Esther Oliver

Opening schools to all (women): efforts to overcome gender violence in Spain

This article shows how the dialogic approach adopted by some schools in Spain generates a shift in approaches to gender violence, an issue still not explored in the literature. The shift is from an approach determined mainly by female experts to a dialogic one in which all women, including teachers, mothers, students, sisters, stepsisters, friends, and volunteers, are involved in designing and implementing programmes to prevent gender violence. An analysis of data obtained from six primary schools in Spain shows how the voices of all women are relevant to identify situations of gender violence that girl pupils are experiencing, as well as in the design of school‐based processes to prevent violence that affects these girls.

De los actos comunicativos de poder a los actos comunicativos dialógicos en las aulas organizadas en grupos interactivos

Resumen: Los grupos interactivos son una de las formas de organizacion de las aulas que esta obteniendo mas exito en Europa en la superacion del fracaso escolar y los problemas de convivencia. Este articulo muestra como en el analisis llevado a cabo en INCLuD-ED se ha encontrado una de las claves para ese exito: la continua sustitucion de actos comunicativos de poder, tipicos de las aulas tradicionales, por actos comuni-cativos dialogicos. Los actos comunicativos de poder que afectan al alumnado excluido en las aulas ordinarias, en espacios de educacion compensatoria, o apartado de los es-pacios regulares a traves de otras formas de segregacion educativa, son transformados en actos comunicativos dialogicos basados en el dialogo igualitario (y que incluyen las condiciones de sinceridad y consenso). Por un lado, el articulo analiza en profundidad actuaciones educativas relacionadas con el fracaso escolar y basadas en actos comuni-cativos de poder, donde predominan las interacciones de poder. Se ha prestado especial atencion a la presencia de actos comunicativos de poder en dinamicas de segregacion que afectan principalmente a estudiantes de grupos vulnerables. Por otro lado, se estu-dian los grupos interactivos como una actuacion educativa de exito donde predominan las interacciones dialogicas basadas en un dialogo igualitario, y donde se consigue un mayor impacto en la mejora de los resultados educativos. Como resultado de nuestro analisis, se identifican los principales elementos que explican la relacion tanto entre los actos comunicativos de poder y el fracaso escolar como entre los actos comunicativos dialogicos y el exito educativo.Palabras Clave: Interacciones dialogicas, interacciones de poder, dialogo igualitario, grupos interactivos, actuaciones educativas de exito.

Cultural Intelligence to Overcome Educational Exclusion

The critical communicative methodology (CCM) is based on the premise that each person, regardless of their educational, cultural, or socioeconomic background, possesses cultural intelligence. That is, they can analyze their experiences of being excluded and propose ways to reverse their situation. In this article, we explore the fact that everyone, regardless of background, can help to develop scientific knowledge, and this is essential in transforming the situation being studied. To illustrate this, we examine a case in which families from cultural minority groups become involved in transforming their neighborhood school. We also show how the CCM made it possible to include the knowledge and interpretations of these community members through egalitarian dialogue with researchers. The knowledge obtained from this dialogue calls into question the dominant discourse in Europe, which states that having high proportions of migrant students in schools will have a negative effect on both academic results and living together.

Zero Violence Since Early Childhood: The Dialogic Recreation of Knowledge

Whether it is necessary to intervene in front of violent behaviors since early childhood or not has turned out to be a highly controversial debate. While non-scientific-based discourses are well spread among families and professionals, leading to a process of naturalization and tolerance of any type of violence, research shows that permissive attitudes can lead to a socialization in which violence and gender violence are normalized, with serious and devastating long-term consequences. In this article, a dialogic recreation of knowledge performed in this area is analyzed as an example of how researchers can contribute to dismantle myths and false assumptions by engaging in dialogue with the end-users (i.e., teachers, families, professionals). As a result of this dialogue, not only scientific knowledge is enriched but also a process of thorough problematization of long-standing and embedded social practices can lead to important social transformations.

Women’s Women’s Choices choices Shattered: Impact impact of Gender Violence violence on Universities

Different expressions of violence in our societies affect women. This chapter analyses the way in which violence occurs in universities. Forms of misogyny and discrimination encountered by female academics and students are translated into barriers which hamper their educational and professional plans, affecting their lifelong learning processes and having an impact on their lives. The evidence presented in this chapter is obtained from academic literature in the field and from the voices of research participants. Those who took part in the research are mainly involved in dealing with this issue in UK universities. The data point to two different types of findings. First, that the university is still a male-dominated domain in which different forms of misogyny and discrimination occur, affecting female academics and students. Second, in this context, different forms of violence become barriers which have a negative impact on the educational and professional plans of some women and, by extension, on their lives in society as a whole. This chapter contributes towards breaking down the stereotype view that only some specific groups of women are affected by this problem. On the contrary, this problem can affect both female students and staff, since violence against women crosses as many boundaries in the academic field as it does in society as a whole.

Learning about the Importance of Education for Labour Market Transitions.

This article centres on the importance given by individuals to the process of education in labour market transitions and how they manage to overcome obstacles to achieve their goals. Many of the stories in the Spanish research were transformative and innovative despite the context of high levels of unemployment in Spain due to the global economic crisis. In this article the educational context is explained together with the educational paths available to go to university, to vocational education and training, or towards abandonment. Qualitative data analysis has been conducted to analyse the narrative interviews. The stories highlight the transformative results of those who participate in formal education, and that learning from experience and cultural intelligence are used as strategies to follow for overcoming the challenges of labour market transitions.