scholarly journals Implementation of Student-Centred Education Principles in a Master’s Study Programme: An Exploration of the Experience of Academic Staff

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanita Baranova ◽  
◽  
Baiba Kaļķe

The paradigm shift in higher education pedagogy and policy has been a subject of discussion for 30 years, during which time the emphasis has been placed on the transition to student-centred education. The implementation of this approach requires the democratisation of the study process and a shift towards performance-based outcomes, thus promoting students’ research capacities, well-being, personal growth, and quality of life. The most important document on the subject, which was developed in collaboration with the leading organisations of the Bologna Process, is the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area. This describes the common understanding of student-centred learning, teaching, and assessment. The standards and guidelines are also incorporated into the Latvian higher education quality assurance regulations. The authors of the present study are involved in the development and approbation of a new master’s study program, in which special attention is paid to the implementation of the principles of student-centred education. The central aim of the present study was to study the experience of lecturers in the implementation of the principles of student-centred education in the programme. The relevant literature and documents were surveyed and data from questionnaires (distributed to programme participants) were analysed. Using the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area and the Science, Technology Development and Innovation Guidelines 2021−2027 approved by the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science, the present study sets out 10 basic principles of student-centred education. A survey was created for lecturers who are implementing the newly created master’s programme over one semester. Seventeen lecturers participated. The analysis of the questionnaire results indicated that promoting mutual respect in student−academic staff relations and students’ active engagement in the study process were considered to be the most important principles. The results also revealed that lecturers applied every student−centred principle, but it is necessary to promote a common understanding by developing a mechanism for evaluating them and to improve the competence of teachers in implementing them.

Author(s):  
Olga Anisimova ◽  

The article examines the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) and their implementation for external quality assessment of higher education. An analysis of the activities of agencies to assess the quality of education, the main forms and tools of its implementation are carried out. It is established that the ESG were adopted in 2005 by the Ministers responsible for higher education. The ESG have been constantly revised and improved, and the version adopted in 2015 is currently in force. They consist of three parts: standards and recommendations for internal quality assurance (10 items); standards and recommendations for external quality assurance (7 items); standards and recommendations for quality assurance agencies (7 items). In the framework of the Bologna Process, since 2003 it has been determined that the main responsibility for the quality of higher education services lies with the HEIs themselves, which conduct the internal quality assessment, i.e. they implement a set of measures and procedures to ensure the quality of proposed educational programs and services. Certain criteria, which are determined both by the HEI itself and by the agencies for assessing the quality of education are used. The main function of external assessment of the quality of education is to provide feedback and recommendations to the HEIs and objective and unbiased information to stakeholders. The principles, procedures and criteria for assessing the quality of education should apply to all methods of providing educational services and teaching. It should be noted that the ESG are not quality standards as such, they do not define quantitative criteria or regulate the implementation process, they are guidelines that define the main areas that need special attention to ensure quality services and create a favorable educational environment.


Author(s):  
Nina Batechko

The article outlines the conceptual framework for adapting Ukrainian higher education to the Standards and Recommendations for Quality Assurance in the European higher education area. The role of the Bologna Declaration in ensuring the quality of higher education in Europe has been explained. The conceptual foundations and the essence of standards and recommendations on quality assurance in the European higher education area have been defined. The Ukrainian realities of the adaptation of higher education of Ukraine to the educational European standards of quality have been characterized.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 369
Author(s):  
Evangelia A. Varella

The European Chemistry Thematic Network is a non-profit making association focused on enhancing the quality and harmonising the features of chemical education and training all over the European Higher Education Area. In the context of quality assurance, it developed European Quality Labels in Chemical Sciences, which were initiated in the frame of the Tuning project, and are following the Tuning methodology. The Labels are awarded to programmes on chemistry or related disciplines, as well as to studies at the interface of chemistry and other subjects. They are based on the Budapest Cycle Level Descriptors, a detailed adaptation of the Dublin Descriptors for the field of chemical sciences. The following aspects are considered in awarding Eurobachelor® and Euromaster® Labels: learning outcomes, including subject knowledge, abilities and skills; modularisation of courses and contents; ECTS credit distribution and student workload; mobility; methods of teaching and learning; assessment; quality assurance<strong>. </strong>For the Chemistry Doctorate Eurolabel® the considerations are somehow different and include: fitness for purpose; entry to the programme; length of studies; study programme structure; teaching and training in generic competences; transcripts; graduate schools; supervision; examinations; assessment; and quality assurance. The Chemistry Short Cycle Eurolabel® refers to study programmes, which are placed at Level 5 in the in the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning, and are also seen as an intermediate level within or linked to the first cycle of the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area. Aspects considered are analogous to those mentioned for the Eurobachelor® Label.


Author(s):  
María Matarranz

Two decades have passed from the Sorbonne Declaration in 1999 to the present day, a period of time in which we have witnessed the great changes that have occurred in higher education systems in many countries of the world, specifically the countries belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).Four countries started by signing the 1999 Declaration, today there are already forty-eight countries involved in the EHEA.In this article, a tour of the milestones that have been shaping and kneading the EHEA is made, addressing the most relevant issues addressed in the different meetings of the ministers of higher education. Next, we will stop at one of the most relevant indicators of the EHEA: the quality assurance systems that, because of the Bologna Process, have been deployed both at the supranational and national levels. We will make an overview of the implementation of educational quality in the countries. Finally, we will reflect on the impact that the perspective of educational quality has had in the countries of the European Higher Education Area. 


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