Session Information
10 SES 12 C, Parallel Paper Session
Parallel Paper Session
Contribution
Formal aspects of study programmes, for instance the formal definition of students’ time investment into their studies, known as workload, are currently being debated in Germany. This is related to the discourse on the outcomes of the Bologna Process and the results of more than 10 years of restructuring higher education. With the introduction of Bachelor and Masters degrees based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), the requirements of the study programmes are now to be defined by the approximate time that is needed by an average student to fulfill those requirements. Generally it is assumed that students should invest 40 hours work per week in their studies; roughly 30 hours of study time are rewarded with 1 ECTS point for the student (see, for example, Wex 2005, HRK 2004). However, the discussion on the formal and actual average workloads of students does not seem to offer much insight into the realities of studying.
Empirical data show that the actual workload of students lies between 23 and 25 hours per week and, hence, well below those formally defined workloads (see Kuhlee 2011, also Schulmeister & Metzger 2011). Thereby, the empirical data indicate a highly individualized approach to studying with regard to the amount of time invested and the distribution of those investments over the semester, as well as to the different parts of the study programme. At the same time, significant correlations between this actual workload of students and (a) their perceived stress, (b) their average marks and (c) the actual period of study students need to eventually finish their study programme cannot be identified (see Kuhlee 2012). Aiming to understand students’ approaches to studying in more detail the question arises: Why, on the one hand, do students invest so differently into their studies? On the other hand, how do students use their invested time with regard to their studies? Are there differences in learning approaches between different groups of students? If so, what are the reasons for those differences? This paper discusses these questions.
Using empirical data from the Master of Education, a university-based Initial Teacher Education program in the Federal State of Berlin, the paper looks at possible relationships between time investment, learning approaches and learning outcomes of students. Therefore, the paper analyses individual qualitative and quantitative data on students’ time investment, learning approaches and learning outcomes. The paper therefore takes the individual characteristics of students into account, such as socio-demographic background, self-efficacy (see Jerusalem & Schwarzer 1999) and individual tolerance of uncertainty (see Dalbert 1999). It also includes institutional contexts, such as structural aspects of the study programme, in order to get a deeper insight into the realities of studying in Initial Teacher Education programmes.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Dalbert, C. (1999). Die Ungewissheitstolerenzskala: Skaleneigenschaften und Valisierungsbefunde. In Hallesche Berichte zur Pädagogischen Psychologie Nr. 1. Halle: Martin-Luther-Universität. Entwistle, N. & Ramsden, P. (1983). Understanding student learning. London: Croom Helm. HRK (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz) (2004). ECTS als System zur Anrechnung, Übertragung und Akkumulierung von Studienleistungen. Entschließung des 98. Senats vom 10. Februar 2004. In http://www.hrk.de/de/beschluesse/109_276.php, 01.05.2009. Jerusalem, M. & Schwarzer, R. (1999). Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung (SWE). In Schwarzer, R. & Jerusalem, M. (eds.). Skalen zur Erfassung von Lehrer- und Schülermerkmalen. Dokumentation der psychometrischen Verfahren im Rahmen der wissenschaftlichen Begleitung des Modellversuchs Selbstwirksame Schulen. Berlin: Freie Universität. Kuhlee, D. (2011). Students‘ Workload and Perceived Stress: An empirical study. European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Berlin, 13.-16. September 2011 Kuhlee, D. (2012). Brauchen wir eine Workload-Diskussion? Zur Rolle formaler Workloads für das Studierhandeln. Eine empirische Studie bei Lehramtsstudierenden des Master of Education. In: Das Hochschulwesen (in review). Schulmeister, R. & Metzger, C. (2011). Die Workload im Bachelor: Ein empirisches Forschungsprojekt. In Schulmeister, R. & Metzger, C. (eds.). Die Workload im Bachelor: Zeitbudget und Studierverhalten. Eine empirische Studie. Münster u.a.: Waxmann. Wex, P. (2005). Bachelor und Master. Die Grundlagen des neuen Studiensystems in Deutschland. Ein Handbuch. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. Wild, K.-P. & Schiefele, U. (1994). Lernstrategien im Studium. Ergebnisse zur Faktorenstruktur und Reliabilität eines neuen Fragebogens. In Zeitschrift für Differenzielle und Diagnostische Psychologie, 15, 185-200.
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