Great efforts focus on early detection of autism spectrum disorder, although some scientists and policy-makers have questioned early universal screening. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the different screening tools. Several electronic databases were used to identify published studies. A Bayesian model was used to estimate the screening accuracy. The pooled sensitivity was 0.72 (95% CI 0.61–0.81), and the specificity was 0.98 (95% CI 0.97–0.99). Subgroup analyses to remove heterogeneity indicated sensitivity was 0.77 (95% CI 0.69–0.84), and specificity was 0.99 (95% CI 0.97–0.99; SD ≤ 0.01). Level 1 screening tools for ASD showed consistent statistically significant results and therefore are adequate to detect autism at 14–36 months.

The purpose of this study is to investigate teachers’ attitudes towards the use of ICT in the classroom. One hundred and seventy in-service teachers from kindergarten to high school participated in the study. A 154-item survey was elaborated (Cronbach α =. 89) containing three main sections: (1) general information; (2) attitudes towards ICT and use of computer resources in the classroom; (3) level of satisfaction towards the training. A quasi-experimental study with one non-randomized study group (n=85) was also conducted using a pre-and post-test design with the purpose of searching for differences before and after training. Besides, 11 semi-structured interviews were carried out with the purpose of deepening into teachers’ major motivations and beliefs. The results show that teachers’ attitudes towards ICT are highly positive but the use of them in class is scarce and it is subjected to innovative processes. Secondly, there were no significant differences after instruction. Main conclusions indicate that new ways of teacher training need to be developed

Information and Communications technologies (ICT) are becoming crucial tools for teaching because they improve students’ performance and motivation. For this reason many education programs start to include them as essential grounding for teachers’ repertory. Eighty-five teachers participated in a year-long program in which they learnt to use ICT with the purpose to apply that knowledge into their teaching. The program consisted of three training modules: information and operating systems (i.e. programs for teaching –word, ppt, etc.-, use of internet); Interactive tools (i.e. Digital boards, Android Systems); and multimedia materials and teaching strategies (i.e. web designing, web 2.0). As part of their training they completed a Likert type questionnaire (154 items) about (a) ICT uses, (b) attitudes in classroom and (c) satisfaction with the training received (Cronbach alpha = .89). Descriptive statistics, Factorial Analyses and ANOVA were applied to data. Main findings from the third part of the questionnaire indicate that teachers were highly satisfied with the course syllabus: specially the methodology and the resources. A second reading shows that the learning of teaching strategies and creation of new materials for classroom (module 3) was better valued than the learning of technical skills to manage the suggested programs and technologies.Conclusions point out that advancing towards an effective use of ICT in classroom would further require guided mentoring in practice and peer collaboration besides traditional training

Resumen:Estudios recientes muestran que las actitudes positivas del profesorado hacia las TIC son un factor de incremento de uso e integración curricular. Sin embargo, existe poca investigación focalizada en la diferencia que existe entre estas actitudes positivas hacia las TIC y el uso efectivo en el aula. En contraste con estos estudios, en este trabajo se exploran las actitudes del profesorado, pero también se indaga sobre el uso real de las mismas en la escuela. Más concretamente, el objetivo es mostrar qué actitudes manifiesta el profesorado hacia las TIC y su uso e integración en el currículum. Se utilizó como técnica la encuesta y como instrumento un cuestionario con respuestas tipo Likert que constaba de 154 ítems. Se obtuvieron, para su análisis, 288 cuestionarios realizados por docentes de Educación Infantil a Bachillerato activo. Como resultados se constata una actitud positiva hacia la integración de la tecnología en el aula. Sin embargo, también se confirma que su uso curricular es poco frecuente. Lo anterior tiene diferentes implicaciones entre las que destaca el diseño de cursos de formación del profesorado entendidos como conjunto de contenidos vinculados y contextualizados a la escuela y no como un curso de informática con una metodología tradicional. Recent studies show that positive attitudes of teachers towards ICT are a factor of increase in use. The objective of this work is to show what kind of attitudes expressed towards ICT non-university teachers and the real integration in the curriculum of ICT. Specifically, the aim is to show teachers ‘attitudes towards ICT and its use and curriculum. A quasi-experimental design was carried out. The survey was used as a technique and as instrument a questionnaire Likert-type of 154 items. 288 questionnaires were obtained for analysis from teachers since kindergarten to high school in active. The results showed a response positive towards the integration of the ICT. However, also confirms that curricular use is rare in the classroom. This has different implications, notably the design of teacher training courses, understood as a set of content-related and contextualized to the school and not as a course in computer science with a traditional methodology.

Learning approaches are factors that contribute to sustainability education. Academic stress negatively affects students’ performances in the context of sustainability teaching. This study analyzed how deep and surface approaches could be related to coping with academic stress and gender. An online survey was completed by 1012 university students. The relationship between gender, sources of stress and learning approaches was examined through a multivariate canonical correspondence analysis. Results showed differences in stress-coping strategies depending on the learning approach used. In both female and male students, academic stress was handled with a deep learning approach. The findings provide implications for professors and highlight the importance of variables such as deep learning and gender in the teaching and learning sustainability process.