How to develop higher education curricula towards employability? A multi-stakeholder approach

PurposeThis paper aims to find out what conditions are needed to enhance higher education curricula towards employability from the perspective of different stakeholders in the graduate labour market.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was developed, using a qualitative approach, based on semi-structured interviews with higher education institutions (HEIs) and labour market players, in the north region of Portugal. The data were analysed through content and descrip\tive analysis with NVivo.FindingsThe results show a set of constraints that hinder the match of higher education curricula with employability, namely, (1) the weak connection between HEIs and employers and (2) the curricular structure, which is characterised by a heavy theoretical component and a weak approach to the soft skills required by the current labour market. Possible solutions, with implications for educational policy, are given throughout the study.Research limitations/implicationsThe geographical scope and the nature of the study suggest that some precautions are required when generalising results. However, the literature on other areas in Portugal strengthens the findings and compensates for the sample's limitations.Originality/valueThis study combines the perspectives of the different individual stakeholders involved which, when taken as a whole, provide some recommendations for tailored curricula towards employability. Other studies in Portugal address each of these issues individually, without a connection between all the different perspectives.

Influence of university education on the formation of the tax culture of the public accountant

The objective of this work was to analyze the influence of university education in the formation of the tax culture of the public accountant; where the bibliographic review was directed to prominent authors in the area such as: Matteucci (1995), Vizcaíno (2001), Robles (2002), Guaiquirima (2004), Brasvlasky (2005), Gómez (2008) and Coetzee and Oberholzer (2009), among others. Being an investigation under a documentary methodology, a pure bibliographic design, in which the collection of information was carried out through the documentary observation technique. It was concluded that the curricular structure in the university training of the public accountant should include teaching programs oriented to strengthen citizenship values; being important a combined relationship between the bodies of the Tax Administration, private companies and university institutions so that together they contribute to the generation of tax culture in citizens. The future professional has the opportunity to consolidate their commitment to the development of the country, correcting deep-rooted behaviors of tax evasion that have been present to escape from duties to the State; being the public accountant multiplying agent for the strengthening of the tax culture within the organizations and the community.

The perspective of public schools mathematics teachers on their knowledge and teaching practice in connection with the BNCC

Background: The curricular structure of Brazilian basic education has changed in recent years. With the promulgation of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) for elementary and high school education, there is a need to change the curricula of state and municipal networks, which takes place precisely with the actual implementation in schools. Objective: To understand the view of mathematics teachers on capacity and knowledge they must have for the effective application of the BNCC in the classroom considering all the requirements, especially the skills and competencies that contemplate the curricular base. Design: Applied work, with quantitative bias, as the work presents statistical analyses. Setting and participants: Twenty-four high school mathematics teachers of the state network of the municipality of Itumbiara-GO. Data collection and analysis: Questionnaire applied to mathematics teachers, with percentage and inferential analyses such as Cronbach’s Alpha and correlation test. Results: The teachers believe that they know well the specific competencies and skills required in mathematics and its technologies, but they do not know well other areas of the BNCC and feel very insecure about applying these concepts in class. Conclusions: We noticed that the teachers play a fundamental role in implementing the BNCC in schools successfully, requiring pedagogical support such as formative courses and teaching materials to help correct the knowledge gaps they have for that task.

P.118 Curriculum mapping can facilitate transition to Competence by Design

Background: Curriculum maps outline the content of an educational program identifying links between targeted outcomes, educational opportunities, and assessments. The transition to Competence by Design (CBD) in Canadian specialty residency programs requires thoughtful reorganization of educational programming. A curriculum map may assist with understanding the existing curriculum and thereby facilitate planning for CBD. Methods: A map of the pediatric neurology residency curriculum at the University of Calgary was constructed by linking objectives with related learning activities and assessments. Qualitative line-by-line analysis was then conducted to identify gaps in the existing curriculum. The map was used as a framework to plot CBD outcomes and curricular structure as these were established. Results: Generating the traditional curriculum map was time-consuming, requiring 48 hours. Careful review identified several objectives that did not link to formal learning activities or assessments. Many such gaps were recognized to link to non-clinical activities. Using the scaffold of the traditional curriculum reduced the time required for mapping the planned CBD curriculum to 4 hours. Conclusions: The creation of a curriculum map prior to transition to CBD improved understanding of the existing curriculum and will facilitate transition to CBD. Ongoing evaluation of the fit of our predicted CBD map will support effective implementation.

Does Size Matter? Animal, Living and Non-Living Classification, Implications for Teaching

<p style="text-align: justify;">An empirical investigation of elementary school teacher candidates on classification activities dealing with animate and inanimate objects in terms of being living or non-living demonstrates that as the size of the objects increases, subjects are more likely to classify them correctly as either being an animal or having living characteristics. Despite a variety of misconceptions having an impact on the results, size magnitude is shown to play a significant role on proper classification. The subjects’ performance on these activities at an advanced stage of their preparation suggests that their factual and procedural knowledge are deficient due to a lack of opportunities for conceptual development of the items tested. The identification of the role of size on the proper classification of objects in the activities bears significantly on the science curricular structure at the elementary school level. As the results of this study indicate, both pre-service elementary school teachers and by extension their prospective students need longer practice dealing with living and non-living classification activities, particularly in tasks where the microscopic features of matter can be investigated so that the proclivity to regard size as the defining characteristic is effectively addressed.</p>

Considerations Regarding the Quality of Military Training Programs

In order to provide well-prepared specialists in the military field, the Army ensures the training of its own human resources through initial training programs and then continuous training within the military system and environment. The quality of these training programs, which consume a lot of time and resources, must be evaluated as a process not only as a product, in an authentic and realistic way, according to certain relevant aspects: components of the curricular structure of the training program, quality of adult pedagogy, quality of experiential approaches in teaching and learning, and the difference between the initial and final level of the graduates’ competencies. There are a number of issues that can be discussed related to training programs evaluation, and they can be overcome by raising awareness and conceiving the evaluation explicitly for the quality improvement purpose.

Mind the gap: A tale of two curriculum fallacies

Throughout my professional life, I have been interested in the relationship between teachers and curriculum. As someone who has taught languages, educated teachers, and developed curriculum and materials, I have been puzzled by the separation of curriculum and teaching. In the US, this separation is encapsulated in the phrase ‘curriculum and instruction’, where they are seen as separate domains of research and responsibility (Doyle, 1992; Kaplan & Owings, 2015). Indeed, as a teacher educator, I would often hear the refrain from teachers, ‘I know how to plan a good lesson, but I'm not sure what the big picture is. How do the lessons fit together as a whole?’ I interpreted this to mean that they did not have a sense of the overall curricular structure and aims for their students’ learning. As a materials and curriculum developer, I saw my responsibility as providing a map for teachers that would show how the parts added up to a sensible whole.

A formação inicial dos professores de História da Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN) a partir do currículo: traços de uma ausência acerca da temática ‘Mulheres’

O presente artigo tem por finalidade analisar a formação inicial dos professores de História da Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte - UERN, construída a partir do currículo oficial. Nesse ínterim, discutimos, de modo específico, o currículo do curso de História e sua relação com o ensino, a partir da temática ‘mulheres’. Trata-se de uma pesquisa bibliográfica, cotejando os estudos de Bittencourt (2011), Fonseca (2003), Nóvoa (2005) e Pinsky (2009), seguida de uma análise documental da estrutura curricular 2019.1 do referido curso. Resultados, ainda que parciais, indicam a predominância de uma formação tradicional dos professores de História. Ademais, verificou-se também a dicotomia entre a discussão teórica tecida na academia e a prática docente cotidiana, evidenciando um desalinho entre currículo e ensino de História. A partir dessas sistematizações, há indicativos para se repensar a formação inicial dos futuros professores, a fim de formar um profissional para uma cultura de tolerância e respeito à diversidade, possibilitando o desenvolvimento de um saber plural e significativo.Palavras-chave: Formação de Professores de História. Currículo. Ensino. Mulheres.The initial training of History of professors of the Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN) from the curriculum: traces of an absence on the topic ‘women’ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to analyze the initial training of the history professors of the Universidade do Estado Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), built from the official curriculum. In the meantime, we specifically discuss the curriculum of the History course and its relationship with teaching, based on the gender / women theme. This is a bibliographical research, comparing the studies of Bittencourt (2011), Fonseca (2003), Nóvoa (2005) and Pinsky (2009), followed by a documental analysis of the 2019.1 curricular structure of the course. Results, even partial, indicate the predominance of a traditional formation of history professors. In addition, there was also a dichotomy between the theoretical discussion woven in academia and the daily teaching practice, showing a mismatch between curriculum and history teaching. From these systematizations, there are indications to rethink the initial formation of future teachers, in order to train a professional for a culture of tolerance and respect for diversity, enabling the development of a plural and meaningful knowledge.Keywords: History Professors training. Curriculum. Teaching. Women.La formación inicial de los profesores de Historia de la Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN) a partir del currículo: rasgos de una ausencia sobre el tema ‘mujeres’RESUMENEl presente artículo tiene por finalidad analizar la formación inicial de los profesores de Historia de la Universidad do Estado Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), construida a partir del currículo oficial. Mientras tanto, discutimos, específicamente, el currículo de estudios del curso de Historia y su relación con la enseñanza, basado en el tema mujeres. El presente estudio se presenta como una investigación bibliográfica, basado en los estudios de Bittencourt (2011), Fonseca (2003), Nóvoa (2005) y Pinsky (2009), seguido de un análisis documental de la estructura curricular 2019.1 del curso. Los resultados, aunque parciales, indican el predominio de una formación tradicional de los profesores de Historia. Además, también hubo una dicotomía entre la discusión teórica entretejida en la academia y la práctica docente diaria, evidenciando un desajuste entre el currículo y la enseñanza de Historia. A partir de estas sistematizaciones, hay indicaciones para repensar la formación inicial de los futuros docentes, a fin de capacitar a un profesional para una cultura de tolerancia y respeto a la diversidad, posibilitando el desarrollo de un saber plural y significativo.Palabras clave: Formación de Profesores de Historia. Currículo. Enseñanza. Mujeres.

Doing Assessment Well: Advances for Undergraduate Psychology Programs and Psychology Educators

This article discusses how assessment tools can be used to improve student learning in undergraduate bachelors (BA/BS) in psychology programs. The article first reviews particular advantages associated with using curricular and cocurricular maps for performing systematic program assessment. After identifying various assessment tools created by the American Psychological Association, we discuss some essential arenas for program assessment in psychology, including curricular structure and related issues, introductory psychology, capstone courses, internships, research experiences and honors projects, graduate placement data, and routine academic program reviews. We close the article by offering assessment tips for program administrators.

Ambientalização curricular: análise crítica dos projetos pedagógicos em diferentes cursos de formação de professores

Decorrente de ações antrópicas, surge à multifacetada crise ambiental. A EA dissemina conhecimentos acerca da conservação e sustentabilidade ambiental, apresentando-se como alternativa apta a mitigar seus efeitos. O presente estudo, intentou analisar a ambientalização curricular dos cursos de licenciatura do CFP/ UFCG, através dos seus respectivos PPCs, ou seja, a inclusão de valores sociais/éticos/estéticos/ambientais, visando diligenciar a interdisciplinaridade e a EA nas diversas áreas do conhecimento. Considerando a bagagem acadêmica ofertada aos docentes em formação, sobretudo, na proposta da EA e seu desafio de requerer uma práxis cuidadosamente planejada. O diagnostico, como esperado, revelou uma AC nos cursos vinculados a UACEN e UNAGEO, cursos afins da área ambiental e ausência da AC nos demais cursos, apesar de seus PPCs estarem em concordância com os princípios estabelecidos pela PNEA. Curricular environmentalization: critical analysis of pedagogical projects in diferent teacher training courses Abstract The environmental crisis arises as a result of human actions and has it owns characteristics and peculiarities. An alternative able to decrease these effects is the environmental education (EE) which is used to diffuse knowledge concerning of conservation and sustainability. This paper aimed to analyze the curricular structure of educational degree courses offered by the Federal University of Campina Grande on their Teacher Training Center campus through their respective pedagogic project (PP). In this analysis was considered the inclusion of social, ethical, aesthetic and environmental values, focusing on the existence of EE's curricular of the different knowledge area interdisciplinarity. Thus we considered the academic knowledge which is offered to teachers in training, especially in the EE outline and the challenge of requiring carefully planned praxis. On this research we observed an EE vision integrated on curricular project of courses associated with the environmental area linked to UACEN and UNAGEO. Meanwhile, as expected, despite the PP in agreement with the principles of PNEA, the other degree courses do not have this EE prediction. Keywords: Environmental crisis. Sustainability. Interdisciplinarity.