Familia y escuela: trabajando conjuntamente

[Resumen] En este trabajo nos ocuparemos de la progresión en las relaciones entre la familia y la escuela y cómo, en el momento actual, es dificil precisar los límites de las competencias educativas de una y otra, aunque se compartan metas claramente comunes. Se considerarán las vías de conexión más utilizadas entre la familia y la escuela, y se harán propuestas de mejora basadas en los principios del cambio y en la optimización de los servicios ya existentes en los centros educativos

Emotional security and interparental conflict: responses of adolescents from different living arrangements

[Abstract] Objectives. Interparental conflict (IPC) is linked with adolescents’ heightened emotional insecurity about family relations. Our aim was to examine Spanish adolescents’ differential responses to IPC as a function of specific dimensions of IPC and emotional security, in two different living arrangements. Methods. Participants were 162 adolescents (M age = 15.55 years), comprising a community sample of 86 adolescents living with their families (CF) and an at-risk sample of 76 adolescents living in residential care (RC). Six video-recorded vignettes depicting everyday IPC were presented, two each of escalated (destructive), constructive, and unresolved conflicts. Multiple dimensions of adolescents’ emotional security responses (i.e., emotional reactivity, behavioral regulation, and cognitive representations) were examined. Results. Constructive conflicts generated more intense and positive emotions, more constructive cognitive representations, and a behavioral regulation pattern of higher interference. As expected, destructive conflicts generated negative emotions, destructive cognitive representations, and less interference in both groups. Unresolved conflicts had effects on adolescents that were closer to those of destructive conflict. RC adolescents were more emotionally insecure and reactive in response to constructive conflicts than CF adolescents and exhibited a blunted pattern of response to destructive conflicts, even when overall levels of emotional security were controlled. Sensitization to constructive conflict also appeared in adolescents low in emotional security. Girls evidenced greater involvement, less positivity and more negativity than boys. Conclusions. Our results have implications for understanding RC adolescents’ greater risk for adjustment problems and for broadening the scope of Emotional Security Theory in future research to include additional living arrangements

Las relaciones familia-escuela desde la perspectiva de los adolescentes

[Resumen] Pese a la reconocida importancia que las relaciones entre la familia y la escuela tienen para los alumnos, la mayoría de los trabajos en este ámbito se centran en los docentes o en los padres y no suele preguntarse a los chicos sobre sus percepciones y las implicaciones de estas relaciones. Por ello, se presentan los resultados de un estudio con una muestra de 175 alumnos gallegos de secundaria a los que se ha consultado sobre las relaciones entre la familia y la escuela. Los participantes señalan que los encuentros entre sus padres y profesores son más individuales que grupales, se dan undamentalmente con el tutor y tienen una calidad entre regular y buena. Perciben un nivel de acuerdo muy alto entre sus padres y sus profesores, y mayoritariamente esperan que las relaciones sigan igual. Culpan sobre todo a la familia si hay desacuerdos y, si ocurre esto, terminan no haciendo caso ni a padres ni a profesores. Cuando las relaciones son buenas, perciben el apoyo de ambas instituciones. La edad es más determinante que el sexo cuando se dan diferencias en las relaciones entre la familia y la escuela.[Abstract] Although the importance that the relationship between the family and the school has on students is highly accepted, the great majority of studies concentrate in the teachers or the parents, and children are not normally asked about their perceptions and the implications of these relationships on them. That is why we present the results of a research with a sample of 175 High school students to whom we have asked about the relationships between family and school Participants say that the meetings between their parents and their teachers are mostly individual than in group, they normally happen with the tutor and the quality varies between regular and good. They perceive a high agreement between their parents and their teachers, and mainly hope that the relationship continues like this. They above all blame the family if there are disagreements and, if this happens, they do not rely upon their parents neither their teachers. When the relationships are good, they perceive the support of both institutions. Age is more important than sex when there are differences in the family-school relationshi

Family and children’s educational needs: intervention and reflections

[Resumen] Cuando los hijos tienen necesidades especiales, cada vez más se adopta una visión de la intervención que va más allá de ocuparse solo de dicho hijo/a para plantear una actuación basada en la familia. No obstante, la intervención puede proponerse como una forma de que la familia continúe el trabajo profesional, o se puede entender que, como el bienestar del niño/a y de la familia están íntimamente unidos, trabajar en el bienestar de la familia redundará en el bienestar del hijo/a con necesidades especiales y viceversa. En la escuela, igualmente, de modo creciente, se acentúa la importancia de actuar en colaboración con la familia. En este marco amplio de colaboración familia-escuela es donde se encuadra la relación familia-escuela cuando un niño/a tiene necesidades educativas. En el programa Mentes Únicas, que es una intervención psicoeducativa para trabajar conjuntamente con los niños/as que tienen dificultades en el aprendizaje y sus familias, se entiende que es posible intervenir para la mejora socioemocional de niños/as y familias, al tiempo que, se aborda en una de sus sesiones, el trabajo de colaboración con la escuela. La versión de Mentes Únicas para la escuela, que se ha denominado MUPO, incluye a todos los niños/as de un aula, tengan o no dificultades en el aprendizaje, para abordar sus necesidades socioemocionales. En esta presentación se habla de ambos programas y se reflexiona sobre el papel de la escuela y sus profesionales al aproximarse a las necesidades educativas y socioemocionales del alumnado, así como de sus familias.[Abstract] An increasingly accepted approach to children with special needs stresses the commitment to paying attention to their families. But, addressing families may adopt two different approaches, one in which the family just follows the lead of the professional, or another in which it is assumed that the wellbeing of the child and the family are linked, thus, working in the wellbeing of the family will impact the wellbeing of the child and vice versa. In the school it is also increasingly accepted the importance of the family-school collaboration. In this broad family-school collaboration arena is where the relationship between family and school takes place when a child has special needs. The Unique Minds program is a psychoeducational intervention that works together with children who have learning disabilities and their families. The starting point is to work with the aim of improving children’s and families’ socialemotional dimensions, while, in one of its sessions, the family-school collaboration is addressed. The version of Unique Minds that has been developed to work at the school, called MUPO, addresses all children in the classroom, either with or without learning disabilities, to tackle their social-emotional needs. In this presentation, both programs will be presented, together with a reflection upon the role that the school and its professionals play when they approach the educational and social-emotional needs of their students and their families

Review of the book: No two alike. Human Nature and Human Individuality

Reseña de: Harris. J.R. (2015). No hay dos iguales. Individualidad humana y naturaleza humana. Madrid: Funambulista. 482 pp. ISBN: 978-84-943026-6-4. Depósito legal: M -36933-2041. [Original: No Two Alike. Human Nature and Human Individuality (2006).]El libro “No hay dos iguales” de Judith Rich Harris trata de responder a una pregunta difícil: por qué somos como somos, por qué incluso los hermanos, habiendo recibido una educación similar y compartiendo una dotación genética similar, son diferentes entre sí. Si alguien se había hecho antes esta pregunta, la autora, tras un recorrido casi detectivesco, le dará algunas respuestas basadas en nuestras dotaciones genéticas, en nuestras únicas interacciones con los demás y en la elaboración que como humanos hacemos de la información que nos proporcionan los que nos rodean.Review of: Harris. J.R. (2006). No Two Alike. Human Nature and Human Individuality. [Trad.: No hay dos iguales. Individualidad humana y naturaleza humana (2015). Madrid: Funambulista. 482 pp. ISBN: 978-84-943026-6-4. Depósito legal: M -36933-2041.]Judith Rich Harris’ book “No two alike” tries to answer one difficult question: why are we how we are, why even siblings who have been similarly educated and share similar gens are different. If someone had ever asked this, the author, working almost like a detective, will offer him or her some answers based in our gens, in our unique interactions with others and in the way we elaborate all the information we get from those around us

Exploring the relationship between interparental conflict and emotional security: what happens with adolescents in residential care compared to those living with their families?

[Abstract] The effect of interparental conflict (IPC) on adolescents has captured the attention of researchers for the last decades, but the study of the effect of IPC on the emotional security of adolescents in residential care (RC) based on Emotional Security Theory (EST) is limited. In this study, we examined adolescents' emotional security and insecurity (preoccupation and disengagement) determined by dimensions of IPC. Participants were 917 Spanish adolescents (Mean age = 15.07 years, SD = 1.75), 51% girls and 49% boys, divided in two subsamples: 171 adolescents living in RC and 746 adolescents living with their families (F). We used the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPIC) to explore interparental conflict dimensions, and the Security in the Family System Scale (SIFS) to analyze adolescents' emotional security in the family. Results showed that females perceived higher conflict and threat, and were more disengaged than males. Males self-blamed more and were more emotionally secure than females. Adolescents in RC perceived higher IPC, threat, and self-blame and were more insecure than adolescents F. Multigroup structural equation modeling comparing RC and F adolescents, and females and males showed similar causal negative relationships between conflict properties and security, and positive relationships between threat, disengagement and preoccupation. These results have implications for researchers and for practitioners when addressing family reunification for adolescents in RC or risks in community samples

Positive parenting: parental affect, control and justice towards siblings’ dyads and their relationships with adolescent children’s socio-emotional problems

[Resumen] Cuando se estudia la parentalidad positiva, no suele tenerse en cuenta la percepción que los hijos/as tienen del comportamiento diferencial de sus padres y madres hacia cada hijo/a. En este trabajo, los objetivos eran analizar las diferencias en problemas externalizantes e internalizantes de los hermanos/as, así como la relación entre afecto, control y justicia del trato de padres y madres, el ajuste entre afecto y control y los problemas externalizantes e internalizantes de hermanos/as adolescentes. Participaron 111 parejas de hermanos/as adolescentes (N = 222), en las que el/la mayor tenía una media de 15,18 años y el/la menor tenía una media de 12,85 años. Se usaron las subescalas de afecto y control del Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience (SIDE), se crearon ad-hoc medidas de la justicia del trato de los progenitores y se usó el Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) para evaluar los problemas internalizantes y externalizantes de los hijos/as. Los resultados indicaron que los hijos/as mayores tenían una media más elevada en problemas internalizantes y los menores en problemas externalizantes. Cuanto más elevado era el control materno de los hijos/as mayores comparado con los/las menores, más problemas externalizantes e internalizantes tenían los/las mayores. En los hijos/as mayores, el ajuste afecto-control de padre y madre se relacionó con menos problemas externalizantes, y el ajuste afecto-control de las madres se relacionó con menos problemas internalizantes. El trato materno percibido como más justo se relacionaba con menos problemas internalizantes y externalizantes de los hijos/as menores. El ajuste afecto-control del padre se relacionó con menos problemas internalizantes de los hijos/as menores. Estos resultados contribuyen al conocimiento del impacto diferencial del comportamiento parental positivo cuando tienen dos hijos/as adolescentes.[Abstract] When approaching positive parenting behaviors, the perception that children have of their parents’ differential relations towards each sibling is overlooked. In this study, the objectives were to analyse siblings’ differences in externalizing and internalizing problems as well as to analyse the relationship between the affect, control and justice of the parents’ behaviors, the adjustment between affect and control, and adolescents’ siblings externalizing and internalizing problems.Participants were 111 pairs of siblings (N = 222), in which the oldest sibling was 15,18 years old on average, while the youngest sibling was 12,85 years old on average. The subscales of affect and control of the Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience (SIDE), ad-hoc measures of parental justice towards each child and the externalizing and internalizing problem measures of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used. Results showed that the oldest siblings had higher mean scores in internalizing problems while the youngest siblings had higher mean scores in externalizing problems. The higher the maternal control towards her oldest child compared to the youngest one, the more the externalizing and internalizing problems of this oldest child. In the oldest siblings, the parents’ affect-control adjustment related to less externalizing problems, and the mother’s affect-control adjustment related to less internalizing problems. Maternal treatment perceived as fairer towards her children related to less internalizing and externalizing problems of the youngest child, while the father’s affect-control adjustment related to less internalizing problems in their youngest child. These results contribute to our knowledge about the differential impact that positive parenting has when parents have two adolescent children

Creencias sobre la relación familia-escuela. Cambios en el futuro profesorado tras recibir formación específica || Beliefs about family-school relationships. Changes in pre-service teachers after receiving specific training

Teachers’ beliefs about family-school relationship vary in a continuum according to the role that parents and teachers have, and the power that they hold. Pre-service teachers also have beliefs about this relationship and their own competence to develop it. Two groups of pre-service teachers (second year students) participated in this study. One group received specific training on family-school relationship and its improvement (116 students attending a degree in Early Childhood Education, who constituted the experimental group, EG). The other group was not trained (92 students attending a degree in Primary Education, who made up the control group, CG). The Beliefs about family-school Questionnaire (CCR) was developed and applied before and after the EG was trained. Results show that students in the EG increased their beliefs about family-school collaboration in the post-test and decreased their beliefs about parental subordination to teachers’ authority and parents’ carelessness. Students in the CG kept their beliefs unchanged, which were significantly more prone to support teachers’ authority and parental subordination and parents’ carelessness compared to the EG.. Perceived competence for family-school relationship did not change significantly in either group. However, significant correlations between beliefs and perceived competence were found, pointing out the importance of working pre-service teachers’ beliefs about family-school collaboration.Las creencias sobre la relación familia-escuela de los docentes varían en un continuo según el papel atribuido a padres y docentes, y el poder que tienen unos y otros. Los futuros docentes también tienen creencias sobre esta relación y su competencia para desarrollarla. En este trabajo participaron dos grupos de futuros docentes, alumnos de segundo curso. Un grupo recibió formación específica sobre la relación familia-escuela y su mejora (116 alumnos del grado de Educación Infantil, que constituyen el grupo experimental, GE). El otro grupo no recibió dicha formación (92 alumnos del grado de Educación Primaria, que constituyen el grupo control, GC).Se elaboró el Cuestionario de creencias sobre las relaciones familia-escuela (CCR) y se aplicó antes y después del entrenamiento del GE. Los resultados indican que los alumnos del GE incrementaron sus creencias sobre la colaboración familia-escuela en el post-test y redujeron las creencias sobre la subordinación y dejación de los padres y sobre la autoridad de los docentes. Los alumnos del GC mantuvieron sus creencias, significativamente más basadas en la autoridad de los profesores y la subordinación y dejación de los padres con respecto al GE. La competencia percibida para relacionarse con las familias no cambió significativamente en ambos grupos. No obstante, se hallaron correlaciones significativas entre las creencias y la competencia percibida, que evidencian la importancia de trabajar con los futuros docentes  las creencias basadas en la colaboración familia-escuela