Algunas consideraciones en torno a la enseñanza de la Historia en el ámbito universitario

The aim of this article is not to summarize everything what has been said about what is history and its uses. We will try to reflect on history like an academic discipline and its education in the university, which must be, in our opinion, faithful to its main function: to improve the thought and to allow, consequently, the integral education of students. From our position, the only way to get a good group of professionals is teaching Contemporary History within a process and development of different capacities, above all, understanding and abstraction.Al abordar este artículo no pretendemos recoger, a manera de obligada síntesis, lo que hasta el momento se ha dicho sobre cuestiones tan complejas y controvertidas como qué es la Historia y qué utilidad tiene, ni mucho menos enumerar a cuantos estudiosos se han ocupado del carácter epistemológico de la Historia. Intentaremos, sin embargo, con un propósito modesto y ambicioso a la vez, ofrecer una serie de reflexiones acerca de la Historia como disciplina académica y sobre su enseñanza como Alma Mater.La Universidad española se debate en un proceso de transición entre dos modelos: uno llamado a desaparecer, pero que permanece aun vigente, y otro nuevo que todavía no se ha impuesto y que está en parte por definir. De hecho, el nuevo milenio ha supuesto un replanteamiento de muchas cuestiones que afectan a distintos ámbitos y, entre ellos, como no podía ser de otra foma, al universitario. En nuestra opinión la Universidad debe ser fiel a su principal función, que no es otra que fomentar el pensamiento y posiblitar, en consecuencia, el desarrollo de la educación integral de la persona.Si somos capaces de plantearnos la enseñanza de la Historia Contemporánea como un proceso de estímulo para el desarrollo de una serie de capacidades en instrumentos intelectuales,comprensión, abstracción,que les ayude a enfrentarse a las necesidades sociales del nuevo milenio, estaremos consiguiendo un plantel de buenos profesionales

Two-level interacting boson models beyond the mean field

The phase diagram of two-level boson Hamiltonians, including the Interacting Boson Model (IBM), is studied beyond the standard mean field approximation using the Holstein-Primakoff mapping. The limitations of the usual intrinsic state (mean field) formalism concerning finite-size effects are pointed out. The analytic results are compared to numerics obtained from exact diagonalizations. Excitation energies and occupation numbers are studied in different model space regions (Casten triangle for IBM) and especially at the critical points.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure

The Dark Side of the Self-Determination Theory and Its Influence on the Emotional and Cognitive Processes of Students in Physical Education

Amongst the main objectives of physical education (PE) classes is the consolidation of healthy lifestyle habits in young people and adolescents. Nonetheless, these classes can also provide the basis from which adverse experiences are generated which affect students’ perceptions of these classes. Previously conducted studies have focused on motivational processes and not on emotional processes, nor on the way in which students learn. The objective of the present study was to explore the dark side of the self-determination theory, its influence on emotional intelligence and the meta-cognitive strategies of students. Methodology: A total of 1602 young people undertaking secondary education participated, with self-reported ages between 13 and 19 years. The following questionnaires were utilized: Controlling Coach Behaviors Scale, Frustration of Psychological Needs in PE classes Scale, Emotional Intelligence in PE Scale and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. A structural equation model was developed which explained causal associations between the study variables. Results: Psychological control positively predicted each one of the sub-factors of frustration of psychological needs. Frustration of psychological needs negatively predicted emotional intelligence. Finally, emotional intelligence positively predicted meta-cognitive thinking. Conclusions: The influence and importance of the teaching style adopted by teachers is indicated, in addition to the effect of students’ psychological experiences on emotions and learning strategie