Working with Emotions in the Classroom: Future Teachers’ Attitudes and Education

This paper discusses the results of a qualitative study aimed at analysing the attitudes of education students towards emotional education and the training that they receive in this area. The 122 participants were enrolled in the first year of the Teacher Training Degree in Primary Education at the University of Alicante (Spain). The study focused on their views about the relevance of emotional education in their initial teacher training, as well as their willingness to work with emotions in the future. The results suggest that pre-service teachers have favourable attitudes towards dealing with emotions in the classroom. They also recognised the importance of teachers’ training in developing pupils’ emotional competence. Additionally, they argued that their university lecturers provided them with various strategies to promote pupils’ learning about how to deal with emotions. However, they considered that this training was sparse and too theoretical. The proposals made by the participants notably included that it is essential to rely on emotional education from the earliest stages of the education system, and especially in teacher training programmes

The Quality of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis: Families’ Views

The birth of a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tends to strongly disrupt family dynamics and functioning. However, the severity of the impact may be softened if the family feels supported during the diagnostic process. The Valencia region (Spain)—where this study is located—recently put in place a protocol to improve ASD detection and support for families. The aim of this study was to identify these families’ views on the quality of the process experienced and the operation of the new system. The participants were 34 families with a child who had been diagnosed with this condition. A mixed methodological approach was adopted. A descriptive analysis and an interpretative-phenomenological study were performed using SPSS v. 25 and AQUAD 7, respectively. The results showed that while families seemed to be relatively satisfied, there is still room for improvement in some important areas such as guidance and emotional support, the training of the professionals involved, and waiting time. It was concluded that significant improvements must be implemented in the new diagnostic model to successfully meet the demands of families in a context characterized by a paucity of studies.This research was financed by the University of Alicante within the framework of the program REDES-I3CE 2019-20 and the “Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer’s Office Own Program for the promotion of R&D&I” at the University of Alicante 2019 (Project No. VIGROB-039/19)

Early care in children with autism spectrum disorder: state of the art and remaining challenges

El trastorno del espectro del autismo (TEA) constituye, actualmente, una de las alteraciones del desarrollo con mayores tasas de prevalencia. Sus elevadas cifras, unidas a las dificultades para la comunicación e interacción social, los patrones repetitivos y estereotipados de comportamiento y el repertorio limitado de intereses que presentan los menores con TEA, lo convierten, en la práctica, en una de las cuestiones más complejas para la sociedad y, en consecuencia, para los profesionales educativos. En este trabajo se abordan los principales hitos respecto a estas cuestiones, así como la consideración de la atención temprana (AT) como un elemento fundamental para hacer frente a este reto. En efecto, las técnicas de detección precoz e intervención interdisciplinar con el menor, la familia y el entorno, que ofrece la AT, representan una estrategia de reconocida eficacia. Sin embargo, los avances en la investigación y los cambios experimentados en la conceptualización del trastorno, junto con el impulso que supone el nuevo paradigma de AT, plantean la necesidad de avanzar en el conocimiento sobre los desafíos que aún quedan sin resolver en este ámbito.The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) currently stands out as one of the developmental disorders with higher prevalence rates. Its high figures, added to the difficulties for communication and social interaction, the repetitive and stereotyped behavior patterns, as well as the limited range of interests shown by minors diagnosed with ASD, actually turn it into one of the most complex issues faced by society and, accordingly, by educational professionals. This paper deals with the most important milestones in this regard, additionally focusing on the analysis of Early Care (EC) as a key element to cope with this challenge. As a matter of fact, the early detection techniques offered by EC –which include an interdisciplinary intervention with the minor, the family and the environment– have proved to be an effective strategy. However, both the research breakthroughs and the changes operated in the conceptualization of this disorder, along with the impetus given by the new EC paradigm, suggest a compelling need to make progress in the knowledge about the challenges which remain unsolved in this field text

Problematic Smartphone Use in Spanish and Italian University Students

Sustainable education requires the proper usage of technological devices. Among these is the smartphone, which is used by millions of young people around the world in today’s society. The objective of this study was to understand the smartphone usage profile of Spanish and Italian university students. It also aimed to identify possible problematic uses, and the differences in smartphone use (or abuse) between the participating subjects. The study was descriptive and comparative, with the intentional sampling of N = 1412 subjects studying at the education faculties of the University of Alicante (UA) and the Suor Orsola Benincasa University (UNISOB). A previously-validated questionnaire with 27 items was employed during the 2019–20 academic year. The data was analysed using the SPSS 25 programme. Descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out. The results obtained after the analysis of the data indicated that, of the four possible user types—occasional, habitual, at risk, and problematic—more than half of the sample identified themselves as habitual users. It can be concluded that there are significant differences between the universities: the UA students exhibited more problematic use than the UNISOB students. It is therefore necessary to prepare training programmes that are designed to avert problematic behaviours related to smartphone use.This work was supported by the Program Redes-I3CE of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Office for Quality and Innovation of the University of Alicante, under Grant 4676—Smartphones as a resource for initial teacher training. Mobile learning or addiction? Two of the authors belong to the GIDU-EDUTIC/IN Research Group of the University of Alicante (VIGROB-330), and one author belongs to the GITE Research Group of the University of Murcia

School Management: A Tightrope job?

Este estudio se llevó a cabo con el objetivo de reconocer las dificultades que plantea el desempeño de la función directiva. Para ello, se contó con la participación de 80 directores y directoras de centros educativos de la provincia de Alicante, a quienes se administró una escala tipo Likert sobre su experiencia en torno a la dirección escolar. Concretamente, se presentan los resultados referidos a las trabas e impedimentos que los líderes escolares han de afrontar en el cargo. Los datos aportados fueron procesados con el apoyo del software SPSS .21, con el que se realizó un estudio descriptivo básico. De los resultados se deduce que las tareas que les exigen un mayor esfuerzo están relacionadas con la gestión del tiempo y el impulso de la innovación educativa. Asimismo, subrayan la complejidad que supone la colaboración del equipo docente y del entorno familiar. Frente a ello, destacan que la relación con el personal no docente y la coordinación con el resto de miembros del equipo directivo son las funciones que entrañan una menor dificultad. Atender estos aspectos resulta crucial para mejorar el rendimiento de los líderes escolares y, en última instancia, superar la desafección que suele despertar la función directiva.This study was carried out in order to recognize the difficulties which the performance of the principalship function implies. To achieve this goal, 80 principals took part in the study, all of them from schools in the province of Alicante, who were administered a Likert scale about their experience in principalship. Specifically, the results refer to the obstacles and impediments that leaders must face in their position. The data provided were processed with the support of the SPSS. 21 software, with which a basic descriptive study was performed. From the results, it is deduced that the tasks which demand a greater effort are related to the management of time and the impulse of educational innovation. They also stress the complexity involved in the collaboration of the teaching team and the family environment. According to this, they emphasize that the relationship with the non-teaching staff and the coordination with the rest of the members of the management team are the functions that entail less difficulty. Addressing these aspects is crucial to improve the performance of school leaders and, ultimately, to overcome the disaffection that usually awakens the principalship

Sowing the seeds of educational leadership from the teacher training classroom

Este estudio se plantea identificar los modelos de liderazgo que los futuros docentes asocian a la función directiva. Se ha contado con la participación de 72 estudiantes de los Grados de Maestro en Educación Infantil y en Educación Primaria, de la Facultad de Educación (Universidad de Alicante). Se administró un cuestionario integrado por diez preguntas abiertas, con la intención de conocer su opinión sobre los modelos de liderazgo, la formación recibida al respecto y las motivaciones que les llevarían a ocupar este cargo en su futuro desempeño profesional. De éstas, en este estudio, se han considerado las referidas a los modelos de liderazgo. Se realizó un análisis de contenido inductivo, dentro del marco de la metodología cualitativa. Para el tratamiento de los datos se empleó el software Aquad 7. De los resultados se deduce que los participantes tienden a vincular al director/a con un modelo de liderazgo para la gestión, de carácter individual, al que otorgan una responsabilidad muy elevada. Estas opiniones podrían estar condicionadas por su experiencia educativa previa. Por tanto, se considera preciso trabajar en los centros de formación del profesorado para completar esta visión y alinearla con los modelos de liderazgo de carácter más social y distribuido.This study aims to identify the leadership models that teachers in training associate with the principalship function. The participants were 72 students on the Degrees in Preschool Education and Primary Education at the Faculty of Education (University of Alicante), who were administered a questionnaire comprising ten open questions in order to find out their opinions on leadership models, the training given in this area and the motivations that would lead them to become principals in the course of their careers. Regarding these opinions, only those involving leadership models are considered in this study. An inductive content analysis within the framework of qualitative methodology was performed. Aquad 7 software was used to process the data. It can be deduced from the results that the participants tend to connect the principal with a managerial leadership model of an individualist character, which they associate with great responsibility. These opinions could be conditioned by their previous experience in education. It is essential, therefore, that teacher training centres should work to make this view more complete and bring it into line with more social, distributed leadership models

The Access to the Principalship: A Challenge Aimed at Improving the Educational Community

Este estudio se planteó con el propósito de conocer los motivos que animaron a un total de 80 directores/as de centros educativos públicos, de la provincia de Alicante, a presentarse al cargo, así como de valorar otros factores relevantes de dicho procedimiento. Todos ellos cumplimentaron un cuestionario, a partir de cuya información se realizó un análisis descriptivo con el apoyo del programa SPSS .21. De los resultados se deduce que la mayoría accedió – desde alguno de los cargos del equipo directivo y habiéndose presentado únicamente su candidatura – para contribuir a la mejora de los centros y para dar alcance a un reto profesional. Asimismo, a la hora de seleccionar a los miembros de su equipo, se decantaron por sus cualidades profesionales. Se concluye que resulta de interés considerar estos aspectos, que contribuyen a dibujar el perfil profesional de los directores/as, para: (1) reconocer el compromiso que adquieren con su tarea; y, (2) orientar el diseño y desarrollo de políticas educativas que incrementen la atracción por este cargo.This study aims to identify the reasons that encouraged 80 principals, from public educational centres at the region of Alicante, to access the post and to assess other relevant factors of this process. All of them completed a questionnaire which data served for doing a descriptive analysis with the support of the software SPSS .21. From the results, it can be deduced that the majority accessed to the post – from some of one of the positions of the principal team and having submitted only their candidacy – to contribute to the improvement of the educational community and to reach a professional challenge. Additionally, at the time to select the other members of the team, they clearly considered their professional skills. It is concluded that the results are relevant because they allow to draw the principals’ professional profile that serves to: (1) recognise the commitment that they acquire with their task; and, (2), guide the design and development of educational policies with capacity to increase the attraction for the principalship

The voices of the female leaders of the University of Alicante on gender issues

Este trabajo surge con el propósito de conocer la percepción de 15 directoras de departamento de la Universidad de Alicante (UA) sobre el impacto que el género ha podido tener en las problemáticas experimentadas en el puesto, así como sobre las experiencias de discriminación vivenciadas. De los resultados se deduce que estas parecen presentar serias limitaciones a la hora de reconocer la influencia que el género posee en sus dificultades profesionales, así como en la identificación de las situaciones discriminatorias de las que han sido objeto. Ante ello, se considera oportuno evidenciar la cultura organizacional implícita para que las líderes sean capaces de distinguir, de manera consciente y reflexiva, las múltiples formas que el sexismo puede adoptar en la academia.This work studies the perception of 15 female department directors at the University of Alicante on the impact that gender might have had on the problems experienced in the position, as well as on the experiences of discrimination suffered. The results show that these women appear to present serious limitations when it comes to recognizing the influence of gender in their professional difficulties, as well as in identifying the discriminatory situations to which they have been subjected. Given this, it is appropriate to demonstrate the implicit sexism in organizational culture, so that female leaders are able to distinguish, in a conscious and reflective way, the multiple forms that it can adopt in the academy

Educación de calidad e igualdad de género como objetivos del desarrollo sostenible en la educación: una experiencia con docentes en España

This paper aims to assess the opinions of Physical Education teachers (PET) about their teaching intervention at a coeducational level. A further objective was to analyse PETs self-perceptions of their mixed and training interventions to describe possible training gaps. The qualitative study involved 191 high school PET from Andalusia (Spain). Some questions were conducted about three dimensions: gender stereotypes and attitudes in PE; teaching performance in coeducation, and coeducational teachers’ professional development in PE. The study's main results indicated that most teachers had neither different expectations of boys and girls nor a different way of treating them and, more than half of the participants considered themselves to be competent in coeducation. They preferred to receive training other than coeducational training. However, almost three-quarters of the sample had not received any coeducation training, or it was self-taught. The main conclusion is that PET consider that they have proper coeducational behaviour. The results showed that current teachers had improved their teaching intervention regarding gender equality compared to previous studies. The present study has had a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG )goals 4 and 5, quality education and gender equality, respectively and can be a reference for future research related to coeducation for teachers.Este trabajo tiene como objetivo evaluar la opinión de profesorado de Educación Física (PET) sobre su intervención docente en un nivel coeducativo. Otro de los objetivos fue analizar las autopercepciones de los PET (del inglés Physical Education Teacher, “PET") sobre sus intervenciones coeducativas y formativas para describir posibles lagunas formativas. En este estudio cualitativo han participado 191 PET de secundaria y bachillerato de Andalucía (España). Se realizaron preguntas sobre tres dimensiones: estereotipos y actitudes de género en EF; desempeño docente en coeducación y desarrollo profesional del profesorado coeducativo en EF. Los principales resultados del estudio indicaron que la mayoría de los docentes no tenían expectativas diferentes entre niños y niñas ni una forma diferente de tratarlos y más de la mitad de los participantes se consideraban competentes en coeducación. Preferían recibir cursos de especialización distintos a cursos de coeducación. Sin embargo, casi las tres cuartas partes de la muestra no había recibido ninguna formación en coeducación o era autodidacta. La principal conclusión es que los PET consideran que tienen un comportamiento coeducativo adecuado. Los resultados mostraron que los docentes actuales habían mejorado su intervención docente en materia de igualdad de género en comparación con estudios previos. El presente estudio pretende contribuir a las metas de los Objetivos del Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) 4 y 5, educación de calidad e igualdad de género respectivamente y puede ser un referente para futuras investigaciones relacionadas con la coeducación en docentes

The Satisfactions, Contributions, and Opportunities of Women Academics in the Framework of Sustainable Leadership: A Case Study

Women’s empowerment is one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 5, gender equality. However, little research has highlighted the contributions of sustainable female leadership in academic governance. In order to fill this gap, this study identifies and analyses the satisfactions, opportunities, and contributions of women academics to university governance and their perceptions of the potential impact of gender in this process. Forty-eight women leaders participated in the study. A purposive sampling technique was used because the research involved leaders who had held a management position in the university. The research methodology was qualitative, the instrument used for the collection of information was a semi-structured interview, and the analysis of the narratives was carried out with Aquad v. 7 software (Günter Huber, Tübingen, Alemania). The study revealed that the leadership style of the female academics is framed within the sustainable leadership approach. Beyond personal satisfactions, the main reward derived from the performance of the position lies in becoming transformative and catalysing agents of the institution, who try to find a balance between the economic and social interests of the organisation. The functions these female academics perform, within the framework of sustainable development, have a technical and, at the same time, humanised vision, as they focus on people and on personal and social values. Gender issues have not been a determinant in the satisfactions, opportunities, and contributions that the leaders make to the institution; however, participants emphasise that this was a strength for leadership.This research was financed by the University of Alicante and the Generalitat Valenciana (Spain) in the framework of the project “Research in Education for Sustainable Development: In-tegrating the 2030 Agenda in the university classroom. Honduras/Nicaragua/El Salvador” (RES. CUD-09-26/2022)