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This study analyzes cognitive and emotional empathy in students who started their training at the Education Science Faculty of the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia. The sample was formed by 317 students enrolled in the study programs of Preschool, Plastic Arts, Natural Sciences, Physical Education, Philosophy, Computer Science, Foreign Languages, Mathematics, Music, Psychopedagogy, and Social Sciences. The Cognitive and Affective Empathy Scale (TECA for its Spanish initials) was used to collect data. Both the reliability of TECA and its construct validity were determined for this sample. Participants obtained better results in the cognitive dimension, the highest scores additionally corresponding to the emotional understanding scale. As far as gender is concerned, women outperformed men in their scores, especially in the two affective dimension scales. Differences also appeared according to age, scores growing as age increased. With regard to the training program in which students were enrolled, significant contrasts were identified in perspective adoption and empathic stress. Finally, a suggestion is made about the need for teacher training curricula to envisage empathy development for the purpose of strengthening the emotional skills of future lecturers.

Coexistence at school stands out as one of the main goals in today's education (Carretero, 2008; Ortega, 2007). The aim of this study developed within a cultural diversity context is to identify the specific dimensions of social skills through which the different elements favouring or hindering coexistence at school can be predicted. A total of 546 students (52% of them males, and 48% females) from the first year in each Primary Education cycle (1st, 3rd and 5th year, respectively) of two public schools in Melilla took part in the research. The Behaviour Assessment System for Children (BASC) and an adapted version for Primary Education of the Coexistence at School Questionnaire for Students were the data-collection instruments used. According to the main results, while the "clinical maladjustment" dimension of BASC predicts negative coexistence situations, "personal adjustment" appears as the dimension which best predicts positive coexistence situations, conducting classroom behaviours (both anti-social and pro-social ones), as well as the implementation of conflict resolution strategies (both successful and failed ones). In this respect, "self-esteem" within the personal adjustment dimension plays an important role regarding coexistence at school. Both the need to develop preventive programmes at schools and the consideration of the different socio-familiar variables which may be mediating this process are discussed.