scholarly journals Assessment of the Quality Education Awareness Competence of Pre-Service Educators Using Vignettes

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10203
Author(s):  
Ana-Inés Renta-Davids ◽  
Marta Camarero-Figuerola ◽  
Juana-María Tierno-García
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Spanish Universities ◽  
The University ◽  
Sustainability Principles ◽  
High Degree

For decades, higher education institutions have been incorporating sustainability principles. Spanish universities have considered it important that sustainability principles are integrated into the university curriculum, in order to contribute to the education of socially-responsible professionals. The present research aims to estimate pre-service educators’ awareness of selected challenges posed by Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), and it identifies the learning experiences that contribute the most to these students’ awareness of quality education. Moreover, the study aims to explore the potential of the use of the vignettes approach for the evaluation of students’ awareness. The study drew on a sample of n = 202 first year students pursuing education-related degrees at a Spanish university. The data was collected using a vignette survey, and the data analysis was conducted using quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results show a high degree of awareness within the context of most of the challenges posed by SDG 4 and, in the search for the factors that contributed to the degree of awareness in the students, personal interests and classes taken at the university stand out. In addition, the study provides the methodological implications of the use of the vignette approach in the assessment of students’ awareness. This paper discusses the practical implications for universities of the integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competences into the curriculum.

scholarly journals Meningococcal disease at the University of Southampton: outbreak investigation

1999 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. GILMORE ◽  
G. JONES ◽  
M. BARKER ◽  
N. SOLTANPOOR ◽  
J. M. STUART
Keyword(s):  
Meningococcal Disease ◽  
First Year ◽  
Prevalence Survey ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Enhanced Transmission ◽  
The University ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Highly Virulent ◽  
Carriage Prevalence

In October 1997, an outbreak of meningococcal disease occurred at the University of Southampton. All six cases were first year students living in halls of residence. Microbiological characterization of case and carrier strains, case interviews, and a meningococcal carriage prevalence survey were used to investigate the outbreak. Five cases were due to serogroup C strains, one case was unconfirmed. Serotyping did not distinguish between the strains but gene sequencing permitted identification of two distinct strains in the outbreak. Although none of the cases was known to each other, three had attended the same nightclub one evening 3–4 days before illness. Meningococcal carriage rates in undergraduates were within the range expected (147/587, 25%), but no carriers of outbreak strains were identified in this sample. The findings suggest that in communities with a high degree of social interaction, the introduction of highly virulent meningococcal strains may result in enhanced transmission with clustering of cases.

scholarly journals Sustainability in the University: A Study of Its Presence in Curricula, Teachers and Students of Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Solís-Espallargas ◽  
Jorge Ruiz-Morales ◽  
Dolores Limón-Domínguez ◽  
Rocío Valderrama-Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Training Project ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Education Degree ◽  
Spanish Universities ◽  
The University ◽  
High Degree ◽  
And Training

This work forms part of the R + D + i ‘Training project in Spanish universities for professionals as agents of change in order meet the challenges facing society’ (Educación e Innovación Social para la Sostenibilidad (EDINSOST) 2017–2019). The purpose is to analyse the presence of sustainability in terms of curriculum content and training in competence for students, teachers and the curricula of Science of Education degree courses at the University of Seville. In this context, the curricula of the Degree in Early Childhood Education, Primary Education and Pedagogy have been analysed. Two questionnaires have been drawn up, and four reflection groups have been created—in which, a total of 49 teachers and 170 students have participated. The results show that there is a low presence of sustainability in Science of Education degree courses. The teachers express the opinion that they are engaged in sustainable initiatives and have an interest in ethical models. The students express a high degree of interest in receiving sustainability training. Findings provide information for introducing innovation into the university curriculum and the training of teachers and students in order to improve their competency in sustainability.

scholarly journals Education for Sustainable Development in Spanish University Education Degrees

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1467
Author(s):  
Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo ◽  
Francisco Manuel Moreno-Pino ◽  
Daniel Romero-Portillo ◽  
Bárbara Sureda
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Student Perception ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
University Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Community Processes ◽  
Critical Contextualization ◽  
Spanish Universities ◽  
The University

This work presents an analysis of student perception of Spanish university education degrees regarding their training in sustainable development. A sample of 942 students was used. The methodology consists of analyzing the results of a survey answered by the first- and fourth-year students from nine education degree courses in four Spanish universities. Comparison of the perception of learning by fourth-year students against those of the first year enables improvements in learning regarding sustainability to be ascertained. The questionnaire consists of 18 questions concerning four sustainability competencies: C1-Critical contextualization of knowledge, C2-Sustainable use of resources, C3-Participation in community processes, and C4-Ethics. Two composite indicators are defined to analyze the absolute learning (achieved on completion of their studies) and the relative learning (achieved with respect to what should have been achieved) declared by the students in each competency, degree and university. The results show that students declare an improvement in all their sustainability competencies, although the results of the final learning are far from those expected: they have learned only 27% of what they should have learned. Moreover, the learning achieved in the four competencies depends on the degree and the university.

scholarly journals Methodology to Analyze the Effectiveness of ESD in a Higher Degree in Education. A Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocío Valderrama-Hernández ◽  
Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo ◽  
Lucía Alcántara Rubio ◽  
Dolores Limón-Domínguez
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The University ◽  
Work Done

This paper presents a methodology to evaluate (1) to what extent students of a higher degree in the field of education acquire sustainability competencies, and (2) to determine whether the subjects that develop Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) achieve their learning objectives. The methodology is applied to a case study. The instruments used are the sustainability survey and the sustainability presence map developed by the EDINSOST project. The survey consists of 18 questions, and has been answered by 104 first-year students and 86 fourth-year students belonging to the Bachelor Degree in Primary Education Teaching at the University of Seville. The Mann-Whitney U test has been used to compare the results of the two students groups, and Cohen’s D has been used to measure the effect size. Students only obtain significant improvements, with 95% confidence, in three questions: Q4 (I know procedures and resources to integrate sustainability in the subjects), Q5 (I analyze the opportunities presented in the subjects to plan educational projects to integrate sustainability) and Q6 (I design educational projects from the perspective of sustainability), all concerning critical thinking and creativity. An improvement is also detected in question Q11 (I know how to develop myself satisfactorily in community educational projects, encouraging participation), with a confidence of 90%. Surprisingly, no subject in the curriculum develops the learning outcomes concerning questions Q4, Q5 and Q6, and only one subject develops the learning outcomes regarding question Q11. However, up to five subjects declare development of the learning outcomes regarding questions in which there is no improvement in student learning. These results suggest that the subjects are failing to reach their ESD learning objectives, and that the students are either trained in sustainability outside the university or the subject learning guides do not reflect the work done by the students throughout their studies.

Assessing the Impact of Supplemental Instruction on the Retention of Undergraduate Students after Controlling for Motivation

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenepher Lennox Terrion ◽  
Jean-Luc Daoust
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Supplemental Instruction ◽  
First Year ◽  
Group Program ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Personal Motivation ◽  
Final Grades ◽  
The University ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Impact

The University of Ottawa (UofO) in Ottawa, Canada offers a formal supplemental instruction program, called the residence study group program (RSGP), to residence students registered in first year courses that are associated with a high degree of failure or attrition. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of this program by comparing a sample of first year residence students who participated in the RSGP with a sample who did not participate. The study compared final grades of students in these courses after controlling for personal motivation and found that while those who participated in the RSGP did not receive higher final grades than non-participants, they were more likely to persist in their studies. It appears that the RSGP contributes in many important ways to the academic and social integration of first year students and these are critical to persistence beyond the first year.

Refining Contrapuntal Pedagogy: Reflections on Teaching Warsan Shire’s “Home” and W.H. Auden’s “Refugee Blues” to First-Year Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget Grogan
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Poetic Voice ◽  
Teaching Poetry ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
The University ◽  
The Way

This article reports on and discusses the experience of a contrapuntal approach to teaching poetry, explored during 2016 and 2017 in a series of introductory poetry lectures in the English 1 course at the University of Johannesburg. Drawing together two poems—Warsan Shire’s “Home” and W.H. Auden’s “Refugee Blues”—in a week of teaching in each year provided an opportunity for a comparison that encouraged students’ observations on poetic voice, racial identity, transhistorical and transcultural human experience, trauma and empathy. It also provided an opportunity to reflect on teaching practice within the context of decoloniality and to acknowledge the need for ongoing change and review in relation to it. In describing the contrapuntal teaching and study of these poems, and the different methods employed in the respective years of teaching them, I tentatively suggest that canonical Western and contemporary postcolonial poems may reflect on each other in unique and transformative ways. I further posit that poets and poems that engage students may open the way into initially “less relevant” yet ultimately rewarding poems, while remaining important objects of study in themselves.

scholarly journals Higher Education and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)—Potential Contribution of the Undergraduate Courses of the School of Social Sciences of the University of Évora

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1828
Author(s):  
Elisa Chaleta ◽  
Margarida Saraiva ◽  
Fátima Leal ◽  
Isabel Fialho ◽  
António Borralho
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
The Other ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Decent Work ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The University

In this work we analyzed the mapping of Sustainable Development Goals in the curricular units of the undergraduate courses of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Évora. Of a total of 449 curricular units, only 374 had students enrolled in 2020/2021. The data presented refer to the 187 course units that had Sustainable Development Goals in addition to SDG4 (Quality Education) assigned to all the course units. Considering the set of curricular units, the results showed that the most mentioned objectives were those related to Gender Equality (SDG 5), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16). Regarding the differences between the departments, which are also distinct scientific areas, we have observed that the Departments of Economics and Management had more objectives related to labor and economic growth, while the other departments mentioned more objectives related to inequalities, gender or other.

Criteria and indicators associated with adaptation to the educational process of first-year students at the university

2021 ◽  
pp. 87-93
Author(s):  
Evgeniya N. Popova
Keyword(s):  
Research Topic ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
Higher Education Research ◽  
Adaptation Process ◽  
Adaptive Potential ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Self Development ◽  
The University

The issue of adaptation of modern first-year students to the educational process at the university is one of the current pedagogical tasks. Successful adaptation significantly affects the quality of received education, the degree of formation of personal and professional qualities, contributes to the development of motivation, self-education, and self-development. The purpose of the research is to substantiate the criteria, indicators, and levels of adaptation of first-year students to the learning process at the university. The material for the study was the domestic scientific sources of studying the peculiarities of the adaptation process of students to educational activities in higher education. Research methods: analysis and generalization of psychological-pedagogical and educational-methodical literature on the research topic. We determine as the main criteria for the adaptation of first-year students to the university, the adaptive potential and professionally important qualities of students, consider these concepts, their structure, and their basic properties. On the basis of the analysis and generalization of the existing indicators of the implementation of the adaptive potential, we formulate the author's indicators for determining the level of its development. The degree of formation of professionally important qualities of students are low, medium, and high levels of development of emotional intelligence, negative communicative attitude, intellectual lability, and stress tolerance.

Education for sustainable development in Spanish higher education: an assessment of sustainability competencies in engineering and education degrees

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo ◽  
Daniel Romero-Portillo ◽  
Bàrbara Sureda Carbonell ◽  
Francisco Manuel Moreno-Pino
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spanish Higher Education ◽  
Percentage Measure ◽  
University Degree

Purpose This paper aims to present a methodology for analysing the extent to which students of a university degree perceive that they have received a good education for sustainable development (ESD). The methodology enables us to quantify this perception, which, in turn, allows us to determine: to what extent the objectives related to ESD are achieved in the degree, and to compare the learning in ESD perceived by students of different degrees. The methodology is applied to nine engineering degrees and nine education degrees in the Spanish university system. Design/methodology/approach ESD is analysed from the students’ learning perception. This perception is measured by comparing the responses of first- and fourth-year students to a questionnaire about their sustainability competencies. Two indicators have been designed to analyse the results. The first indicator, learning increase, measures the declared learning difference between fourth- and first-year students. The second indicator, learning percentage, measure the amount of learning as reported by fourth-year students compared to how much they could have learned. Findings The results show that the average learning percentage perceived by students is higher in engineering degrees (33%) than in education degrees (27%), despite the fact that the average learning increase declared by students at the end of their studies in both areas of knowledge is similar (66%). Engineering students report having achieved higher learning than education students in all sustainability competencies, with the exception of ethics. Originality/value This paper analyses ESD from the student’s perspective. Furthermore, to the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study that compares the perception of ESD between engineering and education students. This comparison allows us to determine the different approaches that university Professors take to ESD according to the discipline they teach.

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