Activity of Universities in Social Networks: Correlations of Rankings, Students, Followers and Interactions

[Abstract] The Internet and social networks are widely used by students. For higher education, which operates in a highly competitive environment, marketing is a fundamental tool for universities to distinguish themselves and attract new students. Social networks are one of the best options for influencing university choice. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between some indicators related to universities and their use of and results on social networks. We carried out quantitative correlational research to study the number of students and ranking position as university indicators as well as the number of followers, posts, and interactions (likes, comments, and shares) weekly and per post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Data were collected from 83 Spanish universities over 14 weeks in 2021. Correlation analysis showed that the number of students is closely related to the number of followers and interactions, although to varying degrees. The position of a university in the rankings exhibited a particularly significant correlation with their number of followers on almost all the networks. In addition, the higher the university in the ranking, the higher the number of interactions per post that it obtained on Facebook and Twitter. It was also found that universities with more followers had more interactions (likes, comments, and shares) with their posts. Finally, the number of posts was found to be positively related to the interactions per week but not to the interactions per post. This study has identified some significant relationships between the characteristics of all Spanish universities and their performance on four social networks, which may help universities become better at acting and communicating on them

A educación literaria a través da lectura dos clásicos

Traballo Fin de Grao en Mestre/Mestra de Educación Primaria. Curso 2016-2017La educación literaria surge en reacción a la enseñanza de la literatura tradicional para transmitir el gusto por la lectura frente a la memorización de listas de obras y autores y al comentario de textos. Esta metodología ofrece una gran oportunidad de reinterpretar los clásicos para entenderlos como instrumentos que contribuyan al disfrute de la lectura al tiempo que sirven de modelo para mejorar la competencia comunicativa. Frente a esta metodología historicista y procesual del estudio de los clásicos y la imposición de su lectura, este trabajo propone, desde la perspectiva de la educación literaria, la incorporación de textos clásicos a la etapa de primaria como elementos que pueden impulsar el gusto por la lectura y la competencia literaria del alumnadoA educación literaria xurde en reacción ao ensino da literatura tradicional para transmitir o gusto pola lectura fronte á memorización de listas de obras e autores e ao comentario de textos. Esta metodoloxía ofrece unha gran oportunidade de reinterpretar os clásicos para entendelos como ferramentas que contribúan á lectura ao tempo que serven de modelo para mellorar a competencia comunicativa. Fronte a esta metodoloxía historicista e procesual do estudo dos clásicos e da imposición da súa lectura, este traballo propón, dende a perspectiva da educación literaria, a incorporación de textos clásicos á etapa de primaria como elementos que poden impulsar o gusto pola lectura e a competencia literaria do alumnadoThe literary education appears as a reaction against the traditional methods that had been used for teaching classic literature, for example, memorizing titles and writers or analysing texts. This methodology offers a great opportunity to understand the classics as instruments that can contribute to promote their reading and, at the same time, the communication in the mother tongue’s key competence. This investigation proposes the incorporation of the classics to the Elementary Education curriculum because they could be tools that stimulate reading, instead of keeping the historic method that is used nowadays to teach literature so these books will continue being rea

Book review: Educational Research

Reseña del libro: JORRÍN-ABELLÁN, Iván M., FONTANA ABAD, Mónica. Investigar en educación. Bartolomé Rubia-Avi (coord.). Madrid: Síntesis, 2021. 302 p. ISBN: 978-84-1357-072-3[Resumen] La investigación en educación está influenciada por la naturaleza social de los fenómenos que aborda. En consecuencia, el como la persona investigadora percibe e interpreta el contexto que le rodea influye en las decisiones que toma sobre la metodología de estudio. Partiendo de esta premisa, los autores del libro presentan una secuencia actualizada de pasos sobre los que se debe reflexionar durante el planteamiento y diseño de una investigación. Dirigido principalmente a investigadoras e investigadores noveles, este manual constituye una valiosa guía para favorecer la elaboración de estudios con una base sólida y bien informada. Mediante la conjunción de teoría y práctica, el lector encontrará aquí un gran apoyo para llevar a cabo estudios cualitativos, cuantitativos y mixtos de calidad.[Abstract] Educational research is highly influenced by the social nature of the phenomena it addresses. Consequently, how the researcher perceives and interprets the surrounding context influences the decision he or she makes about the study methodology. Based on this premise, the authors of the book present an updated sequence of steps that should be considered during the planning and design of a research project. This handbook, which is primarily aimed at novice researchers, constitutes an invaluable guide to assist in the preparation of solidly based and well-informed studies. Through the combination of theory and practice, the reader will find here great support to carry out qualitative, quantitative, and mixed quality studies

Effects of a homework implementation method (MITCA) on school engagement

[Abstract] MITCA (homework implementation method) was born with the purpose of turning homework into an educational resource capable of improving the self-regulation of learning and the school engagement of students. In this article, following the current theoretical framework, we evaluate the impact of the MITCA method on school engagement in students in the 5th and 6th years of Primary Education. While the control group of students who did not participate in the 12 weeks of MITCA (N = 431; 61% of 5th grade) worsened significantly in emotional, behavioral, and cognitive engagement, these pre-post differences do not reach significance for the group that has participated in MITCA, even observing a tendency to improve. After the intervention, the students who participated in MITCA (N = 533; 50.6% of 5th grade) reported greater emotional and behavioral engagement than the students in the control group. MITCA students showed positive emotions, were happier in school and were more interested in the classroom, paid more attention in class, and were more attentive to school rules. The conditions of the tasks’ prescription proposed by MITCA would not only restrain the lack of engagement but would also improve students’ emotional and behavioral engagement in school found in the last years of Primary Education. In the light of the results, a series of educational strategies related to the characteristics of these tasks, such as the frequency of prescription and the type of correction are proposed.Xunta de Galicia; ED481A 2021/3

Sociodemographic Characteristics and Stress of People from Spain Confined by COVID-19

This study responds to the need to explore the individual characteristics that may help us to understand the levels of stress involved in the significant COVID-19-related restrictions to people’s daily lives. In order to understand levels of stress and stress control during the COVID-19 confinement, 1269 people from Spain (17.5% men) aged between 18 and 70 completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14). The results indicated that people aged under 40, and especially those under 25, women, and those on low incomes reported higher rates of confinement stress. The nature of where people live, and their working situation during confinement also contributed to people’s stress response, although with lower levels of impact. In this context, our study suggests that the levels of stress in those who combine remote working with in situ working were lower than those who had other working conditions. Our study contributes significant information to understanding the effects of confinement, and its results may be used to inform intervention tools and programs

School Engagement, Academic Achievement, and Self-Regulated Learning

[Abstract] School engagement occupies a place of reference in recent educational psychology research owing to its potential to address poor school results and school dropout rates. However, there is a need for a unifying theoretical framework. The study proposed the characterization of school engagement and explored the extent to which different profiles are associated with academic performance and self-regulation. With a sample of 717 5th and 6th year primary school students, this study was carried out via the latent profile analysis (LPA). Two groups of low school engaged students—one characterized by low behavioral engagement (5.02%) and the other by low emotional engagement (6.55%)—were distinguished. The majority of participants showed moderately high (31.95%) or moderate (56.48%) levels of school engagement in its three dimensions. Students with high engagement had the best grades and managed their time and study surroundings better, were the most strategic in seeking information, and showed less maladaptive regulatory behavior. The differences between students exhibiting low behavioral and emotional engagement and those exhibiting moderate levels in these dimensions may center upon the management of contextual resources and management of information and help. This research supports the need to approach the study of school engagement by observing the combination of its emotional, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions.This study was performed thanks to financing from research project EDU2013-44062-P (MINECO) and EDU2017-82984-P (MEIC)

Responsible Research and Innovation: an opportunity to develop creative skills at Higher Education

[EN] During the last decades, research and innovation have experienced a revolution that has lead to new challenge, and creativity has been identified as a main skill for professional success. In this context, not only concerns about involving society in research and innovation processes have been increasing but also to make this process responsible. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has been defined as the approach for making research and innovation a collaborative, intergenerational and democratic process. The HEIRRI project aims to integrate RRI at all stages of education with the creation of different programs in Higher Eduaction. The aim of this study is assess how creativity has been developed in an RRI framework in the HEIRRI Summer School programme troughout an Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) approach. On the basis of the results, this paper highlights that the IBL approach, but also the RRI framework foster creativity development in a research proposal design but also that have an impact on how researchers’ perceive their profession. This paper concludes that integral elements of this pedagogical approach and RRI, such as discussion, multidisciplinarity and including different voices and perspectives are main ingredients to promote creativity in research and innovation processes and have a transformative potential.http://ocs.editorial.upv.es/index.php/HEAD/HEAD18Rodríguez, G.; Saladié, N.; Revuelta, G.; Vizuete, C.; Llorente, C.; Carrió, M. (2018). Responsible Research and Innovation: an opportunity to develop creative skills at Higher Education. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1255-1262. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD18.2018.8187OCS1255126

Recompensas parentales y ansiedad con los deberes

[Resumen] La familia es un pilar fundamental en el desarrollo del alumnado en sus procesos de aprendizaje, concretamente en los deberes escolares. Las acciones de los padres para controlar o apoyar el comportamiento de la tarea de sus hijos y la realización de tareas pueden afectar las actitudes de los estudiantes y su logro académico. Existen numerosos tipos de apoyo y control parental que promueven reacciones positivas y negativas de los estudiantes (Regueiro et al., 2017)

El papel de la repetición y el rendimiento académico en el abandono escolar temprano

Given the serious negative consequences of dropping out of school for both the individual and society, researchers have tried to identify the factors that predict students’ drop out, in the hope of developing interventions that improve risky processes. Taking into account the difficulties in measuring and assessing the factors affecting the abandonments that have already occurred and assuming the relationship between the intention to abandon and the actual abandonment, it seems essential to develop a broad characterization of the students who intend to give up. At this point, with a sample of 267 Spanish students (48.7% women; Mage=14.38; SD=1.09) of the 2nd (no=138) and the 3rd (n=129) grade of Secondary Education, the incidence of repetition and academic performance on the intention to leave before completing compulsory secondary education are explored. The results of this work suggest that the probability of early abandonment is significantly higher among those who have repeated one or two courses in the high school than among those who have not repeated in that educational stage (OR= 8,769, IC 95% 2,304-33,378; Q=.79) and that the probability of quitting may also be higher among students who report lower than average academic performance than among those who report above-average performance (OR= 4,336, IC 95% ,968-19,421; Q=.64). In light of our results, while not currently repeating or not having repeated in Primary Education could guarantee, to some extent, the intention to complete the studies, neither these factors nor the low ratings are established as direct predictors of the intention of early abandonment. In the light of these results, the personal and motivational profile of early school drop-out may continue to be explored.Dadas las graves consecuencias negativas de abandonar la escuela para el individuo y para la sociedad, los investigadores han tratado de identificar los factores que predicen el abandono con la esperanza de desarrollar intervenciones que mejoren los procesos de riesgo. Teniendo en cuenta las dificultades para medir y evaluar los factores que afectan a los abandonos que ya han ocurrido y asumiendo la relación entre la intención de abandono y el abandono real, parece esencial desarrollar una caracterización amplia de los estudiantes que tienen la intención de abandonar. En este punto, con una muestra de 267 alumnos españoles (48.7% mujeres; Mage=14.38; SD=1.09) que cursaban 2º (n=138) y 3º (n=129) de ESO se explora la incidencia de la repetición y el rendimiento académico sobre la intención de abandonar antes de completar la educación secundaria obligatoria.Los resultados de este trabajo sugieren que la probabilidad de que se dé una intención de abandono temprano es significativamente más alta entre quienes han repetido uno o dos cursos en la ESO que entre aquellos que no han repetido en ESO (OR= 8,769, IC 95% 2,304-33,378; Q=.79) y que la probabilidad de abandonar puede ser también más elevada entre los estudiantes que informan de rendimiento académico inferior a la media que entre quienes informan de rendimiento superior a la media (OR= 4,336, IC 95% ,968-19,421; Q=.64). Atendiendo a nuestros resultados, si bien no estar repitiendo actualmente o no haber repetido en EP podría garantizar, en cierta medida, la intención de completar los estudios, ni estos factores ni las bajas calificaciones se establecen como predictores directos de la intención de abandono temprano. A la luz de estos resultados cabe seguir explorando el perfil personal y motivacional del abandono escolar temprano

Carbon sequestration offsets a large share of GHG emissions in dehesa cattle production

The contribution of cattle production to climate change is increasingly recognized, and there is a need to identify those systems minimizing emissions and maximizing carbon (C) sinks. In the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, cattle are produced on dehesa agroforestry systems, where cows and calves graze together until weaning, and calf fattening is based on external feed. The aim of this study was to assess the Carbon footprint (CF) of beef of this extensive production system using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The study collects data from 15 extensive cattle farms, 6 organically (ORG) and 9 conventionally (CONV) managed; 4 farms had their own fattening facilities while most of the farms sold calves to 2 specialised fattening farms also studied. CF calculation includes field monitoring of C sequestration on soils and woody biomass in a selection of well-known points with previous estimations. The limit of the system was “cradle to gate”, and the functional unit was 1 kg LW of calf at slaughtering age. The main C sinks of the dehesa system sequestered an average of 3.3 t CO2eq ha−1 year−1. The average CF of the final product was 6.43 ± 21.46 kg CO2eq kgLW−1, with numerically lower but not statistically different average CF in ORG than in CONV systems. The inclusion of C sequestration, that averaged −13.52 kg CO2eq kgLW−1, offset 95% and 54% on ORG and CONV farms, respectively. In some cases, C sequestration compensated all GHG emissions and resulted in negative CF. There was a direct negative relationship between CF and stocking rate, leading to negative CF values in those farms with lowest stocking rates