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This research examines the incorporation of Design for All (DfA) in the human nutrition and dietetics curriculum within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), aligning with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). A bibliographic review in the Scopus database focused on literature connecting DfA with this degree. The study also analyzed Spain's legal and educational frameworks, including ANECA's White Book and Order CIN/730/2009. The findings highlight a gap in explicitly including DfA in Spanish universities' curricula for this degree. The paper stresses the importance of integrating DfA across essential courses like public health and diet therapy. It suggests a pedagogical approach blending theory, problem-solving, and service-learning to foster an understanding of inclusivity. The article proposes strategies for embedding DfA in the curriculum, recommending the development of specific subjects and integrating DfA content into existing courses. This approach aims to prepare future professionals to offer inclusive nutrition and dietetic services, ensuring equitable access and participation for all, including those with disabilities. This curricular integration is vital for addressing societal needs and upholding quality and inclusivity in health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tonos Digital: Revista de Estudios Filológicos is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review on the state of the art of translator education into B/C languages in the Spanish post-Bologna university system. During the last ten years, Translation Studies in Spain have witnessed the implementation of new programmes adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Universities have gained autonomy to design their translation curricula, which has led to significant differences between programmes. This could not but affect approaches to translation into B/C languages, whose role in translator education has long been considered a sensitive issue. Results from an analysis of working languages and A-B/C translation course units embedded in undergraduate and postgraduate (Master) curricula show that a large number of translator-education units no longer offer the 'inverse' translation direction. This perception is felt more strongly in Master programmes despite translation out of the A language has been listed in a number of translation competence models. More importantly, it is a competence considered important or essential in the local and European employment markets, especially in translation environments where English has a place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the process of creation and implementation of the subject "Communication towards Equality" at the University Jaume I in Spain, within the new European Higher Education Area (EHEA) framework. The purpose of the paper is to present this experience of University teaching reform as a potential guideline for the implementation of equality in other programs. The EHEA offered challenges and possibilities for University reforms, which included the implementation of capacity-building for students. At the communication programs of our University, the curriculum has included issues of gender equality, aimed at training future professionals towards citizen empowerment. The paper is organized around three sections. First, we present the legal and epistemological framework that sustains our experience. This includes an overview of legal regulations (EHEA, Spanish and international laws) and a revision of the epistemological and methodological background, mainly based on Critical Theory and Pedagogy on communication for social change. Second, we unfold the subject "Communication towards Equality" with its main contents and methodologies. Finally, we draw some reflections on its two years of implementation and the implications for training undergraduate students in communications for social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educación XX1 is the property of Editorial UNED and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Educación XX1 is the property of Editorial UNED and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to summarise previous studies to develop a theoretical framework useful to describe and classify competitive intelligence (CI) practices. It is applied to study CI practices developed by Spanish universities, comparing usual practices with those developed during the process of adaptation of degrees to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), with strong challenges. Design/methodology/approach – The research employs a mixed-methods approach (semi-structured interviews and questionnaires) developed in two phases. It has focused on the academic offer, which represents 46.35 per cent of the degrees presented in 2009, belonging to 90.16 per cent of Spanish universities. Findings – The results reveal predominance of incipient and reactive practices, oriented to the tactical level. During the adaptation process, these practices evolved due to the perception of the involvement of universities in the adaptation process. In addition, the proposed theoretical framework could be a tool to study CI both in other university management areas and other kind of organisations. Research limitations/implications – This research has been applied only to a critic incident: the design of university academic offer to be adapted to the EHEA. More studies about CI practices in other areas of universities should be done, using the same framework proposed in this study. Practical implications – This framework based on research done in business sector can be applied to any kind or organisations, including NGO and public sectors. Originality/value – Management tools used in the business sector, such as CI, have been adopted by Higher Educations Institutions, but while CI has been studied in depth in the business sector, it has scarcely been studied in higher education. This framework can be applied to any kind or organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The competence evaluation promoted by the European High Education Area entails a very important methodological change that requires guiding support to help lecturers carry out this new and complex task. In this regard, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM, by its Spanish acronym) has financed a series of coordinated projects with the objectives of developing a model for teaching and evaluating core competencies and providing support to lecturers. This paper deals with the problem-solving competence. The first step has been to elaborate a guide for teachers to provide a homogeneous way to asses this competence. This guide considers several levels of acquisition of the competence and provides the rubrics to be applied for each one. The guide has been subsequently validated with several pilot experiences. In this paper we will explain the problem-solving assessment guide for teachers and will show the pilot experiences that have been carried out. We will finally justify the validity of the method to assess the problem-solving competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper analyses two aspects of developing formative assessment processes within universities in Spain: the academic performance of the students and the workload that formative assessment creates for both academic staff and students. It presents the results of 10 research projects covering the first semester of the 2007–08 academic year, mainly involving teacher education degrees. The research was undertaken to understand the impact on Spanish universities of introducing more formative assessment as part of moving towards greater convergence as envisaged by the Bologna process and addressing the concerns of tutors on an increase in workload. The research highlights: (a) the positive impact that formative assessment has on student engagement and performance; (b) the reduction in student failures and withdrawals; and (c) the disparity between the subjective views of students and tutors regarding the workload created by using more formative assessment. The final analysis suggests that it is true that moving from the traditional assessment methods to include more formative assessment does increase student and tutor workload, but not to the degree that students and staff might perceive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educade: Spanish Journal of Accounting, Finance & Management Education / Revista de Educación en Contabilidad, Finanzas y Administración de Empresas is the property of Asociacion Espanola de Contabilidad y Administracion de Empresas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of El Profesional de la Información is the property of EPI SCP and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The current crisis, unsustainable growth, financial scandals involves reflection on the role of universities in the professional training, particularly those who have to manage businesses. On this issue, there is a perception that the teaching of ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is insufficient (Baetz and Sharp, 2004; Kashyap et al., 2006). In this regard, universities play a fundamental role due both to the impact of the incorporation of CSR into the design of their study and research programs, and its incorporation into universities' mission, vision, and corporate strategy (Muijen, 2004). Then, the present study focuses jon analyzing both the definition of educational objectives and skills development to be acquired by students as the level of inclusion of CSR offered by Spanish universities. In particular, the present paper focuses on analyzing reports verified by National Agency for Quality Assessment of degrees related to the organizational management area implemented in the 2010-2011 academic course, which degrees has been developed based on European Higher Education Area. Based on previous papers, the results of the present paper show that the Bologna process and the Higher Education reform in Spanish universities have promoted an increase of the presence of CSR in the business education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zer: Journal of Communication Studies / Revista de Estudios de Comunicacion / Komunikazio Ikasketen Aldizkaria is the property of Universidad del Pais Vasco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: This paper presents the fundamental characteristics of the Final Year Project (FYP), its associated competences and some evaluation standards that derived from a research conducted by the regional government of Catalonia (Spain) and the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency. More analytically, the paper begins with the definition of the Final Year Project in social sciences, continues with the identification and analysis of its associated competences and the basic phases for its realization and finishes with the presentation of some fundamental evaluation standards. Our final proposal is considered as objective and effective not only for the realization of the FYP by the students, but also for its evaluation by the instructors, since it can easily be customized for different social sciences curricula. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) requests that universities introduce changes in the teaching-learning process. This paper is focused on evaluation as one of the key elements that the new educational model demands. This article offers a proposal of assessment in the core subject English Grammar in English Studies at the University of Alicante (Spain) as an illustrative example of how to evaluate large classes following the model proposed in Bologna. This study will concentrate specifically on the use of the portfolio as an element of evaluation in the said subject. In consequence, this paper will refer to practical issues that need to be taken into consideration when implementing this way of evaluating, and to the catalogue of different activities from which the portfolio will be evaluated. The results will show that the students evaluated with a portfolio obtained better grades than those students who were evaluated with a final exam. The paper will point out that the portfolio is a flexible way of evaluating that gives students autonomy in the organization of their learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of RIE: Revista de Investigacion Educativa is the property of RIE: Revista de Investigacion Educativa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Estudios Sobre Educacion is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Navarra, S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, the educational experiences of research in Engineering Education in the Escuela Universitaria de Ingenieria Tecnica de Telecomunicacion at the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid are presented. The research attempted to go beyond the experiences in the framework of the European Higher Education Area during the academic years 2005-2007. This paper describes the experience within the first-year course in the Escuela Universitaria de Ingenieria Tecnica de Telecomunicacion. Three years after the beginning of this research some feedback is given and some conclusions are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the last decades of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, the teaching of English for specific and/or professional and academic purposes has probably constituted one of the most innovative areas in the Spanish University. With the advent of the Bologna reform, the theory and praxis of this dynamic field of knowledge has enhanced its range of activity, so as to include not only students, but also lecturers, whithin its concerns. The result can be measured by the innumerable variety of CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning) teacher training experiences carried out along the Spanish Tertiary Education geography. This paper has two main purposes: on one hand, to give the account of the CLIL teacher training at the UPCT (included in the larger frame of teaching innovation programs), under its corresponding theoretical approach and bearing in mind the particular circumstances of the institution. On the other hand, to pose questions about the future perspectives of similar experiences in a teaching context that is becoming more and more complex and 'hybrid' from its very foundations. The partial conclusions of this study depict a global teaching/professional scenario that is both challenging and appealing, which must be seriously dealt with from the Universities and our common European administrative framework alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the opinion of agricultural engineers about their education, identify EHEA-based educational needs for a successful future, and depict the current situation of the labor market for graduate agricultural engineers as well as the professional prospects for undergraduate students. The chosen sample of Agricultural Engineers are those in the region of Galicia (NW of Spain). It is consisted of graduate students of the Higher Polytechnic School at the University of Santiago de Compostela since 1987 and members of the Galician Association of Agricultural Engineers (Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Agrónomos de Galicia--COIAG). The results show the dynamism of the profession in Galicia and reveal the importance of both traditional and new areas of activity. In addition, the results show high expectations among the participants regarding the new curriculum. Agricultural engineers acknowledge and support all the competencies included in the curricula and demand more competencies related to the new fields of activity of the profession to be included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to propose and empirically contrast a structural model of relationships between academic–professional competences in tourism higher education. Currently, much attention is being paid to the concept of competence. However, in the literature review, we did not find any proposal for a holistic approach that tends to understand the relationships between the generic and specific competences in higher education. This study is focused on a subject of the tourism degree in the University of Seville (Spain). It is based on a sample of 154 students. The results confirm that there are relationships between the generic and specific competences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has promoted the implementation of a teaching methodology based on competences. Drawing on New Institutional Sociology, the present work aims to identify and improve knowledge concerning the factors which are hindering that change in the Spanish university system. This is investigated using a case study based on a Spanish university which is a pioneer in the implementation of a competence-based curriculum. The results show that factors identified and analysed are conditioning the change and causing a ceremonial adoption of the competence-based system by the teaching staff. The results of the study may be of use as a reference and orientation for educators and administrators as well as for the regulators of those countries integrated within the EHEA. The study may prove useful in the analysis of inertia factors present when designing and implementing the policies and measures necessary to achieve a comprehensive teaching methodology; one which incorporates learning and assessment of competences in a real manner. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Higher education is immersed in a deep reform for its adjustment to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), where degrees and competences are validated for the whole European area. In this context, the teaching of taxation in the Degrees of Social and Law Science, as well as the rest of disciplines, goes through a period of reflection and it is starting up a series of experiences to increase the role played by the students in their learning process. In this paper we analyze the task carried out in the course Spanish Public Sector I, directed to last-year-of-a-course economics students. Most of them are digital natives and therefore the task is put into practice through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the Virtual Campus of the University of Oviedo. This experience will help us face this new period adapted to Bologna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of El Profesional de la Información is the property of EPI SCP and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 2010, the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was launched in many countries of the European Union. A major part of this initiative concerns the development of common policies for the quality assessment of higher education institutions, a process that is widely regarded as of utmost importance, and in which students have significant involvement. While student satisfaction is considered an important predictor of overall quality, proper analysis of student feedback is difficult as it includes both academic and non-academic factors, as well as personal expectations. On the other hand, graduates have a more holistic perspective from which they can assess their degrees, and there are fewer confounding factors that have to be accounted for in their feedback. This study analyses a dataset obtained from Spanish nationwide surveys to graduates with the objective of exploring their satisfaction with university in the light of their employment status. Statistical analyses, in which job relatedness appears as the most important predictor of satisfaction with higher education, are discussed with an emphasis on the socio-economic status of Spain in the period the surveys were performed (1998–2002). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The implementation of the European Higher Education Area in Spain has involved a substantial change in the traditional practices of university education, introducing important modifications both in the teaching methodology and in the assessment criteria. This work presents the experience carried out by the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Albacete in the subject of Cost Accounting. The paper aims to determine whether the new methodologies used in recent years and the introduction of new criteria for assessment have had a positive impact on the improvement of the students' performance and motivation in the aforementioned subject, which is taught in the third year of the degree in Business and Management Administration (ADE). In order to achieve this, we compared the grades obtained by students during the academic years 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 (in which the ECTS methodology was applied) with those obtained in the two immediately preceding academic years: 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 (where the teaching methodology involved lectures and a final exam worth 100% of the final grade). The findings evince an overall increase in the rate of students who take the exam and participate in the process of continuous assessment as a result of the new teaching methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of the European Higher Education Area has been an adaptation challenge for Spanish universities. New methodologies require a more active role on the students'' part and come into conflict with the previous educational model characterised by a high student/professor ratio, a lecture-based teaching methodology and a summative assessment. The use of computers is a key factor to face this situation. In previous works, the authors found that e-assessment was a helpful tool for the diagnostic and formative assessment of mechanics in engineering when working with large groups. The aim of this work was to put forward a global proposal for the assessment of mechanics in engineering with overcrowded groups based on the use of e-assessment in all the diagnostic, formative and summative stages of the assessment process and, in particular, to analyse the extent to which e-assessment could successfully replace the traditional assessment of mechanics in engineering. Sixty students participated in an experiment by answering both a computer multiple-choice e-test and a traditional paper-based problem-solving examination. The results obtained by comparing the two assessment methodologies highlight the idea that both can be considered alternatives from a global perspective, as a significant correlation was observed between the global grades obtained through both tests. However, no equivalent assessment of specific competences was observed, which could be attributed to the fact that the tests evaluated different aspects of the same learning outcome. This work proposes a new assessment approach that considers a combination of traditional and computer-based online activities to achieve a more complete and fair students'' evaluation. Furthermore, the new proposal implies a considerably lighter workload for lecturers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents some findings of a research study conducted in five Spanish universities about teachers needs for teaching in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). A survey procedure has been applied to a sample of teachers in the five university scientific areas. Aimed to establish teaching needs, data analysis of this research has poured a big amount of specific topics referring to six teaching blocks of competences: planning and developing teaching and conducting evaluation and tutoring, besides organizing teaching and lifelong learning. We have compared the result from the five scientific areas, and different teachers' categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electronic Journal of Educational Research, Assessment & Evaluation / Revista Electrónica de Investigación y Evaluación Educativa is the property of RELIEVE - Revista Electonica de Investigacion y Evaluacion Educativa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study is focused on applying a competence-based education model to the Projects subject at the School of Industrial Engineering, University of Vigo. The aim has been to try to adapt to Bologna Process before it affects the subject in order to gain experience, to apply learned lesson and to change the working method and teacher's assessment. The two pillars of this experience have been: Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Virtual Learning. These two educational methodologies have been implemented in two consecutive stages, one year for each methodology. The paper will deal with this model design presentation; the different experienced training activities; the solutions that allowed for capacities, abilities and attitudes; organization criteria and some thoughts derived from its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to identify the professional competencies that teachers working in the autonomous community of Madrid consider necessary in their educational practice. With this aim, a questionnaire was designed to analyze the importance of such competencies to teachers in the practice of their profession, the employment of these competencies, and training the teachers received in how to carry these competencies. Next, our compiled results are compared with those of other research in this field, and finally some proposals for initial training are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adaptation to EHEA of the Spanish University involves a wide range of changes in the existing curricula of Documentation. The launch of the new title 'Bachelor in Information and Documentation' implies the implementation of a compulsory subject -the Grade Thesis-oriented to the realization of a research project at the end of the studies, with the objective of introducing the student in basic or applied research about any of the subjects studied along the grade. The object of this paper is to analyze the main themes of the projects developed in the LIS studies of the University of Murcia; and verify their degree of consistency with the subjects of the present curriculum and with the proposed compulsory subjects for the new title; checking whether if, at the end of their studies, the students channelled their activity within the main subjects of the curriculum or whether they directed their research into elective subjects and even into collateral subjects of their curricula. This review provides very valuable information with a view to this launching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Estudios Sobre Educacion is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Navarra, S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Spanish universities are engaged in the implementation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This process implies the use of the most effective instructional designs and methodologies in order to achieve deep learning, increase student involvement in their own development, and professional and personal-greater autonomy in the construction of knowledge. Peer-feedback is an effective strategy to reach such requirements. The study aimed to analyze the type of feedback students provide in peer-assessment in group work projects and to investigate students' perception towards peer-assessment for the improvement of the learning process. The methods were mixed. A semantic analysis of the type of feedback was conducted. A total of 637 feedback units were analysed according to the guidelines developed in the project. In addition, questionnaires to students and teachers involved in the experience were administrated. The results demonstrate that the great majority of feedback offered by students was related to task development, followed by feedback regarding the motivational aspects of the process and finally the structural and formal aspects of the writing. At the end of the process, both teachers and students declared that the feedback received helped them to better develop the task and support them in future learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a research that examines the university students' risk perception when using a Learning Management System called "aLF" and implemented by the Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED) for the development of its university distance studies. The development of comprehensive Learning Management Systems for teachinglearning distance practices in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is a challenge for universities all around Europe. For this reason, it is necessary to analyze not only the benefits that involve these environments but the risks perceived by its users to improve teaching methods and design better user interfaces. Through a quantitative method, we test 588 students' opinions about their risks perceptions when using this LMS to study the University degree in Pedagogy. Results show that main risks are concentrated in two dimensions: dimension 1 "basic or general" with high incidence of "fear of making mistakes" and "ignorance of the course content; and dimension 2 "own and beyond students' circumstances" where it is important to stand out the risks not directly controlled by the students: "warning from the authorities for not developing the program", "isolation from teachers" and "delegation of control". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we analyse, first, what competences regarding environmental sustainability are envisaged in the curricula of primary teachers at Spanish universities and, second, to what extent these competences guide the aims and content of the subject matter and the topics in the syllabi. From an analysis of the 79 competences which, according to ministerial regulations, should direct primary teacher training, three are directly related to environmental sustainability. The analysis of the content of the curricula from a sample made up of 23 Spanish universities indicates that these three competences have been taken into account in all of them, and that in 73% of the curricula other competences directly related to environmental sustainability are also incorporated. In a few cases, however, their degree of precision is vague. In only 26% of the curricula studied is a specific subject of environmental education – always optional – envisaged, and this topic is where the main educational efforts regarding sustainability are focused. In the absence of studies that analyse other more detailed curricular planning documents, the curricula of future primary teachers in Spain does not seem to ensure good training with respect to environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educación XX1 is the property of Editorial UNED and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Data from over 21,600 students who left Catalan higher education institutions during the academic years 2000–2001 and 2001–2002 have been analysed in order to describe the academic and personal profiles of university dropouts. Additionally, a telephone survey and face-to-face interviews with a pilot group of leavers were conducted to gather additional qualitative information about the reasons for their decision. The influences on non-completion can be reduced to three main factors, among which dissatisfaction with the quality of the students’ experience, family and work responsibilities as well as economic difficulties, are prominent. Analysis conducted showed no significant differences between Catalan higher education institutions, with dropout percentages ranging from 28% to 33%. These rates should be understood within a context of broad access to higher education. Within the European Higher Education Area scenario, the findings have triggered institutional endeavours to improve the quality of the students’ and teachers’ experience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

University expansion in higher education has been hierarchically differentiated. There is some concentration of certain social profiles in some degrees of study, so social composition between degrees can vary considerably. This article describes in terms of social composition 10 degrees of four public universities in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. We analyse 857 questionnaires filled in by mid-career students. From the perspective of agent's decision on the choice of studies, we explore what were the factors that made them choose a concrete degree. We examine several variables that can indicate whether their expectations have been met or not. The results show that the factors predicted by the theory by which working-class (WC) students choose degrees-instrumental motivations and conditions that minimize the risk-are often met. In this regard, the recent structural reform related with the implementation of the European Higher Education Area that removes short-cycles degrees (3 years) could lead to a problem of access for WC students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of RUSC: Revista de Universidad y Sociedad del Conocimiento is the property of Fundacio per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The participation of Spain in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) involves a number of important challenges for academics. Adapting to an educational model that is characterised by competence-based teaching is a difficult task, yet it is of paramount importance in the context of current reforms. In an educational system in which the traditional lecture prevails, learning-centred teaching represents a major cultural change with significant consequences. The objective of this study is to offer economics lecturers some practical techniques for use in the classroom. Specifically, it includes suggestions for the planning, preparation and teaching of lectures, seminars, tutorials, case studies, debates, and computer-based learning. It also provides practical advice on student assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a quasi-experimental investigation with a pre-test/post-test control group design carried out in the second semester of the academic year 2006-2007 with Spanish pre-service English teachers at the University of Jaen in Spain. Its aim was to determine whether the use of virtual learning environments (VLE) and computer-mediated communication (CMC) within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) could improve the teacher trainees' lexical competence. After outlining the rationale of the initiative, grounded on previous research outcomes and on the novelty of the experience, this article describes the actual project and study. It outlines the semantic fields, lexical aspects, vocabulary learning strategies, and activity types on which the project has focused and goes on to describe the research design and procedure of the investigation. It subsequently presents and discusses the results yielded by the latter. The limitations of the study, together with the lines for future research and the consequences which the project has had, are broached in the final section of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article seeks to bridge the gap between policy and practice in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). It illustrates how the underlying policies of the European Credit Transfer system (ECTS) are practically implemented in the language teaching arena, using five pedagogical innovation projects as a backdrop. It then reports on one of the first studies in Europe to offer empirical data on the functioning of this new system. Building on the unique position of the degree in English philology at the University of Jaen, a quasi-experimental investigation with a pre/post-test control group design was conducted throughout the course of the academic year 2005-2006 with Spanish university freshmen in order to determine the possible differential effects of the new ECTS framework. The quantitative data are complemented with qualitative questionnaires which provide interesting insights into the students' perceptions of the implementation of the new system. The results and implications, discussed in a final section, are essential to determine whether the ECTS scheme is working as it should be, whether the Bologna standards can indeed be met by 2010, and whether the EHEA is a feasible reality or an impractical ideal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking as reference the proposals of the European Higher Education Area, the aim of this study is to identify the competencies which a wide sample of teachers in Spanish primary schools (6-12 age group) consider to be important for their professional performance and which they use in their everyday teaching, and to what extent their university training prepared them for their practising professional development. To do this, an ad hoc instrument was devised and applied to experienced practising teachers and to teacher trainees who were on teacher training placements during the last semester of their course. The results of the study show that initial teacher training should deal in depth with the competencies related to the organisation and management of teaching-learning, the use of new technologies in the primary classroom, the involvement of the families, education in values, social skills and skills for working in professional groups. Finally, proposals are made for training based on the articulation between theory and practice, to allow the professional competencies mentioned to be developed and used in practice, as well as encouraging close collaboration between teacher trainers and experienced practising teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spain is currently adapting its existing university system to European Higher Education Area guidelines for the 2009-2010 academic year. Against this background, we analyzed the development and transformation of the audio-visual communication degree currently offered in Catalan universities, consisting of a hybrid of theoretical and practical knowledge applied in the audio-visual field. We describe research results based on the following data: audio-visual curricular content for eight Catalan universities, nine in-depth interviews conducted with heads of audiovisual communication studies and a survey of 111 companies regarding labour market performance of audio-visual communication students on work experience programmes. On the basis of the results of our study we propose a solution to the problem of adapting audio-visual communication degrees to the European Higher Education Area system, based on developing specialisation pathways for different job roles, media platforms and genres. The pathway option equips the degree with professional specificity and enables flexible curricula to be developed in accordance with the capacities of individual universities and the demands of the private sector. The study also highlights the lack of definition in the job roles of audio-visual communication graduates and the difficulties in establishing differential skills for this course of studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo hace una exposición sobre qué es, cómo se desarrolla y cuál es la situación de España en el proceso de la construcción del Entorno Europeo de Educación Superior. Se habla del llamado proceso de Bolonia, un resultado de la reforma de las instituciones de educación superior europeas. Se da un repaso histórico del desarrollo del Proceso de Bolonia. Se explican el sistema europea de créditos y el Suplemento Europeo al Título. Se hablan de los dos niveles que dan lugar a tres titulaciones-el título de Bachelor, el de Master y el Doctorado.

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