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Introduction: The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) is one of the most worldwide employed scales to assess self-regulated learning and its factor structure is a topic of debate nowadays. In this paper the internal structure of the instrument is analyzed on university students of Argentina and Uruguay. The aim was to extract a short version of the MSLQ. Method: 918 Argentinian and Uruguayan university students participated. An exploratory factor analysis as well as confirmatory factor analysis was applied using SPSS 21, SIMLOAD and LISREL 8.8 respectively. The factor invariance of the model was tested through the segmentation of each sample according to country, age and gender. The internal consistency was calculated for each sample using the Omega coefficient, these coefficients were compared using the "AlphaTest" program and the coefficient q. Results: The exploratory factor analysis yielded a hexafactorial solution that kept 18 items. This structure was tested in the sample of each country through a confirmatory factor analysis, which verified adequate fit indices (CFI > 0.90, RMSEA < 0.06). The factorial invariance of the model was tested, verifying the metric equivalence ([delta]CFI < 0.009, [delta]RMSEA < 0.002). For each dimension and country, internal consistency was estimated, obtaining values between 0.55 and 0.79. Discussion and Conclusion: The abbreviated version of the MSLQ will allow to have further understanding of the way in which Argentinian and Uruguayan students self-regulate their learning. This information could prove useful for the design of interventions that promote self-regulated learning processes at a college level. Future research will test the structure hereby obtained, aiming to verify whether its results persist in different academic orientations and countries.

Introduction: Numerous researchers have shown the many benefits of academic motivation in educational processes, both at school and at home. Adequate acquisition and development of learning strategies during compulsory secondary education is key to future academic success. The aim of this paper is to explore how academic goals and parenting styles relate to learning strategies in secondary school students. Method: For this purpose, three questionnaires were administered to a sample of 358 students enrolled in 7th through 10th grades, their ages ranging from 11 to 17 years. Results: Statistically significant differences stand out in the highest level of Task goal and in the authoritative parenting style, in terms of cognitive, metacognitive and resource management strategies. This indicates the strategic-motivational superiority of a learning orientation and family styles that balance affect and control. Discussion and conclusions: The most strategic family-motivational profile corresponds to a learning goal orientation (performance orientation to a lesser degree), in combination with an authoritative parenting style (authoritarian in second place), taking into account the negative influence of ego self-protection and task avoidance. Finally, we offer conclusions needed for future studies in this line of research.

Introduction: Dyslexia is a learning difficulty which affects people in different ways. During the last decades the number of students with dyslexia entering higher education increased steadily. Method: This paper reports a pilot study exploring the attitudes, views and experiences of faculty members at one small size Greek university regarding students with dyslexia. Data were collected through a three-part questionnaire focusing on academic staff knowledge of dyslexia, approaches towards effective tuition and attitudes towards dyslexic students. Results: Results indicated that lectures hold mainly positive attitudes and genuine interest for dyslexic students but they also have concerns about "the fairness" of teaching and other accommodations for students with dyslexia. Discussion: Following the social model of disability, the paper moves to the direction of making teaching environments as inclusive as possible for students with "hidden" disabilities. The present study can provide useful ideas about the improvement of provision for students with dyslexia in Greek higher education institutions.

Introduction: Studies stress the importance of emotions in conflict, describing how they influence any mediation process. Resolving conflicts requires emotional abilities and it usually implies emotional learning. One of the main objectives of this paper is to better understand the role of emotions in mediation processes: how they impact this process and what emotional aspects are developed through them. A review of the theoretical framework of mediation related to this specific issue and the results of an empirical study based on the emotional experience of mediation processes are presented. Method: An ad hoc questionnaire was created in order to assess perceived emotional learning gains after a mediation process. For this purpose, a total of 46 teachers mediators, 33 peer mediators and 23 mediated students participated in the study (n = 102). Results: The questionnaire allowed to study the level of perceived learning gain in two differentiated dimensions: emotional awareness and emotional regulation. All groups (teacher mediators, peer mediators and mediated students) perceived a high level of emotional learning, indicating the effectiveness of the mediation process. No differences in perceived emotional learning gains were found among groups (p = 0.56). However, although learning improvements were perceived in both dimensions, the level of perceived learning gain in emotional regulation was significantly higher than that perceived in of emotional awareness (p = 0.002). On the other hand, a shift from negative to positive emotions during the process of mediation was found in pupils mediated. Discussion and Conclusion: Mediation is a strategy that promotes emotional learning to all of those who take part in it. This study highlights the importance of mediation processes in developing emotional learning. Two main aspects of emotional learning, which were promoted by mediation, were identified in this study: emotional awareness and emotional regulation. It is considered that learning how to manage emotions should be present in any mediator's training course, since a stable resolution of conflicts depends on an adequate management of emotions.

Introduction: Multiple imputation (MI) is one of the most highly recommended methods for replacing missing values in research data. The scope of this paper is to demonstrate missing data handling in SEM by analyzing two modified data examples from educational psychology, and to give practical recommendations for applied researchers. Method: We provide two examples (N = 589 and N = 621, respectively) based on previous studies of students' self-concepts, mastery goals and performance avoidance goals, and a 7- step tutorial. Then, we produced 20% and 40% missing data under three missing mechanisms by these complete, genuine data sets. The resulting datasets were then analyzed by (1) listwise deletion and structural equation models (SEM), (2) full information maximum likelihood (FIML) with SEM, and (3) MI combined with SEM and pooling. Thus, the results stem from 2 × 3 × 3 conditions. Results: Previous research was replicated by illustrating a practical way to combine MI with SEM and pooling. The assumed factor structure was depicted in both examples with multiply imputed values applied. Discussion: We suggest adding variables to clarify the missing data mechanism, especially for dependent variables as motivation. Such variables might indicate whether missing values in dependent variables are correlated with independent variables (e.g., interest) or the dependent variable itself (e.g. lack of motivation independently of interest).

Teacher motivation is vital for the educational system. For teachers to be motivated their work satisfaction and positive psychological capital are crucial. The state-of-the-art on teacher motivation requires a literature review regarding the studies that relate teacher motivation and the above mentioned constructs. In this paper, through electronic databases, the published studies between 1990-2014 about these issues were identified. A total of 43 studies were obtained. The main conclusions were the following: (a) 2012 was the year with more publications (n = 7; 16.28%); (b) quantitative methodologies (n = 40; 93.02%) and self-report questionnaires (n = 43; 89.59%) were the dominant methodology and instrument type; and (c) work satisfaction was the most studied concept with teacher motivation (n = 42; 97.67%). Our results underline the importance of work satisfaction on teacher motivation and emphasize the need to realize more studies on the relationship between teacher motivation and positive psychological capital.

Introduction: This paper analyzes the arithmetic problems posed by a group of mathematically talented students when given two problem-posing tasks, and compares these students' responses to those given by a standard group of public school students to the same tasks. Our analysis focuses on characterizing and identifying the differences between the productions of both groups, based on an analytic framework designed in this study. Method: The sample is composed of two groups of students. The first consists of 21 students identified as mathematically talented and the second of 20 secondary students in a public school. Both groups completed two tasks of posing arithmetic problems designed in this study. The results were analyzed based on three categories of analysis and variables related to the problems' syntactic, semantic, and mathematical structure. Results: The problems posed by the group of mathematically talented students are richer than those of the group of public school students. The talented students' problems are composed of a greater number of propositions, use different types of numbers, require more steps and different calculation processes to solve, and have a higher number of different semantic relationships. Furthermore, the results show some attributes that enable us to characterize mathematically talented students when solving problemposing tasks. Conclusion: The problem-posing instrument and the analytical diagram enabled description and exploration of the performance of a group of mathematically talented students. Moreover, the three categories of analysis used and the solvability of each problem produced ten components whose values characterize the wealth of problems that the subjects invented. Finally, statistical analysis reinforces the differences between the productions of the two study groups.

Introduction: Several studies show that one of the essential factors in the way teachers use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their lessons are the beliefs they hold regarding ICT as tools for teaching and learning. This study analyses the relationship between these beliefs and the way teachers use ICT in the classroom through design of a "System of Categories for the Analysis of Beliefs about and Uses of ICT." Method: We applied an open-ended questionnaire about beliefs and uses of ICT to 16 teachers of Child and Primary Education and collected 42 activities proposed by them where ICT were crucial. To analyse the answers, we designed a "System of Categories for the Analysis of Beliefs about and Uses of ICT," based on three essential dimensions: what teachers said they taught, the psychological processes they activated in their students and the activities or tasks they proposed to achieve that learning. Results: The results indicate that there is a wide gap between the beliefs teachers hold and the way they actually use ICT. While they said that ICT should be used to make learning more student-centred and to foster motivation, most of the activities proposed were aimed at one-directional conveyance of contents, and were neither highly developed nor did they noticeably transform traditional ways of teaching. Conclusions and Discussion: The paper concludes with a few reflections and suggestions about how ICT could really be integrated in the classroom based on a new learning culture.

Introduction: The purpose of the present research is aimed at studying the relationship between emotional intelligence as an ability and emotional intelligence as a trait and mental health of a sample of school counsellors. Method: The sample has been made up of 203 school counsellors. The instruments used have been: Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form (TEIQUE-SF) and the Mental Health Scale (MH-5). In the first place, the correlations among the scoring corresponding to all of the variables were analysed. Subsequently, the differences in average (t of Student) were studied according to the educational stage in which the school counsellors are working and according to their sex. Finally, with the aim of exploring the variables that predict mental health, an analysis of multiple lineal regression was carried out, step by step. Results: The results show that the existing relationships between EI as a trait and mental health are higher than those existing between EI as an ability and mental health. On the other hand, scorings significantly higher were registered in the school counsellors in Secondary School in the variable of emotional intelligence as an ability in emotional comprehension. Scorings significantly higher are also registered in the variable of mental health of school counsellors in Primary Education. Likewise, scorings significantly higher are also registered in women in their score of emotional intelligence as an ability in emotional regulation, and scorings significantly higher in the score of emotional intelligence as a personality trait in men. Finally, the analysis of multiple regression has allowed for identifying emotional intelligence as a trait as a predictor variable of mental health. Discussion: The present study represents one of the first research papers carried out in a sample of school counsellors in which the influence on mental health of emotional intelligence as a trait and as an ability is analysed. Furthermore, it provides evidence about the predictive validity of EI as a trait over an indicator of mental health.

Introduction: In this paper, Spanish future primary teachers' pedagogical knowledge of numbers and operation, as revealed through their results in the TEDS-M ("Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics"), is compared with that of two other groups. The first group are the future primary teachers of other OECD countries that also participated in the study: Norway, Germany, Chile and Poland. The second group are the future primary teachers of participating countries where preservice teachers receive training similar to Spain's teacher training, namely, China-Taipei, Singapore, United States, Philippines and Switzerland. Method: To meet this objective, data was analyzed and parameters were calculated based on categories that characterize the pedagogical knowledge required to correctly answer the questions in this conceptual domain, using response assessment criteria. Results: We found that Spanish prospective teachers have lower results, in general, than those of the other OECD countries and of countries in the group with similar training programs. The Spanish scores are lower than Norwegian, Swiss and Singaporean scores in all aspects considered. For most categories, Spain obtained higher scores than Philippines and Chile, and similar scores to the U.S.A. Discussion: When comparing the results from the OECD countries that participated in the two international studies, TEDS-M and TIMSS 2011 (Spain, Poland, USA, Norway, Germany and Chile), we find that their relative positions are maintained in the ranking of assessed mathematical knowledge of numbers and operations, whether in preservice teachers or in primary students. Spanish results in the TIMSS are just above Poland and Chile and below the rest. The results obtained in this study may be useful in the current syllabus design process for subjects in the Elementary Teacher Education degree.

Introduction: This paper aims at describing the psychometric features of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ), focusing specifically on the section that measures class emotions. From a theoretical perspective, this instrument was designed based on the control-value theory of achievement emotions. Therefore, a description of the psychometric features of the questionnaire could pave the way for discussions about the underlying theory. From a practical perspective, it is important to highlight that there is no documented literature in our country about the technical advantages and benefits that the instrument has. Thus, the description of the instrument could represent important contributions to the field. Method: The section of the AEQ that assesses class emotions consists of 80 items grouped into eight scales: enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom. We based the reliability analysis on the responses obtained from a sample of 450 students who attend the School of Engineering at Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (Argentina). For the analysis of content validity, we considered 11 experts' responses to a questionnaire specifically designed to this end. Results: The results obtained indicate acceptable reliability levels both for the use of the questionnaire as a whole and also for the individual use of each scale, except for "hope," for which future analysis and reformulations are needed. The inter-rater reliability test allowed us to confirm the content validity of the instrument, as 80-100% of the raters showed agreement in indicating high or moderate relevance for 79 of the 80 items in the questionnaire. Conclusion: The reliability and validity indices obtained in this study provide evidence to conclude that the Argentinean Spanish version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQe) can be used reliably with groups of students in our context. In addition, the results suggest alternatives that could increase the levels of reliability and validity obtained in this study.

Introduction: Symbolic interaction theorists maintained that general self-esteem, defined as the way individuals assess themselves, is based on the individual's perception on the way others assess them (we are what we think other people think we are). Accordingly, studies in school settings indicated that students' perceived teachers' expectancy (PTE) affected students' self-esteem. In other words, evidence had shown that students who perceived that their teachers expected them to have high academic achievement would likely to have higher general self-esteem than students who perceived that their teachers expected them to perform low or to be involved in disciplinary matters. However, only handful of researches in school settings had focused on the role of locus of control (LoC) in the process of self-esteem development. Moreover, little research had focused on a school where only students with high-academic reports are accepted (High-performance schools), where they would not find low-achiever counterparts to be compared with. In the context of this study, students' internal LOC was taken as a mediating variable between PTE and self-esteem. Method: Eight hundred participants were given three sets of questionnaires including Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Internal Control Index, and Perception of Teachers' Behavior Scale. In order to analyze the data, statistical method of One-Way ANOVA was employed. The software of SPSS was utilized in order to analyze and produce the result tables. Results: The results showed that the students' LoC mediated the influence of their PTE on their self-esteem. In other words, while symbolic interaction theory explained that self-esteem development among students is highly affected by PTE, findings of this research added that the contribution of PTE on self-esteem is mediated by LoC. Discussion and Conclusion: When students believe that their events are caused by their own effort (having internal LoC instead of external LoC), their PTE will not affect their self-esteem. While internal LoC is related to responsibility, it is possible to protect students' self-esteem from negative influence of PTE by improving their sense of responsibility, which then leads them to have internal LoC. Furthermore, follow-up research in improving internal LoC is suggested. Further practical implications of the findings are discussed at the end of the paper. (Contains 7 tables and 1 figure.)

Introduction: In this paper we present a comparative analysis of three samples of teachers from Coimbra, Barcelona and Murcia that provides insight into the importance teachers attach to disruptive behavior and how different perspectives and values affect their daily work. Method: This research is framed within a quantitative empirical-analytic design. It is a descriptive study that compares the data obtained from applying a questionnaire to a sample of 146 school teachers from primary and secondary education in three European cities: Barcelona, Murcia and Coimbra. This unobtrusive questionnaire was developed by the authors to minimize language distortions. Results: Results consistently confirm the trend proposed in the study's hypothesis. In general, inappropriate social behaviors receive stronger ratings than behaviors that hinder instruction, except in the case of disobedience, which receives the highest score. Male teachers tend to assign higher scores to instruction-related behaviors than do their female colleagues, and there is a trend toward stronger ratings for instruction-related behaviors with increasing years of teaching experience. Discussion and Conclusion: The teachers sampled in this study show greater concern for the general social transgressions that occur in the class group, relegating disruptive behaviors to positions of lesser importance, despite their rigorously-demonstrated implications in teaching-learning processes. Moreover, the variable years of experience appears to exert a moderating effect on the concern for inappropriate social behaviors, nearly equating their seriousness with that of instruction-related behaviors. This leveling effect is observed more strongly with male teachers than with their female colleagues. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, 5 charts and 1 footnote.)

Introduction: In the present-day didactic process of transition from natural numbers to integers, a certain kind of measure is involved which is neither easy nor appropriate to integrate into the familiar numerical systems. We refer to measures and comparisons for which we need a third numerical system--what we will call "relative natural" numbers; this numerical system presents five structural differences from the systems of natural numbers and of integers. In this paper we present part of a study whose purpose was to make evident that such differences are also cognitive. Method: Qualitative meta-analysis and didactic analysis are used for theoretical study and for analysis of responses, for the descriptive study and correspondence analysis of responses to structured questionnaires. Results: The algebraic structures and the epistemology and phenomenology of relative natural numbers and of integers are different. Subjects distinguish between the two types of numbers by responding differently to situations which pertain to one or the other type of numerical structure. Discussion: Results confirm our conjectures, and call for a new organization of the additive numerical field, in which additive relativity and relative natural numbers would be considered, as is the case with proportionality and fractions in the conceptual field of multiplication. (Contains 3 figures, 4 tables, and 6 footnotes.)

Introduction: Despite all the emphasis on metacognition, researchers currently use different techniques to assess metacognition. The purpose of this contribution is to help to clarify some of the paradigms on the evaluation of metacognition. In addition the paper reviews studies aiming to improve the learning process through metacognition. Method: A longitudinal study was conducted on 32 children to investigate the mathematical learning and metacognitive skills in grade 3 and 4. Metacognitive skills were evaluated through teacher ratings, think aloud protocols, prospective and retrospective child ratings and EPA2000. In addition we described ways to enhance mathematics learning through metacognition. Results: Reflecting on the results of the present study there is evidence that how you evaluate is what you get. Child questionnaires do not seem to reflect actual skills, but they are useful to evaluate the metacognitive "knowledge" and "beliefs" of young children. Think aloud protocol analyses were found to be accurate, but time-consuming techniques to assess metacognitive "skills" of children with an adequate level of verbally fluency. Teacher questionnaires were found to have some value added in the evaluation of metacognitive skills. The data showed that metacognitive skillfulness assessed by teacher ratings accounted for 22.2% of the mathematics performances. In addition, a literature review shows that metacognition can be trained and has some value added in the intervention of young children solving mathematical problems. Conclusion: We suggest that teachers who are interested in metacognition in young children use multiple-method designs, including teacher questionnaires to get a complete picture of metacognitive skills. Taking into account the complex nature of mathematical learning, it may be useful to evaluate metacognitive skills in young children in order to focus on these factors and their role in mathematics learning and development. Studies also reveal that metacognition can be trained and has some value added in the intervention of young children solving mathematical problems. Our data seem to suggest that metacognitive skills need to be taught explicitly in order to improve and cannot be assumed to develop from freely experiencing mathematics. It might be possible that with more time allocated to metacognitive instruction, the mathematics teaching-learning process may improve. (Contains 4 tables.)

Introduction: This paper seeks to establish basic dimensions on which to construct a system of indicators for evaluating university quality, from the perspective of pupils, and within the framework offered by the European Space for Higher Education. Method: The population for this study was defined as the set of students enrolled at the Universities of Salamanca (USAL) and Cordova (UCO) in the academic year 2004/2005, a total of 45,751 students. The two institutions are located in diverse geographies within the territory of Spain, and each has a distinct identity. The sample obtained comprised a total of 1167 subjects, stratified as a function of branch of specialization: health sciences, humanities, legal-social studies, and technical programs. A questionnaire was designed to collect information using a protocol of scale-based evaluation items. Application of factorial analysis allowed us to establish basic dimensions from which to determine different evaluation indicators. Results: Results yielded a total of 14 factors. Those which stand out as most powerful and useful are student satisfaction, academic and professional competencies, evaluation of academic performance, virtual teaching and the advising process. Discussion: The various tests demonstrate that quality is defined first and foremost by student satisfaction, a result which ratifies the logic behind models of institutional evaluation being implemented in Spain. (Contains 18 tables.)

Introduction: Identifying talent is the first step in a process that leads to an educational response for students with talent and high ability. Can talent be identified from an early age? Does talent remain naturally throughout the different stages of schooling, or, on the contrary, does it require orientation in order to be developed? The study of identifying talent is one of the topics most under investigation and is a field where new, interesting and easy-to-apply instruments are being made available. This paper presents a study carried out with a broad sample in order to identify musical talent from ECE until 6th grade of primary education. Method: This study focuses on identifying one type of talent: musical talent. The method used in this study consists of music teachers' applying a questionnaire to students from ECE and Primary Education. The questionnaire was selected and adapted from that of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1998). Responses to the questionnaire were recorded, then the results were analyzed and interpreted and conclusions were drawn. Results: Data obtained reveal that in ECE a percentage of students show musical talent, but that this percentage decreases over the passage of time, such that by 6th grade of Primary, we observe only a few students out of our broad sample that show musical talent. Discussion: We conclude that: i) Already in ECE it is possible to identify musical talent, as various authors assert. ii) Beginning in Primary, one observes a decrease in students with musical talent. iii) In order for talent to be developed and to remain in successive school years, orientation and development are required.

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