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1 – 10 of 450The purpose of this paper is to measure students’ satisfaction with the didactics in a large Italian university, that of Padua, giving special attention to its evolution over time…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to measure students’ satisfaction with the didactics in a large Italian university, that of Padua, giving special attention to its evolution over time in consecutive academic years. The overall level of the quality of the didactics is examined and its change over time is modeled. Moreover, the effect of courses’ and teachers’ variables on it is estimated.
Design/methodology/approach
Latent cluster class models and mixture latent class Markov models are estimated in order to identify groups of courses that are homogeneous for the level of the quality of the didactics. Evolution over the three academic years of satisfaction is monitored. The effect on the clustering and its dynamics of potential covariates is also examined.
Findings
Results of model estimation reveal some interesting evidences that are important indications for the university management to define targeted strategies to elevate teaching quality.
Originality/value
The paper gives its original contribution both on the side of methods applied to analyze data collected with students evaluation of teaching and on the evidences obtained for a large university.
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Keywords
The purpose of the paper is the analysis of the evolution of students’ satisfaction over time in a large Italian university and the effects on it because of some characteristics…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is the analysis of the evolution of students’ satisfaction over time in a large Italian university and the effects on it because of some characteristics of the teachers: didactic practices, beliefs and needs with regard to teaching and learning.
Design/methodology/approach
The first step of the analysis identifies a latent construct, measured with items composing the questionnaire, and proposes a reduced set of indicators to measure satisfaction and to model its evolution over time (information collected in three consecutive academic years is available). A second step clusters teachers in homogenous groups with reference to their opinions, beliefs and needs, collected with a new survey conducted at the University of Padova, with the aim of developing strategies to support academic teachers. Then, a mixture conditional latent growth model is estimated with covariates affecting the latent parameters and class membership.
Findings
Model estimation identifies a large group of university courses with a high level of satisfaction, which stays constant over time, and a small group of problematic courses with low satisfaction, moreover, that decreases over the three considered academic years. Interesting significant effects of covariates related to both the teacher and the didactic activity are estimated.
Originality/value
Statistical analyses show that the implementation of innovative didactic practices and commitment to quality of teaching are important factors to be encouraged by the university management. On the contrary, the traditionalist way of teaching and a low passion for teaching do not improve students’ satisfaction.
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Elisabeth T. Rafste and Tove P. Sætre
This paper has four main parts. In Part 1 we look into the broad perspectives pedagogy can give to library and information science. In the following parts we limit the…
Abstract
This paper has four main parts. In Part 1 we look into the broad perspectives pedagogy can give to library and information science. In the following parts we limit the presentation to our main focus for this paper: pedagogy for school librarians. In Part 2 we give a very short description of the role of the school library in the 13 school years of the Norwegian national curriculum. In Part 3, we go deeper into crucial and basic fundamentals in didactics: learning theories. Part 4 gives examples on how two University Colleges in Norway, Agder and Bergen have invested in their education of school librarians and librarians and on how these investments are meant to bridge gaps between institutions, professionals, and professionals and users.
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Antonio Giner-Gomis, Raúl González-Fernández, Marcos J. Iglesias-Martínez, Ernesto López-Gómez and Inés Lozano-Cabezas
This paper aims to explore the perceptions of preservice teachers regarding their learning during the teaching practicum (TP) period in the context of the pandemic. Specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the perceptions of preservice teachers regarding their learning during the teaching practicum (TP) period in the context of the pandemic. Specifically, the objectives of this study are to analyze the difficulties and the learning consequences perceived by student teachers and also to identify proposals with which to improve the initial teacher education (ITE) during the TP period in times of uncertainty and crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a mixed-methods approach. The participants consisted of 89 preservice teachers (student teachers). An online questionnaire was used to collect data during January 2022 in two rounds. The data analysis was carried out from an integrative perspective and used both a descriptive approach and the content analysis of the participants’ narratives.
Findings
The results show the differences, adjustments and adaptations that have had to be implemented in schools as a whole. The findings also highlight the difficulties that the pandemic context has caused for the TP period in schools and the relevant implications that it has had on ITE during these past two academic years.
Originality/value
This research is relevant for a better understanding of the challenges faced during the pandemic in the field of early childhood and primary education. More specifically, this paper gives important clues to higher education institutions on how to carry out TP, especially in times of uncertainty and crisis.
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Francesca Bassi, Renata Clerici and Debora Aquario
Students’ evaluation of teaching quality plays a major role in higher education. Satisfaction is not directly observable, nevertheless it can be measured through multi-item…
Abstract
Purpose
Students’ evaluation of teaching quality plays a major role in higher education. Satisfaction is not directly observable, nevertheless it can be measured through multi-item measurement scales. These instruments are extremely useful and their importance requires accurate development and validation procedures. The purpose of this paper is to show how latent class (LC) analysis can improve the procedures for developing and validating a multi-item measurement scale for measuring students’ evaluation of teaching and, at the same time, provide a deeper insight in the phenomenon under investigation.
Design/methodology/approach
The traditional literature highlights specific protocols along with the statistical instruments to be used for achieving this goal. However, these tools are suited for metric variables but they are adopted even when the nature of the observed variables is different, as it often occurs, since in many cases the items are ordinal. LC analysis takes explicitly into account the ordinal nature of the variables and also the fact that the object of interest is unobservable.
Findings
The data refer to the questionnaire to evaluate didactics to the students of the University of Padua. Within LC analysis allows an insight of scale properties, such as dimensionality, validity and reliability. Moreover, the results provide a deeper view in the way students use the scale to report satisfaction suggesting to revise the instrument according to the suggestion by the National Agency for University Evaluation.
Originality/value
The paper gives an original contribution on two sides. On the side of methods, it introduces a more accurate methodology for evaluating scales to measure the students’ satisfaction. On the side of applications, it provides important suggestions to the university management to improve the process of quality of the didactics evaluation.
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Estefanía Martínez Valdivia, Maria del Carmen Pegalajar Palomino and Antonio Burgos-Garcia
Changes in society, the economy and health require a response from higher education regarding the training of professionals, specifically, future teachers. In this sense, active…
Abstract
Purpose
Changes in society, the economy and health require a response from higher education regarding the training of professionals, specifically, future teachers. In this sense, active methodologies constitute, in line with the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, a key strategic element in teacher training, given the need to educate for sustainability and social responsibility (SR). This study aims to examine innovative teaching-learning experiences based on the use of active methodologies and the interaction with sustainability and SR on the part of university students in Education.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology constitutes a systematic review of the qualitative, inductive and exploratory literature, on the basis of the PRISMA declaration principles. The sample is composed of research published between 2011 and 2021 in the world’s most important scientific databases in the educational context (WoS, Scopus and Eric-ProQuest).
Findings
This study reveals the methodologies that are most commonly used in ecological literacy, their implications for the acquisition of competencies in terms of curriculum sustainability and their relationship with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and SR. Higher education must reflect and demonstrate awareness of its social mission and pedagogical effectiveness, to transform education, taking as a reference the sustainability and SR in the university student’s curriculum.
Research limitations/implications
One of the main limitations of this study is the scarcity of research studies that include, jointly, the key descriptors analysed in this contribution such as teacher training, active methodologies, sustainability and SR. Another limitation to observe in this work is related to having considered as inclusion criteria solely research published in open access journals, since other research published in closed access journals is omitted.
Originality/value
This work demonstrates the usefulness of active methodologies in the training and professional development of future Education students in “sustainability”.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the variation in methods used to analyse lessons in order to improve teaching and learning.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the variation in methods used to analyse lessons in order to improve teaching and learning.
Design/methodology/approach
It addresses the question of how observations of lessons can be analysed, and what approaches and methods are applicable in the analysis of collected data in lesson and learning studies.
Findings
In lesson studies, the focus of research varies, the content and context of lessons vary and a variety of qualitative methods are applied in the analysis of lessons. Lesson study is proving to be a versatile research approach to the development of the quality of teaching and learning.
Originality/value
This review provides an overview of some qualitative methods of content analysis used as analytic tools in the studies presented in this issue of the journal.
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The purpose of this paper is to arrest an ongoing didactisation of teaching leading to the disappearance of the original content of knowledge.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to arrest an ongoing didactisation of teaching leading to the disappearance of the original content of knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Teaching can only be understood within its inner logic by exploring the individual expression of pedagogical practice in three dimensions: education, formation (Bildung), and didactics.
Findings
The use of sequence analysis is an effective method for the pedagogically based formation of teachers as professionals.
Originality/value
This research exposes evident contradictions between teaching and learning. It advances the view that Lesson Study be seen as the reconstruction of teaching for learning through sequence analysis of lessons.
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Carmen Orte, Lluís Ballester, Martí X. March, Josep L. Oliver, Belén Pascual and Maria Antònia Gomila
This research assesses the predictive capacity of key factors in the development of family competences: parent-children relationship, family involvement, family resilience and…
Abstract
Purpose
This research assesses the predictive capacity of key factors in the development of family competences: parent-children relationship, family involvement, family resilience and positive parenting. It also aims to establish which are the most discriminating factors between the groups showing the most and the least prosocial behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involves a longitudinal study of one child from 181 families; 155 families in the experimental group and 26 in the control group. Both boys and girls are included and their ages range from 8 to 14 years. The instruments employed are all validated for use with a Spanish population and include Karol Kumpfer’s questionnaires on family competence and the BASC questionnaire.
Findings
All of the factors analysed, with the exception of family involvement, proved to be predictive for prosocial behaviour, and the most discriminating among these were: parent-children relationship, family resilience and positive parenting.
Originality/value
One key issue in family prevention programmes is the development of prosocial behaviour. In this sense, the research developed here aims at highlighting protective factors as key to developing a prosocial behaviour.
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Carmen Orte, Lluís Ballester, Martí X. March, Joan Amer, Marga Vives and Rosario Pozo
The purpose of this paper is to first assess the long-term effects of the adaptation of the American Strengthening Families Programme in Spain (known as the Programa de…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to first assess the long-term effects of the adaptation of the American Strengthening Families Programme in Spain (known as the Programa de Competencia Familiar, translated into English as the Family Competence Programme (FCP)). The second aim is to identify family typologies and family changes regarding family competence over time. The paper’s initial hypothesis is that families have different behaviours and take advantage of the FCP in different ways.
Design/methodology/approach
Monitored applications of the FCP were conducted using a quasi-experimental design consisting of a control group and pre-test, post-test and two-year follow-up assessments. The sample was made up of 136 families who took part in the programme and another 18 who participated in the control groups. Validated instruments were applied to assess the methodological processes and the family assessments. A cluster analysis was undertaken to identify different family typologies and their evolution in relation to the FCP goals.
Findings
The FCP shows effective and consistent results over time for families in a variety of difficult situations, with important result maintenance. The longitudinal analysis (i.e. the two-year follow-up) demonstrates that the majority of changes identified (using the factors under consideration) maintained their relevance for most of the families, producing positive change.
Originality/value
There is little long-term evaluation or longitudinal analysis of family prevention programmes that are evidence-based and include cognitive-emotional content. This paper analyses the long-term evaluation of family prevention programmes and identifies the ways in which families change over time.
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