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Docentia is an evaluation model proposed by ANECA (National Agency for Quality Evaluation) and used by Spanish universities to evaluate teaching quality. One of the detected problems is the low capacity to discriminate between the possible categories of teachers, showing a bias toward the highest score (Excellent). This affects negatively the prestige of the model: if most teachers are labelled "excellent", those teachers who really foreground above the set would not be detected. Thus, the capacity to orientate teachers to improve their performance will be minored. This study explores the discrimination capacity of the model based on the experience at the University of La Laguna (Docentia-ULL). We simulate results of the evaluation changing the model in two ways. On one hand, changing weights of some dimensions and sub dimensions, as well as maximums of some criteria, in order to increase the value of the commitment of teachers with training and educational innovation, opposite to the mere fulfilment of teaching obligations. On the other hand, increasing the required minimum for student's satisfaction and academic supervisor's satisfaction to become necessary requirement to obtain positive, very positive or excellent evaluation. Our results show that reducing the weight of teaching obligations and increasing the weight of training and innovation produce a more centered distribution. Most teachers were situated in the middle categories. We also compared the real results obtained after the implementation of the chosen alternative simulated model. We discuss the implications of those improvements on the evaluation of teaching quality and on the performance of Spanish university teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes separating the survey of students' satisfaction with their teachers from the survey of their satisfaction with the module, and presents the implementation of this process at the Universidad de La Laguna (ULL). Items linked to teacher performance were differentiated from those referring to the subject in the Docentia-ULL survey. The final teacher survey comprised 12 items. In order to compare it with the original 22-item survey, we compared the results from the overall assessment of teachers in the original survey with a simulation of the result if the reduced survey had been applied in the period 2012-2014 (n = 689), as well as with its actual application in the 2017-2019 rounds (n = 526). We observed an increase in Excellent teaching staff using the teacher survey and, to a lesser extent, Unfavourable teaching staff. We found that the teacher survey displayed a greater variance in overall student satisfaction compared to the subject survey. The results support the usefulness and validity of assessing student satisfaction through two different surveys. The two surveys would be relevant for different institutional assessment processes: the teacher survey for teacher promotion and the subject survey for degree accreditation. Adoption of the teacher survey by the university would have a positive impact on teachers' intrinsic motivation, in particular by satisfying the needs for autonomy and competence by associating them with skills that they are in control of improving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the role of specific features of the self-concept that could be associated with the choice of life goals. We developed an adaptation of the RISC (Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal;Cross, Bacon, & Morris 2000) to directly assess the degree to which individuals define themselves in terms of close relationships. The scale was translated into Spanish and its psychometric properties were analyzed with data from a sample of 389 university students (age range 16-47, M=19.28, ST=3.15). A set of contrast showed significant differences between men and women (♀ = 59% y ♂ = 41% effect size d 0.25-0.55). Significant differences appeared also regarding extrinsic and intrinsic goals, interpersonal goals and needs satisfaction when students with a highly relational self-construal were compared with students with a low relational one (d 0.42-0.91). These results have implications for the choice of studies and what students expect in university life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]