online feedback and its impact on cognitive and emotional engagement with feedback

Education and Information Technologies - Online feedback plays a key role in learning, but this requires that students engage with feedback. Some authors identify students’ perception of...     

Grade retention and school entry age in Spain: a structural problem

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - Grade retention has been the focus of the education debate in Spain for decades. On average, more than 30% of students have repeated at least...     

Does universities' posting strategy influence their social media engagement? An analysis of the top-ranked higher education institutions in different countries

To ensure the widespread dissemination of information and to foster interaction and dialogue with users, higher education institutions need to develop an active profile on the social networks. This paper analyses the influence of universities' posting strategy on their followers' engagement (reaction, virality and conversation) by measuring the level of activity and type of presence on their social networks. A content analysis was conducted to analyse 90,000 posts by 70 universities from Europe, the United States and Latin America on their institutional profiles on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. The universities' posting activity on their social media is moderate (with an overall mean of 7.04 posts per day), but the interaction rate is very low (0.237), far below the recommended levels of engagement. Notably, increased activity by universities on social networks does not lead to greater engagement but points to an inverse relationship between the two. Our findings also indicate that university-created content (UCC) achieves a higher level of engagement ($\overline{x}$ = 169.41) than university-shared content (USC) ($\overline{x}$ = 126.18). This study explores the effect of universities' posting strategy dimensions on their follower's interaction.