The intersectorial approach in providing guidance and school support. The perspective of counsellors, tutors and principals

The provision of guidance and educational support requires joint work and the collaboration of different professionals and institutions, especially when we face complex problems that require a high level of specialization and the combination of knowledge from different areas. The research has aimed to examine the proximity of the institutional system of guidance and support to school in nine Autonomous Communities, to the intersectorial approach of counselling. We present the results of a descriptive study using the survey method, which allows knowing the opinions of counsellors, tutors and principals of Primary and Secondary Compulsory Education about the collaboration with the local public services (social, health, education, and employment) in the specialized support to students and schools. The final sample consisted of 9732 subjects who were selected from a random sampling proportional to the size of the subpopulations of each Autonomous Community. Results indicate how, in general terms, there is collaboration among the school and the local public services, although not as frequently as it would be desirable. In the same way, the professionals that were interviewed believe that the collaboration with social and educational services is quite adequate, but the assessment is not as positive when health and employment services are analysed. Finally, taking into account the different professionals considered, tutors from both educational stages are the ones that show a higher degree of satisfaction with the collaboration between the school and the local public services, except in the case of social services.

Motivation and Vocabulary Breadth in CLIL and EFL Contexts. Different age, Same Time of Exposure

Numerous studies have found a positive connection between learners’ motivation towards foreign language and foreign language achievement. The present study examines the role of motivation in receptive vocabulary breadth (size) of two groups of Spanish learners of different ages, but all with 734 hours of instruction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL): a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) group in primary education and a non-CLIL (or EFL) group in secondary education. Most students in both groups were found to be highly motivated. The primary CLIL group slightly overcame the secondary non-CLIL group with respect to the mean general motivation but this is a non-significant difference. The secondary group surpass significantly the primary group in receptive vocabulary size. No relationship between the receptive vocabulary knowledge and general motivation is found in the primary CLIL group. On the other hand, a positive significant connection, although a very small one, is identified for the secondary non-CLIL group. We will discuss on the type of test, the age of students and the type of instruction as variables that could be influencing the results.

Reception and schooling of children in schools in Catalonia: Beyond Educational Welcome Facilities

The ways of incorporating newcoming students into schools and colleges have been at the center of debate in most OECD countries in recent years. In Spain, the set of measures developed for the reception of immigrant pupils in different Autonomous Communities has also been the subject of specific research, pointing out the similarities and contradictions between pedagogic discourses and school practices. This article takes into account these considerations and presents the reflections from the results of research on the Educational Welcome Facilities (and specifically the EBE) conducted during the school years 2008-2010. This device was created in Catalonia to attend newcomers before enrolling them in the school. It was a pilot project which took place in Vic and Reus for two consecutive years. The research of the EBE has enabled us to explain the relationship between educational assessment that schools made about this facility and reception processes that schools were implementing. The conclusions that emerge from this analysis allowed us to establish relationships between educational host practices of the seven centers analyzed with three different conceptual and educational frameworks of reception.