Educational knowledge generation from administrative data

Most universities use Information Systems (IS) to perform their daily administrative activities (student enrollment, data files, accountancy, etc.), and an integrated Learning Management System (LMS) to support teaching and learning. However, although a lot of effort has been put into deploying these computerized systems, the data that they provide are not fully exploited from an educational perspective. In this paper we describe a case in which these data have been used to identify relevant relations between the general use of the LMS, the existence of teaching innovation programs and the quality of education. The method used can be easily generalized and employed in other different contexts, to derive meaningful information on the impact that some variables may have over others.     

Identifying key issues for university practitioners of garden-based learning in Spain

ABSTRACT

The presence of learning gardens in Spain is growing, and the current scenario is highly diverse in relation to issues such as participatory models or purposes, among others. In the context of the 1^st National Meeting on organic learning gardens, we convened eight expert practitioners in a focus group. Their discourse was analyzed through content analysis, after which four categories were selected for co-occurrence analyses. The most important questions for university garden-based practitioners in the country are presented, related to actors involved, functions that gardens fulfill, strengths of these educational resources, and requirements for their consolidation.     

Research of technical knowledge and creativity development of children in pre-primary education through interactive whiteboard

The introduced study represents methodology and results of research focused on utilization of interactive whiteboard as didactic technology mediating information through multimedia worksheets applied in education process in pre-primary education. Its aim was to determine whether it can significantly increase the level of children’s acquired knowledge in the field of technical skills education and whether it can positively influence the development of children’s creative skills as a sign of their motivation. We observe that this issue in the way it is theoretically and practically established in this study can contribute by proposing education standards and set of multimedia worksheets in the technical field in Slovak pre-primary education.     

A challenge for vocational guidance in Peru

Previously University Director of Student Welfare and Students' Concerns at that university. Has also worked as Vocational Counsellor and teacher at several universities in Peru. Is interested in psychological research and in vocational and psychological guidance.     

The social functions of evaluation in Argentine and Finnish higher education

This article examines the traditional assumption that higher education evaluation systems follow a similar global format. Comparative study examines institutional evaluation and assessment processes in two nation‐states that are geographically and economically remote but which, historically, share a common civic perspective. The main research question of the study is: What are the similarities and differences in the social functions of evaluation and assessment between these two countries, the models of evaluation of which originate from the same “homogeneous model of institutional evaluation”? The study demonstrates that Finnish and Argentine models of evaluation are nationally and contextually bound by general ideas rather than being applications of a global model.     

Pedro Gutiérrez Bueno’s Textbooks: Audiences, Teaching Practices and Chemical Revolution

Pedro Gutiérrez Bueno wrote two editions of a chemistry textbook between 1788 and 1802. The paper offers a comparative view of both editions taking into account Gutiérrez Bueno’s biography, his intended audience and the changes related to the so-called chemical revolution. Some conclusions are at odds with common images about scientific revolutions and the role of textbooks in science. The analysis aims to shed some light on the multiple historical forces shaping textbooks and the way in which scientific change is assimilated by their writers. This research was partially supported by the program BHA2002-04611-CO3-02     

Books and articles of academic interest

Books and articles of academic interest