Validation of the index for inclusion questionnaire for parents of non-university education students

The perspective from the parents of non-university students is essential in determining inclusive education in a school. The Index of Inclusion is one of the most widely used self-assessment tools and strategies to help teaching teams self-assess their political cultures and practices from the perspective of the values and principles of educational inclusion worldwide. For this reason, the present study intends to show evidence of validity of the Index for Inclusion questionnaire for parents of non-university education students, in a quantitative way, through a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In this study, 108 fathers and 500 mothers took part, aged between 21 and 62 years (M = 43.59; SD = 6.64), whose children belonged to educational institutions throughout Spain. The results revealed adequate adjustment rates, showing invariant structure with respect to sex. The Index for Inclusion for families of non-university education students was shown to be a robust and adequate psychometric instrument to assess the degree of development of inclusive education in educational institutions from the perspective of the parents of said student body. The family is a basic pillar in the education of children and a reference for them. In addition, parents of non-university education students are configured as fundamental participatory elements of the child’s educational institution thus; making the family a fundamental element that favors inclusive education. Precisely because of all this, the future administration of this questionnaire (to the parents of these students) is recommended

The Influence of Emotions, Motivation and Habits in the Academic Performance of Primary Education Students in French as a Foreign Language

Schools have traditionally focused on the cognitive development of students without paying attention to how emotions modulate the students’ psychological state and how this affects their academic performance. For that, the aim of this study is to determine the influence of emotions on the motivation of primary school students to learn French as a foreign language, and their influence on the adoption of adaptive habits and academic performance. For this purpose, the sample of participants consisted of 394 students who ranged in age from 10 to 13 years who answered three questionnaires on the study variables. Several statistical analyses were carried out that helped explain the causal relationships between the study variables and a predictive model hypothesized through structural equation modeling was created. The results revealed that positive emotion positively influenced academic motivation. At the same time, academic motivation was positively related to leisure habits related to French, and this was positively related to academic performance. In light of these results, the importance of attending to emotions in a foreign language class is highlighted, as well as the academic motivation of the students as it leads to adaptive behaviors and habits related to the learning of French

Validation of the Index for Inclusion Questionnaire for Compulsory Secondary Education Students

As one of the protagonists in education, the perspective of the students is fundamental in the determination of inclusive education in an educational center. The Index for Inclusion is an instrument and strategy for self-evaluation. One of their questionnaires, the questionnaire for compulsory secondary education students, is intended for students and has become one of the most used instruments to help teaching teams to self-assess their political and practical cultures from the perspective of the values and principles of educational inclusion worldwide. Some of the questionnaires included in the Index have been used in many studies, mainly in a qualitative way. For this reason, the present study intends to show evidence of validity of the Index for Inclusion questionnaire of students in a quantitative way through an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In this study, 727 secondary school students (359 boys and 368 girls) aged between 13 and 19 years (M = 13.89; SD = 1.35) took part. They belonged to six educational centers in the province of Almeria. To analyze the temporal stability of the Index for Inclusion student questionnaire, a second independent sample of 81 secondary school students was used, aged between 15 and 18 years (M= 16.14; SD = 0.78). The results revealed adequate adjustment rates, showing the invariant structure with respect to gender. The Student Inclusion Index was shown to be a robust and adequate psychometric instrument to assess the degree of development of inclusive education in schools from the perspective of secondary school students, and therefore, its future application to students in schools is recommended