Report
Shadow education on the Iberian Peninsula
Bruno P. Carvalho, Pedro Freitas, Susana Peralta, Francisco M. Pereira, Juan Carlos Rodríguez and Mercedes Esteban Villar, Research by the Social Observatory in collaboration with the European Foundation for Society and Education and the Nova School of Business and Economics;
Families resort to private tuition as support for specific educational challenges. However, could such practices increase inequalities? We analyse the data from a sociodemographic perspective in Spain and Portugal.
Report
Resilient schools: excellence in educational centres in contexts of poverty
Lucía Cobreros Vicente and Lucas Gortazar, ESADE;
This report analyses how some schools in the Canary Islands (primary schools) and Catalonia (secondary schools) manage to ensure that their students make progress beyond expectations, despite social vulnerability. Using data and fieldwork, we identify resilient schools: those that combine academic excellence with strategies to reduce inequalities.
Article
Teacher influence on school students’ digital media consumption
Daniel Barredo Ibáñez, Universidad de Málaga *; Miguel Garcés Prettel, Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, Colombia; Lucía Caro Castaño, Ana Merchán, Silvia Vega, Universidad de Cádiz; Yanin Santoya-Montes, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Colombia; Jesús Arroyave, Universidad del Norte, Colombia;
Children who perceive positive communication with their teachers tend to make more moderate use of social media and to consume digital contents in a more responsible way. In this sense, in addition to the family and social environment, the school is configured as a key space for promoting healthy digital consumption habits.
Article
School meal subsidies improve pupils’ academic results in Catalan language skills
Sara Ayllón, Department of Economics, Universitat de Girona, IZA and EQUALITAS; Samuel Lado, Department of Economics, Universitat de Girona and EQUALITAS;
Do subsidised school meals favour linguistic immersion? According to this study, beneficiary students spend more time at school and their socialisation and interaction with classmates who habitually speak Catalan are favoured.
Article
Training in oral communication failing to make the grade among university students
Emma Rodero, Universitat Pompeu Fabra;
Oral communication is a fundamental tool in the academic field as well as in the personal and professional spheres. However, 77.5% of university students claim that they have received no training in oral communication.
Article
The state of digital empowerment among Spanish teachers and the persistence of gender and age gaps
Rocío Jiménez Cortés, Universidad de Sevilla;
Are teachers making the most of digital resources? This study reveals a lower level of digital empowerment among ESO (secondary) teachers aged 56-65, especially among female teachers.
Review
Nature as a mirror and a teacher in a young activist’s diary
Cecilia Duran, Development analyst, graduate in Political Science and History of Art from the University of Michigan;
How does a young person with autism connect with the natural environment? This review presents the work 'Diary of a Young Naturalist', the testimony of a fourteen-year-old boy incredibly committed to conservation and nature.
Best practices
Work4Progress by the ”la Caixa” Foundation
The ”la Caixa” Foundation’s Work4Progress programme aims to go beyond supporting isolated projects, by promoting social innovation platforms for experimentation and systemic change.