Perspectives from intercultural research: diversity, culture and identity

PhD in Psychopedagogy from the University of Córdoba and Master’s degree in Behaviour Therapy from UNED. She is a Full Professor (Profesora Titular de Universidad) in the area of Didactics and School Organization at the University of Córdoba. With extensive experience in teacher education focused on attention to student diversity and teaching competences, her professional trajectory is particularly notable in the fields of educational guidance and gender studies, as well as personal, academic, and social development across different educational contexts, both formal and non-formal.

Her significant contribution is reflected in specialized research published in numerous high-prestige national and international journals indexed in SCOPUS and JCR Q1 and Q2 (such as Educación XX1, Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, PLOS One, Education Sciences, Languages, and Revista de Investigación Educativa, among others), as well as in books and book chapters published by renowned academic publishers addressing education, gender, and intercultural studies (Octaedro, Síntesis, Pirámide, IGI Global, etc.).

She has also played an active role in national research projects funded under the Spanish State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (e.g., Evaluación de Competencias RTI2018-093292-B-I00; Timonela PID2020-114336GB-I00), as well as international projects (QuILL – Quality in Language Learning 2020-1-PT01-KA226-HE-094809; PayGap Exp. 213-PAIN104/2014). One of these projects was led by her (IMPULSA2, ref. no. 1381296-R), funded through R&D&I Projects within the framework of the Andalusia FEDER Operational Programme. In particular, her research has made a substantial contribution to knowledge production, especially through the evaluation of teaching competence outcomes and the validation of assessment instruments. Her collaboration with other universities and international research centres is also noteworthy, including the University of La Plata (Argentina), Marmara University (Istanbul), the Instituto de Estudies Superiores de Fafe (Portugal), the University of Sofia (Bulgaria), Uppsala University and the University of Gävle (Sweden), the University of Concepción (Chile), and Texas Woman’s University (USA). She is Director of the Intercultural Chair “Córdoba, City of Encounter” at the University of Córdoba and Director of the official Master’s Degree in Research and Innovation at the same university, as well as director of numerous university extension courses for initial teacher education related to Educational Inclusion and attention to Special Educational Needs. Her teaching activity in the Master’s Degree in Initial Teacher Training is particularly noteworthy. She is currently Director of the PAIDI-SEJ-551 Research Group, “Observatory on Research in Education and Teacher Training.” She serves as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal for 21st Century Education (IJ21CE), ISSN: 2444-3921, and is President of the International Conference on Intercultural and Gender Education (CIEIG), now in its seventh edition. In addition, she is the promoter and Secretary of the Research and Innovation Network for the Teaching Profession (RIPRO) of the Ibero-American University Association of Postgraduate Studies. Among her academic management roles at the University of Córdoba are the coordination of the Master’s Degree in Research and Pedagogical Innovation, the coordination of the degree in Psychopedagogy, and the coordination of the Education degrees at the Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology. She has served as President of the Works Council for Teaching and Research Staff and is an elected member of the Faculty Board, as well as of other university committees (Departmental Policy Committee, Teacher Training and Teaching Innovation Committee). She currently acts as a project evaluator for the State Research Agency of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, is a member of the Coordination and Evaluation Subdivision, and collaborates with the Agency for the Quality of the Catalan University System (AQU). She is also a member of the pool of evaluators for educational innovation projects of the Andalusian Agency for University Quality (ACCUA).

PhD in Social and Legal Sciences from the University of Córdoba. My experience as academic staff (PDI) at the University of Córdoba has been developed since 2017 in the Department of Education and the Department of Psychology. I am currently a Permanent Lecturer (Profesora Permanente Laboral), accredited as Associate Professor (Titular de Universidad), in the Department of Education.

My research work has resulted in a solid scientific output. My most outstanding contributions include: 12 articles indexed in JCR/Scopus; coordination of two books published by Octaedro, indexed in SPI (Q1), and nine books in Psychology and Education published by UCOPress (SPI Q3); more than a dozen book chapters in prestigious publishers—highlighting three in Síntesis (SPI Q1: 2nd position), four in Octaedro (SPI Q1: 1st position), and others in Dykinson (SPI Q1: 4th position); 36 contributions to International Scientific Conferences (in Spain and abroad). I have served as Secretary in six International Scientific Conferences, as a member of ten Organizing Committees and eight Scientific Committees of International Research Conferences, among other activities.

My main research line focuses on the development of teaching competences and on school coexistence processes. I am a member of the research group SEJ 551, “Observatory for Research on Education and Teacher Training,” and I actively participate in projects related to the evaluation and design of prevention models for bullying and cyberbullying in schools, as well as the study of the role of teachers as a protective factor against these phenomena in adolescent and preadolescent students. I have also carried out several research stays and university teaching assignments in Latin America (Chile and Ecuador) and Italy, where I have developed teaching and research activities related to this line of research.

Lecturer in the Department of Education, in the area of Didactics and School Organization. I have carried out my full-time teaching activity in the Bachelor’s Degrees in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education at the University of Córdoba since 2016.

With the aim of contributing to the improvement of educational processes, my research activity focuses mainly on two areas. On the one hand, I study teachers’ thinking about educational processes in initial teacher education. On the other hand, I analyze digital competences both of teachers and within family contexts, and their influence, on the one hand, on subsequent teaching practice and, on the other, on the impact that existing levels of digital competence have on interpersonal relationships within the family environment. The research approach to both areas is justified by the close link between the family and school contexts and by the need to consider both spheres in order to better understand these dynamics, with the aim of making contributions with a higher degree of integration and scope.

As a result of these years of research experience, I have carried out numerous studies linked to both research projects and innovation and knowledge-transfer projects. I am a member of the PAIDI-SEJ 551 research group and participate in the organization of the International Congress on Intercultural and Gender Education, held annually in the city of Córdoba (Spain); I am also a member of its Scientific and Organizing Committees. Likewise, I have participated in various conferences, which have allowed me to disseminate the results derived from the different research studies referred to above. I have also completed several research stays outside Spain in order to obtain data that would provide greater representativeness and rigor to the conclusions derived from my research.

Antonio Jesús Tinedo Rodríguez holds a PhD in Social and Legal Sciences, having completed a doctoral dissertation on Bilingual and Intercultural Education at the University of Córdoba, where he earned the distinction of Cum Laude. He is currently an Profesor Ayudante Doctor (Assistant Professor) in the Department of English and German Studies at the University of Córdoba, where he teaches courses related to cross-cultural communication, intercultural education, and discourse analysis. He is a member of the Tradit research group at UNED, which focuses on the use of audiovisual translation as a tool for language teaching. Within this group, he took part in the TRADILEX project (PID2019-107362GA-I00), where he contributed an intercultural perspective and a gender-informed analytical approach. As part of this work, he received an Honourable Mention for the Luis Rodríguez Award in research, in a co-authored study with Pilar Rodríguez. He is also a member of the PAIDI-SEJ 551 group (Research Observatory on Education and Teacher Training) at the University of Córdoba. He has published in high-impact journals such as Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts (SJR Q1), ELIA (SJR Q2), Panace@ (SJR Q4), Hikma (SJR Q1), Comunicar (SJR Q1), Méta (SJR Q1), Education Sciences (SJR Q1), Languages (SJR Q1), and Theory Now (SJR Q3). He has also published two open-access monographs, one with Comares (SPI Q1) and another with Sindéresis (SPI Q3). His research lines converge on the critical use of cultural artefacts for language education, with gender and interculturality as central axes. Regarding academic event organisation, he has served as Technical Secretary of the International Conference on Bilingual Education (CONFBE) since 2021, and of the International Conference on Intercultural Education and Gender (CIEIG) since 2020. In terms of knowledge transfer, he is co-holder of a TRADILEX patent and regularly engages in science communication through The Conversation, in addition to participating in outreach activities such as the “Patios de la Ciencia” organised by the University of Córdoba. With respect to academic management, he is a member of the Academic Committee (CAM) of the Master’s Degree in Advanced English Studies (Cognitive Linguistics/Literature) and Bilingual Education, where he serves as faculty representative within the Quality Assurance Unit. In the area of internationalisation, he completed a three-month predoctoral research stay at the Università del Piemonte Orientale (Novara) and later carried out a one-week Erasmus teaching mobility in 2025 at the university’s Vercelli campus.

Master’s degree in Psychopedagogy from the Distance University of Madrid (UDIMA) and Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Córdoba. My teaching profile is oriented towards Inclusive Education, with an emphasis on addressing student diversity and the application of pedagogical approaches that foster the holistic development of each learner. In this regard, my work is grounded in the implementation of the Montessori methodology, whose student-centred approach promotes autonomy, active exploration, and meaningful learning. Through this perspective, I seek to foster equitable and adaptive educational environments that respond to individual student needs and encourage their full participation in the teaching–learning process.

My doctoral research line focuses on the application of Neuroscience to the educational field, with the aim of analysing and understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying learning processes. In particular, my research examines the fundamental role played by emotions and distractions in the acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval of knowledge. Through an interdisciplinary approach, I aim to determine how these factors influence students’ attention, memory, and motivation, with the goal of developing evidence-based pedagogical strategies that optimise academic performance and cognitive well-being.

He has been recognized for three six-year research periods, the most recent being active (2004-2009; 2010-2015; 2016-2021). Furthermore, the Ministry of Universities awarded him the I3 Certificate on May 19, 2020, which was evaluated by the National Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation (ANEP), recognizing his proven research career. The evaluation report highlights that: His academic, teaching, and research career is outstanding. He has not neglected any of these aspects and demonstrates impact in his work and research. Therefore, he deserves the favorable assessment for the awarding of the I3 distinction. He has published more than 22 monographs with prestigious publishers, the vast majority of which are indexed in the Scholarly Publishers Indicators (SPI) database. Similarly, he has contributed to more than 150 book chapters, many of which are published by publishers included in the SPI database. He has published over 150 scientific articles in specialized journals on Labor Law and Social Security, which are indexed in databases including DICE (Dissemination and Editorial Quality of Spanish Journals of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Law), used by ANECA for the accreditation of professors at public universities, and the IN-RECJ database, among others. His scientific career began long before he earned his doctorate. He has always been interested in research on Labor Law and Social Security. He has over 15 years of experience in university teaching, instructing courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and official Master's levels, as well as in doctoral and postgraduate programs. He has also taught at business schools, foundations, and associations, among other institutions. He has been the principal investigator on several competitive research projects, both public and private, as well as on European projects. He has served as editor and coordinator of several books published by prestigious publishers. He has also directed the Master's Program in Occupational Risk Prevention and coordinated the Bachelor's Degree in Labor Sciences and Human Resources. He has participated in numerous national and international conferences and workshops. One of his main scientific and technical achievements has been the awards he has received from public administrations and private entities, both nationally and internationally. This demonstrates the recognition given to his research. His medium- to long-term scientific and technical interests and objectives include continuing to research topics related to his specialty: Labor Law and Social Security Law, with the aim of finding answers and solutions to existing gaps in the regulations. He is also active on social media, sharing information on socio-labor issues (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter), and maintains a blog with a considerable number of followers (2009-present).