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Purpose Located in Western Catalonia (Spain), the article’s aim is to analyse the acculturation preferences of majority group high-school students towards their peers of Moroccan and Romanian descent. Furthermore, it aims to delve deeper into the influence on the perception of conflict with these groups mediated by cultural enrichment. Design/methodology/approach The data are the result of conducting a questionnaire among 349 autochthonous students enrolled in Compulsory Secondary Education in Catalonia. The data have been analyzed using cluster analysis, ANOVA and mediation analysis. Findings The findings show that a small number of high-school students construct integration acculturation preferences towards Moroccans and Romanians, while the majority of the preferences are of assimilation or segregation. In addition, the perceived conflict is higher for Moroccans than Romanians, and the cultural enrichment is higher for Romanians than for Moroccans. Finally, there is a low mediating effect of cultural enrichment on the relationship between acculturation preferences and degree of conflict. Originality/value The relevance and originality of this article stems from the application of acculturation theory on the construction of acculturation preferences in the educational domain. Additionally, it is a context characterized by an exceptional cultural and linguistic diversity. Furthermore, acculturation preferences, perceived degree of conflict and perceived cultural enrichment are analyzed comparatively regarding descendants of Moroccans and Romanians. This approach has scarcely been used at an international level, and practically never at the Spanish and Catalan level.

This study explores integration and linguistic acculturation in Catalonia (Spain), a multilingual setting where a state and a regional language coexist with those of immigration. Using qualitative ...

[EN] Inclusion in higher education continues to be a challenge, largely because of the barriers to learning that students face. One of the most effective ways to reduce and/or eliminate these barriers is the implementation of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This innovation proposes the implementation of methodologies based on the UDL in a total of 7 subjects of 4 different degrees of a Catalan university. A mixed method was used to evaluate the innovation. At a quantitative level, an online questionnaire was applied to 239 students to know the perceived frequency of universal measures applied in the classroom. At the qualitative level, two focus groups were conducted with a total of 6 students to learn about their experiences and attitudes towards the innovation, as well as strengths and aspects to improve. At the quantitative level, the results indicate that students perceived a high frequency of implementation of UDL-based methodologies. The qualitative results show the importance of providing multiple means of participation, creating a climate of trust and security and the need to systematize and implement these measures in a generalized manner in the university., [ES] La inclusión en la educación superior continúa siendo un reto, en gran medida por las barreras de aprendizaje a las que los y las estudiantes deben hacer frente. Una de las formas más efectivas para reducir y/o eliminar estas barreras es la implementación del Diseño Universal de Aprendizaje (DUA). Esta innovación propone la implementación de metodologías basadas en el DUA en un total de 7 asignaturas de 4 grados diferentes de una universidad catalana. Se utilizó un método mixto para evaluar la innovación. A nivel cuantitativo, se aplicó un cuestionario online a 239 estudiantes para conocer la frecuencia percibida de medidas universales aplicadas en el aula. Mientras que, a nivel cualitativo, se realizaron dos grupos focales con un total de 6 estudiantes para conocer sus experiencias y actitudes hacia la innovación, así como aspectos a mejorar y fortalezas. A nivel cuantitativo, los resultados apuntan a que los estudiantes percibieron una alta frecuencia de implementación de metodologías basadas en el DUA. Los resultados a nivel cualitativo, muestran la importancia de proveer múltiples medios de participación, crear un clima de confianza y seguridad y la necesidad de sistematizar e implementar estas medidas de manera generalizada en la universidad.

This study analyzes the influence of identity complexity on the linguistic acculturation expectations that Catalan high-school students hold towards their peers of Moroccan and Romanian origin. It also takes into account social status and cultural proximity, expecting higher expectations of linguistic integration towards Romanians. Using a 5-point Likert scale, 345 autochthonous high-school students were asked about their degree of self-identification with Spain and Catalonia. Then, they responded to several questions concerning linguistic acculturation expectations regarding Romanians and Moroccans. While integration is the most popular profile for all three groups, the bicultural identity group scored the highest, followed by the Catalan identity group and the Spanish identity group ranking last. Bicultural identification was also a significant predictor for all integration measures, as was Catalan identification for ‘integration to Catalan’ and ‘integration to Spanish and Catalan’. However, the distinctions between answers regarding Romanians and Moroccans were scant. We conclude that incorporating the languages of immigration into a bilingual host society is not only possible, this type of community may even be more welcoming. The potential of working with the concept of identity complexity to decrease black and white thinking and foster tolerance is also discussed.

[EN] The current health situation has led to a profound change towards the format in the framework of higher education. This change has implied an adaptation, often dysfunctional, of the evaluation processes. Recent research has shown how continuous formative assessment processes can be an effective alternative to adapting traditional assessment systems. This innovation proposes the application in virtual format of the peer feedback process as a formative evaluation measure in undergraduate students of the higher education system. The proposal is supported by a mixed study carried out in the Catalan higher educational context in which, using the virtual tool Sakai, the type of feedback issued and received by 442 participants was analyzed, 153 of whom participated in the longitudinal study and 9 in semi-structured interviews that delve into the benefits of the proposal. The results show how the peer feedback process increased the levels of self-regulation of learning and substantially improved the learning experience within the framework of virtual education. These results allow proposing the peer feedback process as a serious alternative to the traditional evaluation process in the field of online higher education., [ES] La situación sanitaria actual ha propiciado un profundo cambio hacia el formato en el marco de la educación superior. Este cambio ha implicado una adaptación, a menudo disfuncional, de los procesos de evaluación. Recientes investigaciones han mostrado como los procesos de evaluación formativa continuada pueden ser una alternativa eficaz a la adaptación de los sistemas de evaluación tradicional. En esta innovación se propone la aplicación en formato virtual del proceso de feedback entre iguales como medida de evaluación formativa en estudiantado de grado del sistema de enseñanza superior. La propuesta se apoya en un estudio mixto realizado en el contexto educativo superior catalán en el que, mediante la herramienta virtual Sakai, se analizó el tipo de feedback emitido y recibido por 442 participantes, 153 de los cuales participaron en el estudio longitudinal y 9 en entrevistas semiestructuradas en las que se profundiza sobre los beneficios de la propuesta. Los resultados muestran como el proceso de feedback entre iguales incrementó los niveles de autorregulación del aprendizaje y mejoró sustancialmente la experiencia de aprendizaje en el marco de la educación virtual. Estos resultados permiten proponer el proceso de feedback entre iguales como una alternativa seria al proceso de evaluación tradicional en el ámbito de la educación superior online.

The mass arrival of immigrants to Catalonia (Spain) in the last two decades has led to a change in the socio-demographic composition of a society which de facto is characteristically bilingual and bicultural. The acculturation process undergone by young descendants of migrants and how they identify in this context are essential in order to overcome the social challenges arising in different societies. We have carried out a mixed study in order to identify the acculturation profile of descendants of migrants in the context of Catalan schools, correlating these processes with identification by considering Catalan-Spanish group membership, identification with the culture, and identification with the language. A survey was completed by 212 young people of migrant origin (14-18 years old) in secondary education; as well as 9 life stories from them and 6 semi-structured interviews with teachers. These results suggest the development of complex acculturation strategies fitting a complex socio-cultural context where identification with Catalonia and Spain plays a key role in its construction. This work is part of two larger research projects and a grant funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [reference number: EDU2014-54093-R, EDU2017-82479-R & IJCI-2016-28250], the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants – AGAUR of the Government of Catalonia [reference number: 2017 SGR 322] and the Catalan Studies Institute [Borsa d’Estudi Abelard Fàbrega, 2016].

Located in Catalonia (Spain), and based on the Acculturation Theory applied to the field of linguistics, the objectives of this article are: i) to detect and study the linguistic acculturation strategies of young people; ii) to analyse the effects of origin and linguistic acculturation profiles relating to self-identifications with Spain and Catalonia and; iii) to explore the predictive power of these variables. The quantitative data belongs to a representative sample of teenagers aged 14 to 16 in the city of Lleida (n=571) - the second most populated province capital, after Barcelona, and a territory with a high percentage of immigrant population. The youth of Catalonia construct Catalan or Spanish linguistic acculturation strategies, but also a high percentage of integration strategies. Also, there are polarised identitary constructions, but not in all of the strategies nor associated with all of the origins. These are observed most amongst natives and with non-integrationist strategies. This work is part of two larger research projects and a grant funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (reference number: EDU2017-82479-R & IJCI-2016-28250) and the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants – AGAUR of the Government of Catalonia (reference number: 2017 SGR 322).

En el artículo se presenta la construcción y validación del instrumento de evaluación Sistema de Categorías para el Análisis de Narrativas (SCAN) integrado en un dispositivo de formación dual. SCAN facilita una evaluación convergente por los distintos agentes de la Formación Dual Universitaria (FDU) en un grado de Educación Primaria: profesorado universitario, Docentes en Formación Inicial (DFI) y mentores escolares. Este estudio de caso analiza con dos puntos de control la evolución de las narrativas sobre la práctica educativa en la escuela. Se presta especial atención a la relación teoría-práctica mediante la evaluación de cuatro dimensiones: Descripción, Comprensión, Proyección y Aspectos formales. El análisis de las narraciones de 150 DFI muestra una mejora significativa entre el pretest y el postest, especialmente relevante en la dimensión Proyección, evidenciándose en las categorías: Competencias Docentes, Intervención Docente y Oportunidades de Desarrollo. Se concluye que el procedimiento formativo descrito contribuye al desarrollo de la Visión Profesional desde una revisión crítica de la práctica. SCAN muestra en este estudio su eficiencia en el análisis y la evaluación de las narrativas de los DFI. This article addresses a problem widely described in the literature: the theory-practice integration in the texts of Teachers in Initial Training (DFI). A training device is presented with an assessment instrument called Narratives Analysis Categories System (SCAN). This allows a convergent evaluation by the different actors of the Dual University Training (FDU) in the degree of Primary Education: the university teaching staff, the DFI and the school mentors. The case study focuses on the evolution of narratives about educational practices in schools. The analysis of the narratives of 150 DFI is carried out at two checkpoints through the SCAN. This instrument is structured in four dimensions: Description, Understanding, Projection and Formal Aspects. The results show a significant improvement of the DFI, especially relevant in the Projection dimension and being this evidenced in the categories: Teaching Competencies, Teaching Intervention and Development Opportunities. In conclusion, the training with narratives contributes to the development of the Professional Vision from a critical review of the practice. In this study SCAN shows its efficiency in the analysis and evaluation of DFI narratives.

Following the arrival of a large number of immigrants in Catalonia (Spain), a series of language and educational policies focused on language uses, competences, and attitudes have been implemented with the aim to promote newcomers' social integration and to protect and maintain the regional language, Catalan. This study examines these key factors and how they relate to each other in the case of secondary education students of immigrant origin, also considering their L1 (Spanish or non-Spanish). Specifically, a comparison of the language attitudes, language uses, and competences in Catalan and Spanish of L1 Spanish and L1 non-Spanish participants revealed different patterns between the two groups, largely characterized by a preference for Spanish on the part of the former group. Furthermore, a moderated mediation model is proposed to explain how attitudes influence language competences through language use, as well as how these relationships vary depending on the L1. This work was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain by the Grants EDU2014-54093-R, EDU2017-82479-R and IJCI-2016-28250; the Catalan Government’s Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) by the Grant 2017 SGR 322.

In line with the increased interest in studying implicit language attitudes, this study aims to explore implicit attitudes towards Catalan and Spanish in the multicultural and multilingual context of Catalonia (Spain) using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). A sample of 113 adolescents completed the IAT and a set of explicit measures of attitudinal and motivational variables. Results show a general preference for Catalan over Spanish. However, differences appear when home language is taken into consideration, as participants tend to prefer their home language. The paper discusses the relationship between implicit and explicit attitudes, highlighting the importance of incorporating implicit measures in language attitudes research in Catalonia. This work is part of a larger research project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (reference number: EDU2017-82479-R), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (reference number BEAGAL18/00234) and the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants – AGAUR of the Government of Catalonia (reference number: 2017 SGR 322). The work of Andrei Rusu was supported by a grant of the Romanian Ministery of Research and Innovation, CNCS - UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2016-1912, within PNCDI III.

We analyse the influence of attending or not attending classes of the language of origin in self-identification and in life-satisfaction. In addition, we analyse how these elements are related to the perception of integration of young immigrants of Romanian origin in a multilingual and multicultural context like that of Catalonia (Spain). We present a mixed method study. A total of 131 young people of Romanian origin (74 females and 57 males), aged between 12 and 18 years completed a questionnaire. We also carried out 34 in-depth semi-structured interviews. Both quantitative and qualitative results prove that attending or not RLCC courses does not have a significant influence on self-identifications. Results coincide in that young people self-identify more with their ethnical group of origin; however, a tendency towards hybridisation is revealed as the length of stay increases. Diversely, those who present more self-identification with Catalonia and less with their origin, felt more comfortable in the receiving country. Expectations perceived from these young people point mainly towards the need to assimilate and abandon who they are in order to feel more at ease, an element that may encompass stressful psychological factors, resulting in discomfort and conflict. This work is part of two larger research projects and a grant funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Business (reference number: EDU2014-54093-R, EDU2017-82479-R & IJCI-2016-28250) and the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants – AGAUR of the Government of Catalonia (reference number: 2017 SGR 322).

Language attitudes have become more relevant than ever as a result of the considerable number of immigrant students enrolled in the Catalan educational system and the challenges this entails in terms of promoting social integration and language learning. Therefore, the objective of the study is to increase our understanding of language attitudes formation by analysing how origin (autochthonous or immigrant) influences (a) the attitudes towards Catalan and Spanish and (b) the effects of several demographic and sociopsychological variables on these attitudes. Additionally, it aims to identify the most important determinants of these language attitudes. For this purpose, 1156 secondary education students from 10 schools across Catalonia completed a language attitudes questionnaire, a sociolinguistic survey, and two language competences tests. The results showed that, generally, self-identifications and language uses were the most influential. Furthermore, origin moderated the relationships between attitudes and their determinants, indicating that the models traditionally used to explain the attitudes held by autochthonous students need to be revised to take into account the particularities of the immigrant population. This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant number EDU2014-54093-R]; the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) of the Government of Catalonia [grant number 2014 SGR 208].

This study explores changes in attitudes towards Catalan, Spanish, and English over a two-year period, on the part of secondary education students of immigrant origin residing in Catalonia. It aims to provide new data by adopting a longitudinal design and by focusing on the immigrant population, which has raised new challenges for the Catalan society and education system. Data was collected from 72 secondary education students who answered a language attitudes questionnaire twice, at a twoyear interval. The instrument chosen has been successfully used in the area previously (Huguet, Janés, and Chireac 2008; Madariaga, Huguet, and Lapresta 2013). Findings showed that attitudes towards Catalan improved, while attitudes towards Spanish and English remained stable, based on which we discuss the strength of language attitudes in this particular context. Furthermore, the socio-demographic and affective variables traditionally investigated as determinants of language attitudes were not found to influence the processes of attitude change This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant number EDU2014-54093-R] and the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants – AGAUR of the Government of Catalonia [grant number 2014 SGR 208].

Este estudio analiza comparativamente las actitudes lingüísticas de dos territorios vecinos multilingües de España: Cataluña y Aragón, con políticas lingüísticas diferentes. Así, Cataluña reconoce la co-oficialidad del castellano y del catalán y ha implantado un sistema educativo bilingüe, mientras que en Aragón sólo el castellano tiene carácter oficial y la enseñanza en catalán es opcional. Para comparar las actitudes lingüísticas de los alumnos de secundaria en los dos contextos, 154 alumnos de un centro de Lleida y 195 de un centro de Fraga respondieron a una serie de cuestionarios. Los resultados mostraron que los estudiantes aragoneses tienen actitudes más favorables hacia el castellano, mientras que a los jóvenes catalanes les gustaba el castellano y el catalán por igual. Entre los posibles factores analizados, como el nivel sociocultural, el nivel socio-profesional, la condición lingüística de la familia y la asistencia a las clases optativas de catalán en el caso de los alumnos aragoneses, sólo este último se encontró que mejoraba las actitudes hacia el catalán. This study performs a comparative analysis of language attitudes in two multilingual neighboring territories in Spain, Catalonia and Aragon, with different language policies. Thus, Catalonia recognizes the co-officiality of Spanish and Catalan and has implemented a bilingual educational system, while in Aragon only Spanish has official status and education in Catalan is optional. In order to compare the language attitudes held by secondary education students in the two contexts, 154 students from a center in Lleida (Catalonia) and 195 students from a center in Fraga (Aragón) answered a series of questionnaires. The results showed that Aragonese students have more favorable attitudes towards Spanish, while Catalan youngsters equally liked Spanish and Catalan. Among the possible factors analysed, such as sociocultural level, socioprofessional level, family language condition, and assistance at optional Catalan classes in case of the Aragonese students, only the latter was found to improve attitudes towards Catalan. Este trabajo es gracias a la concesión de una ayuda del Institut d’Estudis Catalans, un proyecto de investigación nacional y una subvención financiada por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (Ref. EDU2017-82479-R & IJCI2016-28250) y la Agencia para la Gestión de la Universidad y Becas de Investigación - AGAUR de la Generalitat de Cataluña (Ref. SGR 322 2017)

This article presents a mixed method analysis of the language attitudes held by secondary education students of Romanian origin, which are members of the second largest immigrant population living currently in Catalonia. The relevance of this data is based on the cardinal role played by attitudes in the success of any educational or linguistic policy (Lewis, E. Glyn. 1981. Bilingualism and bilingual education . Oxford, UK: Pergamon.) - a topic of special relevance in contexts with considerable migratory influxes, such as Catalonia, which aims to achieve social cohesiveness in a framework of interculturalism and multilingualism. The various initiatives implemented for this purpose include the heritage language maintenance programs, such as the 'Romanian Language, Culture, and Civilization' (RLCC) program. The results showed that the young Romanians had the most favourable attitudes towards Spanish, followed closely by Romanian, and lastly Catalan, which was the least valued language. Furthermore, these attitudinal patterns were not determined by RLCC attendance. The insights provided by the in-depth interviews indicated various components and meanings associated with the attitudes towards the three languages. Namely, attitudes towards Spanish were primed by its international status and ease of learning, while attitudes towards Catalan were build on its integrative value and social status. Although esteemed for its emotional and symbolic bonds, Romanian seemed to be on a path towards invisibilization. Finally, the educational and social implications of these findings are discussed, emphasising the importance of involving and working with both the autochthonous and the Romanian immigrant population. This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (reference number: EDU2014-54093-R & EDU2017-82479-R & IJCI-2016-28250) and the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants – AGAUR of the Government of Catalonia (reference number: 2014 SGR 208).