A research from the University of Navarra evaluated the quality of an educational model designed to provide individualized and holistic attention to students with mental health disorders. autism spectrum, intellectual disability and multiple disabilities.
Concretely, professionals studied teaching strategies envisaged in the Integral Student Support Model (MAIA) of the Isteria Special Education Center, of the Caja Navarra Foundation. This research is part of a transfer agreement between the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the University of Navarra and CEE Isteria.
For this they were used standardized instruments aimed at evaluating educational programs that, although they have been developed in other contexts, could be useful for the evaluation of the quality of education in the Spanish context.
“These tools analyze, through observation, elements linked to learning environments such as the structure of the class, the participation of the family in the development of educational projects, the planning of the transition to adult life, between others,” he emphasizes. Araceli Arellanoresearcher at the University of Navarra.
Likewise, in this study, we evaluated family satisfaction and professionals from educational centers with the MAIA model. These variables, according to the study, determine the quality of educational services, which impacts students’ learning experiences.
During the investigation 17 classrooms and 10 specialized sessions were observedsuch as speech therapy, physiotherapy or multisensory stimulation. Additionally, interviews were conducted with 17 guardians, 14 family members, 3 specialists, and one administrative staff member. Likewise, documents such as behavioral records or personal development plans of students, among others, were analyzed and data was collected on the satisfaction of 34 professionals and 54 family members of the center.
Strengths and challenges of the MAIA program
The results obtained show a high degree of satisfaction with the development of the MAIA program and, among its strengths, a positive learning climate, fluid communication between the center and families and explicit teaching of social skills stand out. Likewise, the study highlights certain challenges such as planning the transition to adult life or the continuing training of professionals.
” Thanks to collaboration and good disposition of the CEE Isteriawe have taken a first step towards having a tool, based on evidence, which allows us to evaluate the quality of services offered in educational centers. The next objectives will be to study how we adapt and culturally validate the APERS (Autism Program Environment Rating Scale), a tool used for this type of study, but not validated for the Spanish context,” emphasizes Arellano.
The research team is made up of researchers from the University of Navarra Araceli Arellano, Martín Martínez, Olga Lizasoain and Carmen Gándara, who is also a professional at the Huarte de San Juan Center with Estela López-Nicolás.
The results of this research project can go here:
