Call for papers for issue 49 (2026) Pulso. Revista de Educación is edited yearly by the Centro Universitario Cardenal Cisneros, (Avenida de los Jesuitas, nº34, 28806, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, España). This journal was originally established in 1977 but changed its format in 2001 (number 24) in order to become a scientific and research journal in the field of education. Throughout these more than twenty years, the journal has established itself as a reference for the dissemination of educational research, especially in Spain and Latin America. It is addressed to education specialists, researchers, and professionals in the field of education at all levels. Its main aim is to disseminate and promote studies and experiences related to education, prioritizing those contributions which focus on the most innovative research in the field. In the section Research and Studies, the journal publishes original empirical and theoretical research articles, studies, reviews, and educational experiences. Contributions must show methodological rigor and scientific quality. Work obtained from funded research projects will especially be taken into consideration. Contributions for this section will be evaluated using the double-blind peer review method. The Reviews section accepts original and critical reviews of books about education published in the last two years. For both sections, contributions can be written in Spanish or English. Occasionally, written contributions in Portuguese might be accepted. Pulso. Revista de educación meets editorial quality criteria required by the scientific community (committees, periodicity, reviews, indexing...). In recent years, significant work is being carried out to update and strengthen editorial policies and quality criteria, always in line with the most current trends as it pertains open access publications. As an example of this, we have recently completed the 38 LATINDEX quality criteria The journal publishes one issue per year through a continuous flow process until the completion of each issue. Thus, once the final versions of the contributions are received, they are added to the table of contents of the "current" issue. From issue 49 (2026) onwards, the magazine will cease publication in print and will be published exclusively in digital format. Pulso. Revista de educación facilitates unrestricted access to all its content.
This journal offers immediate open access to its content based on the idea that offering readers free access to research favours a global exchange of knowledge. Papers are published in the electronic version of the journal under a Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-No derivatives 4.0 International Authors are allowed and encouraged to promote the post-print version (reviewed and accepted for publication version) of their work online before publishing them. This favours their earlier circulation and dissemination and thus a possible increase in their citation and reach among the academic community.
Foreword of the monograph: Creativity in Education: Innovation, Inspiration and Transformation
Copyright (c) 2026 Pulso. Revista de educación https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Thinking and Understanding through Stories: A Visible Thinking Proposal for Reading Comprehension in Primary Education
Reading comprehension is an essential aspect of education, as access to knowledge largely occurs through written text. However, its traditional assessment has focused primarily on the explicit retrieval of information, thereby limiting the development of higher-order cognitive processes. This study aims to analyze reading comprehension through visible thinking strategies and cooperative learning, specifically through the compare–and–contrast thinking routine. The research was conducted with a sample of 50 third-grade primary education students, organized into eleven groups of three to four members. The students read three versions of the story Little Red Riding Hood and subsequently completed a graphic organizer based on the compare–and–contrast routine. This thinking routine requires students to compare, analyze, and reason about the similarities and differences between the texts. The results show that the use of the graphic organizer facilitated a deeper understanding of the reading material. It is concluded that the compare–and–contrast thinking routine, integrated into cooperative learning dynamics, constitutes an effective tool for the development of reading comprehension, promoting a more reflective and complex approach in contrast to traditional methods.
Creativity as a strategy for educational mediation in museums: a scoping review of 25 years of academic contributions
Museums, as creative and cultural spaces, have evolved from being merely exhibition spaces to becoming cultural institutions with a clear educational and social role. In this context, “creativity” has been regarded as a central strategy of educational mediation for generating meaningful experiences, fostering audience participation, and promoting innovation in learning processes within museum settings. The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the scientific literature in order to identify and analyse the activities and strategies of educational mediation that museums themselves associate with the concept of “creativity”. To this end, a scoping review methodology is employed, following the PRISMA protocol and including publications from the beginning of the 21st century. The findings provide a structured and in-depth understanding of how creativity is conceptualised in scientific publications related to educational mediation in museums. The study concludes by identifying new questions as promising directions for future research linked to creativity in pedagogical practices in museums.
The Museum as an Educational Space in Initial Teacher Training. An Educational Experience at the Bilbao Museum of Artistic Reproductions
This article examines the role of museums as educational spaces, highlighting the importance of collaboration with museum institutions in initial teacher education. It emphasizes their potential to foster active learning, critical thinking, aesthetic sensitivity, and creativity by offering meaningful learning experiences to student teachers. The study presents a qualitative investigation based on an interpretive case study approach, centered on an educational experience carried out with students enrolled in the Primary Education Degree program. The research emerged from a collaboration between the Bilbao Museum of Artistic Reproductions, the artist José Pablo Arriaga, and Faculty of Education of Bilbao (EHU). Data were collected through interviews with the museum’s education officer, a pre-experience questionnaire administered to the students, and direct observation during the educational experience, in which students participated through observation, dialogue, and creative practice. The findings show that this type of experience contributes to high-quality arts education, strengthening the link between art and education. They also point to the need to integrate initiatives of this kind into initial teacher education, as they allow student teachers to engage, through practice, with methodologies and content that will be valuable for their future professional careers.
Relational Creation: Visual-Textual Narratives of Shared Artistic Experience with University Students in the Education Degree Program
This study is based on the redefinition of creativity as the development of a relational and intersubjective dimension in the artistic education of university students training in Early Childhood and Primary Education. From this performative perspective, and through participatory art-based approaches, everyday spaces integrate and acknowledge relational creation within the narrative of possible encounters, emphasizing the development of coexistence through shared creative action as an expression of community. For the interpretation and documentation of these dialogic processes, the qualitative methodology of photo-narrative and photo-performance is proposed, combining the narrative power of words and images to make visible the reflection and conversation inherent in artistic practice as testimony to relational events conceived to explore otherness, embodiment, memory, and presence. The research objectives aim to understand the concept of creativity from the sense of belonging manifested in creative action with others, facilitating communication as a contextual exercise and raising awareness of co-creation from its ethical and aesthetic value, which constitutes the core conclusion of the study.
Arts Education and Health: Rethinking Art in School as a Healthy Habit
According to scientific evidence, participation in artistic activities—whether active or receptive—constitutes a health promoting behavior. These practices can be regarded as comparable to other healthy habits such as physical activity, a balanced diet, or contact with nature. According to the World Health Organization and numerous studies, participation in artistic and cultural activities during childhood and adolescence promotes well being, strengthens self esteem, improves self regulation, and contributes to mental health. The aim of this article is to propose a conceptual framework that, grounded in scientific evidence and an analysis of the sociopolitical context, supports the recognition of participation in the arts as a healthy habit that should be fostered during the school years. Based on a narrative review of scientific studies and documents on strategies and policies, this framework for validation is developed. In conclusion, it is argued that schools should ensure the presence of arts education as an essential component in the promotion of healthy lifestyles.
Higher Education dropout in Bolivia: an analysis of socioeconomic, personal, and academic determinants
University dropout represents a critical challenge for higher education, especially in Latin American contexts where dropout rates are high and empirical evidence remains limited. This study aimed to analyze the factors influencing student dropout at a private university located in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. An exploratory quantitative research design was employed, using surveys administered to 437 dropout students selected through simple random probability sampling from a database of 900 records. The findings indicate that socioeconomic factors—particularly the need to work and difficulties in paying tuition—are the primary reasons for dropout. The study also identifies mismatches between academic offerings and the needs of working students, as well as a disconnect between vocational expectations and the reality of university life. Practical implications are discussed for the design of more inclusive institutional strategies that comprehensively address the multiple dimensions affecting academic persistence.
Sammy Ramiro Torres Arroyo Torres Arroyo
Artistic practices and pedagogical resistance in educational contexts of social exclusion. Performance in the classroom
This article analyses the potential of artistic practices as forms of pedagogical resistance in educational contexts marked by social exclusion. Based on situated research carried out at IES Jordi de Sant Jordi (Valencia), it explores how artistic practice—and, in particular, performance—can transcend the normative logic of the school institution and activate spaces for collective experimentation. Using a qualitative, hybrid, queer and undisciplined methodology that intertwines critical pedagogy, artistic research and life experience, the article examines Projecte ACORD: Accions Col·laboratives i Recerca Docent (ACORD: Collaborative Actions and Teaching Research Project), with a special focus on a performative practice carried out with 1st year secondary school students. The analysis shows how the activation of the body, the re-signification of spaces and pedagogical touch generate island-truce practices to question hierarchies, problematise the notion of normality and open cracks in hegemonic school dynamics. Far from proposing a replicable model, the article shares an ongoing process that conceives education as a cultural and political experience aimed at imagining more liveable ways of inhabiting the school.
BOOK REVIEW: Thoilliez, B. (2025). Preserving Education. Encuentro.
Copyright (c) 2025 Pulso. Revista de educación https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Workshop-based museum visits in art and archaeology museums in the Valencian Community: A formula for youth creativity
Creativity is key to the development of new ideas and should be cultivated during youth education. Museums, as spaces that complement formal education, are particularly well-suited to nurturing creativity through educational practices. From the collaboration between universities, secondary education institutions, and museums, the DECHADOS research project emerged, examining school visits to four art and archaeology museums in the Valencian Community. The aim of the study is to identify how youth creativity is stimulated through pedagogical actions in these spaces. The museums analysed are the Mua, Mubav, Mupreva and Marq, using a qualitative methodology based on three categories: welcome, visit and workshop. The results highlight the importance of how visitors are guided, how knowledge is conveyed and how creative processes are activated. The study concludes that the visit + workshop model, structured in two interrelated phases, is essential for enhancing creativity. It also identifies practices that limit this capacity and proposes improvements.
Co-creation in Hispanic-French young adult literature and collaborative research in the Bachibac section of a lycée in the Hauts-de-France region
In this article we discuss the pedagogical experiments carried out around a Spanish-French co-creation in youth literature. We looked for effective angles of attack to verify and develop our initial praxeological models. The latter required their application in the classroom. Thus, the study of the short novel La niña románica. La jeune fille à la fresque by the Spanish writer Pedro García Martín led to collaborative research with a French secondary school in the period 2017-2023. Three E/LE teachers of Spanish as a foreign language proposed the reading of the book to the pupils of the BachiBac classes of the lycée Jeanne Hachette (Beauvais), and created the conditions that would motivate the pupils. Christian Puren postulates that "it is by acting in modern a modern foreign language in the micro-society of the classroom that we learn to act in the wider society". We add that it is by reinforcing the Piagetian idea that "meaning (final direction) plays a primary role in every educational process" that we have set linguistic, intercultural and citizenship objectives focusing on art history, heritage and the adolescents' search for identity.
Hypothetical Thinking in Primary Education Teachers: A Finding in Practice
This study presents the results of research conducted with Primary Education teachers in Venezuela. The objective was to identify the hypotheses that teachers formulate during the teaching and learning process in their daily practice. A qualitative study with an ethnographic approach was carried out. The investigation focused on two dimensions of school practice likely to contain hypothetical statements: the implicit conjectures that emerge in pedagogical action and the teaching objectives that teachers design or state in their daily planning to guide classroom work. The results show the existence of a hypothetical environment that consistently surrounds teaching practice. This is manifested in statements within teachers’ discourse and in the content of instructional activity objectives, revealing anticipations, assumptions of achievement, and expectations regarding student development. It is concluded that pedagogical practice is configured as an activity of a hypothetical nature, in which teachers continuously construct interpretations and predictions that guide their decision-making in the classroom
Conflict mediation and peer support in nursery and primary schools
BOOK REVIEW: Monge-López, C. (ed.) (2025). Mediación de conflictos y ayuda entre iguales en Centros de Educación Infantil y Primaria. UNED-Morata
The Creative Musical Experience in Integrated Teaching: The Soundscape as a Link Between Disciplines
This article provides a rationale for why and how the soundscape can act as an articulating axis for integrated teaching in Primary Education when musical creativity is understood as knowledge practice—listening, performing, improvising, and composing. A theoretical-critical and integrative approach is adopted, combining conceptual mapping and narrative synthesis of literature in Spanish and English, and is translated into a propositional design: an iSTEAM model centered on environmental sound. The results include: (a) a clarification of the construct “musical creativity” from process-oriented and situated perspectives; (b) an educational reading of the soundscape and acoustic ecology with transferable procedures (soundwalks, listening journals, perceptual profiles) and an ethics of sonic citizenship; and (c) a proposal of three integrative activities with formative assessment tools, shared quality criteria, and progression across cycles. The proposal avoids “integration without art” and facilitates meaningful curricular connections with modest resources. Future lines of research are outlined to assess impact on learning, well-being, and coexistence.
Methodologies of presence for a rooted pedagogy. A theoretical essay on the aesthetic dimension in contemporary university education
This article draws on the author’s own teaching experience as a university professor of future educators, conceiving daily classroom praxis and academic coexistence as a space for constant reflective learning. From this perspective emerges the present article, whose aim is to offer a theoretical reflection on the complexities of exploring the aesthetic dimension of education within the university classroom at a time when sensory alienation and the capture of attention modes predominate. In the first section, some characteristics of today’s anesthetized society are outlined. This is followed by a reflection on the institutional dynamics of the university that condition the ways in which students and faculty are present within the educational relationship. Finally, in a propositional spirit, the article suggests methodologies in which human presence regains central importance—such as Rewriting Between Bodies, Autoethnographic Narrative Research, and Arts-Based Educational Research. These approaches contribute to rethinking university education in terms of rootedness; that is, an education in which the life histories of the individuals involved and the territories they inhabit are taken into account, thereby considering the interrelations among the aesthetic, ethical, and political dimensions of education
In this written, we will present a reflection on the epistemological situation of the image in education and research frameworks, as well as its impact on creative processes within the training of students and teachers. From a pedagogical device implementing artistic and visual processes, we will analyze the place of the image in the educational system and its influence on creative learning. We will rely on collaborative research conducted in university classes around sociology and teacher training, where the image and the body are media and content to question their place in learning and research environment. From a first approach on the place of creativity within different epistemological contexts, we will analyze the impact of creativity in teaching and current research, focusing on various criteria such as situation resolution, research methodologies and pedagogical strategies. These dimensions will be analyzed from pedagogical and teacher training devices based on creativity.
Child sexual abuse and teacher’s training in Spain
Child sexual abuse has generated increasing interest in recent decades, but research continues to face challenges such as the lack of consensus on its definition and the diversity of explanatory theories. In addition, teacher training remains insufficient, both in initial education and in ongoing professional development, limiting teachers’ ability to prevent, detect, and intervene. This study presents a theoretical review of the literature, carried out using databases such as Dialnet and ProQuest, with defined search categories and inclusion/exclusion criteria. The results are structured around five dimensions—definition, prevalence, explanatory models, shortcomings in training, and training axes—in which significant shortcomings in teacher preparation are identified. The findings confirm the lack of consensus in the academic field, as well as persistent deficits in teacher training in Spain.
Cognitive and Expressive Creativity in Teacher Education: An Exploratory Study on the Relationship Between the CREA Test and Collage Production
Creativity is an essential competency in teacher education, although its assessment presents significant methodological challenges. This exploratory and correlational study aims to analyze the possible relationship between cognitive creativity, assessed using the CREA Test, and expressive creativity, evaluated through collages created by 146 students in the Primary Education degree program. Quantitative procedures for descriptive and correlational analysis were applied. The results show low to medium levels of creativity in both dimensions, with no significant correlation between them. These findings suggest the need to approach creativity from a multidimensional perspective, integrating diverse assessment methods that consider both cognitive and symbolic-emotional aspects. Pedagogical implications for curriculum design in initial teacher education are highlighted.
This article examines the objectives and principles of UK university foundation programmes, with a particular focus on Durham University’s Foundation Programme. Through an in-depth interview with Steve Leech, Head of Academic Transitions at Durham, the article explores how foundation years provide a route into higher education for students from under-represented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds. It highlights the multiple roles of foundation programmes in promoting social justice while also meeting institutional and governmental goals for widening participation in higher education. Leech outlines four pillars – epistemological maturity, metacognition, self-regulation, and self-efficacy – which underpin the programme’s approach to preparing students to succeed at university. The article also discusses the challenges facing foundation programmes in a market-driven educational landscape, while reaffirming their transformative potential for students. Durham’s programme is presented as a case study of how foundation programmes can empower learners by explicitly teaching the “rules of the game” in higher education.
Heritage Education and Arts-Based Research, the Miguel Hernández Cemetery Project
This research presents a project that integrates heritage education with the aim of improving teacher training. It is an art-based research project carried out at the University of Jaén, with student participation, through actions and photography. The project proposes an artistic approach to the San Eufrasio Cemetery, a heritage site at risk of disappearing. The inquiry allows for reflection on topics that are rarely addressed in the curriculum, such as death, suicide, or graveyards. It focuses on the collective imagination, thus developing an artistic intervention that includes an exhibition. The exhibit includes a collection of paintings dedicated to the poet Miguel Hernández, based on verses in which he speaks about death. The methodology used is case study combined with Arts-Based Research. The participatory approach motivates students to create images and contribute their own reflections. Producing photographs becomes an artistic experience, emphasizing social and cultural aspects. The research is carried out through artistic practice, providing future teachers with tools to incorporate the arts into their professional practice as educators.
Animated films in the classroom: Studio Ghibli as an educational tool
This study introduces Film‑Based Learning (FBL), an emerging methodology that harnesses the pedagogical potential of animated films to enrich primary education. Building on Project‑Based Learning (PBL), FBL integrates curricular content with Studio Ghibli movies— renowned for their artistic quality and for promoting universal values such as gender equality and social responsibility. Implemented across all primary grades in a Madrid school, the convergent mixed‑methods design combined interviews with nine teachers and analysis of students’ reflections and work. A five‑dimension rubric guided film selection according to educational relevance and appropriateness. Results show that FBL effectively fostered critical thinking, creativity and transversal competencies such as media literacy and cultural awareness. Teachers positively rated the increased student engagement and the meaningful discussions that connected abstract concepts with real‑world contexts. This study provides a practical framework, aligned with Spain’s Royal Decree 157/2022, and suggests avenues for evaluating its applicability in other settings.
Trainee teachers' perceptions of outdoor education
Outdoor Education has been extensively researched in the early stages of education, with emphasis on its characteristics, methodologies and effects on children. However, its study diminishes at higher levels, especially in Higher Education, where it would be key to train future teachers in these practices. This study analyses the perceptions of the students of the bachelor’s degrees in education at the University of Valladolid on this methodology and its impact on the connection with the environment. Using a quasi-experimental approach and pre-test-post-test surveys, 91 participants took part in the study. The results show that students value positively the outings outside the classroom for their educational relevance, participatory methodologies and contribution to the creation of social and environmental links. Furthermore, they consider that these activities encourage their active involvement in training and the development of teaching skills. The perception of field trips as tools to enrich practical learning, strengthen educational autonomy and promote greater integration with the environment stands out.
Possibilities of theater in early childhood education. A systematic review 2018-2024
This study analyzes the approach to theater in early childhood education through an exploratory systematic review of scientific literature published between 2018-2024. The methodology employed was qualitative with documentary design, using databases such as Dialnet, EBSCO, Scopus, Taylor & Francis, and Science Direct. From 237 initial articles, 23 met the PRISMA criteria. Results show a predominance of qualitative studies (78.3%), mainly in Spanish (43.5%), with greater production in the United States (21.7%), Brazil, and Ecuador (17.4% each). Significant benefits of theater in child development were identified, including improvements in self-esteem, socioemotional competencies, and active learning. The temporal distribution shows a peak in 2022 (30.4%) and a fluctuating trend in the years studied. Conclusions highlight theater’s potential as a comprehensive educational tool, although there is a need to establish a more robust epistemological framework for its implementation in educational contexts.
Exploratory study on the implementation of the classroom as a methodology for teacher training in arts education
This text presents the results of an exploratory research whose objective has been to evaluate the implementation of the inverted classroom methodology in the subject of Artistic Creation and Research Workshop of the 2nd year of the degree in Primary Education and the 2nd year of the double degree in Primary and Early Childhood Education at the University of Murcia. For this purpose, a mixed methodology was used, using a quantitative questionnaire and a qualitative analysis of opinions. The results, from a sample of 100 students, allow us to clarify which aspects have been effective in the application of this methodology, such as the suitability of extending the practical work time in the classroom in a subject in the area of didactics of plastic expression, and those that need to be reviewed, such as the necessary awareness of the autonomous role of the student in this method. Based on the data obtained and the contrast with other studies taken into account, future lines of optimization are proposed with the aim of improving this methodology in future courses.
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The creation of puppets with objects as a tool for reflecting on the gender perspective. A case study applied in Primary Education
Theater in education promotes the development of students’ creativity, as well as their bodily, spatial, and emotional awareness, through strategies such as dramatic play, dramatization, and stage language like animated forms of theater. This educational proposal aimed to evaluate how 3rd grade primary school children in a school in Spain are able to reflect on gender perspectives through a process of creating puppets using objects. This classroom experience is based on the case study methodology, with collaborative work being the foundation of the formative process. The results show the effectiveness of the strategies used, the participants’ satisfaction, the development of critical thinking regarding identity and gender equality, and improved interpersonal relationships. It is concluded that creating puppets with objects is an effective strategy for developing communicative, creative, social, and emotional competence, with reflection on gender issues serving as the motivational axis of the entire proposal.
An Approach to the study of the socioeducational and psychological consequences of divorce in childhood (2014-2024)
Divorce is no longer considered a failure in family dynamics; instead, it is seen as a legitimate option when the couple’s relationship is not functional. However, this process can have various short, medium, and long-term consequences for children. Therefore, this paper aims to delve into these consequences at socio-educational and psychological levels through a theoretical review that analyzes research conducted on this topic between 2014 and 2024. The results, after consulting Web of Science, Scopus, and Dialnet, present a total of 21 studies that contribute to describing the main related themes and consequences, taking into account associated factors such as sociodemographic variables (especially sex and age) and the family environment. Among the main conclusions, it stands out that most consequences tend to diminish over a medium period of time. Furthermore, this study makes it possible to channel the resources that would be necessary to improve the well-being of children during the post-divorce period.
Diagnosis of Visual Artistic Education in Teaching Practices I of the Primary Education Degree. When subjects become academic research laboratories
This text presents a proposal whose goal is to improve the didactic methodology of the university degree in Primary Education implemented in the Student Teaching I subject of the University of Seville. Specifically, the methodological approach carried out from the area of Didactics of Plastic Expression during the preliminary phase to the incorporation of students into the practices, called “Previous Training”, is presented. The objective of this research is to review the planning of the sessions carried out in this training period, in which, during the final phase, an online questionnaire had to be used as an instrument of inquiry aimed at offering a collaborative diagnosis of the current situation of artistic education in the field of formal education derived from the stay in schools during the student teaching period. The results obtained will show that, despite the progress achieved in the subject as an area of knowledge, the curricular spectrum of artistic education seems to remain in an eternal impasse within the school space. The outlined scenario will invite reflection on an ongoing debate, in addition to delving into the difficulties and challenges that still arise from the discipline itself as an educational research environment.
Installations for Play and Community Art: an artistic and intercultural mediation experience with families from the Chinese community of Madrid
The study is based on the shared story and visual-textual reflection on an experience carried out at the Condeduque Center for Contemporary Culture in Madrid with family groups belonging to the Chinese community of this city. Its celebration was possible at the invitation of Xirou Xiao, cultural mediator and director of Tian Ma Xing Kong, a project designed to weave networks with neighbourhood organisations in the immediate environment and to carry out a contextualised artistic mediation in a socio-cultural institution that favours community actions in its programme. The objective is to narrate and signify an experience of artistic and intercultural mediation from the participation of mixed families (Chinese Spanish) and the collaboration of university students of Social Education. It was conceived as a community art action framed in the original proposal of the Installations for play, a playful context and intersubjective space of relationship configured with specific objects offered in a transformable space inspired by the aesthetics of contemporary art. The account of the event and the following research proposal are presented through documentation constructed through image-word narratives that recognize and give meaning to the symbolic and relational actions that took place in the encounter as a manifestation that generates metaphors of life with others.
Innovative curricular and pedagogical designs in bilingual teacher education: Bridging the distance with school contexts
Review of the book: Innovative curricular and pedagogical designs in bilingual teacher education: Bridging the distance with school contexts
Talk in Multilingual Classrooms: Teachers' awareness of language knowledge in secondary education
Review of the book: Talk in Multilingual Classrooms: Teachers' awareness of language knowledge in secondary education