Javier Cubero

Introducción: el acoso escolar constituye una problemática que afecta el bienestar físico, emocional y social del alumnado, considerándose un asunto prioritario dentro de la educación para la salud. Objetivo: evaluar el impacto del programa Acoso y Violencia Escolar (AVE) y el plan educativo en la prevención del acoso escolar y en la promoción de la educación para la salud. Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio de metodología cuantitativa, diseño cuasiexperimental y transversal. Con una muestra de 223 estudiantes de entre 10 y 12 años pertenecientes a dos centros educativos públicos de Extremadura (España); en uno se aplica el programa AVE y plan educativo y en el otro no. Se utilizó como instrumento el test AVE para detectar situaciones de acoso y violencia escolar. El análisis estadístico de los datos se realizó mediante el software JASP 0.95.0. Resultados: los alumnos del centro donde se implementó mostraron puntuaciones significativamente menores en los factores de hostigamiento, exclusión, intimidación y agresión, con una media de 1.71 frente a 2.06 en el grupo sin intervención (p < 0.05). Conclusiones: el programa AVE y el plan educativo muestran eficacia en la reducción de conductas de acoso y en la mejora de la convivencia escolar. La educación para la salud se consolida como una herramienta preventiva esencial que favorece el bienestar, la empatía y la resolución pacífica de conflictos, promoviendo entornos educativos más seguros e inclusivos.

Background: One Health is one of several complementary systems-oriented frameworks used to understand the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health and its relationship with planetary health. Its formal visibility in university education remains uneven. Objectives: This exploratory study examined familiarity with the term One Health, the ability to define it, and perceptions of its curricular inclusion among undergraduate students in Education, Nursing, and Biology. It also described immediate post-session outcomes in a separate cohort of Master’s students in Secondary Education Teacher Training (Biology specialisation). Methods: Phase 1 was a cross-sectional study of 80 undergraduates recruited by convenience sampling (Education n = 22; Nursing n = 45; Biology n = 13). Descriptive statistics and exploratory Kruskal–Wallis analyses of coded curricular-perception responses were used. Phase 2 was a single-group pilot teaching session involving 18 Master’s students, followed by an immediate post-session questionnaire; it did not include a full pre-test, control group, or delayed follow-up. Results: In Phase 1, no participant reported familiarity with the term or provided a correct definition (0% awareness; 0% correct definition). No statistically significant between-group differences were observed for the four curricular-perception variables. In Phase 2, immediately after the 90-min session, 100% of participants reported awareness of the term and 94.4% provided a correct definition; responses also favored broad disciplinary and curricular inclusion. Conclusions: Within this single-institution convenience sample, formal familiarity with One Health was absent among the undergraduates surveyed. The separate pilot cohort showed high immediate declarative recall after a brief teaching session, but the design cannot establish causal effects, retention, systems-thinking competence, or institutional curricular impact. The findings support larger, multi-institutional and longitudinal studies and the evaluation of feasible, resource-conscious ways to integrate One Health and planetary health literacy into existing programmes.

Background: The One Health approach recognises the inextricable interconnection between human, animal, and environmental health and constitutes a critical framework for global public health management. Despite growing institutional support, its integration into university curricula remains limited and inconsistent, particularly outside veterinary and medical programmes, creating a formative gap that affects disciplines highly relevant to the One Health ecosystem, such as Nursing, Biology, and Education. Objectives: This study analyses the level of One Health education among undergraduate students in Education, Nursing, and Biology, and evaluates the impact of a training intervention on Master's students in Secondary Education Teacher Training (Biology specialisation). Methods: A two-phase sequential design was adopted. Phase 1 employed a descriptive and inferential cross-sectional approach using a standardised questionnaire administered to 80 undergraduates (Education n = 22; Nursing n = 45; Biology n = 13). Descriptive statistics (means and frequency distributions) and the Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric test were applied. Phase 2 consisted of a pilot pre-experimental single-group intervention applied to 18 Master's students following a 90-minute structured training session on One Health literacy. Results: Phase 1 revealed a complete absence of conceptual knowledge of One Health across all three degree programmes (0% awareness; 0% correct definition), with no statistically significant between-group differences for any of the four curricular perception variables analysed. Phase 2 demonstrated that, following the intervention, 100% of participants were aware of the term and 94.4% could define it correctly, alongside markedly more positive and interdisciplinary perceptions regarding its curricular inclusion. Conclusions: A significant formative gap exists regarding the One Health approach in undergraduate university education, independent of academic discipline. Targeted educational interventions are essential to achieve adequate One Health education. These findings underscore the need for interdisciplinary integration of One Health across diverse university programmes as a global public good.

Automated short-answer grading (ASAG) in educational contexts faces a fundamental trade-off between predictive performance, interpretability, and methodological transparency, particularly under data-constrained educational settings. While recent approaches rely on deep learning architectures, these models require large annotated datasets and offer limited transparency, restricting their applicability in authentic classroom environments. This study proposes a fully specified and interpretable machine learning pipeline for ASAG across multiple educational concepts. The approach is based on a shared TF–IDF representation and evaluates three linear classifiers—Logistic Regression, Multinomial Naïve Bayes, and Linear Support Vector Machines—under a stratified cross-validation framework adapted to small datasets. Model performance is assessed using accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. Statistical comparisons using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicate exploratory evidence of statistically significant differences between classifiers, although the observed differences remain small in practical magnitude. Additionally, the methodology incorporates token-level analysis to identify discriminative lexical patterns and examine consensus across classifiers. To enhance interpretability, tokens are presented using a bilingual Spanish/English representation while preserving the original feature space. The results across ten concept-specific datasets show consistent performance across models (accuracy ≈ 0.82–0.88) and reveal stable lexical patterns consistently associated with model predictions of correctness. The findings highlight that lightweight, interpretable models can provide consistent and reliable performance under resource-constrained educational conditions. The proposed framework contributes a stability-oriented and interpretable evaluation paradigm for ASAG, offering a practical alternative to data-intensive approaches in educational assessment. It is intended as a methodological reference protocol rather than a performance benchmark. The findings should be interpreted as evidence of within-context consistency instead of broad external generalization.

This article reports on the implementation of the Aquaroca teaching project in a high school classroom with the aim of improving student learning about metabolism through the construction and use of an aquaponic system. The research methodology was based on a comparative, quasi-experimental, cross-sectional design. The aim of the study was to assess and compare student learning of the concepts of cellular respiration and fermentation using a traditional teaching methodology and the Aquaroca project. Both groups of students were taught by the same teacher and received the same theoretical content. The data were analysed using a mixed methodology. The results confirm the initial working hypothesis that students in the Aquaroca group would show more significant learning outcomes than those in the control group, and support the project’s extension as a teaching and learning approach to other complex metabolic concepts.

In recent decades, technological advances have fostered new therapeutic approaches for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly Autism Spectrum Disorder. Educational robotics has emerged as a promising resource for acquiring social skills, recognizing emotions, and developing theory of mind. However, there is still a need to understand which dimensions are most susceptible to this specific intervention and how its impact differs based on individual profiles. This study analyzes the effect of a therapeutic intervention based on Educational Robotics on Social Skills, Emotional Recognition, and Theory of Mind in two students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The intervention was structured in seven sessions using the ANDY^® kit. Tests from the NEPSY-II battery and an observational rubric of Social Skills recorded session by session were applied. Both participants showed significant improvements in Social Skills, especially in rules of courtesy, nonverbal communication, and conversational interaction. Regarding Emotional Recognition, one participant improved in identifying highly affective emotions, while the other showed more modest progress. Theory of Mind showed progress in only one of the participants. Adherence was high, although a slight decrease in motivation was identified in the last sessions. These results suggest that Educational Robotics, when applied within a structured therapeutic framework, can effectively foster socioemotional development in children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders. However, variability across domains highlights the importance of tailoring interventions to individual profiles and complementing them with strategies that support the transfer of learning to natural contexts.

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of Educational Robotics on the cognitive and affective development of primary school students in the context of water education and literacy, with a specific focus on learning the water cycle and healthy hydration habits. A quasi-experimental design with a mixed-methods approach was adopted, involving a sample of 158 students (83 girls and 75 boys). The educational intervention consisted of 12 sessions incorporating interactive activities supported by robotics, and data were collected through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. The findings revealed significant improvements in scientific knowledge, with students reaching an Excellent level in understanding the water cycle and a Sufficient level in hydration-related content. From an affective perspective, positive emotions such as Joy and Enjoyment (81.82%) were predominant, especially in relation to methodological and content aspects, whereas negative emotions were primarily linked to challenges in teamwork and oral communication. The novelty of this study lies in highlighting the value of Educational Robotics not merely as a motivational tool but as a meaningful technological support for learning scientific content. These results emphasize the importance of further research into Educational Robotics potential and the need to address affective barriers to optimize learning outcomes.

Aim: The rationale for this current study was to assess the factors associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms in a cohort of students from seven universities across the European education system. Furthermore, the research sought to assess the barriers and facilitators for seeking support when students perceive any mental health issues. Methods: A cross‐sectional multicenter study was conducted, which included 4830 higher education students from seven European countries. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD‐7) were used to assess depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. The Mental Health Inventory (MHI‐5) assessed general psychological well‐being. A questionnaire was used to assess preferences regarding support‐seeking behavior and perceived barriers in the event of mental distress. Linear mixed models (LMMs) were used in the statistical analysis. Results: Swedish students reported lower levels of moderate to severe depressive symptoms (34.1%) and moderate to severe anxiety (27.9%) when compared, for example, with Irish students (63.1% and 52.9%, respectively). Younger students, females, students with a history of mental disorder and lower levels of academic performance, or from a poorer socioeconomic background reported increased rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms. The most valued support‐seeking strategies were speaking to friends or engaging in psychotherapy; in contrast, the most cited barrier to seeking support was the expense related to professional therapy and long waiting times for an appointment with professional therapists. Conclusion: There is a need to develop and/or review mental health promotion strategies for higher education students across Europe. These strategies need to consider the individual and culturally specific needs of higher education students so that they are effective in removing perceived barriers when seeking support in the event of mental distress.

Dentro de nuestra sociedad actual en constante evolución, la formación y el aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida (long life learning) es una de las estrategias necesaria de oportunidad de aprendizaje para una realización personal, social y de prosperidad económica. Dicho nuevo paradigma educativo, impulsado principalmente desde la UNESCO, es también consecuencia de una mayor longevidad, calidad de vida y bienestar. Por ello la necesidad de una formación y actualización continua y a lo largo de la vida de unos conocimientos básicos científicos, tecnológicos, financieros, y sanitarios. Y así conseguir el desarrollo personal y por consiguiente el desarrollo económico, social, cultural y medioambiental sostenible de la sociedad. Uno de estos aprendizajes que se demanda, de formación a lo largo de vida, dado su constante evolución científica es el conocimiento en alimentación y nutrición y salud. Objetivos: Analizar en una muestra de alumnado en una Universidad de Mayores española el nivel de interés para su formación científica de contenidos básicos de: hábitos de alimentación y nutrición saludable. Metodología: Los participantes fueron 24 alumnos perteneciente a la Universidad de Mayores de la Universidad de Extremadura (Badajoz. España). Curso 2023-24. Y mediante Cuestionario escrito, individualizado y anónimo. Se les consultó en su aula, sobre sus características: Básicas (edad: 69,7±4,9 años, sexo: 62,5%femenino y 37,5% masculino), Antropométricas (100% con Normopeso), y Nivel de Interés sobre Contenidos en Alimentación y Nutrición Saludable. El análisis de los datos fue analizado de forma Mixta (Quan-Cual) mediante softwares: cualitativo WebQDA© y cuantitativo estadísticos Jamovi©. Resultados: Como resultados más importantes, se puede destacar que esta muestra en su totalidad expresó Niveles de Interés elevados en dicha formación en Alimentación y Nutrición Saludable. Principalmente su interés radicaba en Contenidos, por ejemplo de las Categorías cualitativas: “Recomendaciones Dietéticas saludables”, “¿Dieta Veganas y salud?” e “Interpretar las características nutricionales en el etiquetado de los alimentos”. Por último destacar que valor medio del alumnado su condición Antropométrica fue de Normopeso =24,7±5,2 m2 de altura /kg de peso, lo cual puede demostrar su significativa motivación en seguir formándose en dicho conocimiento científico de: hábitos de alimentación y nutrición saludable. Conclusión: Se demuestra un elevado interés en, el aprendizaje a lo largo de vida, en conocimientos de: hábitos de alimentación y nutrición saludable, y donde la condición antropométrica de Normopeso o Peso Saludable puede favorecer e impulsar, aún más, la motivación sobre el aprendizaje de su formación científica.