Abstract:

Actually the teaching system in the university is leading an important process of transformation according to the European Space for Higher Education (ESHE). The degree of Psycho-Pedagogy in the University of Huelva is well implicated in the process for European Convergence a long time ago. This process was initiated with the constitution of the Teaching Staff in the course year 2002-03 and developed through four innovation projects during four academic years.
This research has double aims: analyze the perception of methodological changes that it was produced in this career with the implementation of a methodology ECTS based, with the objective of establish improvements to achieve an optimization of teaching-learning processes and to identify differences according to sex, degree, age and continuity in studies.
The questionnaire was applied to a sample of 67 students of the first course of Psycho-Pedagogy, where a 71% are women. The age average is 25,6. A 83% of the sample are students from Teacher Training.
The employed questionnaire was a Likert type. The items are divided into 5 thematic sections: assessment of ECTS methodology, assessment of professors’ methodology followed in the subject, assessment of students’ methodology to carry out the daily work, assessment of the evaluation, assessment of the satisfaction with the learning outcomes in the different subjects.
The results provided some ideas about the students’ preferences according to teaching methodology and their own learning process that could help professors to guide students about learning in better conditions and quality, but this student centered approach must not be understand as an accommodation to students’ preferences; due to they prefer a methodology that imply team-working and collaborative learning, but at the same time, students say they have difficulties to do an efficient team-working. They realize that collaborative learning has a lot of advantages. Students point to the utility of learning according to competences related to know-how, necessary to develop a job, that’s mean, practical dimension of learning.
The findings shows significant differences according to sex (in assessment of ECTS methodology, teaching methodology and students’ methodology to carry out the daily work), according to career of precedence (assessment of teaching methodology and satisfaction with the learning outcomes) and according to age (assessment of students’ methodology to carry out the daily work and satisfaction with the learning outcomes).
Further research is required due to some elements that need to be improved, for example, more interdisciplinary among the subjects and an improvement according to plan and organization of the course year from a double perspective: professors (more coordination among the compulsory tasks –number of these and approach- and tasks organization) and students (still working with instrumental competences –plan and organization-, analysis and synthesis, ability to take decisions, ability to self-criticism and criticism and interpersonal skills).
The changes suggested by the Bologna strategy affect both students and professors and we need to change teaching practices, so professors would make a reflective practice that encourages this active role among students to become professors in an authentic guide to student professional and personal development.