Vol. 5 No. 1 (2018)

The present work was based on goal orientation theory, that represent the reasons to perform a task and the criteria to evaluate it. However, few studies have explored goal orientations in students with visual impairment. The objective of this study was to determine whether the goals pursued by blind students different from those of partially sighted students. Participants comprised 171 students, from different stages of the education system (from Primary Education to University Education) with ages between 8 and 27 years old, of which 109 were blind, and 62 partial visual impairment, which respond to an adaptation of the Achievement Goal Tendencies Questionnaire. The results indicate that students with total visual impairment have lower average scores on social reinforcement goals, not in contrast to learning goals, achievement goals and performance goals, where no significant differences were found. Three different goal orientation profiles were obtained. The first stands out for obtaining high scores in learning goals; the subjects of the second group are defined by obtaining high scores in learning goals, social reinforcement goals and  performance goals; and the subjects of the third group are characterized by their low scores on learning goal, social reinforcement goals and achievement goals. The results of the discriminant analyses show that there are differences in these profiles depending on the degree of visual disability and that the achievement goals do not have discriminating power. These findings have educational implications as regards motivation.

This work had as main objective to analyze the predictors of Happiness and Academic Achievement, according to age, gender, culture and socioeconomic and cultural, as well as the relationships that could be given between all the variables, for a multicultural adolescent sample. To make it possible we focused on 811 participants from six educational centers; 71.6% of the total were Muslims and 28.4% belonged to the Christian religion, 46.1% were male and 53.9% female. The techniques used in this survey were a Happiness questionnaire, as well as the students' grades. The results reflect that the predictors of Happiness are all the sociodemographic variables: They are age, culture, socioeconomic and cultural and gender. Academic Achievement predictors' are the sociodemographic factors of status, culture and age. We found statistically significant relationship between Happiness and Academic Achievement. This relationship is directly proportional.

Modifications in the teaching and learning methods, focusing an active role of the students, have been experienced in Higher Education, in general, and especially, in Medical Education. Although there is a reasonable number of studies around this issue, it is recognised a lack of studies that highlight the attitude of students as active agents of their own education. Therefore, aiming to understand and analyse the quality of the experiences, it was carried out a focus group with six senior students of Medicine of a Private University in Minas Gerais – Brazil. Herewith, were worked up students’ perceptions about the modifications in the syllabus, the course and in the teaching methods of the professors, namely the changes occurred in the academic experience and adjustment. Also, important to point out is that the students taking part in the research have had comparison means by getting together with peers from former syllabus during their instruction. Results show that the students were able to identify the changes carried out in the syllabus and in the teaching methods; that the active methods have boosted qualitatively the academic experiences and straitened and enhanced the interpersonal relationships with their peers and from other fields, at interprofessional work, besides preparing them better in their relationship with the patient. Regarding attitudes and adjustment behaviours, they have described immaturity, anxiety and fear resulting from the new things implemented and the real practice sceneries of the instruction proving that they need different support during the adjustment and transition process.

Language anxiety is recognized as one of the affective elements with greater influence on the learning of foreign languages. However, few studies have been conducted on anxiety in the context of Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL), and there is hardly research with Portuguese learners in higher education. This article explores the role of language anxiety as a predictor of academic performance in Portuguese university students. We conducted a cross-sectional correlational study assessing a final sample of 249 participants. Language anxiety was assessed using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and academic performance was evaluated using the final grade obtained in the discipline of Spanish as a foreign language. Results showed that higher scores in communication apprehension, anxiety during the evaluation and fear of a negative evaluation were associated with poorer academic performance. Regression model showed that fear of a negative evaluation was the most important predictor of grade. Anxiety-free environments facilitate the acquisition and learning of SFL.

We try to verify if there are variables of social welfare able to differentiate chronically ill patients affected by asbestos poisoning from healthy people. We used the scale of Hahn, Cella, Bode and Hanharan, developed to measure the social welfare. After reviewing the literature we intend to verify first the psychometric properties of the previously mentioned scale by using a sample of patients affected, 110, as well as a comparison group of 70 people matched by age and gender blocks, who have been employees of the largest Spanish naval organization. The results indicate a very high reliability of the instrument, and a high concurrent validity of the questionnaire SCL-90. Next an Anova is performed obtaining that, contrary to expectations from the literature, only a variation occurs in three variables: negative social companionship, limitations, and satisfaction. This research opens the possibility for future research studying the age variable as a mediator of social welfare. Finally, the limitations of the study and possible future projects are discussed.

 

This article presents a descriptive-explanatory analysis of the treatment of grammar in senior-cycle secondary school Galician language and literature textbooks. The object of the study is to assess the scope and consistency of each’s book’s approach to grammar, the prevalence of traditional, structuralist or functionalist perspectives (based on how grammar concepts, rules and terminology are used and explained), and the extent to which the contents comply with the curricular standards established by the new education act (LOMCE). The article highlights the shortcomings and inconsistencies detected in each textbook, which aims at facilitating the choice of a solid editorial project, as part of a broader reflection on the current state of grammar teaching in senior-cycle secondary education and on the linguistic and pedagogical qualifications of the teachers.

Keyword mnemonics is a mnemonic rule specially used during the learning process of a foreign language. In this study we assessed if the keyword mnemonics influenced the learning of the meaning of low frequency Galician words, and also if the participants' imaging ability influenced this learning process. We selected a group of 111 Compulsory Secondary Education students, who are asked to learn a list of 20 low frequency Galician words, using either the repetition or the keyword method. It was found that the keyword method was more effective than the repetition method in this learning. The participants with high vividness of image remembered a greater number of translations of the Galician words than those that showed low image vividness. New studies are required about keyword mnemonics applied to minority languages, such as Galician language.

The quality of life is a benchmark to assess the adolescents’ needs, also attending to personal factors that may interfere in the opportunities, spaces and resources available to improve their living conditions and their satisfaction with life. This evaluation allows analysing the results of inclusive education and to direct actions towards its improvement. The aim of this study is to analyse the quality of life of 2220 students (aged 12-19) with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and without them, though the Questionnaire of Assessment of the Quality of Life of Adolescent students. A descriptive-comparative methodology is carried out, with a non-experimental design. The quality of life construct and its dimensions are analysed, taking into account the differences by sex, age and presence/absence of NEAE. The results reveal an adequate level of quality of life, lower in students with NEAE, especially in inclusion and rights. There are differences according to sex and age, with better results in emotional and physical well-being in women and in rights in men, as well as better general results in younger adolescents. It is observed that these results coincide with previous studies, and it is suggested the need to rethink the inclusive educational practices from the perspective of the quality of life, paying particular attention to the improvement of the mechanisms of participation, to the relationships among equals, to the taking of decisions and the necessary supports to facilitate their interactions and for the recognition of their rights.

We present a review of the latest work given us by Professor Ángel Serafín Porto Ucha and Professor Raquel Vázquez Ramil: The active school and the environment. An approximation through the walks, visits and excursions during the second republic. Both authors are studious of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, on which they have completed their doctoral theses and numerous subsequent studies. In this book they delve into the study of the republican rural school from two figures: the teacher of A Cañiza (Pontevedra), José Benito González Álvarez and the inspector of first teaching of Pontevedra, José Muntada Bach, authors of  “Walks, visits and excursions of the active school”  (1934), which Porto and Vázquez discover for us.

The Emodo tool is a singular platform that integrates both the characteristic components of an educational social network and a virtual learning environment. In the present review, its origins, evolution and purpose are addressed from the perspective of its developers’ design. New possibilities and approaches are proposed taking into account the diverse possibilities of use and didactic application that it could have in the different levels of the educational field, as well as in other contexts in which training actions are carried out. From a critical perspective. Its educational potential is assessed according to its main characteristics and functionalities, underlining its most positive aspects and some advantages over other virtual platforms.