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This paper focuses on the design and application of a teacher training strategy to promote the inclusive education of students with disabilities in the science classroom, through the creation of adult learning environments grounded on the principles of dialogic learning. Participants of the workshop proposal consisted of a group of twelve teachers who were working at various educational levels. Teacher teams proposed and implemented in their classroom, innovative, inclusive science-learning activities about a topic of their choice. Data were collected from interviews with teachers five months after the courses, teachers' portfolios about their practice during implementation of such sequences, and researchers' observations. The data suggest that it is possible to stimulate a gradual transformation of teaching practices through a teacher training proposal that promotes self-awareness and critical reflection, situated in the creation of meaning and a willingness to change in the spirit of solidarity and social action. We found elements to recommend the incorporation of these innovations at the curricular and practical level for teacher training schools and for in-service teacher development programmes in Mexico and elsewhere.

The Order Rodentia in Mexico comprises 233 species, of which 180 are small rodents. Given their nocturnal habits and elusive nature, there is little information available about the small rodent species of arboreal habits. The Yucatán vesper mouse, Otonyctomys hatti, is endemic to the province of the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, and listed under the category of "threatened". The biology of the Yucatán vesper mouse is one of the least known. This study provides information regarding the microhabitat characteristics and feces composition of O. hatti in the northern Yucatan peninsula, to acquire basic information about its biology that would serve as a base for generating conservation strategies for its habitat. Two O. hatti individuals were captured whit Sherman traps, recorded at heights of between 4.3 and 4.8 m in closed canopy sites. The plant groups associated with this microhabitat were climbers, lichens, epiphytes, mosses and hepaticas. The feces of the rodent mainly comprised fruit pulp, starch and seeds. Our data suggest that O. hatti presents a low population density with strictly arboreal habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of the present study were threefold: (a) to assess the prevalence levels of anxiety and depression in a sample of Mexican migrant farm workers in the midwestern United States; (b) to explore the relationships among acculturative stress, anxiety, and depression; and (c) to examine the variables that best predict anxiety and depression. The overall sample revealed elevated levels of anxiety and depression. Migrant farm workers with heightened levels of acculturative stress were more likely to report high levels of anxiety and depression. Family dysfunction, ineffective social support, low self-esteem, lack of agreement with the decision to migrate, high education levels, high levels of acculturative stress, and high levels of anxiety were significantly associated with high depression levels. The overall findings suggest that migrant farm workers who experience elevated levels of acculturative stress may be at risk for experiencing high levels of anxiety and depression. The findings highlight the importance of establishing prevention and treatment services for migrant farm workers that aim to increase levels of emotional support, self-esteem, and coping skills.

This study examined predictors of anxiety symptomatology among immigrant Mexican migrant farmworkers in the Midwest. Its purposes were to assess the prevalence of anxiety symptoms, to examine the relationship between acculturative stress and anxiety, and to determine the variables that best predict anxiety. Heightened levels were found for overall anxiety and in the cognitive, affective, and physiological expressions of anxiety. Elevated acculturative stress, low self-esteem, ineffective social support, lack of control and choice in living a migrant farmworker lifestyle, low religiosity, and high education were significantly related to high anxiety. Findings suggest that migrant farmworkers who experience elevated acculturative stress are susceptible to the development of anxiety-related disorders and highlight the importance of establishing prevention and treatment services for migrant farmworkers.