Nota editorial

Abstract

Issue 52(1) of Publicaciones, the official journal of the Faculty of Education and Sports Sciences of Melilla (University of Granada), is the first regular issue corresponding to the year 2022. Its publication coincides with the recent renewal in July 2022 of the Seal of Editorial and Scientific Quality of the FECYT (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology). The journal has also maintained its place in the Web of Science’s prestigious JCR (Journal Citation Report) database. All of this has been possible thanks to the hard work of the large team of people working behind the scenes at Publicaciones, the institutional and financial support of its sponsors (the Department of Education, Culture, Festivities and Equality of the Autonomous City of Melilla, the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Transfer of the University of Granada and the Faculty of Education and Sports Sciences of Melilla) and the confidence placed in this journal by the authors who publish their papers. This issue features nine papers of a diverse nature, starting with the study by Colomo, Gabarda, Palmero and Guillén which adopts a bibliometric perspective to analyse scientific production in the Scopus database on the use of technology as a tool for learning mathematics in compulsory schooling. The sample consists of 132 articles published between 2015 and 2021, to which different analysis techniques are applied such as bibliographic coupling, co-citation and co-occurrence. Applying the criteria of the Orbis Pictus Award Committee, Sanjuán-Álvarez and Cristóbal-Hornillos analyse a non-fiction picture book on Ancient Egypt and compare it with a teaching unit from a textbook on the same subject for the first year of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO). The results show that the layout, design and style of the non-fiction work make the information attractive and stimulate an attitude of enquiry, creativity and play. They also stress the construction of meaning through recursive reading and merge the cognitive and emotional components of reading and learning, far from the mere assimilation of information. Reading is a process that has been culturalised over time to reflect the situation of women and the constraints they face. In their article, Hernández, Álvarez and Sánchez-Romero analyse the variables associated with reading habits among university students from a gender perspective. The results show that reading as a leisure activity is more common among women, especially on holidays, and there was a statistically significant preference in terms of the types of reading (books and magazines for women and comics and newspapers for men). For women, their group of friends had a positive and significant influence on encouraging reading, while in terms of reading competence the category most highly valued, again by women, was encouraging imagination. Hui Wen and Qiuyue Xiao conducted an online survey of students in the Spanish Department at Sichuan International Studies University (SISU) to determine their opinions and suggestions regarding the implementation of the subject of Lexicology and provide ideas on lexical teaching and curriculum planning. Meanwhile, the research by Srivoranart, Duangkong and Kunyamoon explores theme-based language instruction, an innovative approach to foreign language teaching adopted in recent years, analysing how it affects learners’ attitudes and motivation and testing its effectiveness at developing their proficiency in Spanish. The object of this study which seeks to determine how intrinsic motivation arises was the ‘Spanish and Beauty Pageant’ course, given that beauty pageants have a strong fan base in Thailand. According to the results, teaching Spanish based on the beauty pageant theme had a high impact on students’ attitudes and motivation. Mena-Rodríguez, Fernández-Jiménez, Gómez-Carrillo and Gómez-Carrillo explore the attitudes and opinions of Higher Education teachers regarding the use of non-sexist language during the teaching and learning process. The results of their study involving teachers from different faculties of the University of Malaga show that there is a certain predisposition towards the use of non-sexist language, although the vast majority of teachers use the generic masculine systematically. Amber and Suárez offer a documentary review that identifies current trends in teacher training in the curricula of Spanish universities for the 2020/2021 academic year. The conclusions point to a diversity of approaches to teacher training which may be seen as an advantage due to the different choices offered by universities, but also as a disadvantage in light of the need to standardise teacher training and professional practice across Spain. The aim of the study by Tito-Huamaní, Geraldo and Soria was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Academic Stress Scale (ECEA) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of 300 participants in the first study, while a second study assessed 566 students from public and private universities aged between 18 and 30. It concludes that the ECEA has adequate psychometric properties suitable for research purposes and description of groups of Peruvian university students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Barrios, Maldonado and Nava set out to analyse the assertive communicative metacapacity of Nursing teachers at the National Experimental University of the Armed Forces (UNEFAB) in Maracay, Venezuela. They reach the conclusion that from the students’ perspective the Nursing teachers at UNEFAB have a high level of assertive communication metacapacity. The teachers were capable of communicating their ideas openly, respectfully and to the benefit of the students. Finally, the last paper in this issue is by Frieiro, González and Domínguez, who analysed the psychometric properties of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). This study seeks to demonstrate its validity (to corroborate the original factor structure and its convergent validity) and reliability (internal consistency), and also to verify the existence of significant differences in self-esteem according to gender, age, academic year and type of school.