Youth Start

The Youth Start – Entrepreneurial Challenges Project (USTART), is a project co-funded by Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, that promotes practical experiential learning programmes at the compulsory school level by developing an innovative, transferable, and scalable programme through the collaboration of high-level public authorities of Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Slovenia. The USTART programme is designed to be flexible in its application and has intensive and extensive versions making it possible for teachers in all types of schools and from various subjects to use USTART modules in their teaching. This chapter describes the process of implementation of the project in Portugal and the qualitative assessment (through semi-structured interviews) made that was one of the validations supports of the programme. Through USTART it was possible to understand the real difficulties and barriers that teachers and schools have when implementing different methods and programmes, and the good results of the project.

Validating the Learning Strategies Scale Among Business and Management Students in the Semi-Presential University Context

This research validates the University Learning Strategy Scale (EEA) used by Martins and Zerbini (2014), among Business and Management students of semi-presential courses. The sample had 350 observations obtained from students of a Higher Education Institution based in the State of São Paulo. Preliminary results showed that although the Learning Strategies Scale (LES) was developed and validated in a hybrid context application, in this research it was applied to the semi-present context and its results were satisfactory, presenting high internal consistency indices, with alphas of Cronbach's of (α = 0.94) for the general scale. Regarding the four dimensions, the result was also very close to the LES with 1) (α = 0.92) for the Cognitive Strategies construct, 2) (α = 0.77) for Emotion Control, 3) (α = 0.85) for Self-Regulatory Strategies and 4) (α = 0, 83) for Interpersonal Help. This scale shows evidence of instrument validity.

Teaching for Leadership, Innovation, and Creativity

As the world enters the age of digitalization, it is demanded by time that the education curriculum be updated to the latest version. However, in the contemporary research literature, many different notable researchers and authors have established that there is a disparity which exists in the education curriculum and the educational practices especially in the business sector. This disparity is characterized by gaps in technology and knowledge which must be bridged for the business sector to reap the fruits of a global education in the contemporary timeframe. In this connection, the role of the teachers and the educators is of critical importance primarily due to the fact that they are assigned the heavy responsibility of interacting with students.

Project-Based Learning

This study focuses on the results obtained from the teacher's assessment of Project-Based Learning, a methodological approach that implies a change in the university pedagogical paradigm that affects both the teaching and learning processes. To this end, a study is carried out taking as a sample university teachers during the academic year 2018-2019. Among the results obtained, it is worth mentioning that the teacher considers the Project-Based Learning a methodology that favours in the classroom, constituting a valid alternative to improve the quality of learning in university students.

Accounting and Finance Students' Perceptions About Active Learning in an Economics-Lecture Classroom

In higher education there is an increasing trend from teacher-centered to student-centered learning environments, wherein active learning experiences can play a decisive role. This chapter assesses how students perceive the use of active learning techniques within the lecture framework, traditionally accepting students as passive listeners. A survey was distributed in the undergraduate course of Accounting and Finance - evening classes, at the end of the semester, to evaluate and help refine the active learning approach conducted in an economics course. Students reported an overall positive response towards active learning, which helped them to focus, engage, and learn. They especially value the lectures as interactive learning experiences. Students' appraisal regarding the usefulness of key implementation rules like the what, when, who technique on slide-written instructions, as well as the variety of active learning activities tested, revealed the designing and testing of active learning events need improvement.

Non-Mandatory Training

Non-mandatory training is seen as an important facilitator in developing individual employees' competencies and the organization's performance. However, previous studies of non-mandatory training in the context of the work environment show a lack of conceptual clarity. A universal definition in work environment settings is missing from published literature. Therefore, this chapter analyzes the concept called non-mandatory training in the work environment setting. To attain this objective, the researcher applied the concept analysis proposed by Walker and Avant. Based on the analysis, a definition of non-mandatory training was established. That definition was used in this study to reconcile the discrepancies between the understanding of the concept by academics and practitioners, and by allied HR professionals, who tended to view it from different perspectives. Proper understanding of basic assumptions can facilitate communication between different educational and work environment settings and enhance the concept clarity and validity for future research.

Learning Marketing in a Multicultural Context

There has been an increasing degree of internationalization of several higher education institutions mainly under the ERASMUS context. Those mobility programs bring important gains in terms of students' competences to the Higher Education Institutions and to the employers, but there are also many constraints associated with the student's mobility process. The Setubal Brand Management is a multicultural pedagogical project that also promotes interpersonal skills and encourages a greater integration in the region and with local students. It includes students with diverse educational and cultural backgrounds. In this chapter, several specific pedagogical approaches were taken into account, such as: development of specific contents; implementation of different team-building actions; the inclusion of facilitating elements of communication; and the constitution of multicultural groups. A critical analysis of student perceptions and the sharing of the project with colleagues and with the academic community allowed implementation of several improvements.

Gamification Assessment

University education is currently the object of numerous changes related to the implementation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). One of them involves placing the student at the core of the teaching-learning process through the use of active methodologies. During the academic year 2018/2019, with this objective in mind, Gamification was introduced in the subject of Microeconomics as an innovative teaching experience. This was carried out through the use of Kahoot. At the end of the course, the experience was evaluated through an online questionnaire combined with the analysis of the academic results. In general, the innovative experience was positive for the students because it increased their motivation and participation in the classroom, and improved the learning process. The experience also positively affected final results of the participating students.

A Framework Proposal for Blended Type Discipline Creation

One of the factors responsible for changes in society is information and communication technologies, the so-called ICTs, according to Silva and Maciel (2015). With the rise of new information and communication technologies, the traditional model of teaching in which the teacher has an active role (of speaker) and the student has a passive role (listener) can no longer meet the demands of the contemporary world and its technologies. Hybrid teaching solutions (such as blended learning) arise from the use of technology and innovations in the education sector. Thus, this chapter aims to understand how courses categorized as blended should be structured to maximize the potential of this teaching-learning method for teachers, students, and educational institutions. To achieve this goal, a framework was created consisting of the following steps: preparation of the teaching and learning plan, development of activities, development of materials, organization of the virtual environment, follow-up of the course / discipline and discipline rating and improvements identification.

Formal and Non-Formal Education

Social entrepreneurs convert social problems into opportunities, create businesses, and transform entrepreneurial experience into social changes. Therefore, it is important to understand the formation of social entrepreneurs as creators of social innovations. This chapter tries to understand how the formation of social entrepreneurs occurs. The authors analyzed the narratives of the life stories of social entrepreneurs in Brazil. The results showed that the formation of social entrepreneurs is linked to their learning spaces and contexts, their leadership trajectory, and their motivations to undertake social entrepreneurship, as these factors are permeated by formal and non-formal education. The formation of social entrepreneurs results in the development of innovative products, processes, or methods that improve the quality of life and reduce inequality, leading to exponential social innovations.