The goal of this study is both to determine the opinion that professors and students at the university have of active methodologies and to describe the perception and opinion of the modes of ...organization, methodological focuses, and evaluation systems that define the teaching-learning process. On surveying the professors and the students in their classes, we found significant differences in 32 of the 92 variables in common. The content of these results shows that professors and students are believe they are making progress toward a learning-centered model, that implementation of active methodologies implies new functions in their teaching practice.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Programme for 2030 has established the principles of sustainable action for today’s society, one of which is to achieve quality and more inclusive ...education. Our society has reached the stage where quality education is no longer a privilege of a few, but a fundamental right. Therefore, not achieving quality education is equivalent to not having had the opportunity to grow and develop as fully as one is entitled to in a free and just society, which needs inclusive leadership. The objective in this study is the validation of the instrument “Inclusive Leadership in Schools” for the Italian context. The methods used are content validity through expert judgement; construct validity through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis; and reliability through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and the split-half method. The results reveal that both the version for school administrators and teachers and the version for families have optimal levels of validity and reliability for measuring the degree of inclusive leadership in Italian schools. The results suggest that inclusive leadership effects are expected to operate most closely via their influence on developing the improvement of teaching and learning quality and promoting a favourable school climate and culture that emphasize high expectations and quality education.
Background: Studies on the potential of smartphone apps for people with autism are currently increasing in number, given the large digital supply available and the benefits they offer. We analyzed ...the opinion of educators from Florence (Italy) and Granada (Spain) regarding the benefits and applicability of apps, frequency of their use, and the type of apps used for people with autism. Methods: The study involved 1261 professionals, of whom 286 worked with apps, using a non-experimental quantitative design, descriptive and frequency statistics, parametric inferential analyses (Student’s t and one-factor ANOVA), and calculation of the effect size (Cohen’s d and eta squared) and intrafactorial correlations. Results: Statistically significant differences were observed in respect of city, sex, age, years of experience, place of work, and type of teacher. The teachers from Granada found more benefits and applicability in apps, and revealed a slightly higher usage than those from Florence. Conclusions: It is an arduous but worthy task for professionals from schools and associations that work with people with autism to acquire the necessary knowledge to apply methodologies based on information and communication technology (ICT), as this will help achieve the integrated development of people with different capabilities.
Inclusive education is a challenge that requires appropriate attitudes in trainee and working teachers. If the influential factors for these attitudes are known, it is possible to enhance them to ...achieve a training programme focused on quality professional activity. In this sense, the current study revealed and corroborated the attitudinal characterisation around educative inclusion of two groups that are traditionally not researched jointly: working teachers and students about to graduate as Preschool Education or Primary Education teachers. The quantitative method was employed for this purpose, delivering a multiple transversal study: firstly, descriptive, and secondly, relational. The data were compiled through two standardised and validated scales for the research context, determined by the location of the three campuses of the University of Granada. Through the statistical analysis, the results generally demonstrated that the attitudes were significantly different in both groups, although an acceptable attitude was inferred (and indubitably improvable) in both; it was more favourable among female participants, as well as among those who were specialising or were already specialists in Preschool Education. Therefore, it is imperative to develop optimal attitudes among the implicated agents in inclusive education.
Mobile apps represent a resource with great potential for encouraging the development of many skills, given the high number of apps available and the quick access to them. Many professionals and ...families include these resources in the education and therapy of children with autism. For a group with such particular needs, a review of the apps is great importance, since, due to their characteristics, the apps must provide content, design and pedagogical aspects that fit those needs. Through a previously validated system of indicators, 155 free apps on Google Play were evaluated, using “autism” in English and in Spanish. We determined which work area each app developed, as well as which were the most multifaceted. Having evaluated the recorded data, we calculated frequencies, percentages and reliability, as well as parametric contrast and correlation statistics. We found that the focus of most apps was on executive functions, language and entertainment, with a minority devoted to the emotional sphere or time management. However, 98.06% of the apps worked on several areas, which makes them more functional but with the downside of not being specialized. Most apps were placed in the “recommendable” level but with margin for improvement in increasing their functionality.
According to Contact Theory, direct experience between people with and without disabilities seems to be the basis for building and changing beliefs and, therefore, behaviours. The present study ...enquires into Educational Science university students' attitudes towards people with disabilities analysing the differences that occur on the basis of the frequency of contact (almost permanent, habitual, frequent or sporadic), and the type of disability (motor, hearing, visual, intellectual or multiple) of the person with whom the contact is maintained. The participants were 900 students of the Faculty of Education of the University of Granada who completed the Scale of Attitudes towards people with disabilities. The analysis carried out shows significant differences depending on the contact with people with disabilities in different factors of the scale. In addition, there are more favourable attitudes in students who maintain sporadic contact, and also those in those with contact with people with sensory disabilities.
The utilization of apps in mobile devices offers autism professionals a complementary medium with which to strengthen deficient skills. Through a system of previously validated indicators, we have ...thoroughly assessed 155 apps that are available on the Play Store. To select the apps aimed at people with autism, we used the search term “autism” in English and in Spanish. The chosen apps were then assessed and given a score for their design, content and pedagogic dimension. The assessment concluded by establishing a ranking of the apps. Only 14 apps obtained scores notably higher than the rest.
•Digital resources are a useful option in the therapy of people with autism.•So far, there has been no rigorous analysis of apps targeting people with autism.•155 apps for people with autism have been evaluated.•The evaluation focused on the design, content and pedagogical dimension of each app.•Only 14 apps obtained scores notably higher than the rest.
Training in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has become very valuable in the current educational panorama, given the proliferation of digital resources available in the formal and ...non-formal education context. Fortunately, the field of attention to diversity has also benefited from it. For this reason, it is essential that the professionals who attend to people with functional diversity have a good attitude towards them, as well as training in accordance with their requirements. The aim of this study was to analyse how professionals in Granada (Spain) perceived their ICT training. A total of 404 specialists who worked in the field of attention to diversity were interviewed. In general, participants showed a favourable opinion towards ICT but they expressed a medium-low perception of their digital training. Nevertheless, these results are encouraging, as younger teachers showed a more favourable opinion and training towards ICT. In the long term, this will be a generation that is more educated and aware of the benefits, applicability and usefulness of these resources for working with people with functional diversity.
Innovative methodologies based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are a tested and motivating option for working with people with autism. Their use, however, should not be ...indiscriminatory and arbitrary, but didactic and appropriate.
We aimed to discover the training in ICT they had, its frequency of use, and the types of digital resources that they used.
We administered the questionnaire, “Demands and Potentials of ICT and Apps for Assisting People with Autism” to 310 educators in the city of Granada (Spain). The participants belonged to schools and associations that worked with people with autism. Adopting a quantitative-type study, we carried out descriptive analyses (frequencies, mean, mode, and standard deviation). Having confirmed that the data did not follow a normal distribution (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for samples of >50 participants), we carried out non-parametric inferential and intrafactorial correlation analyses. We also calculated the effect size.
The educators revealed that they had ICT training for working with people with autism, but not enough. This suggests that there is still a need to improve the digital competence of these professionals. Strong, direct and significant correlations were found between ICT training and the frequency with which they were used. There were also statistically significant differences according to sex, gender, age, type of institution, and type of educator. The educators who worked as Therapeutic Pedagogy teachers and those who worked in Special Education schools were shown to be more competent than the rest in educational technology applied to people with autism.
The results, which were not wholly positive since ICT training should be better and have achieved higher scores, revealed that there is a foundation in ICT education but it needs to be heightened and improved with greater knowledge and more practical experience.
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