Universities and standardization instruments: the willingness to put an end to the organized anarchy

Students’ perceptions among foreign languages in the EHEA

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/jarhe-07-2013-0031 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 205-214

Author(s):

M. Isabel Sanchez-Hernandez ◽

Dolores Gallardo-Vazquez ◽

Beatriz Corchuelo Martinez-Azua

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Higher Education Institutions ◽

Foreign Languages ◽

Language Competence ◽

Content Type ◽

English Class ◽

European Universities ◽

Teachers And Students ◽

European Higher Education ◽

The University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the students’ opinion on their proficiency in one or more foreign languages, and the importance they attribute to their foreign language competence because the adaptation to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) implies the promotion of the mobility of teachers and students. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative and quantitative approach conducted at the University of Extremadura in Spain. The method used was to triangulate the data resulting from three quite different procedures: promoting the participating students’ awareness of the issue through a seminar on the importance of mastering other languages and their relevance for graduate employability; inquiring into the students’ impressions when receiving an English class with a focus group; and a questionnaire on their opinions about the importance of proficiency in foreign languages. Findings – The findings highlight how teaching in English in European universities could bring real opportunities for the development of the EHEA. Furthermore, the development of foreign languages competences have to be a priority line of innovation in higher education in order to build a more meaningful relationship between education institutions and the European project. Research limitations/implications – The study is a first attempt to analyse the need to teach in English in European higher education institutions. Results are not completely generalizable because the study has been conducted in one university, in the field of social sciences in the branch of Economics and Business, and it has been examined only the views of students. Originality/value – The paper draws attention to the need for, and suggestions on how higher education institutions can be more aware to the needs of developing studentś English competences when designing programmes in the EHEA.

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Interlinguistics and Esperanto studies at universities

Language Problems & Language Planning ◽

10.1075/lplp.32.3.06fie ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 269-279 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sabine Fiedler

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Bologna Process ◽

European Higher Education Area ◽

Winter Semester ◽

European Universities ◽

Cycle System ◽

European Higher Education ◽

The University ◽

University Of Leipzig ◽

The Bologna Process

The Bologna process aims to create a European Higher Education Area by 2010, in which university studies are comparable and compatible and degrees more transparent. Its priority is the introduction of the three-cycle system Bachelor — Master — Doctorate. At the University of Leipzig a project was launched to connect the implementation of the new structures with the establishment of a programme in interlinguistics and Esperanto studies. In the winter semester 2007/2008 a compulsory-optional module with the title Universal Languages was taught, consisting of a weekly lecture, seminar and a language course Esperanto. It was an initiative of the Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik e.V. and financially supported by the Esperantic Studies Foundation. The paper reports on the structure, contents and results of the module and draws conclusions for similar initiatives at other European universities.

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Higher education and sustainable development

Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal ◽

10.1108/aaaj-12-2013-1553 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 218-233 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Jasmin Godemann ◽

Jan Bebbington ◽

Christian Herzig ◽

Jeremy Moon

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Sustainable Development ◽

Special Section ◽

Social Accountability ◽

Coupled Systems ◽

Future Research ◽

Loosely Coupled Systems ◽

Content Type ◽

Loosely Coupled

Purpose – This paper seeks to create the context within which research into how higher education institutions (HEIs) might engage with the goal of sustainable development. In particular, the paper outlines the context in which papers in a special section on this topic might be understood as well as developing propositions for how a research focus might emerge in this area. The paper, therefore, seeks to contribute to discussions about whether, under which circumstances and how social accountability and engagement processes focusing on sustainable development might trigger, frame and/or promote change processes in HEIs. The papers that compose this special section are also introduced and future research avenues offered. Design/methodology/approach – Literature review Findings – Despite a dearth of literature in the area of HEI responsiveness to sustainable development (and leaving side education/learning and research for sustainable development), numerous points of intersection exist. Foremost among these is the role of HEIs as shapers of the values of society (and a place for debates about these values). In addition, HEIs are substantive organisations with sustainable development impacts. The paper suggests, however, that understanding HEIs and self-consciously seeking change in their activities has to seriously engage with the characterisation of these organisations as loosely coupled systems. Originality/value – The paper discusses the distinctive characteristics of HEIs and considers the higher education context as a challenging case to explore the capacity of social accountability and stakeholder engagement to foster change towards the goal of sustainable development.

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Assessment of students’ learning outcomes in the EHEA: their practices, preferences and evolution

European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education ◽

10.3390/ejihpe3030016 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 181-194

Author(s):

Javier Argos ◽

Pilar Ezquerra ◽

José Manuel Osoro ◽

Laurentino Salvador ◽

Ana Castro

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

University Students ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Educational Research ◽

Learning Assessment ◽

Learning Approach ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Institutional Contexts ◽

European Higher Education ◽

The University

The European Higher Education Area implies, at least theoretically, substantial changes in the developed educational approaches specified in several areas. Among these the assessment of students’ learning is the focus of this article. The approaches and results that are exposed here are framed in an Educational Research Project entitled “Learning approaches of the university students, teaching strategies and institutional contexts to the beginning, half and end of career in the process of implantation of the new degrees”. Specifically, we focus on the learning assessment, analyzing both the formats or modalities of this kind of evaluation as well as the preferences which the students have concerning them in the context of different courses and university degrees. Furthermore, we try to somewhat clarify how these preferences could vary depending on the learning approach of each student (deep or superficial) and, also, on the students' evolution along the different courses of their degree.

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The Changing Conception of the University Curriculum Knowledge in the European Higher Education Area: from Knowledge to Competence?

Santalka Filologija Edulokogija ◽

10.3846/cpe.2016.287 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 23-31

Author(s):

Rūta Petkutė

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Higher Education Policy ◽

Research Literature ◽

Global Knowledge ◽

Successful Operation ◽

European Higher Education Area ◽

European Universities ◽

University Curriculum ◽

European Higher Education ◽

The University

Within the European Higher Education Area, the traditional conception of the university curriculum knowledge has been challenged. The notions of learning outcome and competence have been replacing the notion of knowledge as a central educational concept of the university curriculum. The European higher education policy urges the European universities to provide their students with competences, which are assumed to be necessary for employment and successful operation in the global knowledge economy. As a result, more generic rather than disciplinary forms of knowledge are placed at the centre of the current policy discourse. The present paper aims to conceptually analyse the changing conception of the university curriculum knowledge in the light of the EHEA and discuss the implications of this change. It seeks to map the socio-economic and political factors spawning the current advocacy of competences, discern the key patterns of the European higher education curriculum modernisation as well as discuss its implications. The study serves several qualitative research methods: an overview of research literature and a content analysis of official European policy documents.

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Assessment of students’ learning outcomes in the EHEA: their practices, preferences and evolution

European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education ◽

10.1989/ejihpe.v3i3.41 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 181-194

Author(s):

Javier Argos ◽

Pilar Ezquerra ◽

José Manuel Osoro ◽

Laurentino Salvador ◽

Ana Castro

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

University Students ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Educational Research ◽

Learning Assessment ◽

Learning Approach ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Institutional Contexts ◽

European Higher Education ◽

The University

The European Higher Education Area implies, at least theoretically, substantial changes in the developed educational approaches specified in several areas. Among these the assessment of students’ learning is the focus of this article. The approaches and results that are exposed here are framed in an Educational Research Project entitled “Learning approaches of the university students, teaching strategies and institutional contexts to the beginning, half and end of career in the process of implantation of the new degrees”. Specifically, we focus on the learning assessment, analyzing both the formats or modalities of this kind of evaluation as well as the preferences which the students have concerning them in the context of different courses and university degrees. Furthermore, we try to somewhat clarify how these preferences could vary depending on the learning approach of each student (deep or superficial) and, also, on the students' evolution along the different courses of their degree.

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Can Students' Concept of Learning Influence Their Learning Outcomes?

Higher Learning Research Communications ◽

10.18870/hlrc.v2i2.23 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 18 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Despina Varnava Marouchou

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Bologna Process ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Font Size ◽

Conceptions Of Learning ◽

European Universities ◽

University Course ◽

The University ◽

The Bologna Process

This paper aims to readdress the lack of empirical data concerning university learning and in particular the dynamics students’ conceptions of learning may have on students’ learning outcomes. This paper is written at a time when the EU commission for Higher Education (HE) through the Bologna Process declaration has put into action, since 1999, a series of reforms needed to make European Higher Education compatible, efficient and competitive for students and academics alike. One of the reforms was the development of learning outcomes in the form of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). As part of the process the European universities require to identify and describe the learning outcomes a student is supposed to achieve, in a particular course. The learning outcomes are, now, expected to be clearly specified in all the university course syllabuses. The main argument stated within this paper is that the design of effective learning outcomes, such as the ECTS, especially for curriculum development, cannot be successfully achieved in the absence of the students’ own experience of how they conceive learning to be, including the methods (approaches) they use for learning. Thus, the first aim of this investigation is to analyse the students’ conceptions of learning and the second aim is to examine, through prior research evidence, the effects these conceptions may have on learning approaches and specifically on learning outcomes. Drawing on a 2007 study of Cypriot students’ conceptions of learning, this paper discusses the possibility of a relation between these issues and outlines the importance of taking them into consideration when exploring learning outcomes, curriculum and syllabus design and the professional development of faculty.

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La evaluación de competencias en titulaciones Jurídico-Laborales

Anuario Jurídico y Económico Escurialense ◽

10.54571/ajee.440 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 93-108

Author(s):

Ana Isabel Pérez Campos

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Evaluation Model ◽

University Faculty ◽

Teaching Methodologies ◽

European Higher Education Area ◽

Educacion Superior ◽

European Higher Education ◽

A Priority ◽

The University

Resumen: El modelo de evaluación centrado en la adquisición de competencias genéricas y específicas representa uno de los cambios más significativos del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. El profesorado universitario se enfrenta con un conjunto de competencias, excesivamente amplio, cuya definición entiende con dificultades, pidiéndosele al tiempo que diseñe aquellas metodologías docentes, actividades formativas y sistemas de evaluación que posibiliten a los alumnos la adquisición de tales competencias, en los denominados resultados de aprendizaje. Este estudio tiene como objetivo prioritario el tratar de determinar cómo han de valorarse y evaluarse las competencias adquiridas por los alumnos en titulaciones jurídico-laborales. Y, más específicamente a dilucidar si los resultados conseguidos en los últimos años, con la modificación de las metodologías docentes y los sistemas de evaluación han sido realmente tan eficaces como se esperaba.Abstract: The evaluation model focused on the acquisition of generic and specific skills represents one of the most significant changes in the European Higher Education Area. The university faculty is faced with a set of competencies, excessively broad, whose definition understands with difficulties, asking at the same time to design those methodologies, technologies and means of evaluation that enable students to acquire such skills in the so-called learning outcomes. This study has as a priority objective to try to determine how the skills acquired by students in legal-labor qualifications should be assessed. And, more specifically to elucidate whether the results achieved in a few years with the modification of teaching methodologies have been really as positive as expected.

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