Session Information
10 SES 04 D, The Role of Research and The Teacher Education Curriculum
Paper Session
Contribution
The teaching profession has become one of the hotbeds of debate in the national and international educational community due to the emergence of assessments of education systems several decades ago[1]. In recent years, aspects such as the selection of teachers, their initial training and ongoing training, among others, have begun to receive special interest because teachers are considered a fundamental axis in the activity of educational centers (Fernández Enguita, 2001; Gimeno, 2013; among others).
One of the demands made by the European Union in advancing its 2020 strategic project is the need to increase investment in initial training for pre-primary and primary school teachers. The importance given to the syllabuses prescribed in each university is the subject of numerous research studies (Fernández-Díaz, Carballo-Santaolalla y Galán-González, 2010; OECD, 2013; OECD, 2014; European Commission, 2013; European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2015; Imbernon, 1991; MECD, 2004; Maldonado, 2004; Benarroch, Mingorance, Ortiz and Rico, 2009; Ávila, Jiménez and Ramos, 2011).
In Spain, the 1812 Constitution was the first to include the uniformity of teaching syllabuses throughout the state. With the advent of the ambitious and complex plan of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) 9 years ago together with Royal Decree 1393/2007, which established the planning of official university teaching, all the country's universities, including those of Education, were forced to reform their curricula. In spite of the changes that the curricula have undergone since their origin, one of the main aims is to guide both teachers and students so that they can successfully complete the degree and obtain the corresponding degree.
In Spain, the Ministerial Order ECI/3857/2007 is the only one that allows classes to be taught in the Pre-Primary and Primary Education stages, and it prescribes the general objectives and competencies that each of the independent syllabuses of the university in which they are offered must include. In order to exercise the profession of general or specialist teacher and occupy a position in a public or private school, it is necessary to hold a 4-year Bachelor's degree in Pre-Primary or Primary Education with a total of 240 ECTS and the corresponding qualification certificate, if applicable. This same Order establishes a minimum of credits per module: 60 ECTS linked to subjects of Basic Formation (FB), 100 ECST assigned to subjects of practical-educational character (OB), and 50 ECTS destined to the practicum (PE school practices and TFG-grade final work). However, the remaining 30 credits will be distributed according to the specific objectives of each university. Article 2 of Royal Decree 1594/2011, on Teachers' Specialties, establishes the following: Infant Education, Primary Education, Foreign Language (English, French or German), Physical Education, Music, Therapeutic Pedagogy and Hearing and Language.
This study aims to respond to: Does the initial teacher training offered by public universities in the autonomous communities correspond to the model established by national regulations? Therefore, the general objective is to analyze and compare the syllabuses of the Pre-Primary and Primary Education Degrees of Spanish public universities. The specific objectives are: (1) to establish differences and similarities in the designation of the title, in the distribution of European credits according to the type of subject, in the requirement for specialist training and in the distribution of training practices, and (2) to determine whether or not there is uniformity in the syllabuses.
[1] Following the recent publication of the Eurydice Report: The Teaching Profession in Europe (2015), Eurydice España-REDIE (Spanish Education Information Network) has commissioned us a project, 439-2016 UCM, entitled "Description of the Teaching Profession in Pre-Primary and Primary Education in Spain. Year 2017". This study is part of that proyect.
Method
The study carried out was of a comparative nature under a qualitative and descriptive methodological framework. 1. Analysis units The units of analysis are the syllabuses of the Pre-Primary and Primary Education Degrees of all Spanish universities of public ownership, which lead to the obtaining of official degrees. 2. Scope The population scope extends to all Spanish public universities. The 78 syllabuses corresponding to the Grades of Pre-Primary and Primary Education offered by the 39 Spanish public universities have been compiled, analyzed and compared, allowing the teaching profession to be practiced in our country. The territorial scope, therefore, covers the entire national territory. For the reference period, the data analyzed correspond to academic years 2016/2017 and 2017/2018. 3. Collection and processing of information In the first place, the regulations establishing the regulation of official university studies were revised, as well as the Orders establishing the requirements for the verification of official university degrees that qualify teachers to exercise the profession of Pre-Primary and Primary Education Teachers. Subsequently, the 78 syllabuses of the Pre-Primary and Primary Education Degrees offered by the 39 Spanish public universities were compiled. These data were collected from three different databases: A. On the one hand, the RUCT. The Register of Universities, Centers and Degrees (RUCT) is a database containing all the official degrees of Degree, Master's and Doctorate (Royal Decree 1509/2008). B. On the other hand, from the public application of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport called What to Study and Where at University (QEDU). This application includes the official studies that have been verified by the Council of Universities and their joint programming. Access to the application is available on the following website: https://www.educacion.gob.es/notasdecorte/busquedaSimple.action C. Finally, from the search engine What to Study and Where? It is a search engine that serves to guide students in their choice of official degree, master's or doctoral studies. Access is available at: http://srv.aneca.es/ListadoTitulos/ With this material together with another one gathered from the official web pages of the Spanish public universities and from the reports published in the BOE, several ad hoc documentary registration guidelines were elaborated to juxtapose the information and thus proceed to the comparative analysis of the syllabuses. Finally, after analysis, the question of research is answered by showing whether initial training in Spain correspond to the model established by national regulations.
Expected Outcomes
The results obtained show that there are substantial differences in the syllabus prescribed by each of the public universities in Spain with regard to: 1. The name of the title, there are four variations in the name of the program: • Grade level in Pre-Primary / Primary Education (8%) • Grade Level in Teacher of/in Pre-Primary / Primary Education (26%) • Pre-Primary / Primary Education Teacher (10%) • Grade in Pre-Primary / Primary Education (56%) 2. The distribution of credits by type of subject, by qualifying mention and by external practices, which in some way can be the starting point for evolving towards more balanced curricula (the tables with the juxtaposed results will be shown on the day of the exhibition). In addition, university profiles can be established according to their practical approach: • Universities with the most practical-professional character (between 1100 and 1200 hours): The University of Cantabria, the University of Castilla-La Mancha, the University of Alicante, the University of Extremadura and the University of Vigo, among others. • Universities with less practical-professional character (between 900 and 1000 hours): The University of Girona, the Public University of Navarra, the University of Alcalá and the University of the Basque Country, among others. It is also noteworthy that some universities recognize the most important training mentioned, therefore, students will have greater specialization by dedicating more hours to specialization. This is the case with the University of Valladolid, the University of Alicante, the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Autonomous University of Madrid. After the analysis, it determines there is not uniformity in the syllabuses. As stated in a study carried out six years ago by Ávila, Jiménez and Ramos (2011), flexibility and diversity are two principles that regulate the new curricula, highlighting the great margin of autonomy available to universities for their development.
References
Ávila, M., Jiménez, L. & Ramos, F. J. (2011). Competences for the teaching profession: Analysis of the new degrees of the Teacher's Degree in Primary Education. Professional competences of the teacher. UCLM: Ciudad Real Benarroch, A., Mingorance, A. C., Ortiz, J. J. & Rico, A. M. (2009). Curricula in teacher training in Primary Education in the European Higher Education Area. An empirical study to find out where we come from and where we're going. Publications, 39, pp. 135-160. Casarini, M. (1999). Theory and curriculum design. Mexico: threshing. Fernández Díaz, M. J., Carballo Santaolalla, R. y Galán González, A. (2010). Faculty attitudes and training needs to respond the new European Higher Education challenges, Higher Education, 60, 101-118. European Commission, (2013). Study on Policy Measures to improve the Attractiveness of the Teaching Profession in Europe. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, (2015). The Teaching Profession in Europe: Practices, Perceptions, and Policies. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Fernández Enguita, M. (2001). Educate in uncertain times. Madrid: Morata. Furlán, A. (1996). Resume and institution. Mexico: CIEEN Morevallado. Garcia, J. L. (1991). Fundamentals of Comparative Education. Madrid: Dykinson. Gimeno, J. (2013). In search of the meaning of education. Madrid: Morata. Glaszman, R. & Ibarrola, M. (1978) Curriculum design. Mexico: UNAM. Imbernon, F. (1991): New studies, new degrees. Cuadernos de Pedagogía, 192, pp. 96-104. Maldonado, A. F. (2004). Teachers' degrees: the process of their design. Revista Interuniversitaria de Formación del Profesorado, 18, (3), pp. 43-59. McKinsey & Company (2010, noviembre). How the world’s most improved school systems keep getting better. [online]. Available at: http://mckinseyonsociety.com/how-the-worlds-most-improved-school-systems-keep-getting-better/ [2017, 10 December]. MECD. (2004). The Spanish Educational System. Madrid: MECD/CIDE. OECD (2014). Talis 2013 Results: An International Perspective on Teaching and Learning, OECD Publishing. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264196261-en. [2017, 15 December]. OECD (2013). Teaching and Learning International Survey: Conceptual Framework. Available at: www.oecd.org/edu/school/TALIS%202013%20Conceptual%20Framework.pdf. [2017, 15 December]. Order ECI/3857/2007, of 27 December, which establishes the requirements for the verification of official university degrees that qualify teachers to exercise the profession of Primary Education Teacher. Royal Spanish Academy. (2001). Dictionary of the Spanish language (22. aed.). [online] http://www.rae.es/rae.html [Consulted: 25/01/2018] Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, establishing the regulation of official university education. Royal Decree 1594/2011, of 4 November, establishing the teaching specialties of the Corps of Teachers.
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