SARA
REAL CASTELAO

Current Position: Permanent Labor Professor (PPL) in the Department of Psychology, Sociology, and Philosophy at the University of León. I hold a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Oviedo (2011). I am an active member of the Research Group on Cognition and Learning of Writing and Reading (CAEL) at the University of León, recognized as a Consolidated Research Unit by the Junta de Castilla y León (UIC 309). Within this group, my work focuses on researching and applying programs that address the modulating variables in the process of acquiring writing competence. After obtaining my doctorate, I conducted a research stay in 2014 at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Esmeraldas campus (PUCESE). This stay was initially planned for one year but was shortened to six months when I was hired as a full-time professor. Subsequently, I was appointed as Director of Research and Postgraduate Studies, which expanded my research responsibilities to include teaching, management, and community engagement, thereby strengthening my competencies in knowledge transfer. I held this position until 2016, when I returned to Spain due to an earthquake, although I continue to collaborate with this university as a guest lecturer in online programs. Since 2017, I have served as a professor at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR), where I also direct final master’s projects in postgraduate programs on Special Education and Neuropsychology. From 2018 to 2023, I worked at the UNED Associated Centre in Ponferrada as the academic deputy director and secretary, where I managed academic activities and served as a tutor professor in psychology and pedagogy courses. Additionally, I was responsible for the COIE and for training students, faculty, and tutors in methodology and new technologies. I have participated in 19 research projects, serving as the principal investigator in two of them, in addition to the project that led to my doctoral thesis. I have published articles in indexed journals in my field and related areas, and I have authored books and book chapters. I have presented over 70 works at national and international conferences and have approximately 2,000 hours of teaching experience in undergraduate and master’s programs, as well as supervising more than 40 master’s theses. I remain committed to continuous professional development through specialized courses and seminars that update my skills for application in teaching and research. My journey as a researcher and educator began after my first year of undergraduate studies, driven by a passion for teaching and research that led me to join the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology in Oviedo in 2001. To date, I have maintained an active trajectory in the three key areas of higher education: teaching, research, and knowledge transfer to the community, also undertaking management responsibilities, as I believe in the necessity of constant effort to improve higher education.