Competencies in Higher Education: A Critical Analysis from the Capabilities Approach     

J. Felix Lozano  Alejandra Boni  Jordi Peris  Andrés Hueso 《Journal of Philosophy of Education》2012,46(1):132-147

With the creation of the European Higher Education Area, universities are undergoing a significant transformation that is leading towards a new teaching and learning paradigm. The competencies approach has a key role in this process. But we believe that the competence approach has a number of limitations and weaknesses that can be overcome and supplanted by the capabilities approach. In this article our objective is twofold: first, make a critical analysis of the concept of competence as it is being used in higher education, identifying its limitations and weaknesses; and second, present the potential of the capabilities approach for higher education and review its complementarity to the competence approach. We begin with a brief characterisation of the capabilities approach and its implications for education. Then we examine some implications of the competencies approach in higher education and the reasons that led us to choose the DeSeCo proposal for comparison with the capability approach. We then go on to compare the two approaches, addressing 1) the aims of education and 2) the concept of competence and capability. Finally, we address the implications of incorporating the capabilities approach in learning and teaching in higher education.  相似文献   

The adult heritage Spanish speaker in the foreign language classroom: a phenomenography     

Angela Felix 《International journal of qualitative studies in education》2013,26(2):145-162

For heritage speakers, the Spanish classroom is not the first point of contact with their native language. Though such learners would benefit from an educational philosophy that affirms the heritage language as a springboard for learning and increased self‐awareness, there has been little support for non‐dominant language research in the USA. This inattention breeds negative consequences not only for heritage speakers themselves, but also for national economic concerns as well. This study takes a phenomenographic approach to reveal the experiences of adult heritage Spanish speakers in programs designed for monolingual English speakers. The data gleaned from this research sheds light on the educational, social, and individual challenges faced by the adult heritage speaker in their quest to improve literacy skills in their native language.  相似文献   

Factors affecting teachers’ student-centered classroom computer use     

Helmut Felix Friedrich  Aemilian Hron 《Educational Media International》2013,50(4):273-285

The present study aims at investigating which factors are relevant to induce teachers’ student-centered classroom computer use. Survey data were collected from 361 teachers at comprehensive schools. Based on a systemic view of technology use in schools, different individual teacher characteristics and school contextual factors were examined. Results from a four-step hierarchical regression reveal that student-centered classroom computer use could be significantly predicted by certain contextual factors: the type of school (secondary modern and high school), the existence of an ICT school policy plan, as well as by the individual teacher characteristics of belief in constructivist pedagogy and their frequency of classroom computer use. The final regression model accounted for approximately 31% of the variance in the outcome measure for these factors.  相似文献   

Coteaching with senior students – a way to refine teachers’ PCK for teaching chemical bonding in upper secondary school     

Felix Schultze  Pernilla Nilsson 《International Journal of Science Education》2018,40(6):688-706

During the last decade there has been on-going discussions about students’ declining interest and low achievement in science. One of the reasons suggested for this decline is that teachers and students have different frames of reference, whereby teachers sometimes communicate science in the classroom in a way that is not accessible to the students. There is a lack of research investigating the effects of coteaching with senior students in science in upper secondary schools. To improve teaching and to narrow the gap between teachers’ and students’ different frames of references, this study investigates how an experienced chemistry teacher gains and refines her pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) by cooperating with two grade 12 students (age 18) as coteachers. The teacher and the two coteachers coplanned, cotaught and coevaluated lessons in chemical bonding in a grade 10 upper secondary class. Findings indicate that the coteachers contributed with their own learning experiences to help the teacher understand how students perceive difficult concepts. In such way, the coteachers were mediating between the teacher and the students, thus bridging the gap between the teacher and the students’ frames of references. The teachers’ PCK was refined which in turn lead to improved teaching strategies.  相似文献   

Preparing pre-service teachers to integrate technology into K–12 instruction: evaluation of a technology-infused approach     

Wilfried Admiraal  Felix van Vugt  Frans Kranenburg  Bob Koster  Ben Smit  Sanne Weijers 《Technology, Pedagogy and Education》2017,26(1):105-120

The quality of how technology is addressed in teacher education programmes is conditional for how student teachers apply technology in secondary schools after their graduation. Two technology-infused courses of one teacher education programme were evaluated. In line with studies on the development of pre-service teachers’ technological, pedagogical and content knowledge, two important enablers were distinguished: (1) teaching practice to enact what was learned in teacher education institution as well as to receive feedback from students on this enactment, and (2) modelling of teacher educators and teachers in school. Both enablers might require further development of knowledge and skills of both teacher educators and cooperating school teachers.  相似文献   

Seaweeds     

Felix Bast 《Resonance》2014,19(2):149-159

Seaweeds are taxonomically diverse group of marine plants from which the land plants diverged over fifty crore years ago. Traditionally having been classified based on plant color as green, brown and red, modern molecular systematic evidences suggest that these plants are extraordinarily diverse. A number of seaweeds are edible and have been projected as a future food source. Seaweeds are also important to humanity in a number of ways, including as a source of medicines, food supplements, industrial chemicals, and as a potential candidate for biofuel research and CCS (carbon capture and sequestration). This article introduces the readers to the fascinating world of marine biology in general and seaweeds in particular, with an emphasis on Indian flora.  相似文献   

From higher education to work patterns of labor market entry in Germany and the US     

Marita Jacob  Felix Weiss 《Higher Education》2010,60(5):529-542

Comparative studies describing the transition from higher education to work have often simplified the complex transition processes involved. In this paper we extend previous research by taking into account several steps that comprise labor market entry, e.g., recurrent education leading to more than one instance of labor market entry. By comparing Germany and the United States we also examine how the tertiary education systems influence these transitions via the mode of stratification (parallel tracks in Germany vs. consecutive tracks in the US), the coordination mechanism (state-controlled vs. market-based) and the degree of standardization in educational programs. In our empirical analyses using large-scale longitudinal survey data we find that transitions in the US are less standardized and regulated than in Germany. Furthermore, differences between students from lower- and higher-tier institutions are less marked than expected, both within and between the two countries.  相似文献   

Do my teachers treat me justly? Implications of students’ justice experience for class climate experience     

Felix Peter  Claudia Dalbert 《Contemporary educational psychology》2010

A questionnaire study with 401 grade 8 and 9 students from academic-track secondary schools in Germany examined the hypotheses that the more students experience their teachers’ behavior toward them personally to be just, the better their individual experience of class climate, and that the belief in a just world (BJW) is positively related to both student experiences. Class climate was assessed in terms of two second-order dimensions: classroom climate (e.g., willingness to learn) and student climate (e.g., community). Multilevel analyses revealed that the more the students evaluated their teachers’ behavior toward them personally to be just, the more positively they evaluated the classroom and student climate. Moreover, students with a strong BJW tended to evaluate their teachers’ behavior toward them personally to be more just and the climate of their class to be more positive. Furthermore, the experience of teacher justice partly mediated the BJW’s effect on the climate evaluations. Thus, a strong BJW seems to function as a personal resource for students, explaining significant parts of their individual experience of both teacher justice and class climate at school. Most importantly, individually experienced teacher justice seems to be a significant factor when it comes to understanding class climate. Implications are discussed.  相似文献   

Crux of time management for students     

Felix Bast 《Resonance》2016,21(1):71-88

At the beginning of each academic session, I typically devote a class or two to share my tips on time management and personal productivity with newly admitted students at the Central University of Punjab. I believe this is a crucial first step for students, as the curriculum hardly contains any information on either. I also notice that an article on this important theme is altogether non-existent. In this write-up, some of the most important methods of time management and personal productivity are thoroughly reviewed before concluding with a few pedagogical suggestions for teachers to ensure that their students manage time efficiently and be more productive with their studies and research.  相似文献   

Predicting Participation in Environmental Education by Teachers in Coastal Regions of Tanzania     

Brett Bruyere  Peter E. Nash  Felix Mbogella 《The Journal of environmental education》2013,44(3):168-180

Theories of responsible environmental behavior (REB) have most often been applied in developed countries and to direct forms of REB such as recycling and conserving water. This study applied a model of REB to a developing country setting in Tanzania based in part on variables from a Hungerford and Volk (1990) Hungerford, H. R. and Volk, T. L. 1990. Changing learner behavior through EE. Journal of Environmental Education, 21: 8–21. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] model and targeting an indirect form of behavior: teaching environmental education (EE) to youth. A quantitative survey was developed and administered to 397 teachers from schools in coastal regions of the country. Regression analyses revealed a sequential model in which entry level variables predicted ownership variables, and ownership variables predicted empowerment variables. In addition, cognitive variables were particularly strong in predicting behavioral intent compared to affective variables.  相似文献