Artículos científicos

OLDER ADULTS IN THE THIRD-AGE GROUP (60-79 YEARS) MAINTAIN READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS SIMILAR TO THOSE OF YOUNGER ADULTS, BUT LITTLE IS KNOW ABOUT INDIVIDUALS IN THE FOURTH AGE (80+ YEARS). THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES DIFFERENCES IN READING COMPREHENSION IN A BETWEEN-GROUP DESIGN. WE EVALUATED A SAMPLE OF 150 OLDER ADULTS, COMPRISING 86 THIRD-AGE AND 64 FOURTH-AGE PARTICIPANTS. WE EXAMINED THE INFLUENCE OF SEX, COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING, FORMAL EDUCATION, SEL-PERCEIVED READING DIFFICULTIES, AND READING HABITS ON THEIR TEXT COMPREHENSION ABILITIES. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT FOURTH-AGE ADULTS HAVE A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN READING COMPREHENSION COMPARED TO THIRD-AGE ADULTS. STRONG READING HABITS WERE POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER COMPREHENSION ACROSS BOTH GROUPS, SUGGESTING THAT REGULAR READING MAY BUFFER AGAINST AGE-RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE. POOR READERS READ LESS FREQUENTLY AND PERCEIVED GREATER DIFFICULTY WITH THE TASKS. COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING AND EDUCATION DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCE COMPREHENSION?POSSIBLY DUE TO THE GENERALLY LOW EDUCATION LEVELS IN THE SAMPLE. HOWEVER, STRONG READING HABITS APPEARED TO COMPENSATE FOR THESE LIMITATIONS. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST A POTENTIAL PROTECTIVE ROLE OF LIFELONG READING HABITS AND HIGHLIGHT THE NEED FOR INTERVENTIONS TO SUPPORT READING SKILLS IN OLDER ADULTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH LOWER EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUNDS. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD EXPLORE THESE DYNAMICS FURTHER TO ENHANCE COGNITIVE RESILIENCE IN THE OLDEST POPULATIONS.

THIS ARTICLE AIMS TO REFLECT ON HOW HUMANISTIC EDUCATION CAN EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS AND PROFESSIONALS TO NAVIGATE SOCIAL AND PERSONAL CRISES, WITH A FOCUS ON THE CHALLENGES FACING CHILE, OUR DOMAIN. IT ALSO SEEKS TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HARNESSING THE HUMANITIES IN EDUCATION TO HELP FUTURE GENERATIONS AVOID THE ALARMING CONSEQUENCES OF FUNCTIONAL ILLITERACY, AS HIGHLIGHTED BY OECD STUDIES. IN CHILE, THESE STUDIES REVEAL THAT A STAGGERING 53% OF ADULTS AND 84% OF THE POPULATION STRUGGLE TO COMPREHEND WRITTEN TEXTS, LEADING TO A DISCONNECT FROM THEIR SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT. THIS HAS PERPETUATED A CYCLE OF EXPLOITATION, FRUSTRATION, AND ANGER WITHIN SOCIETY FOR DECADES. WHILE THIS PERSPECTIVE MAY BE LIMITED, DRAWING FROM SPECIFIC AUTHORS AND ACADEMIC COURSES, IT UNDERSCORES THE NEED TO ADDRESS THESE CRISES THROUGH EDUCATION. BY INTEGRATING THE HUMANITIES INTO PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND LATER, HIGHER EDUCATION, WE CAN BEGIN TO MITIGATE THESE CHALLENGES AND FOSTER A MORE INFORMED, EMPATHETIC, AND ENGAGED CITIZENRY.

THE STUDY PRESENTS THE EFFECTS OF AN EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION DESIGNED IN THE PHYSICS AND SPANISH CLASSROOM TO ENCOURAGE READING COMPREHENSION AND LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR MEANINGFUL LEARNING. THE INTERVENTION INCLUDES THE READING OF POPULAR SCIENCE BOOKS AND GROUP-LEVEL ACTIVITIES FOR SOLVING A SEQUENCE OF PHYSICS QUESTIONS, CONDUCTED OVER AN ACADEMIC SEMESTER (2022) IN A SAMPLE OF 9TH AND 10TH GRADE STUDENTS FROM A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN CHILE.

THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINES THE TEACHING STRATEGIES USED BY PHYSICS PROFESSORS WHILE PROVIDING A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS THROUGH LEARNING ACTIVITIES THAT DEVELOP THINKING SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND ATTITUDES TO SOLVE SPECIALTY-RELATED PROBLEMS. A DIDACTIC APPROACH IS APPLIED TO TEACHING COMPETENCY-BASED GENERAL PHYSICS IN ENGINEERING WITHIN A MODULAR STRUCTURE. A MIXED METHODOLOGY IS EMPLOYED, WITH QUALITATIVE METHODS FOR THE CASE STUDY INTERPRETING PROFESSORS

THE PRESENT MIXED STUDY SEEKS TO CHARACTERIZE HOW FUTURE NATURAL SCIENCES TEACHERS PERCEIVE THEIR DIDACTICCURRICULUM PERFORMANCE AND THEIR PROMOTION OF SCIENTIFIC COMPETENCE WHEN IMPLEMENTING THE SUBJECT SCIENCE FOR CITIZENSHIP IN THEIR PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE. THE QUANTITATIVE PHASE EMPLOYS A NON-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN, WHILE THE QUALITATIVE PHASE IS A CASE STUDY OF FOURTH-YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DURING THE YEARS 2022 AND 2023. PERFORMANCE PERCEPTION IS MEASURED BY A LIKERT SCALE AND SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS. SCIENTIFIC COMPETENCE IS ANALYZED AT LEVELS (HIGH, REGULAR, AND LOW) AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS IS ENCRYPTED INTO CODES AND CATEGORIES. THE RESULTS INDICATE A REGULAR PERCEPTION TO PROMOTE SCIENTIFIC COMPETENCE. IT ALSO SHOWS TRAINING DEFICIENCIES ASSOCIATED WITH: CONTEXTUALIZATION, CURRICULUM INTERPRETATION, DIFFICULTIES IN SCIENCE INTEGRATION, AND INFLUENCE OF THE TRADITIONAL TEACHING MODEL. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THERE ARE TENSIONS IN INITIAL TRAINING WHEN TEACHING SCIENCE FOR CITIZENSHIP DUE TO THE DIDACTIC-CURRICULUM DEMANDS OF THIS NEW SUBJECT.