For many students, the start of a university course is a positive experience, as it is a challenge that involves academic commitment and the achievement of a university degree. However, for other students, access to university becomes a stressful experience that manifests itself in signs of anxiety. Previous studies have shown the influence of high levels of anxiety on the degree of academic engagement for good study performance, with positive or negative moderators such as psychological well-being or self-efficacy. The overall aim of this study is to analyse self-efficacy and psychological well-being as moderators between anxiety and academic engagement, as well as the relationships between the variables. In the present study, 751 first-year students of the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of Granada (Spain), of whom 90.7% are women and 9.3% are men, all aged between 18 and 47 years old (M = 21.05, SD = 3.57), completed the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student questionnaires (UWES-S), Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS), State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Psychological Well-being Scale. The correlations between scales were studied using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. To assess the moderating effect of self-efficacy and psychological well-being on the relationship between anxiety and academic engagement, structural equations were used with the maximum likelihood method. In relation to the analysis carried out, the findings show the importance of self-efficacy and psychological well-being as moderators between anxiety and academic engagement. Self-efficacy showed a moderating effect on the relationship between anxiety and academic engagement, so the interaction between anxiety and self-efficacy meant that in situations of high anxiety and high efficacy, academic engagement was virtually unaffected.

Mental health problems, specifically those related to stress, anxiety, and depression, have become more prevalent among college students compared to data available prior to the levels of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent studies have shown that in different geographical areas, there is a high prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms in university students compared to pre-pandemic levels. Thus, our objective was to establish self-perceived levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in university students earning an education degree at the University of Granada and the University of Costa Rica during periods of confinement and virtual learning associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The final study sample consisted of 942 students from both universities. Two questionnaires were administered: The state trait anxiety inventory and the depression, anxiety, and stress scale 21. Descriptive analyses, mean comparisons, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multivariate regression were performed. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, and the effect size was analyzed using Cohen’s d. The results indicated that levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were mild or moderate despite the confinement and virtual learning associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Women had higher levels of anxiety than men, and singles had higher levels of anxiety than individuals in other family situations. Younger individuals had higher levels of stress and anxiety.

Cuando se desarrollan nuevos conceptos en cualquier cambio científico y, por supuesto, en el ámbito de la educación, se genera en muchos casos la idea de que se trata de algo nuevo va a afectar radicalmente, en nuestro caso, la forma de educar y aprender. ¿Podría ser este el caso de la Neurodidáctica? Es necesario contrastar desde la investigación estas nuevas conceptualizaciones, como en el caso de la neurociencia y la neurodidáctica, que dotan del marchamo «neuro» a muchas estrategias didácticas utilizadas tradicionalmente. Han aparecido alrededor de la neurociencia multitud de modelos «neuropedagógicos» que pretenden dar al profesional de la educación potentes herramientas para la mejora del aprendizaje apoyándose en los avances de las neurociencias. En el caso de los concept mapping de Novak, se ha demostrado a lo largo de las últimas décadas su eficacia como herramientas de presentación del conocimiento experto y como promotores del aprendizaje significativo, permitiendo detectar con facilidad los errores conceptuales. Actualmente ha sido confirmada esta eficacia didáctica desde las investigaciones realizadas con técnicas neurocientíficas (TAC, TOC, MRI, fNIRs, entre otras) que presentamos en este artículo. Estas investigaciones confirman su valor metodológico, que sí podemos denominar neurodidáctico, a través de las evidencias de actividad cerebral diferencial o nivel de esfuerzo neurocognitivo que se produce cuando se comparan mapas conceptuales con otras herramientas didácticas.

Transversal competences, such as flexibility, collaboration or critical thinking, are proving to be key not only in academic performance but also in professional and personal performance. In response to a growing demand for research and training in these competences, this study originates from a teaching innovation project at the University of Granada (Spain) with the aim of designing the base structure of a psycho-educational intervention aimed at undergraduate students at the Spanish public university. For this purpose, the European framework for Personal, Social and Learning to Learn Key Competence, LifeComp, is used as the base line. This work proposes a coherent, pedagogically sound, general competence-based programme that blends with the official, more-specific competence-based curriculum, to deepen learning and proactively respond to the complex challenges our society is currently facing. In order to do so, different levels of proficiency for each of the nine LifeComp competences are suggested, as well as an outline for the design of the training action. This work has served as the basis for the creation of a psycho-educational training programme whose parallel study has been registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov under NCT05598944 and NCT NCT05775978 registries. The resulting programme is currently being taught to all undergraduate students at the University of Granada (Spain).

The Field Guide “Paleopathology Collection at the University of Granada” includes one of the most important collections of human bone remains that present anomalies or specific characteristics that can be used to determine the existence of diseases, accidents or malformations in each subject’s life, as well as the probable cause of death. The collection consists of several thousand skeletons or parts of them. It is located at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Granada and has been created and managed by Professor Miguel C. Botella López, founder and director of the Anthropology Laboratory of the University of Granada, between 1971 and 2024. Professor Botella is the author of the diagnoses made for each specimen from different geographical areas of Spain in a time period ranging from the Neolithic to the present day. The collection is of special interest to students and professionals in medicine, archaeology, criminology or law.

Academic stress is a growing public health concern in higher education, particularly during examination periods, when increased anxiety and psychological distress negatively affect students’ wellbeing and academic performance. In this context, scalable and accessible interventions that promote emotional regulation and reduce stress are increasingly relevant within university health promotion strategies. This study examines the perceived benefits, conditions, and limitations of dog-assisted interventions in higher education, based on the implementation of the StressLess pro-gramme at the University of Costa Rica. A mixed exploratory design was used, combining qualitative narratives with quantitative content analysis. A total of 51 videoecorded testimonies were analysed, including university students (n = 22) and professionals from diverse disciplines (n = 29). Results indicate predominantly positive perceptions across all dimensions, particularly in emotional support and stress reduction. The only statistically significant difference be-tween groups was found in emotional support, with higher ratings among students. Professionals were more likely to identify implementation conditions, risks, and potential cognitive benefits. These findings support the integration of dog-assisted interventions as complementary strategies within university public health frameworks and contribute to the limited evidence available in Latin American contexts.