The irruption of COVID-19 has had different consequences on mental health in the youth population. Specifically, the sector made up of university students has suffered an abrupt change of teaching modality because of the pandemic. As such, this paper aims to analyze the impact that COVID-19 has had on different personal factors of students: (i) satisfaction with life; (ii) lived uncertainty; (iii) depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as factors related to academic development; (iv) motivation and the creation of teaching and learning strategies during this period; and (v) the perception of the degree of adaptability to the new scenario brought about by the university system. For this purpose, a cross-sectional quantitative design was advocated through the elaboration of an SEM model, which included 1873 university students from Andalusian Universities (Spain). The results reflected the strong negative impact that the pandemic had, especially on the levels of life satisfaction and the indices of depression, anxiety, and stress of the students. Likewise, the findings reflected the relevance of the correct adaptability on the part of the university to these new circumstances. It is necessary for university institutions to focus their efforts on quality attention to students, in order to establish fluid communication with them and to adapt to their academic and personal needs.

Introduction: One of the main problems facing the university system is the high student dropout rate due to a number of variables, accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a problem not only in Spanish universities but is prevalent worldwide. It is therefore important to understand and analyze the underlying reasons for dropout so that it can be addressed and mechanisms implemented to limit dropout in higher education to the greatest extent possible.Method: A systematic review was carried out summarizing the results of studies and reports on university dropout in Spain and specifically in the universities of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement by searching the scientific databases Scopus and Web of Science, limiting the search to articles published between 2010 and 2022.Results: The main publications in both Spain and the Autonomous Community of Andalusia were identified. The review included the main causes of university dropout indicated in each of the selected studies and the proposals to reduce it, including educational policies, the rise of distance education, academic failure in basic educational stages, and social, personal, psychological, and economic variables.Conclusion: There is a lack of research on university dropout, with only 25% of Spanish universities having carried out research on this subject in the last 12 years. The studies analyzed conclude that the most frequent causes of university dropout are associated with low academic performance, poor social support in the new academic environment, low socio-economic status, pessimism, and lack of motivation, together with other less significant factors such as poor relationships with teachers, lack of vocation, work incompatibility, and previous academic performance. Further research on the causes of university dropout and its prevention is needed both before university entrance, by providing meaningful information to secondary school students, and during the university stay, through institutional and teaching policies that improve family support and social roots, produce positive academic experiences, favor associationism, and encourage activities that improve planning and time management, together with cognitive learning strategies, motivational strategies and the use of advanced learning materials [such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools].

Nowadays, ICT play a fundamental role in education, as they are essential in all areas of knowledge at any educational stage. Specifically, in the area of mathematics, within the Primary Education stage, they are also very valid resources. This is demonstrated by the latest scientific studies. In recent times, the scientific literature has provided evidence of all this through different research studies. The aim of this paper is to analyze all those publications that deal with the teaching–learning processes of mathematics through ICT in primary education. The aim is to show the current state of the scientific literature and what elements and aspects to highlight are common to the documents analyzed. By means of the systematic literature review method, we analyzed 11 articles indexed in Scopus and the Web of Science, with the result that the use of ICT in this area is still scarce, as the volume of publications in this respect is very low. This could also indicate a prevalence of traditional methodologies associated with the teaching of mathematics that could hinder students’ acquisition of mathematical competence. However, those studies that show the use of ICT demonstrate that its use leads to an improvement in performance, motivation, and problem solving.

Digital competence in teaching can be understood as the set of skills, attitudes and abilities to use technologies critically and creatively, both in the personal and professional environment. Likewise, it is one of the eight key competencies for lifelong learning. In this paper, in line with the Common Digital Competence Framework (DigComp), we analyze the self-perception of teacher trainees’ digital competence to communicate and collaborate with other people. Additionally, we state the existence of statistically significant differences from a gender perspective (women/men). In this sense, we have carried out non-experimental quantitative research that has a descriptive nature. To this end, we used a questionnaire as an instrument for collecting information, with a total sample of 698 pre-service teachers in Andalusia (Spain). The results show that teacher trainees have an intermediate level in terms of their abilities to communicate and collaborate with other people through digital technologies. At the same time, significant differences are highlighted regarding participants’ gender, which implies that gender can still be considered a limitation in the use of ICTs, thereby decreasing participants’ digital competence. Finally, this study sheds light on the need to improve future teachers’ digital competence.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explore whether the use of an active learning methodology implemented through a mobile phone can help future teachers to develop more effective reading promotion activities than those based on traditional learning methodologies.Design/methodology/approach: A study was conducted based on the comparison of perceptions of two groups of teacher training students. The experimental group was trained in an active methodology to promote reading on mobile phones, whilst the control group was trained in a classical methodology also using the same devices. Variables were observed using a self-administered questionnaire, and the scores obtained were analysed from their descriptive statistics of the comparison of means of Kruskal–Wallis H test.Findings: The results showed that students perceived significant improvements associated with active learning methodology. The variables with the most remarkable results were those related to better use of the class, participation and satisfaction. However, the ubiquitous variable obtained the fewest differences, maybe because both learning methodologies were applied using mobile devices.Originality/value: The conclusions of this study clearly suggest that combining active learning methodologies and the use of mobile phones to promote reading could lead to better results than applying traditional learning methodologies. The value of this study paves the way for future research to move forward in the discovery of effective teaching strategies based on active methods and mobile devices.

Una publicación de ámbito nacional e internacional interdisciplinar de carácter científico-académico y divulgativo, que pretende fomentar el intercambio de ideas y trabajos en el campo de los medios y los nuevos media aplicadas a la educación y de formación en general