Spanish Education Research Articles

Adolescents’ Emotions in Spanish Education: Development and Validation of the Social and Emotional Learning Scale

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a scale for measuring the different areas of competence of the social and emotional learning model in students in compulsory secondary education. For this purpose, following the recommendations and quality standards established by the specialised literature, the Social and Emotional Learning Scale was constructed and administered to a convenience sample of 1385 students in compulsory secondary education. The results reveal adequate reliability of the instrument and fairly satisfactory fit indices for the structural model proposed. In addition, external evidence is provided for the validity of the instrument with the variables life satisfaction and school performance. The Social and Emotional Learning Scale is of satisfactory metric quality and provides a detailed and consolidated picture of adolescents’ level of self-awareness, social awareness, self-control, interpersonal skills and responsible decision making, which provides students with an instrument that can help to understand their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills and to establish mechanisms for their improvement.

“It wasn’t just about learning how to speak Spanish”: Engaging Histories of Oppression and Enslavement in Spanish Heritage Language Education

ABSTRACT We present a curricular intervention in elementary Spanish heritage language in a Hispanic serving institution located in the US Northeast (Bronx, NYC), that aims to contextualize Latinx students’ experiences and perceptions of Blackness within broader histories of oppression and enslavement. Our practice brings together critical Latinx pedagogy and critical approaches to Spanish heritage language education to facilitate sociohistorical consciousness for both language instructors and students through the use of open-access Latinx archival resources. We outline a three-week unit designed using the First Blacks in the Americas online collection curated by the City University of New York Dominican Studies Institute. During the unit, the students practice their full linguistic repertoires and develop historical thinking skills. We discursively analyze survey responses, instructor fieldnotes, and students’ coursework collected throughout the course to measure the impact of this pilot project. We find that students value learning about Latinx history as a mechanism to practice their Spanish, especially as it relates to the (internalized) racism they experience within their families and communities. We discuss the implications of a critical Latinx language pedagogy to anchor Spanish language education in the experiences and knowledge of Latinx people, histories, and cultures.

Introducing Food Sustainability in Formal Education: A Teaching-Learning Sequence Contextualized in the Garden for Secondary School Students

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of a garden-based teaching unit about “Food and Nutrition” on students’ knowledge and habits of sustainable healthy diets, and to compare it with that of a more traditional unit from a textbook. This communication is framed in a research project (EDUCYL2020-01 “Sembrando interés, cosechando competencia”, financed by the Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León through the Dirección General de Innovación y Formación del Profesorado (ORDEN EDU/262/2020, de 9 de marzo, por la que se convoca la selección de proyectos de investigación educativa a desarrollar por equipos de profesores y equipos de inspectores que presten servicios educativos de la Comunidad de Castilla y León durante los cursos 2020/2021)) whose aim is to improve science education by approaching scientific topics of the official curriculum from a context-based strategy. The authors first designed a teaching-learning sequence, using an organic learning garden as a context, including real-life activities to promote reflection and debate among students. Such a sequence was implemented in a group of 40 students at the third course of Spanish compulsory secondary education, whose results were compared with those of a group of 15 students who followed the textbook. The impact was assessed by posing four open questions to students from the two groups, both at the beginning and the end of the instruction, whose answers were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Results show that implementing the sequence constituted an educational improvement with respect to traditional teaching, since students’ answers on the topic were overall more comprehensive and evidenced better preparation for making real-life decisions. Students from the experimental group became more aware of the environmental impacts of human nutrition, and of sustainable healthy diets. It was also indicated that the health and nutrition-centered approach that still predominates in education needs to be overcome, and a sustainable approach needs to be taken. This is a novel study that leads a new line of research devoted to addressing education about sustainable food, which arises from the demands of raising awareness among citizens toward changing diets within the transition toward sustainable food systems.

Gender and educational decisions in basic vocational training: discussions and experiences in Spain

ABSTRACT Basic vocational training (BVT) represents a new opportunity within the Spanish education system to reduce the school drop-out rate and ease the transition into the workplace. However, this educational route is highly male-dominated and presents a high degree of segregation by gender and pathways. It was therefore necessary to carry out a gender-based analysis and investigate the processes, options and reasons behind students’ decisions to opt for a particular professional category. To achieve this, we carried out 35 in-depth interviews at educational centres that teach BVT in the Valencian Community, Spain. Our main findings were that BVT is not only highly male-dominated, but that the female-dominated branches are few and far between, are still subject to strong stereotypes, enjoy less prestige and have fewer job prospects. Therefore, BVT and its impacts are far from gender neutral. In addition, this negatively influences future training and employment options and choices, especially for females, which obviously has a direct impact on their professional careers and life courses.

Cohort study on educational well-being of children of Chinese origin adopted into transracial and international families in the Spanish education system

The following dataset focuses on the educational well-being of adopted girls of Chinese origin in Spanish schools. Due to its characteristics, the presence of this group may generate complex interaction dynamics in school; particularly regarding bullying in school linked to factors such as the acceptance of others. These are dynamics,which may indeed condition the educational experience of this social group. Therefore, the aim of creating this datasetisto measure the educational well-being of children of Chinese origin adopted into transracial families in Spain. Although this research was justified by the lack of studies on this social group, we aimed to go one-step further, we also studied the correlation between this social group's educational experience,and to what extent they show an interest in Chinese culture.As we have writtenbefore, weincorporated the concept of Well-Beingandwe worked with the following indicators: Satisfaction with Life, Social Life,andBullying in School, Racial Bullying, Personal Identity and Interest in Chinese Culture. To achieve the objective set forth, we conducted a questionnaire. The final sample consisted of 268 individuals. The creation of this dataset provided us with information that can shed light on the relationship between adoption, race/ethnicity and the educational experience of adopted children of Chinese origin.

Creating European citizens through citizenship, geography, and history education: a temporal and regional analysis of the Spanish curriculum

The European Dimension in Education (EDE) is a policy promoted by the Council of Europe and the European Union that aims to foster active, critical citizenship based on common democratic values. It is also associated with the idea of promoting better knowledge of the European Union and of the concept of European citizenship. Ever since the policy was initially launched, EU Member States have been trying to add a European dimension to their education systems, although little progress has been made. In this paper, we study the way EDE has been integrated into the Spanish education system. Our research is based on an analysis of the national and regional curricula for Social Sciences (Geography, History) and Citizenship Education in compulsory secondary education, as these are the main subjects within which Spanish students are taught civic education. Results showed few signs of progress in the integration of EDE into the Spanish curriculum. In fact, a regressive trend was observed in some cases. The curriculum has varied a lot over the years in line above all with the ideology of the national government. It has also varied considerably across Spain’s different regions, which play an important role in the inclusion of EDE contents in the curriculum. The inclusion of specific subjects on Citizenship Education has provided a considerable boost to the integration of EDE into the Spanish curriculum. However, EU-related content is usually scarce and is never considered as important as content explaining the Spanish political system, citizenship, geography and history. Our paper concludes that a stronger European focus in the national curriculum would be highly recommended, so as to fully embrace EDE. In addition, a cross-party consensus should be reached on citizenship education and its contents, stressing the important role it can play as a separate subject.

Achieving Universal Digital Literacy through Universal Design for Learning in Open Educational Resources

Over the years, the Spanish education authorities have proposed various measures, such as the creation of Open Educational Resources (OERs), to guarantee the inclusion of all students in the education system. However, the literature on this topic indicates the persistence of certain challenges relating to the accessibility of OERs. In this regard, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is presented as a possible solution to this problem as it advocates the personalisation of learning and facilitates the achievement of universal digital literacy. This study seeks to investigate the accessibility of OERs’ design for those early stages in education that are managed by the Spanish education authorities. To this end, a guide of indicators has been designed to assess OERs in accordance with the principles of UDL. The sample is made up of 67 OERs, selectively based on a number of requirements. This study uses a quantitative and exploratory research methodology for the analysis of the data obtained. The main findings highlight the shortcomings of OERs in terms of accessibility, adaptability and universality, demonstrating that OERs do not respond to the principles of UDL.

Negative Stereotypes Towards Older People. A Study with Teachers in Initial Training

Objective. To describe whether there are stereotypes towards older adults by the group of teachers in initial training. Method. The approach was quantitative and not probabilistic through a statistical study with university students preparing to become primary school teachers in the Spanish education system. This training profile includes adult and senior education as an additional professional opportunity. The sample (n=110) has been selected among students of the Primary Education Degree. We have applied the Negative Stereotype Questionnaire for the Elderly (CENVE) and the Educational Stereotype Questionnaire for the Elderly (CEEAM). Results. We suggest that the respondents present some degree of stereotypes towards older adults; the stereotype is greater when we question the deterioration of memory and cognitive impairment in general. However, the data are positive, except that in the case of the health factor we found two items in which respondents reported a higher level of stereotyping. Conclusions. Based on these results, we conclude that it is necessary to work on stereotypical perceptions, especially with students pursuing careers related to education, since their professional performance can lead them to develop their teaching careers in adult and senior education. The education professions must be involved in improving quality of life, active aging, and lifelong learning through professional practice and the elimination of personal and societal stereotypes.

Linking School Improvement with a Better Qualification for Teachers. The Need for Change in the Spanish Educational System

Linking School Improvement with a Better Qualification for Teachers. The Need for Change in the Spanish Educational System

The Impact of Secondary Education Choices on Mathematical Performance in University: The Role of Non-Cognitive Skills

(1) Background: this study evaluates the most relevant factors affecting the performance in mathematics of university undergraduates. Precisely, the mathematical background of students. Spanish secondary education provides an opportunity to develop this analysis since students can choose between two secondary education tracks with different mathematical content and depth. (2) Methods: a survey was conducted covering personal characteristics, socioeconomic status, academic choices and academic achievement as well as a set of questions aimed to uncover attitudes towards mathematics. Students that show preferences regarding mathematics are prone to choose the track with more mathematical content, creating a potential confusion between training and attitudes towards mathematics. We propose an index of non- cognitive skills related to mathematics to account for this problem. (3) Results: prior background in mathematics plays a role in mathematical performance at university even after correcting for non-cognitive skills related to mathematics. The effects are heterogeneous with respect to gender. (4) Conclusions: choosing a more mathematical-oriented itinerary in secondary education seems to give an edge to students. Our results shed light on the implications associated with the decision of secondary school track choice made by students. Furthermore, they are meant to serve as a guide to improve the design of remedial courses.

The use of technology in a Technical English classroom

Teachers are experiencing important changes, whether they have already turned into reality or not, in the daily classroom work in most of our school centres due to the progressive establishment and incorporation of ICTS. These changes allow the development of new didactic materials of an electronic nature which use varied and different standings for their carrying into practice. These new standings of information generate a huge communicative innovation provoking as such new settings of collaborative learning process. With the scope of getting used to the needs of the present society of knowledge, the Spanish education system in all its areas of knowledge, specifically that of Technical English, and by extension the whole scholar network, must develop new ways of integrating the new information and communication technologies in its daily teaching practice. It is also advisable, at the same time, a change of mentality so as to face the traditional roles assumed by both teachers and students in these teaching practices. This is mainly reflected in the proper channels of communication as well as in the design of new methodologies and teaching practices. The aim of this article is to set the role of the modern FL teacher in a Technical English classroom when facing the massive use of ICTs in the teaching-learning process as well as all the resources at their disposal for their didactic exploitation. We will focus our attention in those specific cases of FL teachers and the wide range of resources which they can make use of. Henceforth, we will deepen in this article the need to get used to the new methodological tendencies and the possibilities that the use of ICTs allows us in our daily classroom practice. Therefore, we will enumerate some practical methodological orientations so as to be able to face them in a serious, determined, organized, and structured way.

An attempt to evaluate STEAM project-based instruction from a school mathematics perspective

Official documents in several educational systems reflect the importance of integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) and consider project-based learning (PBL) as a way of integrating such disciplines in the classroom. Although STEAM-PBL has been characterized and evaluated in different ways, its impact on school mathematics teaching remains unclear. Mathematics is recognized as the fundamental basis of other disciplines; however, many students still perceive it as a difficult subject and abandon it. To analyze STEAM-PBL classroom implementation from a school mathematics standpoint, we examined 41 classroom experiences from 11 Spanish secondary education teachers (five in-field mathematics teachers), who participated in a STEAM training program for more than 4 years. To frame this study, Thibaut et al.’s (J STEM Educ 3(1):02, 2018) and Schoenfeld’s (Educ Res 43(8):404–412, 2014) characterizations of well-designed and implemented projects, respectively, were employed. The results showed that in-field mathematics teachers avoided transdisciplinary projects in which school mathematics is difficult to address, while out-of-field teachers tended to overlook the mathematics in interdisciplinary projects. Unlike out-of-field teachers, mathematics teachers often eluded design-based learning processes for deeply exploiting school mathematics. The latter teachers promoted high cognitive demands and positive perceptions about mathematics in projects where formative environments were generated through discussion and a meaningful feedback loop.

Perceptions of access to dual language education programs: the complexities of equity

ABSTRACT This study explores access to Spanish dual-language education (DLE) programs via the perceptions of various stakeholders, including district personnel, school administrators, and parents at two public DLE elementary schools in a large mid-Atlantic metropolitan district in the United States. Through a lens of equity, this comparative case study relied on semi-structured interviews to demonstrate how equity is interpreted differently by stakeholders and why parents may not have access to an academic resource that was originally intended as a service-delivery model for Spanish-speaking students acquiring English. This study divides the findings into four main themes: equitable access versus equity of access, systemic equity, unregulated systemic equity, and choice and access to show how systems and policies created to promote equity may be the same ones that hinder its ability to advance.

Spanish ballet school: nationalism, the weakness of bourgeois culture and heteronomy in the artistic field in Spain in the nineteenth century

ABSTRACT Academic ballet is one of the iconic manifestations of High Culture. In Nineteenth-century Spain, it failed to take root in the form of stable companies, schools, and venues. There were various social, political, and cultural reasons for this, even though conditions at the time seemed propitious. Those reasons and conditions form the subject of this paper. The methodological approach employs Bourdieu’s sociological Field Theory, and neo-institutionalist theories to explain why Spain failed to consolidate a national academic ballet school. Drawing on the current situation of ballet in Spain in terms of the cultural and educational policy of dance, the present analysis seeks to both broaden and enrich the historiographic interpretation of the Spanish dance scene and education. Considering the effects of path dependence, this analysis tries to explain the antecedents of the configuration of the didactic programs of public dance conservatories, the development of private academies and the late articulation of an official ballet company in Spain, devoid of signs of identity due to the eclecticism of the training of Spanish dancers.

An Overview of Online Resources for Medical Spanish Education for Effective Communication with Spanish-Speaking Patients

Phenomenon Despite the rapid development of virtual medical Spanish educational materials, online resources lack transparency and a peer-review process. The purpose of this interdisciplinary study was to provide a critical inventory of virtual resources for medical Spanish education, thereby providing a panorama of the current state of online medical Spanish. Approach Research team members conducted iterative searches to identify medical Spanish online resources, which were then screened for predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Between June and August 2020, a panel of medical and language experts then adapted and applied a previously published evaluation tool to determine whether resources that met study criteria would help learners achieve medical Spanish core competencies and to what extent each resource incorporated communicative language activities. Consensus meetings were conducted to resolve disagreements and identify gaps in online education. Findings Out of 465 resources, 127 were further screened, and eight were selected for evaluation. Medical and language specialists independently scored each resource and, following discussions, achieved consensus. Overall, no resource met suitability criteria for all five medical Spanish learner competencies or cultural elements, and only one was suitable for achieving the self-assessment competency. Insights Interdisciplinary consensus meetings provide an important avenue for resolving differences of opinion and for integrating both language and medical perspectives into the evaluation process. Existing online resources should be used in conjunction with other materials to ensure that all core competencies for medical Spanish education are addressed. This study revealed important gaps in online resources, including a need to target advanced Spanish learners, apply authentic communicative activities, include assessment opportunities, and integrate culture in the learning program. Based on the current state of online medical Spanish, we offer recommendations for future resources.

The Role of Emotional Intelligence, the Teacher-Student Relationship, and Flourishing on Academic Performance in Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Study.

Educational context has an important influence on adolescents’ development and well-being, which also affects their academic performance. Previous empirical studies highlight the importance of levels of emotional intelligence for students’ academic performance. Despite several studies having analyzed the association and underlying mechanisms linking emotional intelligence and academic performance, further research, including both personal and contextual dimensions, is necessary to better understand this relation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to deepen the understanding of the effect of emotional intelligence has on academic performance, examining the possible mediating role of flourishing and the moderating role of the teacher-student relationship. A convenience sample of 283 adolescents (49.8% female), aged 12–18 years (M = 14.42, SD = 1.12), participated in a cross-sectional study by completing self-report questionnaires measuring emotional intelligence (Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale), flourishing (Flourishing Scale), and teacher-student relationship (Inventory of Teacher-Student Relationships) and reported their grades of the previous term on four mandatory subjects in the Spanish education curriculum. Results indicated that flourishing completely mediated the path from emotional intelligence to academic performance and that teacher-student relationship was a significant moderator in this model. Thus, in adolescents with worse teacher-student relationship, the association of emotional intelligence and flourishing was stronger than in adolescents with better teacher-student relationship. In turn, flourishing was positively associated with academic performance. These results suggest that it is crucial to foster better teacher-student relationship, especially in adolescents with low emotional intelligence, and to positively impact their well-being and their academic performance.

Networking in Spanish schools: Lights and shadows

Networking is an effective school improvement method that can raise collective efficacy, student outcomes, and provide more collaborative scenarios. The forms collaboration and networking take in the Spanish education system are reviewed in this article, as well as how policy and practice are providing a framework for the development of networks. Spain is presented as an example of country that is exploring the possibilities offered by networks in education. There is an updated corpus of studies that support collaborative networking in Spanish education system. The article summaries evidence of networking in seven autonomous communities (Galicia, País Vasco, Cataluña, Madrid, Valencia, Murcia and Andalucía) where there are alliances formed to implement collaboration actions among the participants, as part of research supported by projects, regulations, programs and initiatives of diverse natures. These proposals are changing the paradigm from isolation to collaboration, an alternative way of seeing education that is growing not just in policy, but also in theory and practice, so enabling illustrative examples and advances in this field of knowledge, and allowing the reader to get closer to the polyhedral dimension that networking is adopting in this particular country. There is no doubt that the arrival of collaboration networks in Spain has sparked intense debates about its “lights and shadows”. Among the lights are the increase of school-community link; the growth of the extended education approach; the effective use of resources as well as the exchange of knowledge and experiences; and greater inclusion. On the other hand, some shadows are related to the different networks’ structures; isolation, not only by teachers as individuals, but also between schools and institutions or agents, and the pressure to increase standards in a collaborative versus competitive environment.

Reconstituting U.S. Spanish language education: U.S. Latinx occupying classrooms

ABSTRACT This paper aims to redefine Spanish language education in the U.S. by showing how the increased presence of Latinx Spanish-speakers in classrooms brings into question the traditional way in which Spanish language teaching is divided into three, separate fields: as a foreign language, in bilingual education, and as a heritage language. It proposes that Spanish language education focuses on the ways in which the numerous U.S. Latinx perform language, and the reasons for their ways of languaging. The article explores the linked histories of Spanish language education in the U.S and racialization of the U.S. Latinx community. A review of how Spanish language education has constituted itself as three separate fields is then presented, as the cracks in the divisions today are analyzed. The article then proposes a reconstitution of Spanish language teaching by appropriating two concepts that have been increasingly making inroads in the education of minoritized bilingual students: undoing raciolinguistic ideologies and leveraging the translanguaging of Latinx bilingual communities. It concludes with a series of practical recommendations for Spanish language teachers.

The presence of death in Spanish education law (1812–2006)

The objective of this study is to determine whether death has been present, and if so in what way, in Spanish education law from 1812 to 2006. The presence of 25 terms semantically related to death was analyzed in laws and regulations on school curricula. Death is generally absent as a directly approachable phenomenon within the given period, except in scattered regulations which, as a rule, link death in education to religion. From the beginnings of the democratic period in Spain (1975), socially relevant subjects with indirect but significant relationships with death, such as biodiversity and the Holocaust, appear.

Cohort study on educational well-being of children of Chinese origin adopted into transracial and international families in the Spanish education system.

The following dataset focuses on the educational well-being of adopted girls of Chinese origin in Spanish schools. Due to its characteristics, the presence of this group may generate complex interaction dynamics in school; particularly regarding bullying in school linked to factors such as the acceptance of others. These are dynamics,which may indeed condition the educational experience of this social group. Therefore, the aim of creating this datasetisto measure the educational well-being of children of Chinese origin adopted into transracial families in Spain. Although this research was justified by the lack of studies on this social group, we aimed to go one-step further, we also studied the correlation between this social group's educational experience,and to what extent they show an interest in Chinese culture.As we have writtenbefore, weincorporated the concept of Well-Beingandwe worked with the following indicators: Satisfaction with Life, Social Life,andBullying in School, Racial Bullying, Personal Identity and Interest in Chinese Culture. To achieve the objective set forth, we conducted a questionnaire. The final sample consisted of 268 individuals. The creation of this dataset provided us with information that can shed light on the relationship between adoption, race/ethnicity and the educational experience of adopted children of Chinese origin.