Educational Research on Diversity and Quality Improvement in Education

Abstract

Julie Spencer-Rodgers1, Antonio Cortijo-Ocana21Dept. of Psichology, California Politechnical University, University of California, Berkeley, USA {rodgers@berkeley.edu}2Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA fanncortijo@ainn.conn}Received on 18 December 2014; revised on 18 December 2014; accepted on 29 December 2014; published on 15 January 2015DOI: 10.7821/naer.2015.1.121We must face many challenges in order to improve the quality of our Education if we want it to be based on basic and applied research. Contemporary advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which arrived years ago with the intention of remaining among us, allows us to derive from them (from a deep reflection about and investigation on their possibilities of utilization) several applications destined to improve the quality of Education per se and to maybe contribute to a change of paradigm. Despite the intrinsic great capabilities of ICT to process information, this cannot be based on a simple manifestation of 'brute' force, that is a simple displaying of 'brute' data; rallier it must be based on the relational capability and the development of cognitive possibilities that contribute efficiently to the production of knowledge. And this must come in turn from a healthy and intelligent interdisciplinary based on the contribution of many epistemological points of view, diverse techniques, disciplines, personal experiences, and concepts. Also, it must be based on healthy biodiversity and the practice of exogamy, that is a large number of scholars that represent several research teams working from numerous highly reputable universities in several countries. We are talking not only about magnitude, quantity, and size but also -and particularly, we must add-about a fine-tuning that promotes-from concrete data-an access to a refined knowledge.Die articles that we are proud to present in this new issue of the Journal of New Approaches on Educational Research amply satisfy the abovementioned requirements. In addition, and to use the keywords of the very title of the journal, they include new approaches and the utilization of new techniques, disciplines, and concepts on the benefits that Education can effectively derive from an interdisciplinary research about the great options provided by the ICT.In tliis regard, and upon fulfilling the strict requirements of a double blind peer review, we are happy to present the results of the original research of these articles: Determinants of Internet Use for Interactive by Jonatan Castano, Jo sep M. Duart, and Teresa Sancho (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya); Media Literacy through photography and participation. A conceptual approach by Angel V. Rabadan (Universidad de Huelva);Educative Supervision in International Cooperation Contexts by Ana Ortiz (Universidad de Jaen), Pedro Valdivia-Moral (Universidad de Huelva), Javier Cachon (Universidad de Jaen), and Joel Prieto (Cardenal Herrera); Enhancing Learning with tiie Social Media: Studient Teachers' perceptions on Twitter in a Discussion Activity by Gema Tur (Universitat de les Illes Balears); The Evaluation questionnaire of Teaching Skills at tiie University Level by Juan Antonio Moreno-Murcia, Yolanda Silveira Torregrosa, and Noelia Belando Pedreno (Universidad Miguel Hernandez); and Analysis of Risks in a Learning Management System: A Case Study in tiie Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED) by Esteban Vazquez-Cano, and Ma Luisa Sevillano Garcia (UNED).To these articles we must add those belonging to the Special Section Diversity Issues in Psychology and Education. This section is based on tiie idea that in a world of increasing globalization and immigration, psychologists and educators are continually faced with issues related to diversity in the classroom, practice settings, and tiie workplace. This diversity can take tiie form of cultural, linguistic, racial/ethnic, gender, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) differences among students, clients, and employees. …