Human Capital in Online Higher Education Settings: A Socio-Educative Perspective Applied to Graduates of an Online University

In recent decades, a series of changes has shaped a model for universities backing new ways of understanding education and educational institutions in our societies. The appearance of completely online universities and traditional university departments offering online programmes, openly and en masse, bear witness to this. All these changes are an opportunity to rethink the role and function of universities in our increasingly interconnected and global societies. In what follows, we propose our contribution to this debate by focusing on the specific case of the “Universitat Oberta de Catalunya” (UOC), an online university of the Spanish educational system.

Evaluating Intercultural Sensibility in Compulsory Secondary Education

The heterogeneity in the Spanish educational system has made it essential to develop certain skills to be a model citizenship. One of those is intercultural sensitivity. But before establishing a program to develop it, it is crucial to know its level in the students. Conscious of this social reality a research was done to study the level of intercultural sensitivity in students in the level of Secondary Compulsory Education of two schools in the region of Salamanca (Spain). The sample consisted of 220 people from two different schools, one public and one private. One of the main objectives is to see if there are significant differences in the answers given depending on the variables gender, ownership of the school and nationality (differentiating between native and foreign). On a first review, it was discovered, in general, there were not significant differences on the answers depending on type of school, gender or nationality.

Relación Entre Los Niveles Motivacionales Y La Autoeficacia En Estudiantes De Instrumentos De Cuerda Frotada De Nivel Superior

Motivation is one of the most important aspects in the development of a career of learning, even more so if one fits in a musical studies in which motivational levels must be sustained for many years. In this sense, the study of the motivation of musical achievement from the motivational theory of Weiner (2000) and its possible relation with the general self-efficacy described by Bandura (1986) is key to understanding both the formative process of the students and the possible ones pedagogical improvements to include in the Spanish educational system. Significant relationships have been found between the different motivational factors and self-efficacy. In the same way, the motivational factors related to the specific areas present a good explanatory capacity of self-perceived self-efficacy by the students. It is necessary to expand to other psychological constructs for a better understanding of the motivational event in higher musical studies.

Aquella Carta a una profesora (aquí maestra) cumple 50 años

Resumen:El artículo insiste en el enorme valor pedagógico de aquella carta escrita colectivamente por chicos de montaña con su maestro Lorenzo Milani. Tiene tres apartados: el primero, contextualiza adecuadamente la lectura de la Carta y da cuenta de sus destinatarios y autores reales, del porqué se tradujo a una maestra y no a una profesora, de las dificultades de su traducción y de su recepción en Italia y España. El segundo, señala los rasgos más característicos de la pedagogía de don Milani, con un énfasis especial en la distinción entre la instrucción/aprendizaje y la educación como desarrollo personal. Así como en la relevancia de las relaciones – y el amor - con el mundo, con los otros y el Otro. Finalmente, se exponen de forma sintética algunas de las principales aportaciones de la pedagogía milaniana y de la Carta a una maestra al sistema educativo español actual. Abstract:This paper proclaims the great pedagogical value of that letter collectively written by a few boys from the mountains with their teacher, Lorenzo Milani. The article has three sections: the first one, where the Letter is properly contextualized and its authors as well as whose main audience is clarified. It also explains the reasons behind the translation of the title into Spanish, and how it was received in both Italy and Spain. The second section focuses on the main features of the pedagogy of Mr. Milani, emphasizing particularly the difference between instruction/learning and education as personal development. It also deals with the relevance of relations -love- with the world, with the others and with the Other. The article concludes by sintetizing some of the main contributions of the milanian pedagogy and of the „Letter to a Teacher‟ to the current Spanish educational system.

ESTRATEGIAS ORGANIZATIVAS PARA UNA ESCUELA INCLUSIVA

ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR AN INCLUSIVE SCHOOLInclusive education is a hanging task within the Spanish Educational System, and nowadays it presents a stalemate. On this initial hypothesis let’s sense beforehand a theoretical and descriptive research work, based on bibliographical study of previous research on the subject, in order to know how the principle of diversity care is developed in Spanish Compulsory Education System schools, and therefore inclusive education, and what this pointed stagnation can occur. The study parts of a shared conceptualization of inclusiveness, and aims to collect information, analyze and reflect on it, and make innovative and assumable proposals on the basis of the obtained results for the development and evolution of the subject. The purpose of our research will be the inclusive school. We document the evolutionary process in the development of Spanish inclusive education, until the stalemate that is currently observed, analyzing some research on the subject made in the last decade. We start from a general survey of the situation of the Spanish educational system regarding the issue of the inclusiveness, analyze contributions of some contrasted authorship, and reflect on the achievements and work to be done. This task allows us, while validating the initial hypothesis of the study, substantiate somewhat firmly the relevance of contributing strategies that collaborate in the positive development of an inclusive school project. To design these proposals, we depart from a few prerequisites, primarily within the realm of belief and unwavering principles, and subsequently we develop a catalogue of basic sequenced strategies, which like mandatory decalogue, are essential in order to define our institutions as an inclusive school.Keywords: diversity care, inclusive education, inclusive school, educational centers, organizational strategies.Resumen.La educación inclusiva es una tarea pendiente dentro del Sistema Educativo Español, y en estos momentos presenta un estancamiento. Sobre esta hipótesis inicial presentamos un trabajo de investigación teórico y descriptivo, en base a un estudio bibliográfico de investigaciones previas sobre el tema, con el fin de conocer cómo se desarrolla en los centros educativos de Educación Obligatoria del Sistema Educativo Español el principio de atención a la diversidad, y por tanto la educación inclusiva, y a que se puede deber este estancamiento apuntado. El estudio parte de una conceptualización compartida de inclusividad, y tiene como objetivos recabar información, analizar y reflexionar sobre ella, y elaborar propuestas de mejora, innovadoras y asumibles, sobre la base de los resultados obtenidos, para el desarrollo y evolución del tema. El objeto de nuestra investigación será la escuela inclusiva. Documentamos el proceso evolutivo en el desarrollo de la educación inclusiva en España, hasta llegar al estancamiento que se observa actualmente, analizando algunas investigaciones sobre el tema realizadas en la última década. Partimos de un estudio general de la situación del Sistema Educativo Español con relación al tema de la inclusividad, analizamos las aportaciones de algunas autorías contrastadas, y reflexionamos sobre los logros alcanzados y trabajo que queda por hacer. Esta tarea nos permite, a la vez que validar la hipótesis inicial del estudio, fundamentar con cierta solidez la pertinencia de aportar estrategias que colaboren en la evolución positiva de un proyecto de escuela inclusiva. Para diseñar estas propuestas, partimos de unos prerrequisitos, fundamentalmente dentro del terreno de las creencias, y unos principios irrenunciables, y posteriormente elaboramos un catálogo de estrategias básicas, secuenciadas, que a modo de decálogo de obligado cumplimiento, son imprescindibles para poder definir nuestras instituciones educativas como una escuela inclusiva.Palabras clave: atención a la diversidad, educación inclusiva, escuela inclusiva centros educativos, estrategias organizativas.