Actualidades Investigativas en Educación

Editorial

María Julieta Solórzano Salas — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

No aplica

Reseña

Wanda C. Rodríguez Arocho — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Development of digital skills in the training of Orientation professionals at the University of Costa Rica

Vivian Fallas López, Osvaldo Murillo Aguilar, Pablo Armando Sibaja Mojica — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This academic essay explores the commitment of the Bachelor's and Licentiate degree programs in Educational Sciences with an emphasis on Counseling at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), as a formative entity, to the development of digital skills and technological competencies among its students and faculty after 60 years since its founding. Through the incorporation of specific courses, the program aims to enhance knowledge in technology and relevant tools for professional practice in the field of Educational Sciences. This approach responds to technological advancements and the need to prepare future professionals to face the challenges of a digitized society. The development of these competencies is analyzed in three stages. The first stage focused on initial training centered around operational and cognitive skills, with an emphasis on knowledge of specific tools. However, this stage presents limitations in adapting content to the rapid pace of technological change. The second stage recognized the need to foster flexible and adaptive attitudes in students by incorporating research and methodological approaches that integrate technology. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated hybrid learning and prompted reflection on the importance of digital skills from a critical and reflective perspective. The third stage emphasizes the urgency of addressing the ethical use of technology and the responsibility of self-directed learning. The essay concludes that the Educational Sciences program with an emphasis on Guidance is committed to reviewing and evolving its curriculum to strengthen the development of digital competencies in a constantly changing technological context, preparing students for both current and future professional challenges in the use of technology.

Educational attention with the Deaf Community: inputs for professional development, Universidad de Costa Rica

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This academic essay aims to explore the dynamics of educational offers and services at the national level. Also explore the situations that have influenced the education of the deaf person. At the same time, it examines how the University of Costa Rica (UCR), through the Special Education program from the high school and undergraduate levels, has attempted to respond to the needs of the context. Through documentary review and interviews with 10 people from the deaf community, we observe the support that has been generated at the university training level. This analysis shows the efforts of the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) to support the education of deaf people through different services. The experiences of the deaf community people, as well as the different educational services from the MEP, show that it is necessary to strengthen the vocational training process to respond to current demands with an increasingly diverse population. From UCR is necessary review the bachelor’s degree program to respond to reality of deaf student. Finally, is important stablish training program to support teacher's skills for deaf students.

Didactics courses in Special Education: their changes throughout the 50 years of the career at the University of Costa Rica

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

The evolution of Special Education (EE) in Costa Rica has been a notable process, characterized by the transition from a medical point of view in the mid-20th century to an inclusive perspective today. It emerges as the main reflection that going Special Education in Costa Rica has evolved significantly a rehabilitative approach in 1940 where the person with a disability was attended to by a “teacher specializing in…” to a more social perspective today, where now “educational support teacher” collaborates in the elimination of barriers to participation and learning of student diversity. In this epistemological change and teaching actions, the Special Education program at the UCR has played a relevant role as a transformative agent, as evidenced in the modifications to the study plans and course programs in its 50 years of existence. As a conclusion, the changes in the teaching programs of reading, writing and mathematics respond to the historical evolution of the discipline and the paradigm of the moment, because the conception of disability of a certain era marks the role of the special educator in that specific educational context.

Articulation of the Model of Mathematics Teacher Specialized Knowledge (MTSK) and Lesson Study: Opportunities for Mathematics Teacher Training

Berny Salas-Solano, Gabriela Valverde-Soto — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate the need to articulate theoretical knowledge, both disciplinary and didactic (what) and practical (how) related to the knowledge of mathematics teachers, through the approach to the analytical model of the Mathematics Teacher's Specialised Knowledge (MTSK) and to Lesson Study, a training device oriented to pedagogical reflection and ideal class designs. Starting from the premise of complementarity between both frameworks, the need for a training process that considers their points of convergence and can enhance the development of this knowledge is proposed. Research findings point to the fact that both perspectives are conceived in spaces where research and the reality of the school context converge, which makes them alternatives for the transformation of traditional practices of mediation in mathematics, focused on the algorithmic reproduction of calculation techniques and memorization of formulas, towards practices of student involvement and participation. We conclude by emphasizing the need and viability of a proposal for the initial training of Costa Rican mathematics teachers, which purpose is, from the reflection of their professional practice, to promote their Specialized Knowledge through Lesson Study.

The compassion as a socioemotional skill in pedagogical practice

Sandra Milena Sanchez Galindo — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

The nature of classroom relationships can profoundly impact how students approach, understand, interpret, and inhabit the world around them. Therefore, the type of bond between teacher and student is a crucial element in guiding pedagogical praxis. In light of this, the objective of this essay is to explore the concept of social-emotional skills with an emphasis on compassion and its influence in fostering a classroom environment conducive to the well-being of all its members. The text emerges as an appreciation of compassion as a tool with which each teacher can practice self-care while simultaneously benefiting their students. Thus, educational environments can become safe spaces that respond to the socio-affective needs of current pedagogical practices. Given the foregoing, the conceptual approach addresses different perspectives on the concept of social- emotional skills, and within them, it emphasizes compassion. To this end, a review of various Western and Eastern perspectives was conducted, which facilitates understanding its scope and values its theoretical and epistemological positioning, allowing compassion to be embraced as a path that validates other ways of being and existing. A compassionate attitude conceives of teachers and students embracing vulnerability, impermanence, and constant movement, being sensitive to their own emotions, so that their intentions, desires, and actions are for their own and collective benefit.

Photographs in history teaching: possibilities for raising awareness and practising critical pedagogy

Francisco da Chagas Silva Souza — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Based on the notion of conscientization developed by Paulo Freire, the aim of this essay is to present photography as a pedagogical resource capable of generating curiosity, reflection and criticality on the part of students. In this way, it is understood that photography can contribute to the practice of critical pedagogy in History classes, although not only in this subject. The references are classic works by Paulo Freire and studies on the photographic object and the teaching of history. It is argued that photography, as a historical source, does not attest to reality as it was at the time it was recorded, as it is a representation of reality and is committed to certain interests. In the classroom, students should question the content of this document under the guidance and encouragement of their teachers. The text concludes with a suggestion for a critical pedagogical practice with the aim of demonstrating that photography, when used well, contributes to the reflective process and to the formation of subjects who are committed to transforming the reality in which they live. Therefore, photography helps in the transition from naive to critical consciousness, an essential element in Paulo Freire's works.

The relationship between the teaching of Recent Present History and citizenship education

Francisca Díaz-Zúñiga, Antoni Santisteban Fernández, Neus González-Monfort — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This essay is a theoretical discussion that aims to identify the relationship -or relationships- between the teaching of Recent Present History (hereinafter HRP) and the citizenship education of students. It is a qualitative study that emerges from the Didactics of Social Sciences. The methodology was a bibliographic review or Scoping Review based on the work with open access databases and seminar proceedings. The proposition of this review is that the teaching of the HRP allows addressing the contents of historical memory as an inherent part of democratic and critical education of citizenship. Among the findings found in literature and historiography, the importance of situated learning stands out where memory should be at the service of democratic education. The link between HRP and citizenship education is key to historicizing the personal and collective experience of students. Among the conclusions that can be drawn is that the teaching of history should have as its most important purpose that students understand persistent dynamics and promote the search for alternatives to problems that are close and relevant to them. In this process, teacher training, thinking and practice are essential for educational change.

The conclusions highlight the importance of situated learning, where memory must be at the service of democratic education. The link between RHP and citizenship education is key to historicise students' personal and collective experience. The teaching of history should have as its most important purpose that students understand persistent dynamics and promote the search for alternatives to problems that are close and relevant to them. In this process, teacher training, thinking and practice are essential for educational change.

Over-age children in Colombia: analysis of educational policies and inclusive processes in the classroom

Marcela Aravena Domich, Cristobal Ramos Contreras — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This essay was carried out in the form of a documentary review of research and articles that provide theoretical elements, data and legal foundations about the phenomenon of school overage as a situation of educational inclusion in schools in Colombia and some countries in the region. Its objective was to understand the educational reality that underlies the condition of school age, as a process of educational inclusion. Extra-age is understood to be the situation where students have an age range greater than the average of other students in the same grade. This problem is caused by diverse causes: social, family and academic, and has an impact on the personal, professional and family development of educational subjects. That is why government entities and social organizations have proposed policies and action plans to minimize the negative repercussions on individual and social development. In conclusion, school age generates situations of exclusion and school segregation. Likewise, the care policies implemented have been managing to improve the access and coverage rates of students, but there is still work to be done on strategies for permanence and care. relevant pedagogical; because teachers and teaching managers do not have sufficient professional and personal training to manage and implement a flexible and relevant curriculum that contributes to the inclusion needs of these students.

Contribution of Graduation Final Projects to vocational Guidance, University of Costa Rica (2012-2023)

Raquel Chaves Vargas, Natalia Granados Soto, Mauricio J. Navarro-Bulgarelli — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This study is a documentary research made in 2024, of the Final Graduation Project (FGP) of the Bachelor's Degree in Educational Sciences with emphasis in Guidance at the University of Costa Rica (2012-2023). The objective is to highlight the contribution made to vocational guidance of the Final Graduation Project. A qualitative approach was used, and the categories of analysis were referenced vocational approaches, theoretical components, research methodology and main findings for the comprehension of vocational guidance. To collect information, the FGP were accessed through the institutional repository OPAC and Kérwá, analyzing a total of 15 relevant documents. These were processed by coding and categorizing data using the ATLAS.ti software, which made it possible to identify the main themes and conclusions in the area. Among the contributions, the conceptualization of Guidance as a professional accompaniment based on processes stands out. In addition, it was concluded that the main reference approaches used are those developed in the last century (traits and factors and career development). The topics investigated included life project, career choice and change, gender issues in choices, and the influence of external factors on choices. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of age and gender in vocational choices. It was concluded that some less explored themes, which can significantly contribute to vocational guidance are soft skills, work-life balance and validation of vocational exploration instruments.

Analysis of the Final Graduation Projects of the Guidance Career of the University of Costa Rica from 2012 to 2023

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Within the framework of the 60th anniversary of the Guidance program at the University of Costa Rica, it is especially important to refer to the Final Graduation Projects, as an academic activity that contributes to the research that is being developed. This study was conducted in September 2023 to June 2024, its objective is: To analyze the Final Graduation Projects carried out to obtain a degree in Guidance at the University of Costa Rica in the period 2012-2023, through a documentary review, so that its results are an input for decision making of the people responsible for the academic and administrative management. The research process is based on the positivist paradigm and the approach is quantitative. The unit of analysis are the Final Graduation Projects presented from 2012 to 2023, a period during which the degree is accredited by the Sistema Nacional de Acreditación de la Educación Superior [National Higher Education Accreditation System]. The technique used to collect information is documentary analysis, considering the variables: stage of development, geographical location, work context, Final Graduation Projects modality, Guidance area, paradigm, research approach, and design. Among the results, we have that of the 51 Final Graduation Projects, 64.7% were done from the naturalistic paradigm; 54.9% with adult population; the main work context in which they were developed is the Ministry of Public Education with 49%; the personal social area is the one in which the most Final Graduation Projects have been carried out (41%); and the modality is the Graduation Seminar (82%). Among the main conclusions, it was found that the naturalistic paradigm is the most used, participants in the studies are mainly adults, and the most researched area is the personal social area.

Characterization of the final graduation projects in Special Education at the University of Costa Rica from 2013 to 2023

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

The bachelor’s degree research training is designed to guide future professionals as they embark on their journey in the field of education and develop the necessary skills to organize curriculum decisions and introduce innovations in interdisciplinary work. At the University of Costa Rica, the Final Graduation Project is integrated into a training process, with the support of an advisory committee, to provide a practical approach to developing research skills. The main objective of this study was to analyze and characterize 45 final graduation projects completed between 2013 and 2023 in the Special Education Degree program, to understand the nature of research training at this academic level. A systematic, descriptive documentary review was conducted using 8 categories of interest during the months of October 2023 to May 2024. Some of the key findings highlighted the importance of promoting interdisciplinary research among students, using various levels of Bloom's taxonomy, consistent with the topics being investigated, promoting the implementation of mixed methodologies in research, as well as incorporating under-analyzed thematic, such as work with families and the autonomy of adults with disabilities and other current topics related to inclusive educational spaces. The degree makes use of academic production, both in the courses and in future research in the Bachelor's Degree in Special Education.

the key findings highlighted the importance of promoting interdisciplinary research among students, using various levels of Bloom's taxonomy, consistent with the topics being investigated, promoting the implementation of mixed methodologies in research, as well as incorporating under-analyzed tematics, such as work with families and the autonomy of adults with disabilities and other current topics related to inclusive educational spaces. The degree makes use of academic production, both in the courses and in future research in the Bachelor's Degree in Special Education.

Educational models in Special Education career, Universidad de Costa Rica (1996-2023)

Laura Matamoros-Rodríguez, Bernal Cubillo-Arias — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This article responds to the need for an analysis of the curricula made by the Special Education career of the University of Costa Rica from 1996 to 2023. Its objective is to analyze the adjustments or reforms generated in the curricular by the paradigmatic changes made in the country around the study of disability from the discipline, this investigation was done between october 2023 and june 2024. Regarding methodology, it responds to a qualitative approach and used the systematized review technique Framework SALSA for the analysis of the curricula in force from 1996 to 2023 with the following categories of analysis: definitions of the discipline, student, teaching role, concept of support or aids, mode and paradigm that prevails in the curricula. It was possible, through the analysis of the information done by WORD® text processor, to locate the curricula within the medical-rehabilitative and human rights paradigms. Knowing the path the career has taken over its last twenty years allows us to establish achievements and challenges regarding the path that Special Education as a discipline should follow from now on, such as the fact that the current curriculum manages to respond in a timely manner to the changes that have arisen in the discipline and to reflect them through adjustments and improvements in terms of terminology, language and vision of the profile of the Special Education teacher. It is considered a challenge to train professionals who contribute from their disciplinary area to the construction of an Inclusive Education without distorting the object of study of the career.

Physical Education Community: Formative Devices and the Production of Professional Teaching Knowledge

Heitor Perrud Tardin, Janaína da Silva Ferreira, Samuel de Souza Neto — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This research investigated how the Pedagogical Residency Program (PRP) - Physical Education, developed at a public university in the interior of São Paulo, contributed to the production of professional teaching knowledge (PTK). By focusing on the professionalization of teaching and teaching as a profession of human interactions, the study aimed to understand, in the PRP context, the construction of meanings around collaborative work, the mobilization of knowledge, and the use of formative tools in the articulation between university and school. This is a qualitative, interpretative research involving four residents between 2018 and 2020. Data were collected through residents' portfolios and semi-structured interviews. Content analysis revealed three themes: (a) Organization and Management of the Physical Education Community, Pedagogical Meetings, and Interaction; (b) Tools as links between theory and practice; (c) Foundations of professional teaching knowledge production. The results indicate that collaborative dynamics strengthened PTK development, providing a reflective environment and exchanges among participants. Formative tools played a central role in the residents' PTK development. The study suggests that initial teacher training programs should focus not only on increasing practice but also on providing the necessary support for residents to apply PTK in a contextualized and effective way. Implications include the need to create shared spaces in teacher education where PTK can be collectively built in hybrid and collaborative environments.

the Digital culture in university students from the north and south of Mexico: a comparative approach

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

A pilot study was conducted to analyze some aspects related to digital culture in students belonging to two public universities in the north (Autonomous University of Baja California) and south (Autonomous University of Yucatan) of Mexico, based on contextual variables (demographic, socioeconomic, and technological). Digital culture, understood as a multidimensional construct and estimated from a set of variables (age, socioeconomic level, technological self-concept, among others) that affect it, was addressed through a questionnaire prepared based on four aspects: sociodemographic, academic, technological-institutional, and attitudinal. Under a quantitative design with a descriptive and comparative scope, the instrument was piloted during the second semester of 2023 in a non-representative intentional sample of university students, who answered it asynchronously and online. The results show significant contrasts in participants from the northwest and southeast of Mexico based on demographic characteristics (age), socioeconomic characteristics (mother/father's education, work in parallel to their studies), technological characteristics (years of experience, self-concept) and frequency of use. The above allows us to infer distinctive elements around digital culture in students from both universities. However, these findings should be taken with caution, given the limitation of the study sample, although they represent a good starting point to analyze in greater depth some aspects around digital culture in university students from opposite geographic areas within Mexico.

Cognitive development and cultural mobilization from Social and Emotional Skills training

José Julián Herrera Pulgarín — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Training in Social and Emotional Skills (SES) implies a field of study under construction that is beginning to detach itself from the exclusively cognitive sphere, in order to find epistemological approaches that integrate the students' contexts. Even so, standardized tests are used, whose results replicate forms of social reproduction in which adolescents, the usual audience of these measurements, are not sufficiently recognized in their age and citizenship condition. The purpose of the study is to review the implications of the cognitive development approach, integrating the positions of political emotions (Martha Nussbaum) and participatory appropriation (Barbara Rogoff), in the HSE formative processes of two schools with different Socioeconomic Level (SEL) in the Metropolitan Area of the City of Medellin, (Colombia), as an alternative to the conclusions of the studies on SES proposed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The methodology involved a case study with mixed, correlational and narrative typology; a sample of 66 adolescents, with the use of Likert scale and semi-structured interviews, applied in the first semester of 2023. The results indicate the valuation of the adolescent condition in both schools, tinged by aspects of social reproduction: with marked recognition in the public of the institutional work in SES, as opposed to its role of citizen projection as part of the cultural capital in the private. The conclusions establish how minors can affirm themselves from educational contexts favored by the proposed cognitive development approach with forms of cultural mobilization in the public school, and greater opportunities for social commitment in the private school.

Profile of postgraduate graduates from Costa Rican state universities who carry out research

Cinthia Azofeifa Ureña, Karen Corrales Bolívar, Katherine Sandí Araya — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This article presents an analysis conducted to determine the profile of individuals who engage in research after completing postgraduate studies at Costa Rican public universities, as prior analyses identifying the main characteristics of researchers have not been developed. Additionally, the study aims to assess the contribution of postgraduate programs to research engagement and development in support of decision-making. The research follows a quantitative approach, utilizing data from the “Study of Postgraduate Graduates 2017-2019 from Public Universities,” collected in 2021 by the Consejo Nacional de Rectores. For the analysis, 1,240 postgraduate graduates involved in post-graduation research activities were selected. Hierarchical clustering techniques were applied to construct groups and profile the graduates engaged in research. Distances such as nearest neighbor, farthest neighbor, average linkage, and Ward’s distance were calculated to determine within-group similarities. Additionally, Gower's distance was employed to evaluate the distance among clustered research-engaged graduates. The findings reveal three distinct groups of postgraduate researchers, characterized primarily by language proficiency and their respective employment sectors.

Teacher perspectives on implementing the action-oriented approach in rural settings: Single case study

Roberto Rojas-Alfaro, Ana Marcela Montenegro Sánchez — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This case study investigates the implementation of the action-oriented approach (AoA) within rural primary schools in Costa Rica, focusing particularly on its adaptation and challenges in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Using a qualitative case study design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with two English as a foreign language teachers and a rural primary school principal during June and July 2023. Prior to the interviews, informed consent was obtained from the participants. The interviews explored how the AoA helps teachers facilitate the curriculum and the contextual factors affecting its implementation. For data analysis, thematic analysis was employed, and the information was validated with participants. The study identifies significant barriers, including socioeconomic disparities affecting student behavior, limited professional development for teachers, and the limited relationship between parents and the school. These findings are crucial as they highlight the need for specific AoA adaptations and emphasize the necessity for targeted professional development and improved communication strategies with parents. The study contributes to the sparse literature on AoA in Spanish-speaking rural contexts and underscores the need for changes in educational policy for the effective implementation of such educational innovations.

University flexibility and quality evaluation models: The case of the University of Costa Rica

Priscilla Hurtado-Hernández, Eugenia Gallardo-Allen — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This article analyzes the notion of flexibility at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), focusing on the perspectives of the members of the Teaching and Self-Assessment Committees during 2023-2024. It also examines the conceptualization of flexibility by the accrediting agency SINAES, as well as transnational, national, and institutional policies. The analysis is carried out using a mixed approach that combines grounded theory and quantitative analysis. The research has a descriptive scope and seeks to identify perceptions about the concept of curricular flexibility. The collection of the information of the notion of flexibility and the elements that compose it was carried out through a questionnaire adapted from Díaz (2007) applied through the Limesurvey program. The findings reveal an alignment between the opinions of the members of the committees and the flexibility policies, focused on the student's specific preferences regarding course selection and schedules; however, the administrative culture of the institution is identified as a limitation to achieving university flexibility. Furthermore, those interviewed present a notion of flexibility to respond to social demands from an inter, multi and transdisciplinary perspective. Regarding the SINAES notion of university flexibility, the first model evaluated the adaptation of the study plans to the needs of the student body, while the most recent model conceives flexibility as the capacity of institutions to adapt to a global context. Finally, the role of the evaluation office in updating the study plans to incorporate elements that achieve structural flexibility such as critical thinking, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity is highlighted.

Assessment and training in Physical Education: conceptions and projections of future teachers in Colombia

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Assessment in the context of initial training can serve both as a methodological aspect and as a contribution to understanding the specific learning achieved by students in different training realities. Therefore, learning during Initial Teacher Training (FIP) should focus on ways of carrying out assessment that can serve as references for the future professional activity of teaching staff. In this sense, this article aims to analyze the assessment conceptions expressed by students of four FIP courses in Physical Education in Colombia. In addition, it seeks to understand what knowledge about educational assessment they have acquired throughout the course and how they project this knowledge into its future assessment practices. This study is part of a qualitative research, with the participation of 190 students from four Colombian institutions. The data were obtained through a questionnaire applied in 2022, and the narratives were analyzed with the IRAMUTEQ software. The results indicate that the student have knowledge about various assessment conceptions and approaches, as well as their implications for professional practice. They recognize that for effective assessment it is essential to employ varied and qualitative methods, and that the results should provide relevant information about learning, while encouraging feedback, self-confidence and socialization. In conclusion, the four FIP courses have promoted broad discussions on the topic, allowing future teaching staff to develop conceptual distinctions and reflect on the impact of each assessment approach on pedagogical practice.

[Portuguese original] The devaluation of the teaching education programs in Brazilian higher education: analysis of the strategic planning of the Federal Institutes

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

The devaluation and growing loss of prestige of the teaching profession and the teaching career is a global phenomenon. This complex issue involves multiple dimensions, including remuneration and working conditions, school infrastructure, initial training in higher education and its disconnection from practice, as well as the social perception of the profession. In Brazil, between 2007 and 2008, there was a political-administrative movement by the Ministry of Education in favor of valuing the teaching profession. One of the most significant public policies involved the creation of the Federal Institutes of Education, Science, and Technology, with 20% of their spots reserved for the initial and/or continuing education of teachers. The aim of this paper is precisely to analyze how this new institutional framework understood its commitment to teacher education. Using a mixed-methods and correlational approach, a documentary analysis of the Institutional Development Plans of the 38 Federal Institutes, conducted between 2022 and 2023, was carried out to map the place of teacher education in the missions, visions, and values of these institutions, that is, in the definition of their central purpose, future objectives, and guiding principles. The results show that this theme is not central in any of the institutions' missions but has a modest presence in the vision and values of, respectively, three and two Federal Institutes. The study concludes that the Federal Institutes have not managed to reverse the prevailing logic of the devaluation of teaching degrees in one of their strategic planning tools.

[Spanish translation] The devaluation of the teaching education programs in Brazilian higher education: analysis of the strategic planning of the Federal Institutes

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Teaching Agribusiness at the University of Costa Rica: Student Motivation and Perceptions during COVID-19

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly transformed the educational strategies employed in various university classes. Courses in Agribusiness have not been immune to these changes. The study aimed to explore Agronomy students' perceptions of how pedagogical adaptations required during the pandemic, including the transition between in-person and virtual modalities, had affected their motivation and ability to adapt to new technologies. A study was conducted with 84 undergraduate Agronomy students at the University of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Facio Campus, during June 2022. Participants completed a structured questionnaire covering 30 items, assessing aspects such as demographic profile, internet connectivity, availability of computer equipment, acceptance of virtual technologies, quality of the contents taught, and students’ personal motivation. Data collected were analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine causal relationships among the variables of interest. It was observed that personal motivation had a significant effect (β=0.23) on students' perceptions of Agribusiness education during the pandemic. This study underscores the importance that Agronomy students attribute to the quality of teaching by instructors and the implementation of practical activities as key drivers of their motivation in learning Agribusiness content.

Actors and discourses in the educational policies of the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura of Honduras

Orlando David Murillo Lizardo — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

This article describes the actors and discourses involved in the educational policies of the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura (UNAG) in Honduras during the intervention process led by the Commission appointed by the National Congress from 2017 to 2020. The research employed a qualitative approach, using an exploratory case study method, framed by the policy cycle perspective and the inductive model of category formation for analysis. Data were collected between 2021 and 2022 through document analysis and semi-structured interviews and were examined using qualitative content analysis, supported by the ATLAS.ti software, version 8. The results identify multiple actors and discourses influencing UNAG’s educational policies at both international —United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Bank, European Union, Consejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano (CSUCA), Global and Regional Conferences on Higher Education— and national levels —Central Government, National Congress, political parties, and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH). Additionally, the Intervention Commission promoted an institutional reform that sparked internal conflicts, particularly among faculty groups, over control of university governance and the establishment of new internal regulations. The study concludes that UNAG's educational policies, under the leadership of the Intervention Commission, were shaped by both international and national agendas, reflecting power dynamics and internal conflicts. While these measures improved certain administrative and academic structures, they also exacerbated political and generational divisions, particularly among the teaching staff.

Tension between neoliberal governance and educational evaluation in Chile: a systematic review

Bella Fuentes-Vásquez, Natalie Gutiérrez-Verdugo, Katherine Gutiérrez-Sepúlveda — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

At the national and international level, a neoliberal governance system predominates that conflicts with the concept of social justice. Particularly, in the educational field and from public policies focused on evaluation, standardized evaluations with high consequences prevail over evaluations focused on learning. Therefore, this research seeks to analyze the epistemologies that surround educational public policies in Chile, in order to understand how evaluation is the territory where the inconsistencies between the discourse of social justice as a horizon for 21st century education are stressed. and neoliberal governance. Through a systematic review, in June 2023, the influence of public policies on evaluation from governance was examined, through articles published between 2018 and 2023, in English and Spanish, taking Jstor and Scopus as databases for the subsequent content analysis. The study was based on the qualitative paradigm and the hermeneutic approach. The results showed four dimensions that were analyzed from the structuring concept, showing that the evaluation, although framed from the discourse of social justice, continues to pay tribute to the hegemony of neoliberalism, as a tool that exercises control and power on the subjects from performance. Finally, the implications of this study relate to the fact that, although neoliberal governance opens spaces for the principles of social justice, it only constitutes a mirage, since it continues to perpetuate the status quo from which it emerges.

Perceptions of university students in the use and appropriation of artificial intelligence

Gabriel Alejandro Ávarez Hernández, Arturo Alejandro Pérez Velasco — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

The objective of this article is to understand the use and appropriation of artificial intelligence among university students at the Universidad Rosario Castellanos in Mexico City. The study is framed within a hermeneutic and comprehensive perspective, following the premise that human experience is fundamental to understanding the phenomenon of AI use in higher education, highlighting both its pedagogical potential and the associated risks. In this sense, although AI has been theorized since the 1950s, its real impact on education has gained greater relevance in recent years, especially at the higher education level, where significant transformations in teaching and learning are observed. The study adopts a qualitative approach, using techniques such as questionnaires and focus groups for data collection. A heterogeneous sample of 125 students was selected based on their knowledge and use of AI. Data analysis was supported by tools such as ChatGPT 3.5 and Gemini, which allowed for the identification of patterns and the construction of analytical categories. The results reveal the importance of integrating digital competencies into university students' training, emphasizing the need to design educational strategies that consider both the opportunities and the limitations of AI. The study concludes with the presentation of key findings, organized into two analytical categories: 'Utilitarian Perspective in Everyday Life' and 'Study and Ethical Awareness: Concerns and Regulatory Requirements.