Developing new “Professionals”: Service learning in marketing as an opportunity to innovate in higher education

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) promotes the use of student-centered participatory methodologies and the design of curricula focused on the acquisition of competences. The objective of this paper is to identify the categories of competence that contribute the most to achieving learning outcomes through the practice of Service Learning (SL) in the teaching of marketing. Using the categories described in the Tuning model, we design a model to analyze the relationships between perceived learning outcomes and competences. The main findings are: 1) there is no evidence of any relationship between perceived interpersonal and systemic competences and perceived learning outcomes, 2) there is a relationship between perceived instrumental competences and perceived learning outcomes and, 3) students do not perceive that achievement of learning outcomes is the cause of the grades they obtain. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications.     

高尔夫专业本科学生专业能力的构成与评价

以高尔夫专业本科学生专业能力为研究对象,将海南省三亚市作为研究地,运用重要-表现度分析法,从高尔夫企业中高层管理人员和基层员工、本科院校高尔夫专业教师和学生的视角出发,对专业能力之专业知识、专业技能与专业素质3大模块28项指标,进行重要和表现程度评价。结果发现高尔夫专业本科学生专业能力的表现与企业、教师和学生个人的期望都相差较大。而专业知识和专业技能中的一些指标是最需提升的内容。基于研究结果,提出从3个方面提升高尔夫专业本科学生专业能力的对策和建议。     

Assessing Key Competences across the Curriculum — and Europe

The development of key competences for lifelong learning has been an important policy imperative for EU Member States. The European Reference Framework of key competences (2006) built on previous developments by the OECD, UNESCO and Member States themselves. It defined key competences as knowledge, skills and attitudes applied appropriately to contexts. Now most Member States have incorporated key competences, or similarly broad learning outcomes, into their school curriculum frameworks. This is a necessary but insufficient step towards implementation; for the effective development of learners' key competences, assessment must also change. This article focuses on the challenge of assessing cross-curricular key competences in primary and secondary education. It is based on a major study for the European Commission (Gordon, et al., 2009), which drew on information gathered and validated with the help of experts in each of the 27 EU Member States. The study's typology of assessment provides a basis for reviewing some recent developments in Member States. Present challenges and innovative responses are addressed, including ‘unpacking’ key competences, ‘mapping’ them to contexts and ‘accessment’ of their full scope and range. Policy developments are considered in the context of the author's work with the European Commission's Thematic Working Group on the assessment of key competences. The article concludes with considerations for policy and practice.     

“I-LATT”核心素养培养体系研究——以湖南文理学院英语师范生的培养为例

核心素养既是21世纪人才竞争的重要参数,也是引导各国人才培养的风向标。在此背景下,湖南文理学院对英语师范生核心素养的培养问题进行了探究,构建了"LATTE"核心素养培养体系。后来,学院对此体系进行了升级,形成了包含"互联网+语言"、"互联网+学术"、"互联网+教学"、"互联网+团队"四大核心素养的"I-LATT"核心素养培养体系。基于此,文章首先阐释了"I-LATT"核心素养培养体系中四大核心素养的内涵和培养目的;随后以"综合英语"课程为例,介绍了"I-LATT"核心素养培养体系的教学应用;最后通过问卷调查,分析了"I-LATT"核心素养培养体系中四大核心素养运用的满意度和存在的问题。"I-LATT"核心素养培养体系的提出,可为新时代英语基础教育人才的培养和师范教育的有效开展提供参考。     

Assessing the unassessable: making learning visible in undergraduates’ experiences of scientific research

We suggest that academics involved in the provision of research experiences to undergraduate science students may benefit by reconceptualising these experiences as work-based learning. In particular, drawing on the widespread use of reflective practice in work-based learning allows for a more effective focus on process-related learning. We describe an empirical study involving the implementation of reflective blogs in which science students responded to prompt questions designed to focus their attention on how their project was progressing, the process of research and their own learning. The blogs reveal examples of students engaging in independent thinking, creative thinking and developing a sense of themselves as scientists, all qualities valued by supervisors. They also show how these combine as ‘wicked competences’ that allow students to address the complex problems and uncertainties of research. We identify characteristic patterns of reflection that indicate the exercise of such competences and suggest that these could be used as explicit evidence by academics making judgements for assessment purposes.     

Teacher Competence Frameworks in Europe: policy-as-discourse and policy-as-practice

This article analyses the growing focus on teacher competences in European policy discourse against the backdrop of global convergences in education reforms. It traces key ideas, policy recommendations, peer learning and documents which underscore the relevance of teacher quality for education improvement, as recently stressed in the European Commission Communication and Staff Working Documents Rethinking Education. The intertwining of teacher competence frameworks with other areas of education policy is outlined — key competences in school education, the quality of initial teacher education, and the continuous professional development of teachers — teasing out reasons for their central role. Some insights from research and peer learning then explore key implications in the defining and implementing of teacher competence frameworks in national education systems. A comparative viewpoint further analyses current policy trends about teacher competences across European national contexts, in discourse and practice. In order to do so, a framework of analysis takes into account system features as key variables affecting national policy — roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, governance and education cultures, and the status of the teaching profession. Across the variety of policy practices, the analysis endeavours to trace some emerging patterns and trends, highlighting paradigmatic national examples, with some food for thought.     

Key Competences in Europe: interpretation,policy formulation and implementation

The evolution in Europe towards more competence-based curricula in the last ten years or so is the result of several exogenous factors and a determined European policy. The Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, a Recommendation approved by the European Parliament and the Council in 2006, and the work carried out within the Open Method of Coordination as well as by European research bodies have had a significant impact on Member States' curriculum reforms. This article shows that some terminology issues, both conceptual and practical, may explain, together with other causes, the diverse formulations of key competences and the way in which they are being integrated into the compulsory education curricula by the Member States or at intra-national levels. The focus of the article is on cross-curricular competences because these are the key competences which require the most significant innovations in teaching and learning practices, on assessment tools and procedures, and school organisation. The analysis illustrates the main differences and convergences in policy formulation and implementation strategies among the EU Member States. It also identifies key obstacles that must be overcome for an effective implementation before suggesting some policy recommendations.     

The communicative competences of students and teachers in different levels of education in North Cyprus

This study was conducted in order to determine the beliefs of students and teachers in different levels of education about their communicative competences. The study group of this research is consisted of 600 secondary school, high school and undergraduate students and 41 of their teachers. In this study, it is observed that not a significant correlation at a considerable degree exists in the communicative competences of students with their teachers, who are from different nationalities, gender and levels. Furthermore, regarding students, educated at different levels, no relation has been observed in their communicative competences with their teachers. Moreover, while students consider their communicative competences with their teachers to be moderately adequate, teachers consider their communicative competences with their students to be adequate in general.     

农村家庭教育中家长素质的研究

农村家庭教育中家长素质的现状表现为：学历低、教育观念落后、教育方式不当、教育价值观错位、重男轻女的思想严重等方面。农村家庭教育中家长应具备的素质包括：较高的文化素养、正确的教育观念、良好的心理素质、较强的教育能力。提高农村家长素质的途径有：创办家长学校,召开家长会,印发函授学习资料。     

Graduates’ evaluations of usefulness of university education,and early career success – a longitudinal study of the transition to working life

A successful transition from university to working life requires that graduates are able to employ their education and academic competences in real working-life contexts. Our previous research showed that graduates varied in how they were able to reflect on their competences at the time of graduation. The present longitudinal mixed-method study follows the same graduates and explores their evaluations of the usefulness of university education and career success, three years after graduation. The follow-up data consisted of 57 graduates’ survey answers analysed by quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that graduates who were able to describe and evaluate more competences at the time of graduation perceived their current jobs to correspond more to their education. Graduates with more limited evaluations of their competences, on the other hand, had experienced more challenges related to employment and were more uncertain of their goals. The results also showed that having diverse competences and an ability to recognise them at the time of graduation is important for later career success and may also be related to what kind of challenges graduates face in working life.     

勾勒关键能力,打造优质生活——OECD关键能力框架概述

关键能力是个人实现自我、终身发展、融入主流社会和充分就业所必需的知识、技能及态度之集合,是一种通用能力或横向能力,从而使得每个人具有追求完美人生的热忱,以积极公民的身份参与社会进步的本领和在劳动力市场获得充分就业的表现。关键能力框架的核心是"个体的自我认识能力",表明其心智成熟、道德完善,勇于为自我学习和行动负责。     

Development of learning to learn skills in primary school

In Finland, schools’ effectiveness in fostering the development of transversal skills is evaluated through large-scale learning to learn (LTL) assessments. This article presents how LTL skills—general cognitive competences and learning-related motivational beliefs—develop during primary school and how they predict pupils’ CPS skills at the end of sixth grade. The six-year follow-up of 608 pupils shows that cognitive competences demonstrated in the beginning of the first grade in a learning preparedness test predict both later cognitive LTL competences and CPS, but their development is not fully determined by earlier individual differences in learning preparedness in the first grade. Motivational beliefs begin to be related to cognitive LTL performance gradually from age 10 on, and they may have a slightly stronger effect on CPS than on cognitive LTL performance. It is concluded that the development of CPS is partly depending on pupils’ initial learning preparedness and the development of their LTL skills.     

Translating Key Competences into the School Curriculum: lessons from the Polish experience

Over the last 20 years, Poland has gone through a major transition process in which the challenges for education in terms of new approaches to learning and teaching have been compounded by broader changes such as the democratisation of structures and processes and the major economic and social changes. This article is a case study that examines the early stages of significant shifts in the learning and teaching process, the stepped approach that was taken and the different international influences. It was decided to focus on the top-down, policy level actions in order to trace how influences have shaped current policy on outcomes-based approaches and key competences, which are increasingly implemented in schools today. The Polish education and training system has been through a complex series of reforms, many simultaneously. The introduction of outcome-based approaches and key competences is part of much broader reforms that have affected mindsets and attitudes by having addressed the structure of the system (e.g. the length of compulsory education), school governance, the roles of principals and teachers, teacher training, etc. Parents' expectations have evolved and students are growing up in a much more connected environment with Internet and social networks and an exponential development of access to ICT and the need for digital competences and a range of key competences for lifelong learning and work (Gordon et al., 2009). Although change has taken place at all levels and in all sub-sectors of the system, this article focuses on general education in primary and secondary schools.     

The Labour Market,Graduate Competences and Study Programme Development: A Case Study

Developments in higher education are taking place in the wider context of globalisation, the Lisbon strategy and within the framework of the Bologna Process. Designing and developing Bologna programmes by taking into account the needs of the economy is a tool for successful quality assurance in higher education and for close cooperation with the environment. Our contribution aims to present the process of first cycle study programme formation and is based on a case study. By studying three groups of stakeholders, involved in the renewal of the study programme (teachers, students and employers), competences were thoroughly researched. It was found that graduate competences included in the questionnaire are of utmost importance and that they do not differ substantially from the competences of graduates in business studies presented in similar research (e.g. The Tuning Project of the European Commission, and the work carried out by the EFMD – the European Foundation for Management Development).     

Group work: Prospective teachers’ acquisition of transversal competences

The current training model being used in higher education advocates the acquisition of competences aimed at providing students with all-round training that will enable them to tackle their future work responsibilities effectively. This encompasses a number of different competences, most notably the transversal kind, especially in view of the important role they play in shaping the profile of any professional individual. The active learning methods applied to group work have shown to be the most suitable for achieving these competences. From this perspective, and considering their relevance, we present the results of a study that addresses the perceptions held by students from Education Degrees regarding the extent to which transversal competences are acquired by implementing active learning methods. The students perceive group work as a dynamic that teaches them how to be more self-critical and committed to group-oriented tasks, thus encouraging communication skills, personal relationships and motivation. However, a lesser degree of acquisition has been recorded in other equally important competences. As such, it is necessary to promote these learning methods from the start, carefully designing and planning the curriculum structure as well as the tasks to be performed in order to avoid any negative implications that may arise.     

A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies

National curricula need to change drastically to comply with the competences needed for the 21^st century. In this paper eight frameworks describing 21^st century competences were analysed. A comprehensive search for information about 21^st century competences was conducted across the official websites of the selected frameworks, resulting in 32 documents that were analysed in detail. Travers and Westbury’s framework of curriculum representations was used to determine horizontal and vertical consistency between the frameworks. The frameworks were compared on their underlying rationales and goals, their definition of 21^st century competences, and the recommended strategies for the implementation and assessment of these skills in educational practice. In addition three international studies were examined to analyse how various countries (EU member states, OECD countries) and schools (SITES studies) deal (or not) with 21^st century competences. The findings indicate a large extent of alignment between the frameworks about what 21^st century competences are and why they are important (horizontal consistency), but intentions and practice seemed still far apart, indicating lack of vertical consistency. The implications of the implementation of 21^st century competences in national curriculum policies are discussed and recommendations are provided.     

我国比较教育学专业硕士研究生能力培养调查:理想与现实

文章实证分析了当前我国比较教育学专业硕士研究生的能力培养现状,及其与学术界、劳动力市场以及学生个人需求之间的匹配程度与差距.研究发现,当前我国比较教育学专业硕士研究生的通用能力和专业能力的成就水平整体偏低,且以通用能力尤甚,而专业能力中又以跨学科能力和具有实践导向的专业能力相对薄弱.     

The special education teacher between the priorities of inclusion and specialisation

In Austria, the profession of the special education teacher is facing major changes. Presently, special education teachers need to have general pedagogical competences to teach children of all grades, and are expected to have competences in managing highly heterogeneous groups in inclusive settings. Additionally, they need to apply special strategies to efficiently work with children with various special needs. Student teachers starting their education 2015/2016 will no longer have the option of obtaining a distinct degree as a special education teacher. Instead, future teachers will choose between teaching in primary or in secondary schools, and can then select their preferred focus from various options, including inclusive education. This qualitative study is based on written and oral research interviews with teachers in inclusive settings, and aims to identify competences in the areas of knowledge, action, and attitude which teachers consider necessary and effective for successfully teaching a heterogeneous group of pupils. The results indicate the need to further strengthen both the inclusive and the reflexive attitude in teachers. The outcomes will influence curricula development in the new teacher education programmes, and aid to tailor courses offered in in-service training for teachers working in inclusive settings.