Abstract:

In the late twentieth century, the EU initiated a project of social, economic and legal convergence in order to expedite the free movement of people and goods. In this framework, we opted for the creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Also, the universities were invited to rethink the curriculum in collaboration with the business sector, agreeing that graduates should acquire the skills to enhance their employability. In this context the concept of "competence" arises. So, education at universities has been considered as the development of a competence profile or an evaluable set of knowledge, attitudes, values and skills that will allow the students to perform professional work and adapting appropriately to real work situations varied activities.

From the map of competences proposed in the White Paper's degree in Psychology (ANECA) and the proposed assessment skills Villa and Poblete (2007), seven competencies (learning orientation, use of ICT, management of foreign language, interpersonal communication, teamwork, innovation and ethical sense) have been selected. According to some methodological references, a list of observed behaviors related with the selected skills have been designed.

This paper develops an instrument to evaluate and to analyze the progressive acquisition of skills during the university formation. A questionnaire of seven competences based on 60 observed and quantifiable behaviors has become elaborated and validated. This questionnaire has been applied to 106 students of the degree in Psychology of Loyola Andalucía University. Results showed that the instrument presents excellent psychometric properties and constitutes an useful tool to elaborate a profile of competitions of the students and to know his progressive development during the period of university education.

Keywords:

Profile of skills, questionnaire, observed behaviors, university students, psychology.