Cindy Mels | Universidad Católica del Uruguay (original) (raw)

Papers by Cindy Mels

Research paper thumbnail of Psychosocial wellbeing in war-affected Eastern Congolese adolescents

AVRUG-bulletin, Feb 25, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Can failure be prevented? Using longitudinal data to identify at‐risk students upon entering secondary school

British Educational Research Journal, Nov 3, 2020

In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories ... more In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories by putting in place an 'early alert' system. Underlying the system is the understanding that prior schooling predicts likelihood of grade repetition and grade repetition predicts later school dropout, while close follow-up can help prevent both repetition and dropout. We used a database of administrative registries from a national public primary school graduating cohort on their last year in primary and first year in secondary education (2015-2016, n = 36,754). We conducted two-level cross-classified logistic regression analyses to assess the suitability of using features of Uruguayan students' primary school trajectories, individual, family and primary school characteristics to predict their success or failure in their first year of secondary school. All considered prior schooling factors (previous repetition experiences, achievement, behaviour and absenteeism), the student's family socioeconomic status (SES) and primary school's SES composition, as well as the location of the school in an urban or rural setting, help explain differences in chances of first-year success or failure (grade repetition) in secondary school. While these results support the 'early alert' system's approach, predictive performance analyses are needed when using explanatory models for planning interventions with scarce resources and making decisions affecting individual students' trajectories. The importance of testing resulting models' sensitivity, as well as their false positive rates, is highlighted.

Research paper thumbnail of Self-efficacy, test anxiety and mathematics performance in Uruguayan adolescents exposed to community violence

Electronic Journal of Research in Education Psychology

Introduction. Community violence exposure (CVE) during adolescence relates negatively with acade... more Introduction. Community violence exposure (CVE) during adolescence relates negatively with academic performance, yet little is known about the mechanisms that underlie this association. Research on self-regulated learning identifies self-efficacy and test anxiety as key for explaining academic performance, while the stress process model of children's exposure to violence provides a framework for understanding how these aspects of the learning process may be debilitated by CVE. Method. This study aims to explore the mediating role of self-efficacy and test anxiety in the relation between CVE and academic performance. In a sample of 110 adolescents from low-income neighborhoods in Montevideo, Uruguay, structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that adolescents with higher CVE have lower self-efficacy and higher test anxiety, which in turn compromises their mathematics achievement. We also hypothesize an indirect negative effect of CVE on self-efficacy through t...

Research paper thumbnail of Development and validation of a socio-emotional skills assessment instrument for sixth grade of Primary Education in Uruguay

Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas)

The development and implementation of instruments with high psychometric standards for the assess... more The development and implementation of instruments with high psychometric standards for the assessment and monitoring of socio-emotional skills is considered an important step in the agenda for their promotion in educational contexts. This article describes the process behind the development and validation of a large-scale assessment instrument of socio-emotional skills – including interpersonal and intrapersonal skills and aspects related to motivation and self-regulation –, for sixth grade primary school-children in Uruguay. We present results regarding factor structure and internal consistency obtained in throughout three studies. We conclude that the final instrument presents proper psychometric qualities, including evidence of convergent validity. Nonetheless, it is recognized that the development of assessment instruments of this type requires continued efforts for its improvement based on a longitudinal and iterative review.

Research paper thumbnail of Author response for "Exploring exposure to intertwined community violence among Uruguayan adolescents using a mixed‐method approach

Research paper thumbnail of Can failure be prevented? Using longitudinal data to identify at‐risk students upon entering secondary school

British Educational Research Journal

In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories ... more In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories by putting in place an 'early alert' system. Underlying the system is the understanding that prior schooling predicts likelihood of grade repetition and grade repetition predicts later school dropout, while close follow-up can help prevent both repetition and dropout. We used a database of administrative registries from a national public primary school graduating cohort on their last year in primary and first year in secondary education (2015-2016, n = 36,754). We conducted two-level cross-classified logistic regression analyses to assess the suitability of using features of Uruguayan students' primary school trajectories, individual, family and primary school characteristics to predict their success or failure in their first year of secondary school. All considered prior schooling factors (previous repetition experiences, achievement, behaviour and absenteeism), the student's family socioeconomic status (SES) and primary school's SES composition, as well as the location of the school in an urban or rural setting, help explain differences in chances of first-year success or failure (grade repetition) in secondary school. While these results support the 'early alert' system's approach, predictive performance analyses are needed when using explanatory models for planning interventions with scarce resources and making decisions affecting individual students' trajectories. The importance of testing resulting models' sensitivity, as well as their false positive rates, is highlighted.

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring exposure to intertwined community violence among Uruguayan adolescents using a mixed‐method approach

Journal of Community Psychology

Building on the case of adolescents (aged 12-16 years) from underprivileged neighborhoods in Mont... more Building on the case of adolescents (aged 12-16 years) from underprivileged neighborhoods in Montevideo, two studies explore patterns of exposure to community violence among understudied South American youth. Applying a mixed-methods approach, the first study (n = 117) used principal component analysis to examine response patterns on a self-reported exposure to community violence scale. The second study examined subjective experience, drawing from focus group discussions with adolescents (n = 27) and their teachers (n = 22). Events were clustered into three components: indirect violence, traumatic violence, physical/verbal abuse, and robbery. Participants described the severity of violence in relation to chronic exposure, processes of naturalization, and permeable boundaries among the neighborhood, school, family, and social media networks. Violence chronicity and potential threats to life appear to be central dimensions in community violence reporting. Delimitating the study of community violence based on the setting or perceptual closeness has limited socioecological relevance.

Research paper thumbnail of Psychosocial wellbeing in war-affected Eastern Congolese adolescents

Afrika Focus, Nov 6, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Características Psicométricas Preliminares Del HSCL-A Adaptado Para Adolescentes Uruguayos en Contexto De Violencia

Ciencias Psicológicas, 2014

Este estudio tiene como objetivo realizar la adaptación lingüística y validación del Hopkins Symp... more Este estudio tiene como objetivo realizar la adaptación lingüística y validación del Hopkins Symptom Checklist para Adolescentes (Bean et al., 2007), un instrumento de autoinforme breve, ampliamente usado en la detección de problemas internalizantes y externalizantes en adolescentes expuestos a situaciones de violencia. Tras la adaptación ligüística, involucrando a profesionales y adolescentes uruguayos, se administró el instrumento en una muestra de conveniencia compuesta por 529 adolescentes entre 12 y 16 años, alumnos de tres colegios privados católicos montevideanos de nivel socioeconómico medio-alto (46,1%) y medio-bajo (53,9%). También se aplicaron el IES-R (Weiss & Marmar, 1997), BIEPS-J (Casullo, 2002) y cuestionario sociodemográfico. Los resultados del análisis de componentes principales respaldan al modelo de dos factores establecido en estudios previos. Se encontraron valores de Alpha de Chronbach satisfactorios (.90 para la escala total; .90 y .75 para las subescalas) co...

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching to Self-Regulate in Mathematics: A Quasi-Experimental Study with Low-Achieving Elementary School Students

Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 2021

Teaching students to self-regulate enhances their mathematics performance, yet few studies have i... more Teaching students to self-regulate enhances their mathematics performance, yet few studies have investigated the long-term differential impact of particular self-regulation strategies specifically for low-achieving students. This quasi-experimental study evaluates the effect of teaching different self-regulation strategies on mathematical problem solving in low-achieving students. The participants were 69 sixth-grade elementary school students randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups (and taught predominantly cognitive, metacognitive or volitional strategies, while verifying intervention fidelity) or a control group for 16 sessions. Mathematical problem-solving skills were evaluated prior to the intervention, upon completion, and two months later. While all three intervention groups obtained significantly better results compared to the control group immediately after the intervention, volitional and metacognitive strategies showed the strongest and most lasting positive...

Research paper thumbnail of Using SQL for data consolidation in R

Research paper thumbnail of Del castigo físico a la parentalidad positiva. Revisión de programas de apoyo parental

En Uruguay existe desde 2007 la Ley 18214 que prohibe la utilizacion del castigo fisico, tanto a ... more En Uruguay existe desde 2007 la Ley 18214 que prohibe la utilizacion del castigo fisico, tanto a padres como a responsables de la educacion de ninos y ninas. A pesar que la ley propone la realizacion de programas de sensibilizacion y educacion que promuevan alternativas al castigo fisico como forma de disciplinamiento, no existen aun propuestas que aborden la tematica. En tanto, surgen datos inquietantes sobre la prevalencia de castigo fisico en la infancia. El articulo presenta programas de apoyo parental basados en la parentalidad positiva, que previenen dificultades en el ejercicio de la crianza y promueven el desarrollo de los integrantes de las familias. Se destacan aquellos que cuentan con evidencia cientifica en cuanto al logro de sus objetivos.

Research paper thumbnail of Children affected by armed conflict at the intersection of three fields of study

Research paper thumbnail of Self-regulated learning, academic achievement and socioeconomic context at the end of primary school

Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 2021

The increase of inequalities and the learning crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic has forced to revie... more The increase of inequalities and the learning crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic has forced to review the role of education in the attainment of skills to learn throughout life. The purpose of this study is to investigate the incidence of the academic achievement on selfregulation strategies (forethought, inhibition and volitional inhibition), considering the socioeconomical context at the end of elementary school. The SRL strategies are assessed, from the perspective of students and teachers, triangulating measurement in different tasks. 67 students in their last year of primary education participated. The SRL measures were compared using robust tests considering high and low academic achievement and low and medium socioeconomic context (robust version of Welch’s test for two groups, Yuen’s test, and two-way ANOVA based on trimmed means and Winsorized variances). The academic achievement affects and significantly predicts the forethought strategy. In the low socioeconomical context, t...

Research paper thumbnail of RE-MEMBER Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Reconciliation of War-Affected Children

Ciencias Psicológicas, 2015

Reseña a cargo de uno de los co-editores,Prof. Dra. Cindy Mels. Departamento de Psicología del ... more Reseña a cargo de uno de los co-editores,Prof. Dra. Cindy Mels. Departamento de Psicología del Desarrollo y Educación Facultad de Psicología. Universidad Católica del Uruguay

Research paper thumbnail of PICA Herramientas para el abordaje de la convivencia. Reflexiones y estrategias para trabajar la convivencia en espacios educativos

Convivir con otros implica la construcción de vínculos sociales que remiten al apoyo, la colabora... more Convivir con otros implica la construcción de vínculos sociales que remiten al apoyo, la colaboración, la solidaridad y la pertenencia. A la vez, conlleva manejar la diversidad, diferencias y desacuerdos, elementos inherentes a la convivencia que suponen una oportunidad para aprender y generar las condiciones para convivir mejor.

Research paper thumbnail of Socio-Emotional Skills Questionnaire

Research paper thumbnail of Dataset on maternal attitudes about child maltreatment in nine countries using a Q-sort methodology

Data in Brief, 2020

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Research paper thumbnail of Crossing boundaries: A pilot study of maternal attitudes about child maltreatment in nine countries

Child Abuse & Neglect, 2020

Background: Definitions of child maltreatment vary widely between studies, and even more so betwe... more Background: Definitions of child maltreatment vary widely between studies, and even more so between different cultural contexts. Objective: In this pilot study, we examine between-country variations in maternal notions about what constitutes child maltreatment. Participants and setting: The sample consisted of 466 mothers recruited in Chile,

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond academics: Dropout prevention summer school programs in the transition to secondary education

International Journal of Educational Development, 2019

Educational transitions, for example from primary to secondary school, have been associated with ... more Educational transitions, for example from primary to secondary school, have been associated with school dropouts, particularly for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. As a response, some educational systems have implemented summer programs, although with mixed results. Yet, these evaluations mostly assess programs' quantitative impact on academic outcomes. This article therefore aims at an in-depth exploration of the benefits and challenges of a Uruguayan summer school program for preventing dropout in the transition to secondary school. Results underpin summer peer interactions, teacher-student relations and extra-curricular activities shape positive pre-entry expectations of at-risk students, which secondary schools cannot always fulfill.

Research paper thumbnail of Psychosocial wellbeing in war-affected Eastern Congolese adolescents

AVRUG-bulletin, Feb 25, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Can failure be prevented? Using longitudinal data to identify at‐risk students upon entering secondary school

British Educational Research Journal, Nov 3, 2020

In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories ... more In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories by putting in place an 'early alert' system. Underlying the system is the understanding that prior schooling predicts likelihood of grade repetition and grade repetition predicts later school dropout, while close follow-up can help prevent both repetition and dropout. We used a database of administrative registries from a national public primary school graduating cohort on their last year in primary and first year in secondary education (2015-2016, n = 36,754). We conducted two-level cross-classified logistic regression analyses to assess the suitability of using features of Uruguayan students' primary school trajectories, individual, family and primary school characteristics to predict their success or failure in their first year of secondary school. All considered prior schooling factors (previous repetition experiences, achievement, behaviour and absenteeism), the student's family socioeconomic status (SES) and primary school's SES composition, as well as the location of the school in an urban or rural setting, help explain differences in chances of first-year success or failure (grade repetition) in secondary school. While these results support the 'early alert' system's approach, predictive performance analyses are needed when using explanatory models for planning interventions with scarce resources and making decisions affecting individual students' trajectories. The importance of testing resulting models' sensitivity, as well as their false positive rates, is highlighted.

Research paper thumbnail of Self-efficacy, test anxiety and mathematics performance in Uruguayan adolescents exposed to community violence

Electronic Journal of Research in Education Psychology

Introduction. Community violence exposure (CVE) during adolescence relates negatively with acade... more Introduction. Community violence exposure (CVE) during adolescence relates negatively with academic performance, yet little is known about the mechanisms that underlie this association. Research on self-regulated learning identifies self-efficacy and test anxiety as key for explaining academic performance, while the stress process model of children's exposure to violence provides a framework for understanding how these aspects of the learning process may be debilitated by CVE. Method. This study aims to explore the mediating role of self-efficacy and test anxiety in the relation between CVE and academic performance. In a sample of 110 adolescents from low-income neighborhoods in Montevideo, Uruguay, structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that adolescents with higher CVE have lower self-efficacy and higher test anxiety, which in turn compromises their mathematics achievement. We also hypothesize an indirect negative effect of CVE on self-efficacy through t...

Research paper thumbnail of Development and validation of a socio-emotional skills assessment instrument for sixth grade of Primary Education in Uruguay

Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas)

The development and implementation of instruments with high psychometric standards for the assess... more The development and implementation of instruments with high psychometric standards for the assessment and monitoring of socio-emotional skills is considered an important step in the agenda for their promotion in educational contexts. This article describes the process behind the development and validation of a large-scale assessment instrument of socio-emotional skills – including interpersonal and intrapersonal skills and aspects related to motivation and self-regulation –, for sixth grade primary school-children in Uruguay. We present results regarding factor structure and internal consistency obtained in throughout three studies. We conclude that the final instrument presents proper psychometric qualities, including evidence of convergent validity. Nonetheless, it is recognized that the development of assessment instruments of this type requires continued efforts for its improvement based on a longitudinal and iterative review.

Research paper thumbnail of Author response for "Exploring exposure to intertwined community violence among Uruguayan adolescents using a mixed‐method approach

Research paper thumbnail of Can failure be prevented? Using longitudinal data to identify at‐risk students upon entering secondary school

British Educational Research Journal

In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories ... more In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories by putting in place an 'early alert' system. Underlying the system is the understanding that prior schooling predicts likelihood of grade repetition and grade repetition predicts later school dropout, while close follow-up can help prevent both repetition and dropout. We used a database of administrative registries from a national public primary school graduating cohort on their last year in primary and first year in secondary education (2015-2016, n = 36,754). We conducted two-level cross-classified logistic regression analyses to assess the suitability of using features of Uruguayan students' primary school trajectories, individual, family and primary school characteristics to predict their success or failure in their first year of secondary school. All considered prior schooling factors (previous repetition experiences, achievement, behaviour and absenteeism), the student's family socioeconomic status (SES) and primary school's SES composition, as well as the location of the school in an urban or rural setting, help explain differences in chances of first-year success or failure (grade repetition) in secondary school. While these results support the 'early alert' system's approach, predictive performance analyses are needed when using explanatory models for planning interventions with scarce resources and making decisions affecting individual students' trajectories. The importance of testing resulting models' sensitivity, as well as their false positive rates, is highlighted.

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring exposure to intertwined community violence among Uruguayan adolescents using a mixed‐method approach

Journal of Community Psychology

Building on the case of adolescents (aged 12-16 years) from underprivileged neighborhoods in Mont... more Building on the case of adolescents (aged 12-16 years) from underprivileged neighborhoods in Montevideo, two studies explore patterns of exposure to community violence among understudied South American youth. Applying a mixed-methods approach, the first study (n = 117) used principal component analysis to examine response patterns on a self-reported exposure to community violence scale. The second study examined subjective experience, drawing from focus group discussions with adolescents (n = 27) and their teachers (n = 22). Events were clustered into three components: indirect violence, traumatic violence, physical/verbal abuse, and robbery. Participants described the severity of violence in relation to chronic exposure, processes of naturalization, and permeable boundaries among the neighborhood, school, family, and social media networks. Violence chronicity and potential threats to life appear to be central dimensions in community violence reporting. Delimitating the study of community violence based on the setting or perceptual closeness has limited socioecological relevance.

Research paper thumbnail of Psychosocial wellbeing in war-affected Eastern Congolese adolescents

Afrika Focus, Nov 6, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Características Psicométricas Preliminares Del HSCL-A Adaptado Para Adolescentes Uruguayos en Contexto De Violencia

Ciencias Psicológicas, 2014

Este estudio tiene como objetivo realizar la adaptación lingüística y validación del Hopkins Symp... more Este estudio tiene como objetivo realizar la adaptación lingüística y validación del Hopkins Symptom Checklist para Adolescentes (Bean et al., 2007), un instrumento de autoinforme breve, ampliamente usado en la detección de problemas internalizantes y externalizantes en adolescentes expuestos a situaciones de violencia. Tras la adaptación ligüística, involucrando a profesionales y adolescentes uruguayos, se administró el instrumento en una muestra de conveniencia compuesta por 529 adolescentes entre 12 y 16 años, alumnos de tres colegios privados católicos montevideanos de nivel socioeconómico medio-alto (46,1%) y medio-bajo (53,9%). También se aplicaron el IES-R (Weiss & Marmar, 1997), BIEPS-J (Casullo, 2002) y cuestionario sociodemográfico. Los resultados del análisis de componentes principales respaldan al modelo de dos factores establecido en estudios previos. Se encontraron valores de Alpha de Chronbach satisfactorios (.90 para la escala total; .90 y .75 para las subescalas) co...

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching to Self-Regulate in Mathematics: A Quasi-Experimental Study with Low-Achieving Elementary School Students

Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 2021

Teaching students to self-regulate enhances their mathematics performance, yet few studies have i... more Teaching students to self-regulate enhances their mathematics performance, yet few studies have investigated the long-term differential impact of particular self-regulation strategies specifically for low-achieving students. This quasi-experimental study evaluates the effect of teaching different self-regulation strategies on mathematical problem solving in low-achieving students. The participants were 69 sixth-grade elementary school students randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups (and taught predominantly cognitive, metacognitive or volitional strategies, while verifying intervention fidelity) or a control group for 16 sessions. Mathematical problem-solving skills were evaluated prior to the intervention, upon completion, and two months later. While all three intervention groups obtained significantly better results compared to the control group immediately after the intervention, volitional and metacognitive strategies showed the strongest and most lasting positive...

Research paper thumbnail of Using SQL for data consolidation in R

Research paper thumbnail of Del castigo físico a la parentalidad positiva. Revisión de programas de apoyo parental

En Uruguay existe desde 2007 la Ley 18214 que prohibe la utilizacion del castigo fisico, tanto a ... more En Uruguay existe desde 2007 la Ley 18214 que prohibe la utilizacion del castigo fisico, tanto a padres como a responsables de la educacion de ninos y ninas. A pesar que la ley propone la realizacion de programas de sensibilizacion y educacion que promuevan alternativas al castigo fisico como forma de disciplinamiento, no existen aun propuestas que aborden la tematica. En tanto, surgen datos inquietantes sobre la prevalencia de castigo fisico en la infancia. El articulo presenta programas de apoyo parental basados en la parentalidad positiva, que previenen dificultades en el ejercicio de la crianza y promueven el desarrollo de los integrantes de las familias. Se destacan aquellos que cuentan con evidencia cientifica en cuanto al logro de sus objetivos.

Research paper thumbnail of Children affected by armed conflict at the intersection of three fields of study

Research paper thumbnail of Self-regulated learning, academic achievement and socioeconomic context at the end of primary school

Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 2021

The increase of inequalities and the learning crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic has forced to revie... more The increase of inequalities and the learning crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic has forced to review the role of education in the attainment of skills to learn throughout life. The purpose of this study is to investigate the incidence of the academic achievement on selfregulation strategies (forethought, inhibition and volitional inhibition), considering the socioeconomical context at the end of elementary school. The SRL strategies are assessed, from the perspective of students and teachers, triangulating measurement in different tasks. 67 students in their last year of primary education participated. The SRL measures were compared using robust tests considering high and low academic achievement and low and medium socioeconomic context (robust version of Welch’s test for two groups, Yuen’s test, and two-way ANOVA based on trimmed means and Winsorized variances). The academic achievement affects and significantly predicts the forethought strategy. In the low socioeconomical context, t...

Research paper thumbnail of RE-MEMBER Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Reconciliation of War-Affected Children

Ciencias Psicológicas, 2015

Reseña a cargo de uno de los co-editores,Prof. Dra. Cindy Mels. Departamento de Psicología del ... more Reseña a cargo de uno de los co-editores,Prof. Dra. Cindy Mels. Departamento de Psicología del Desarrollo y Educación Facultad de Psicología. Universidad Católica del Uruguay

Research paper thumbnail of PICA Herramientas para el abordaje de la convivencia. Reflexiones y estrategias para trabajar la convivencia en espacios educativos

Convivir con otros implica la construcción de vínculos sociales que remiten al apoyo, la colabora... more Convivir con otros implica la construcción de vínculos sociales que remiten al apoyo, la colaboración, la solidaridad y la pertenencia. A la vez, conlleva manejar la diversidad, diferencias y desacuerdos, elementos inherentes a la convivencia que suponen una oportunidad para aprender y generar las condiciones para convivir mejor.

Research paper thumbnail of Socio-Emotional Skills Questionnaire

Research paper thumbnail of Dataset on maternal attitudes about child maltreatment in nine countries using a Q-sort methodology

Data in Brief, 2020

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Research paper thumbnail of Crossing boundaries: A pilot study of maternal attitudes about child maltreatment in nine countries

Child Abuse & Neglect, 2020

Background: Definitions of child maltreatment vary widely between studies, and even more so betwe... more Background: Definitions of child maltreatment vary widely between studies, and even more so between different cultural contexts. Objective: In this pilot study, we examine between-country variations in maternal notions about what constitutes child maltreatment. Participants and setting: The sample consisted of 466 mothers recruited in Chile,

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond academics: Dropout prevention summer school programs in the transition to secondary education

International Journal of Educational Development, 2019

Educational transitions, for example from primary to secondary school, have been associated with ... more Educational transitions, for example from primary to secondary school, have been associated with school dropouts, particularly for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. As a response, some educational systems have implemented summer programs, although with mixed results. Yet, these evaluations mostly assess programs' quantitative impact on academic outcomes. This article therefore aims at an in-depth exploration of the benefits and challenges of a Uruguayan summer school program for preventing dropout in the transition to secondary school. Results underpin summer peer interactions, teacher-student relations and extra-curricular activities shape positive pre-entry expectations of at-risk students, which secondary schools cannot always fulfill.