Vol. 2 No. 1 (2015)

Updating of the educational methodology to build the European Higher Education Area stands as a key goal to the Spanish universities. In the case of primary and kindergarten teacher training was necessary to design qualifications as the teacher's professional profile and identify the skills that make up that profile. The present work illustrates an example of this situation with a specific case of this new training carried out in the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education at the University of Oviedo. Firstly the structure of the new undergraduate degrees in teacher training is described followed by a description of management and structural aspects. The implications of the change lead us to think about the chance to improve the training of future primary and kindergarten teacher.

The evolution of the education system has led to significant changes in teacher training, therefore, a needs assessment using tools and methodologies to inform professional training demands necessary. In this sense, the main objective of the study focuses on shed light on the perceptions and expectations of teachers about lifelong learning. For this purpose, was used an evaluative methodology focused on the context, input, process and product (design CIPP). The results confirm that the evolution of the training has been increasing in its bid but decreasing its effectiveness. In addition, it´s founded the need to restructure the permanent formation, opting for a more global model, with coverage in all the training needs of teachers. The great challenge of teacher training is to achieve an improvement in classroom practice, but simply a matter very difficult to assess. Improve the quality of education depends directly on the efficiency and excellence in teacher training, which should undergo a continuous process of review and permanent recycled.

The aim of this paper is to learn what attribution styles prevail among are First-Year students at universities in the Dominican Republic while also analysing how these attributions occur among high- and low-achieving students. The sample consists of 787 subjects (414 women and 373 men) and their average age was 18.3 (standard deviation 1.14). They study for different degrees at the University. The findings show that the internal causal attributions (related to capacity, skills and effort) are associated with high academic achievement and they affect and predict students’ good achievement to the same extent, meaning that we know that they provide achievement motivation while helping to develop positive expectations vis-à-vis academic achievement. On the other hand, it is the external causal attributions (related to tasks, teachers and luck) which are associated with low academic achievement and they have proven to be important when predicting it. We have therefore come to the conclusion that this type of external attributions inhibit and limit learning motivation.

This article discusses the relationship between bullying and moral disengagements. In a research study conducted with 2,600 adolescents, between 14 and 16 years old, an attempt to verify their involvement in bullying, their self-efficacy beliefs regarding their academic performance and their possible moral disengagements was undertaken. A correlation between being bullying by others and the "dehumanization of the victim" was found. The participation in the bullying situation as authors, victims and spectators was also associated with "victim-blaming", showing the fragile profile of bullying victims and their diminished value. The results of this study allows for the understanding of the psychological mechanisms present in bullying, so that the school may re-think interventions and preventative measures that can be taken such that life is valued.

The aim of this study is to verify whether the level of education of parents (father and mother) of nuclear family, single-parent, reconstituted and absent fathers is a determining factor for school dropout among adolescents in development for the training. In this perspective, 504 students were investigated (between 15 and 17 years) studying in Brazilian state school and their parents (father / mother). The results show that low educational level of parents (father / mother) directly affects the continuity of children's studies, an adverse problem and a major impact in Brazilian lower classes.

Current models of employability are rather broad and complex, including not only a set of skills as determinant factors in employability, but also a subjective dimension that considers individual self-beliefs and attitudes. This study presents the preliminary results of a research project focused on the factors that impact employability with 214 participants, senior students taking a masters’ degree. Results pointed to a closer interconnection between the practical competencies, employability competencies, preparedness to work transition, and expectations of success. These findings stress the importance of a stronger practical component in the curriculum, as a way to promote employability.

Paranoid ideation is a normative cognitive and social process considered normative (e.g. occasional mistrust feelings) or dysfunctional and pathological symptom (e.g. Paranoid delusions). Even at subclinical levels, paranoid ideation can hinder interpersonal functioning, to the extent that the resulting disruptive behavior can impact several life areas (e.g. family, peer and academic/professional relationships). The current study explores the influence of parental styles and the mediating role of paranoid ideation in aggression during adolescence, and discusses the implications for prevention and intervention in clinical and educational settings.

Social support is defined as a set of transactions involving support, affection and affirmation. Thus, the aim of the research was to develop a model to explain how the family contact leads to greater satisfaction in the population institutionalized through variables such as perceived social support, isolation and self-esteem The results confirm that the emotional support and the visits received can predict satisfaction, but are mediated by informational support. Also, a high social support leads to greater self-esteem and satisfaction or, conversely, to a greater social isolation.

This work presents two studies of career exploration with specific groups of youth, using the Career Exploration Survey (CES). The first study compares the career exploration process of 136 foster-care youth and 186 youth living with their families, using the One-Way MANOVA. In the second study we analyzed the process of career exploration of 323 young people in vocational education, comparing it with the 208 regular education using the T-Test. Implications for career intervention with specific groups will be taken based on the results.

Review of: Fernández, R.M. (Coord.) (2014). Neuropsychology of infantile abandonment and mistreatment. Barcelona: Hilo Rojo. 207 pp. ISBN: 978-84-941620-7-7. Depósito legal: B 4535-2014.

This book deals with an important current topic: the mistreatment and/or abandonment of children who have been adopeted, mostly from abroad. There are 14 chapters and 15 authors.  The central problem revolves around childhood abuse and the authors have focused on a neuro-bio-psychological explanation to understand what happens in the brain of a child who is abused, and, most importantly, their behavior during and after physical or psychological abuse or mistreatment.  Toward the end of the book the main measures that should be taken in this kind of situation are presented.  Generally, the authors cover the essence of the topics brought up and the presentation is always done with extreme scientific rigor and terminological and conceptual precision.