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STEM education is present in most recent curriculum reforms around the world. One of the main novelties of this educational movement is the integration of engineering practices into science education. In the Spanish educational context, this implies an important challenge for science teachers. So, this study analyzes whether secondary science teachers are sufficiently prepared for this purpose, as well as to find out their experiences, emotions, and appraisals in this regard. To this end, a questionnaire was designed and administered to 328 secondary science teachers as a representative sample of science teachers in Spain with a confidence level of just over 93%. The reliability of the questionnaire was evidenced by the high degree of internal consistency of the data ([alpha] = 0.88). And its validity was determined by means of an exploratory factor analysis. The results reveal that secondary science teachers, in general, have low levels of pedagogical preparation and self-efficacy to integrate engineering practices into science classes, as well as a predominant emotion of insecurity about it. There is also a strong preference among teachers for this to be done in technology subjects. It is concluded that the effective integration of engineering practices into science education is currently a complex challenge that requires ad hoc teacher training plans.

The Expectancy-Value model has been extensively used to understand students' achievement motivation. However, recent studies propose the inclusion of cost as a separate construct from values, leading to the development of the Expectancy-Value-Cost model. This study aimed to adapt Kosovich et al.'s ("The Journal of Early Adolescence", 35, 5-6, 2015) instrument for assessing achievement motivation in science and math among Spanish-speaking students aged 9-12. The psychometric evaluation encompassed examining validity, reliability, and measurement invariance for gender. The findings support the applicability of the expectancy-value-cost model in elementary school students, providing a valid and reliable tool for assessing achievement motivation in the science and math domain. However, the findings for the measurement invariance for gender are less conclusive and warrant future psychometric evaluations. This study opens avenues for future research on achievement motivation in Spanish-speaking contexts and populations.

Despite improvements in female science enrolment, the gender gap remains in some disciplines. This study examines whether elementary school students (N = 1012, third to sixth graders) display gender-stereotypical interest in learning biology and physics content and how this affects their attitudes towards school science. K-means cluster analysis revealed four interest profiles that resemble career enrolment patterns, with slightly more girls in profiles of high interest in biology over physics (biology interest) and low interest in both disciplines (disinterested), and more boys in high interest in physics over biology (physics interest) and high interest in both disciplines (interested). Students in the interested profile had more positive attitudes towards school science than those in the other profiles. These findings suggest gender segregation in science may be shaped before students make career decisions, calling for attitude-based, gender-inclusive educational interventions from elementary grades.

Background: The importance of valid and reliable instruments for the assessment of factors affecting students' interest in science encouraged the development and validation of a brief Spanish instrument for the measurement of expectancies of success in school science, named SUCCESS. In this study, the psychometric properties of the SUCCESS instrument are further evaluated using different psychometric tests and a different sample than the one included in the original validation study. Material and methods: A sample of 313 Spanish elementary school students enrolled in 4th to 6th grade was drawn by means of convenience sampling techniques. Responses were analyzed in terms of construct and criterion validity, and two reliability indices. Results: Results from confirmatory factor analysis established the unidimensional structure of the instrument, with great model fit indices. Correlation coefficients between the SUCCESS and external measures (i.e. intentions to enroll, enjoyableness, difficulty, auto-efficacy, utility and relevance of school science) provided evidence of criterion validity. Cronbach a and item-total correlation indices supported the internal consistency reliability of the instrument. Conclusions: Taken together, this study further provide evidence to consider the SUCCESS as a valid and reliable tool for the measurement of Spanish elementary school students expectancies of success in school science.

Guided and open inquiry stands as a valuable instructional strategy for science education. Yet, confirmation and structured inquiry, which provides higher levels of teacher guidance, is more often enacted. These approaches, though more workable, remain unexplored in their effectiveness in improving achievement motivations. This study draws on expectancy-value theory to explore the effect of short-term confirmation and structured inquiry on students' expectancies of success and intrinsic values in school science when compared to traditional lecture-based strategies. One hundred and nineteen Spanish sixth graders were assigned to three pedagogical conditions using classroom clusters: lecture (control group), confirmation inquiry, and structured inquiry. The intervention consisted of two units of three hours each. Findings revealed no statistically significant differences between pedagogical conditions. Overall, this study failed to find evidence of a difference in students' expectancies of success and intrinsic value of school science when lecture, confirmation, or structured inquiry teaching strategies were used.

Background: There is a growing interest in investigating attitudes towards science and views of Nature of Science among elementary grade students in terms of gender, cultural backgrounds, and grade level variables. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes toward science and views of Nature of Science among Spanish students, Spanish students of gypsy ethnicity and second-generation Spanish students with east-European heritage, and to determine if their attitudes are related to their views of Nature of Science. Sample: Data for this study was gathered from seven elementary schools in Spain, forming a convenience sample of 149 students enrolled from 2nd to 5th grade. Design and Methods: The Nature of Science Instrument (NOSI) and an adaptation of the Test of Science Related Attitudes scale (TOSRA) were used. Follow-up structured interviews were performed with 15 participants. Results: Regarding gender, boys had better attitudes toward Science than girls but more naïve views of the empirical Nature of Science. In relation to cultural background, second generation Spanish students with east-European heritage reported significantly better attitudes toward Science than Spanish students and Spanish students of gypsy ethnicity. No differences in Nature of Science views were found. Concerning grade level, third graders had more positive attitudes toward Science than fifth and sixth graders and more informed views of the tentative Nature of Science. Finally, no relation between Nature of Science views and attitudes towards Science were identified. Conclusion: This study stress the need to address the steady decline in positive attitude toward Science and to improve students' views of Nature of Science from early elementary grades, and to use gender and culturally inclusive science teaching strategies.

STEM education is present in most recent curriculum reforms around the world. One of the main novelties of this educational movement is the integration of engineering practices into science education. In the Spanish educational context, this implies an important challenge for science teachers. So, this study analyzes whether secondary science teachers are sufficiently prepared for this purpose, as well as to find out their experiences, emotions, and appraisals in this regard. To this end, a questionnaire was designed and administered to 328 secondary science teachers as a representative sample of science teachers in Spain with a confidence level of just over 93%. The reliability of the questionnaire was evidenced by the high degree of internal consistency of the data (α = 0.88). And its validity was determined by means of an exploratory factor analysis. The results reveal that secondary science teachers, in general, have low levels of pedagogical preparation and self-efficacy to integrate engineering practices into science classes, as well as a predominant emotion of insecurity about it. There is also a strong preference among teachers for this to be done in technology subjects. It is concluded that the effective integration of engineering practices into science education is currently a complex challenge that requires ad hoc teacher training plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located in the South-East of Spain, the province of Almería was considered in the first part of the twentieth century, a poor region. Despite the infertile soil, the limited resources of water and the land not exactly suitable for agriculture, today over 70% of the vegetables exported from Spain are produced here. In the largest greenhouse in the world, as Almería is also called nowadays, are grown tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, with a high yield and a low level of pesticides. The practice of intensive agriculture has led to the growth of the economy of the area, which is mainly based on agriculture and tourism. This paper focuses, especially, on the analysis of relevant indicators for the specific activity of the agri-food cooperatives in Almería. In order to highlight the impact of the economic activity of Almería's cooperatives on the economy, the paper presents a series of indicators of horticultural production in Spain. The statistical data presented and analysed that formed the basis of this paper were provided by Eurostat, Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de España Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy congruence is one standard for the measurement of a good democracy. It is one of the normative conceptions of democracy that elected politicians act in accordance with the preferences of the electorate. Although an undisputed tenet of democracy, its measurement is fraught with limited interpretations of acting for, or mirroring citizens' preferences. This study investigates the congruence of policy stances of members of parliament with citizens in Poland. With the passage of time MPs and citizens will converge with their preferences on socio-cultural issues while on identity topics divergence is more likely to be the norm. I draw from democratization theories that claimed that, in time, the quality of democracy would improve. I test this hypothesis diachronically using surveys of citizens and members of the Sejm, the Polish lower chamber of representatives, starting in 1997 to the election of 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Conceptual and methodological issues in existing science attitude instruments. • Elementary school students experience cost-related factors in school science. • Valid and reliable measurement of task effort and loss of valued alternatives cost factors. This investigation addresses the need for valid and reliable instruments that contribute to understanding the factors that lead to the rejection of science-related studies. We discuss the theoretical and methodological limitations of published attitudes toward science questionnaires and describe the development and validation of a short instrument rooted in the cost construct of the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation. We collected data from a sample of six hundred thirty-two 5th and 6th (M age = 10.87; SD =.76) elementary students in Spain. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a parsimonious structure measuring loss of valued alternatives and task effort ​cost. Further psychometric evaluation displayed evidence for convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. Likewise, the reliability was acceptable for both three-item scales. These findings support the proposed instrument to measure barriers experienced by Spanish children when studying school science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia progressively compromise the ability of people to live independently and can have a negative impact on their quality of life. Within the current European Active and Assisted Living programme (AAL), project TV-AssistDem has been developed to deliver a TV-based platform service to support patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia and provide relief to their caregivers. The application is intended to be used daily at home, mainly by the participants themselves, with the help of their informal caregivers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of TV-AssistDem to improve quality of life in people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia.Methods: This is a 12-month European multicentre randomized controlled trial which will be performed in two countries: Spain and Romania. Two hundred and forty older adults will be recruited using identical inclusion/exclusion criteria. The primary outcome will be the change from baseline of TV-AssistDem on patient quality of life at 12 months. The secondary outcomes will be the changes from baseline of: 1) informal caregiver quality of life, 2) informal caregiver burden, 3) patient treatment adherence, 4) patient treatment compliance, 5) patient functional status, and 6) healthcare cost-effectiveness at 12 months. Patients in the intervention group will have access to an interactive platform which offers remote assistive services through a device connected to the television. The core services of the platform are: 1) Calendar and reminders, 2) Health monitoring and data transmission to a health server and 3) Videoconference; service-oriented applications are: 4) Cognitive stimulation; 5) Reminiscences; and 6) Patient and caregiver healthcare education. The analysis will be made following an intention-to-treat procedure. Linear and Generalized Mixed Model analysis will be performed.Discussion: We hypothesize that the regular use of TV-AssistDem will result in an improvement in patient quality of life. The uniqueness of this home TV-based intervention lies on its widespread accessibility and its integrative approach to quality of life in people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia and their informal caregivers. However, several anticipated challenges will need to be faced: poor engagement and connectivity problems.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03653234 , Date of registration: 31 August 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by inappropriate and impaired levels of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. Around 75% of adults with ADHD show comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders such as disruptive behavior disorders or substance use disorders (SUDs). Recently, there has been growing interest in studying the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the susceptibility to complex disorders. Interestingly, converging evidence suggests that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within miRNAs or miRNA target sites may modulate the miRNA-mediated regulation of gene expression through the alteration of the miRNA maturation, structure or expression pattern as well as the silencing mechanisms of target genes. Genetic studies and animal models support the involvement of the serotonin receptor (HTR1B) in ADHD. We evaluated the contribution of one SNP in the miR-96 target site at HTR1B and eight tagSNPs within the genomic region containing this miRNA in 695 adults with ADHD (266 and 396 subjects with and without comorbid SUD, respectively), 403 subjects with SUD without life-time diagnosis of ADHD and 485 sex-matched controls from Spain. Single and multiple marker analyses revealed association between two SNPs located at the 3′ region of miR-96 (rs2402959 and rs6965643) and ADHD without SUD. Our results provide preliminary evidence for the contribution of two sequence variants at the miR-183–96–182 cluster to ADHD without comorbid SUD, and emphasize the need to take comorbidities into account in genetic studies to minimize the effect of heterogeneity and to clarify these complex phenotypes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]