Moderating Factors in University Students’ Self-Evaluation for Sustainability

Background: Self-evaluation is a multidimensional construct that has raised increasing interest within educational research at different educational stages. Different studies have pointed out the important role that Student Self-Assessment plays in improving student learning and ensuring the sustainability in instructional and evaluation processes. Method: The aim of this study with 630 university students is to analyze how engagement profiles and study strategies (measured by questionnaire) can predict the accuracy of students’ self-assessment of their achievements. For this purpose, the UWE-9 questionnaire was used to evaluate engagement, the Study Techniques Questionnaire scale to measure study strategies and a content-based test to evaluate performance, along with a self-assessment test in which the student had to estimate the level of achievement obtained in the content-based test, once the test had been completed. Results: The results show that both the academic engagement and the study strategies undertaken by students can be important factors that may influence different aspects of learning in the educational context. Students with higher performance and more engagement tend to show greater skills with student self-assessment (SSA) and students with better study habits tend to have better scores, greater confidence in the SSAs delivered and better skills for self-assessment. Conclusions: Findings suggests that providing opportunities for students to have a greater involvement in the construction of their learning and in its evaluation raises positive attitudes, which results in increased performance in order to achieve greater sustainability in the learning process assessment

Self-Concept as a Mediator of the Relation Between University Students’ Resilience and Academic Achievement

Academic achievement is a factor of interest in both psychology and education. Determining which factors have a negative or positive influence on academic performance has produced different investigations. The present study focuses on analyzing the relationship between resilience, emotional intelligence, self-concept and the academic achievement of university students. For this purpose, different self-report tools were administered to a sample of 1,020 university students from Southern Spain. The Structural Equation-based mediational analysis suggests that there is no direct relationship between resilience and academic achievement, nor between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. Likewise, self-concept is positioned as a mediating factor in the relationship between resilience and academic achievement. The findings indicate that university students who exhibit high levels of resilience tend to cope better with difficult moments and understand and value the effort required and invested in study time. This study supports positive beliefs and behaviors for better academic achievement

What are pre-service teachers like? Analysis of their psychosocial profile

Modern society is becoming increasingly interested in people who are emotionally competent and who have the psychosocial skills required to be successful within the current social environment. However, no studies have been published on the assessment of the role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) on mental health if we assume the possible mediation of resilience and personality factors in the case of pre-service teachers. Therefore, the aim of the study was to analyse the mediating role of resilience and personality factors in the relationship between EI and mental health of 1,022 pre-service teachers enrolled in different educational degrees. The results found support the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between emotional intelligence and mental health; nevertheless, this was not the case when personality traits were analysed. Furthermore, it has been found that EI and resilience positively affect mental health of university students. Practical implications of this study are oriented towards an advance within the emerging trend of deepening the EI and resilience constructs among mental health care providers. Only if we understand the complex interactions between the constructs which determine people will it be possible to develop educational and health programmes responding to current needs.Research Plan of the University of Granada PPJIA2021-2

Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Optimism According to Gender and Social Context (Urban vs. Rural)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of Emotional Intelligence on optimistic-pessimistic attitudes in a sample of 177 people from the Autonomous Community of Andalusia (Spain). The sample consisted of 102 women (57.60%) and 75 men (42.40%), who live in different localities depending on the number of residents (urban and rural context). The instruments used in the study were: The Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R), Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQi-C), and Wong-Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS-S). The results indicated that Emotional Intelligence was positively related to optimism and negatively related to pessimism (p < 0.01). In addition, pessimism was found to be significantly related to the rural context, but not to the urban context. The multigroup Structural Equations model was developed for the gender variable, and it had good structural validity (chi(2) = 96.485; RMSEA = 0.056; GFI = 0.901; CFI = 0.900; IFI = 0.907), which was greater for the female gender. The practical consequences of this study help to understand the usefulness of EQ on optimism-pessimism as an attribute between urban vs. rural areas and the effect of living in socio-culturally different environments

Inspection Digital Literacy for School Improvement

Educational inspection, as an essential part of the current educational environment, supports its mission through more pragmatic and comprehensive processes, techniques, and models, which guarantee the right of students to quality education. The aim of the present study was to determine the causal effect of gender and age on the dimensions of the instrument in the inspector population. Specifically, 118 male and female inspectors from the Educational Inspection Service of Andalusia (Spain) participated, with an average age of 47.56 years ( 5.70). In terms of gender, 30 were women (25.40%) and 88 were men (74.60%). An instrument was developed specifically for this study with the purpose of assessing the participants’ opinions of the extent to which their work contributes to educational improvement. The results evidenced the relationship between the dimensions of the instrument: attention to members of the educational community (AMEC), supervision of guidance and tutorial action (SGTA), attention and inclusion of diversity (AID), and technological resources (TR) (p < 0.01). Similarly, the multigroup model obtained good structural validity ( 2 = 68.180; RMSEA = 0.078; GFI = 0.923; CFI = 0.959; IFI = 0.967). In terms of gender, no significant differences were obtained, although the results were moderately superior among males compared to females. In relation to age, younger inspectors had better TR results, and older inspectors had better AMEC and SGTA results. The conclusions strengthen the importance of the Education Inspection Service in educational establishments, highlighting the need to supervise the processes of attention and inclusion for diversity. A great deal of resistance was observed, especially as there is a lack of training in information and communication technology (ICT).Junta de Andalucía, research group No. HUM-8

Impact of Confinement on Coping Strategies and Psychosocial Factors among University Students

The pandemic has had psychological effects on the university population. Factors such as emotional intelligence, coping strategies and levels of anxiety, depression and stress have been affected by the situation generated by COVID-19. This study aims to analyze how EI, coping strategies and levels of anxiety, depression and stress have been affected by the situation generated by the pandemic in a population of 567 students from the University of Jaén (Spain). For this purpose, we administered three instruments: theWong and Law emotional intelligence scale (WLEIS), the Spanish version of the coping strategies inventory (CSI) and the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS-21). At the same time, we asked students to describe their personal circumstances during confinement and their tendency to follow the measures and recommendations promoted by the Ministry of Health. The results obtained showed a positive relationship between EI and coping strategies and a negative relationship with levels of depression, anxiety and stress. A positive relationship was also found between coping and levels of anxiety, depression and stress. It was also found that the circumstances in which students experienced the period of confinement also modulated their levels of EI, coping strategies and their levels of depression, anxiety and stress.Research Plan of the University of Granada PPJIA2021-2

An Explanation of Job Satisfaction in School Principals Based on their Performance of the Position

La dirección escolar y el ejercicio del liderazgo pedagógico son vinculantes en la mejora de la calidad de los centros educativos y en su funcionamiento. Es vital que las personas al frente del cargo estén satisfechas con la función de dirección que llevan a cabo, hecho que deriva en una mayor motivación y compromiso con su desempeño profesional. En este trabajo estudiamos la satisfacción laboral de los directores de centros de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, dada la relevancia del cargo para el buen funcionamiento de las instituciones escolares. Para ello, llevamos a cabo un análisis secundario a partir de datos obtenidos en la última edición del estudio Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) promovido por la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE en adelante) (OECD, 2014) con el objetivo de explicar la satisfacción en la dirección escolar a partir de variables que hacen referencia al ejercicio de la función directiva. Los resultados muestran mayor satisfacción de la dirección cuando esta hace partícipe a la comunidad educativa de la toma de decisiones, ejerciendo su labor de liderazgo pedagógico y fomentando una cultura de colaboración. Entre las tareas relacionadas con la insatisfacción laboral se encuentran aquellas vinculadas al modelo de gestión burocrático tradicional todavía vigente. Finalmente se ofrecen propuestas orientadas a la mejora de la satisfacción de la dirección basadas en la formación continua a través de itinerarios profesionales de dirección y la formación en competencias relacionadas con el liderazgo distribuido, la creación de espacios de colaboración entre los agentes educativos y la potenciación de las comunidades de aprendizajeSchool management and pedagogical leadership are key in the improvement of the quality of schools. It is vital to people in charge to be satisfied with their performance of the position, a fact that leads to a greater motivation and commitment. In this paper we study job satisfaction of principals in secondary schools, given the importance of educational agents for the proper running of schools. To this end, a secondary data analysis is carried out based on data obtained in the latest edition of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) study promoted by the OECD (OECD, 2014) with the aim of explaining satisfaction in the school management related to variables associated to the performance of the role. The results show a greater satisfaction of principals when they allow the community to participate in the decision making process, when they perform a distributed leadership and promote a collaborative culture. Among the tasks related to job dissatisfaction are those linked to the traditional bureaucratic management model still prevailing. Based on the results, there have been made some proposals based on the development of professional management paths and training in skills related to distributed leadership, the promotion of collaboration spaces between educational agents and learning communities

Measures to reduce school failure from school and classroom on the stage of secondary education

El fracaso escolar es una problemática de dimensión internacional que afecta a todos los sistemas educativos y que en España sigue siendo una preocupación vigente. Para estudiarlo nos planteamos la siguiente finalidad: descubrir y analizar situaciones de fracaso escolar vividas por diferentes agentes, a fin de comprenderlas y averiguar la posible responsabilidad de la propia escuela y el docente para, apoyándonos en lo aprendido de la experiencia, derivar acciones de mejora. En este trabajo nos centraremos en presentar la segunda parte de la finalidad descrita. Se ha desarrollado mediante una metodología cualitativa de corte fenomenológico. Los sujetos participantes están constituidos por: profesorado en activo, profesores jubilados, estudiantes que viven fracaso escolar y sujetos integrados en el mundo laboral que experimentaron situaciones de fracaso escolar. El instrumento utilizado para la recogida de información ha sido la “entrevista semiestruturada en profundidad. Los resultados se han obtenido a partir de “análisis de contenido” y, con ayuda del programa cualitativo Nvivo 11 Plus, presentamos una serie de medidas y recomendaciones útiles para la escuela y el docente en la reducción del fracaso escolarSchool failure is an issue of international scope which affects all education systems, it is a current concern still unsolved in Spain. The following aim is addressed to tackle this matter: identification and analysis of the school failure circumstances lived by different individuals in order to understand and determine the possible liabilities of the school and teachers and follow actions for improvement based on experience. This research has been carried out following a qualitative phenomenological methodology. The inquired participants are: working teachers, retired teachers, students with school failure and active individuals that experienced school failure situations. Data has been gathered developing a “deep semistructured interview”. The results have been obtained from "content analysis" and, with the help of the qualitative program Nvivo 11 Plus, we present a series of measures and recommendations that are useful for the school and the teacher in reducing school failur

New trends in education: the use of ICT in different ways

In the 21st century and due to the exponential growth of the Internet and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), people live in a technological age, in all areas and in all contexts, we have daily contact with technology, with access to Information. This dynamic requires a constant update of the services and technological tools that change the method that we study, work, communicate and socialize on an unprecedented scale. These constant changes force everyone, regardless of age, gender or profession, to possess a range of functional and critical thinking skills, such as information literacy, media literacy and technological literacy. The evolution of technologies, forces the promoters of education, to always be aware of the changes that society is introducing outside the classroom. Today, students don't have the same pattern as before, regardless of age, they are very active and are no longer the same introverted child who studied a few years ago in the classroom. According to this, students are eager for different forms of motivation inside and outside the classroom, they need the learning and teaching process to move along with changes in society and ICT. To ensure the success of today's students, it is important to provide them with the technological skills to make the correct use of ICTs, to perform tasks essential to their learning process, such as researching and selecting information, creating content, information sharing, use of collaboration tools or environment simulation tools. The main objective of this chapter is to show how ICT tools that can be used in educational environments to help students, helping them develop key skills in their training process, is also relevant to show how these tools can help teachers achieve these goals in daily activities with their students

Analysis of the University Institution Through the Leadership Exercised by University Students: An Approximate Study at the University of Granada.

In this article, we present a descriptive research, carried out at the University of Granada. With the objective of analyzing university students' self-perception about their role as university leaders, a mixed methodological design was developed in which a questionnaire was passed, semi-structured interviews were conducted and discussion groups were given to a total sample of 80 students University professors who held positions of representation and actively participated in the various governing bodies of the University. This research is justified on the need to encourage the participation of the majority population, the student, in the curricular, organizational and political decisions of the university. At the same time, the fact that students are the main affected in these, further support the realization of this study. The results show a gradual increase in the level of involvement of university students to access the University management and participation bodies. However, at the same time and, we want to highlight the lack of diffusion and promotion of this figure of leadership, by the different positions of university government