Dr. Maria Rosa Buxarrais, together with Dr. Juan Llanes and Dr. Max Turull, all professors at the University of Barcelona, have coordinated issue 54 of the collection Cuadernos de Docencia Universitaria (University Teaching Notebooks), recently published, entitled El peer review en docencia universitaria. Calidad, reflexión y desarrollo profesional.

The same book is also available in Catalan, with the title El peer review en docència universitària. Qualitat, reflexió i desenvolupament professional and both books are free to download under a Creative Commons license on the website of Editorial Octaedro, which collaborates on the publication together with the Institute for Professional Development of the University of Barcelona.

Abstract

«This volume brings together the collective experience of twenty-seven university lecturers who, from diverse disciplines and institutions, have promoted a pioneering peer review initiative in teaching. The project, developed within the framework of the RIMDA programme and the INTERMASTER teaching innovation group at the University of Barcelona, proposes opening the doors of the classroom—traditionally conceived as an intimate and private space—to the observation of a colleague, with the aim of jointly reflecting on teaching practice and stimulating improvement.

The book combines theoretical foundations and practical contributions. It offers a conceptual framework that situates peer review within international frameworks for quality and academic development, while presenting an observation instrument adapted to different contexts and needs: from one-off interventions to long-term work plans. Furthermore, it includes thirteen real experiences—interdisciplinary and discipline-specific—carried out in official programmes of the University of Barcelona and with the collaboration of Favaloro University, which show the plurality of perspectives, methodologies, and challenges that emerge when teaching is shared with other professionals».

The book can be downloaded in Spanish and in Catalan from Editorial Octaedro.

The books in the Cuadernos de Docencia Universitaria collection “make various materials and documents available to university teaching staff to facilitate their teaching work, in accordance with a teaching-learning vision centred on student work, and aim to promote good teaching practices».

The rest of the issues in this collection, as well as future ones, can also be downloaded freely and at no cost via this link.

The article “Diagnóstico de competencias éticas en estudiantes de una Facultad de Estudios Superiores mexicana”, written by Maria Rosa Buxarrais, Rubén Andrés Miranda-Rodríguez, Mirna García-Méndez, Alan Alexis Mercado-Ruiz, Miriam De la Torre-González, Héctor Raymundo-Maldonado and Lesly Joana Jaime-Morriz, has been recently published in Revista Iberoamericana de Diagnóstico y Evaluación – e Avaliação Psicológica.

Abstract
“Ethical competencies must be evaluated to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each university in the professional training of its students. This study aimed at establishing a diagnosis of ethical competencies among students at the Faculty of Higher Studies (Facultad de Estudios Superiores – FES) Zaragoza, National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México – UNAM). A total of 338 students participated in this study by completing questionnaires based on theoretical frameworks related to moral personality construction, personal values, and attitudes toward professional ethics. The results identified four dimensions that encompass the knowledge of ethical competencies established in previous studies: moral autonomy (MA), sociomoral sensitivity (SS), proactivity (P), and moral integrity (MI). Additional findings highlighted the development of ethical competencies among students at this faculty, providing evidence that may support the design of new evaluation and intervention strategies for professional ethical training in universities“.

The article is available, free of charge, in the Articles Section.

The article “La educación en valores en revistas académicas hispanoamericanas (2001-2020)”, written by Maria Rosa Buxarrais and Levy Farías Navarro, has been recently published in Márgenes, Revista de Educación de la Universidad de Málaga.

Abstract
“The exponential increase of publications requires new approaches for reviewing academic literatures. With reflexive criteria and digital tools this study reviewed 200 articles about values education, published in Spanish, online and with open access in the last 20 years, obtained through the “Red Iberoamericana de Innovación y Conocimiento Científico”, REDIB©. Method: The main analysis was performed with the “topic modelling LDA” application, available in the open code software Orange© (3.32). Results: Close reading showed a substantial increase of empiric studies from the first to the second decade, but distant reading, by way of topic modelling, did not show other clear chronological trends. However, once the corpora were reorganized according to geographical criteria (Spain, Cuba and Other Spanish-speaking countries), more easily interpretable differences were noted. As complementary procedure, the five resultant corpora were automatically scored according to the presence of some disciplinary denominations, and a few selected authors, mainly from the evolutive-cognitive tradition of moral psychology. Cuban texts, on average, differed from the rest due to their political rather than academic perspectives, and their more frequent references to medical sciences. Discussion: Overall, the study shows several reasons for concern, about the unequal participation in values education studies across the region, insufficient levels of theoretical substantiation, and scarce international dialogue. Finally, some reflections are made about the distant reading procedures employed, and also about the need of counteracting the current marginalisation of values education and other intrinsically humanistic related fields “.

The article “Hybrid Education in Catalan Secondary Schools: Digital Competence as a Key Factor”, written by Núria Castells Gómez, Juan Llanes Ordóñez, Marc Fuertes-Alpiste, Marta Gràcia Garcia, Carles Lindín and Maria Rosa Buxarrais, has been recently published in Revista de Investigación Educativa.

Abstract
“The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on compulsory formal education and various responses were given to the lack of face-to-face attendance: from the most improvised (emergency remote teaching model) to more informed practices of digital education, such as the hybrid educational model. This non-experimental, descriptive-inferential study aims to investigate whether the self-perceived digital teaching skills (SDTS) by teachers (n=346) and the self- perceived digital skills (SDS) by students (n=1322) and families (n=531) from 15 secondary education schools in Catalonia are related to variables of virtual/online education in the model of hybrid education: teaching and learning activities; assessment proposals; aid provided and received to promote learning. A specific online questionnaire was prepared for each group of participants. The results indicate that a high level of SDTC by teachers is related to more inno- vative methodological and assessment proposals, and, in the case of students, their SDS are related with a better predisposition to learn online, while in families we found no relationship between the SDS and the help received and provided to their children. The conclusions point to the need to promote a higher level of digital teaching skills in teachers to guarantee more suitable hybrid education practices and to foster digital competences in students”.

The article is available, free of charge, in the Articles Section.

The article “Work-family balance in times of COVID-19: survey-study”, authored by Maria Rosa Buxarrais (UB), Juan Llanes Ordóñez (UB) and Angelina Sánchez-Martí (UAB) has been recently published in the journal Cogent Education.

Abstract

“The COVID-19 pandemic has led transformative changes worldwide, significantly affecting work-family balance. This cross-sectional survey study conducted during the early stages of the global pandemic (April-to-May 2020) presents findings from a snowball convenience sample of 383 employed adults with children in Spain. It delves into the evolving dynamics of work-family conciliation during confinement. The study findings unveil two distinct family profiles: those grappling with substantial work-family challenges (63.9%) and those experiencing minimal disruptions (36.3%). Noteworthy are the significant gender-related differences, family size, and the perception of personal freedom as pivotal factors shaping these profiles. The current study underscores the urgency of democratizing family life and elevating work-family conciliation as a core element of values education in a post-pandemic world“.

The article is available, free of charge, in the Articles Section.