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Purpose: This paper aims to ask how the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has orchestrated a sustainable development (SD) agenda in its international policy since 2020. Design/methodology/approach: By drawing on theoretical ideas around policy orchestration as a key UN governing strategy and applying them to the analysis of the progression of the SD agenda in the EHEA, the paper conducts a thematic analysis of six recent key EHEA international policy documents and 19 interviews with key Bologna stakeholders in France, Germany and Italy. Findings: The resultant analysis uncovers three overarching key themes that show the EHEA has the capacity to mitigate pitfalls in the UN's SD agenda; some weaknesses of the UN's orchestration of SD are translated into weaknesses in the EHEA's formulation of its SD agenda; and the further development of an SD agenda as an essential direction of EHEA's work. The paper then goes on to discuss how EHEA policies only mention SD discourse, omit concrete plans for its implementation and keep the very meaning of SD ambiguous throughout international policy documents. Originality/value: The authors offer three original recommendations that the EHEA should adopt in an attempt to mitigate the issues raised in the run-up to its 2030 deadline for implementing its policies: the EHEA should develop an explicit definition of SD; recognise the Euro-centredness of EHEA policies and open them up to other voices; and cite academic research when developing policy documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's age of knowledge and technology, societies are changing fast, on both macro and micro levels. Hardly anyone could have predicted several years ago such an acceleration of change and its impact on society, and in particular, on higher education. In Europe as well as globally, higher education has been undergoing many changes for more than two decades. In many countries, the number of higher education institutions has increased, mass education has replaced more elite systems, universities have adopted different agenda, and research has become more competitive. In this new context, doctoral education has also needed to be redefined in order to better respond to societal and academic challenges. Doctoral education—a crucial segment of higher education and the main link between the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area—has been receiving continuous attention for more than 15 years. This paper provides an overall view on changes in doctoral education in Europe, the background of this change process, and the context that led to these major changes. The main analysis will be presented from a European academic context perspective, but it will also reflect a global perspective. It will provide an analysis of all the milestones and consider the relevant policies and recommendations on the supranational level and their reflection on the national level. While taking the reader on a 15‐year journey of the doctoral education system in Europe, a brief look to the future of doctoral education will be sketched as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International scientific mobility and research careers are two concepts that are intimately related. Yet, it has been very difficult for scholarship to pinpoint exactly how international mobility impacts on research careers. This paper contributes to this question by investigating links between international mobility, research career stage progression and job changes. It does so using a large-scale survey (MORE) which targets researchers based in European universities. The results establish that the profile of international mobility varies by academic research career stage. They also show that for researchers in the established mid-career phase who are working internationally, there are career advancement benefits associated with return mobility to their home country. However, these benefits may reduce if the timing of return is too delayed. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these results for researcher mobility policy in the context of the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the unique case of Kosovo alongside the broad context of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) development. Kosovo started implementing the Bologna Process in 2001, although to date, it has not been formally admitted as a member. This paper provides evidence on the impact of the Bologna-influenced reforms on developing quality assurance and enhancement in Kosovo's higher education during 2001–2019. The study opted for a qualitative method design combining content analysis and semi-structured interviews to investigate both the normative and operational aspects of institutional learning and change that followed these reforms. The study builds on other Bologna-related studies, demonstrating that higher education institutions have placed accountability at the forefront of their ambitions. Findings recommend that a balance between quality control and improvement is imperative towards developing a quality culture. Therefore, there is a need to redistribute quality assessment 'power' equally among all stakeholders in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the observation that the Bologna process and inter-university competition pave the way for new study programs that often combine or transcend traditional academic disciplines, this paper investigates the position that the "Framework for qualifications of the European Higher Education Area" (QF EHEA) takes in relation to disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary modes of organizing higher education and research. A framework for understanding and identifying disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches is developed and applied in an analysis of the QF EHEA document. It is concluded that the document reflects ideas characteristic of transdisciplinary approaches to knowledge production and higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the puzzle of the unlikeliness of the implementation of elements of the Bologna Process agenda in Europe and post-Soviet higher education systems. Following mainstream policy science theories, the policy initiative would be qualified as "prone to failure", but surprisingly many governments took up the challenge to develop regulations and guidelines and to change the structures of their higher education systems. Looking at the adoption of Bologna process elements in various countries – east and west – I will be able to point at factors that contribute to explaining why and to what extent countries engaged with the process and hence to contribute to the literature on Europeanisation and policy adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of articles published in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, over the last eight years (2006–2013) on assessment in higher education, since the introduction of the Bologna process, is the subject of the paper. The first part discusses the key issue of assessment in higher education and the method used for selecting articles. The second part presents results according to the main emerging themes arising from data analysis: assessment methods, modes of assessment and assessment related to a given teaching and learning method. The paper concludes that the foci of the studies are aligned with assessment practices other than the written test, in accordance with a learner-oriented perspective. Although the implementation of the Bologna process has had different kinds of impact in different European countries, the review shows that the use and effects of a diversity of assessment methods in higher education have been investigated, particularly those pointing to the so-called alternative methods. Implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies on comprehensive internationalisation are currently in the focus of discourses on the development of internationalisation in European higher education. However, it remains to be answered, whether in Slovenian higher education, internationalisation policies and practices are indeed being implemented consistently and comprehensively, contributing to the overall quality of the higher education system. The paper obtains answers to this question through the analysis of different documentary sources and findings from semi-structured interviews, which were conducted as part of the PhD research. Firstly, it provides a general overview of the Slovenian higher education system, whilst afterwards, it explores the comprehensiveness of internationalisation in Slovenian higher education through the analysis of internationalisation policies before and after the Bologna Process. Based on the distinction between the 'abroad' and 'at home' dimension of internationalisation in higher education (Knight 2008), it continues with the examination of trends in mobility and internationalisation at home, which represent essential parts of comprehensive internationalisation policies and strategies. On this basis, it discusses the real importance of internationalisation for the quality of (Slovenian) higher education and concludes that the existence of different internationalisation models results from diverse approaches and rationales for internationalisation and hence, from often-contrasting views of individual actors and stakeholders on what is the quality of higher education and its (comprehensive) internationalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence and development of quality assurance schemes in European countries over the last 15-20 years has inspired many national case studies of the systems and procedures adopted. The methods, contexts, and procedures associated with this policy change are diverse. But although individual countries have set about changing policy in different ways there appear to be some common developmental patterns within the Europe of the Bologna Process. How can these developments be conceptualised? In a first step this paper advances a typology based on the quality assurance literature. In a second step, the paper applies the typology to quality assurance developments in three countries. The third part of the paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the modelling approach in the light of the empirical evidence and a political science analysis of policy change. The paper concludes with a discussion on future directions for the comparative study of policy change within the European Higher Education Area on the basis of this conceptualisation of developments in quality assurance policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The positive side of employment during studies is the increase of net investments in human capital. The main objective of this paper is to discover factors influencing the work of students in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro and to compare students’ employment in these three Western Balkan countries. Quantitative analysis based on binary logistic regression has been performed using datasets from fifth wave of EUROSTUDENT survey. The models were built on the basis of seven predictors which describe opportunity structure in higher education and socio-economic background of students. The entered set of predictors is significantly influencing the students’ employment during study terms. The significant predictor of working status in all three countries is the age of students. Additionally, the significant factor in Serbia is the level of studies, in Montenegro the level and field of studies, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina the educational level of parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to explain academic performance with the aid of an innovative technique: Fuzzy-set, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). To do so, different, objective factors, which affect, higher education, are analyzed and the academic performance of university students is also considered. Specifically, data of students on different, degrees in the Faculty of Business Sciences of the Pablo de Olavide University of Seville since 2009 was used, but, it, is believed that, the methodology described can be easily extrapolated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years in Spain, university teaching of Communication has been adapted to European Higher Education Area. This process has been studied and analyzed by scientific community of Communication. Thanks this interest, today there are several academic research and papers about this issue. In this context, our aim is to built a global view of the academic papers which have been published in Spanish scientific Communication magazines about adjustment to EHEA of degrees and postgraduate programs of Journalism, Audiovisual Communication, and Advertising and Public Relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tutoring is one of the methodological resources which has undoubtedly experienced a deepest evolution since the implantation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Tutorial conception as a merely legal obligation to address students' doubts has given rise to the use of tutorials as one of the most useful methods to develop certain skills and competences, in addition to its contribution to the learning of the subject in which they are inserted. This paper analyzes, from the perspective of developed innovative teaching experiences, the evolution of traditional mentoring until the current use that can be made of them as an interactive forum of equals, and, moreover, suggesting a classification. Finally, this paper shows a new breakthrough in the role of tutoring supported on new technologies as a suitable means of contrasting opinions, encouraging critical thinking and building student's autonomous thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze and assess the impact of cooperative learning in the acquisition of generic skills in teaching students.Design/methodology/approach The methodology underlying this research has a qualitative orientation. An ad hoc questionnaire has been used as an instrument, in addition to a team notebook, and the observation as procedure to analyze the perceptions of the students in the process.Findings The main results indicate that thanks to the active methodologies, more specifically, the cooperative learning, students develop and improve transferable skills, such as negotiation, leadership, teamwork, reflection, etc. Similarly, the authors have observed improvements in the classroom environment and their social interactions.Research limitations/implications The limitations and possible implications of this study are in the direction of analyzing the implemented cooperative learning methodology techniques to observe the existence of differences in learning. Moreover, they are also related to the analyzing of individual implications for teamwork to assess group learning and its influence on motivation and teamwork. Finally, they are related to the analysis of the involvement of observation and self-regulatory mechanisms in the teamwork learning.Practical implications With this research, the authors incise in the necessary methodological change in universities, responding to the demands of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and highlight the importance of using active methodologies.Social implications Cooperative learning is an effective teacher training tool for future teachers who will have to develop in an interpersonal context and, in turn, will teach students who need to acquire a personal and social skills.Originality/value This paper evaluates the impact of using active methodologies and how they contribute to the development of transversal or generic competencies in a real context of university learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the feasibility of teaching generic competences (such as those related to moral reasoning aspects) through Science lessons at university level. The authors have implemented a new instrument called "Moral Cross Dilemma" which involves the use of argumentation and moral reasoning within the students of Primary Education Degree (prospective primary teachers). This tool seems to be an effective pedagogical resource in Higher Education Levels. It is a step forward from the well-known dilemma, a consolidated strategy for the development of ethical competences based on argumentative and discursive methodologies. This paper is focused on the description of this technique and applies it for the first time on experimental data. Moral Cross Dilemma is applicable to environmental conflicts and can be used as a discursive technique for improving the personal ethic level. This work shows empirical evidences from the preliminary implementation within university studentsThe experience was carried out on a 47-student sample. They were prospective teachers learning Natural Sciences. The main results revealed no difference and were observed between self-perceived and peer evaluation of the moral status, although the environmental-friendly argumentation position clearly set out higher scoring in the moral reasoning level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bologna Process is an important factor which has had an impact on higher education in Europe. In this paper the implementation of the Bologna Process in Poland, the Netherlands and Flanders is discussed, to show how the different contexts influenced its realization. In order to study the transformation of higher education, new institutionalism and resource dependence theory were applied. Research focuses on six case studies – different universities, which are seen as organizations operating in a specific context and which respond to changes in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper seeks to discover whether the performance of university students has improved in the wake of the changes in higher education introduced by the Bologna Declaration of 1999 and the construction of the European Higher Education Area. A principal component analysis is used to construct a multi-dimensional performance variable called the LEArning Society-adapted Outcome Index. A quantile regression is then applied to ensure that the analysis does not focus solely on average figures, and the performance of students of various types is analyzed. Significant improvements are found in the acquisition of systemic and interpersonal skills and in student satisfaction but not in cognitive aspects. There are improvements in students of all types, but they are smaller among the best students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses employability as a floating signifier -- a construct that accommodates different and often contending meanings. A preliminary analysis of scholarly literature identifies two opposed interpretations of employability -- an individual responsibility versus a comprehensive context-aware construct. These are subsequently applied to the discourse of the major interests in the Bologna Process: policy-makers; institutions and academics; students; and employers. Their standpoints are examined from two dimensions: How far is responsibility for employability individualised? and What is higher education's role in fostering employability? As a concept, employability commands little consensus. Rather, it is interpreted in the light of each interest group's concerns. As to higher education's role, utilitarianism characterises all but academic actors' views. Applying the concept of a floating signifier to employability as it is debated within the Bologna Process -- a policy arena for competing interest groups to dispute meaning -- reveals a finer, more nuanced understanding of how policy comes to be and, in particular, the importance of discourse and conflicts over meaning as factors intrinsic to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current crisis, unsustainable growth, financial scandals involves reflection on the role of universities in the professional training, particularly those who have to manage businesses. On this issue, there is a perception that the teaching of ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is insufficient (Baetz and Sharp, 2004; Kashyap et al., 2006). In this regard, universities play a fundamental role due both to the impact of the incorporation of CSR into the design of their study and research programs, and its incorporation into universities' mission, vision, and corporate strategy (Muijen, 2004). Then, the present study focuses jon analyzing both the definition of educational objectives and skills development to be acquired by students as the level of inclusion of CSR offered by Spanish universities. In particular, the present paper focuses on analyzing reports verified by National Agency for Quality Assessment of degrees related to the organizational management area implemented in the 2010-2011 academic course, which degrees has been developed based on European Higher Education Area. Based on previous papers, the results of the present paper show that the Bologna process and the Higher Education reform in Spanish universities have promoted an increase of the presence of CSR in the business education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the fundamental characteristics of the Final Year Project (FYP), its associated competences and some evaluation standards that derived from a research conducted by the regional government of Catalonia (Spain) and the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency. More analytically, the paper begins with the definition of the Final Year Project in social sciences, continues with the identification and analysis of its associated competences and the basic phases for its realization and finishes with the presentation of some fundamental evaluation standards. Our final proposal is considered as objective and effective not only for the realization of the FYP by the students, but also for its evaluation by the instructors, since it can easily be customized for different social sciences curricula. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper critically assesses the discourse that justifies the latest educational reforms in European and Spanish higher education. It is presented as a techno-scientific discourse that attempts to support one of the most important current practices of subjectivity -the educational one- using a particular definition of psychology that forget the fact of the irreducible plurality of psychological practices and knowledges. This paper aims thus to make a double critical assessment. On the one hand, about the rhetorical use of psycopedagogic knowledge as scientific (indisputable) support for the reforms. On the other hand, about the assumption that there is a well definite discipline (Psychology) which is unified, scientifically established and able to offer that support. The paper consider also the current socio-cultural scenario of globalization and neoliberalism as a context that makes sense, within the ideology of entrepreneurship, such use of Psychology as a scientific guarantor of education reform. Special emphasis is placed on the promotion of subjectivity linked to that ideology, which requires individuals gifted with flexibility, self-monitoring skills and full responsibility for their fate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the research findings of a PhD project4, which assesses how the Bologna process institutionalizes the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The paper uses the perceptions of the university constituencies. The main findings of this paper reveal the importance of the historians' perspective in the (re)contextualization of the Bologna process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The project of the Bologna process to create a 'European Higher Education Area' (EHEA) has established the necessary conditions for the emergence of a new sociopolitical space of higher education in Europe. This space has become a cooperation/competition area that changes the European and national balance of power: the relations the countries maintain both between them and with the European Commission are situated in a cooperation/competition game. The European Commission plays a central role in this area, alongside actor organisations who see themselves forced to discuss issues that had previously divided them and to modify their relationships at a national level. This article can be seen as a contribution to the analysis of international strategy in a global knowledge economy, especially to the two-level game theory of Putnam for which international agreements are negotiated with success only if they lead to national advantages. In particular, it studies the role of the European Commission in this sociopolitical area and the mechanism by which it has taken the piloting of the Bologna process, which was launched in a field of national competency, to make it an instrument for the realisation of the Lisbon strategy aimed at making the European Union the most competitive economy in the world. This paper is based on data sources provided by the analysis of papers produced by the actors of the process and on 50 interviews of these actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Europe still lacks a common system for the accreditation of educational programmes, the Bologna process, now involving more than 40 countries, intends to establish a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) on the basis of ‘a system of easily readable and comparable degrees’. In this context, while recognition of professional qualifications is assured by European Directives (a new overarching Directive was published in September 2005), it is essential to ensure that educational programmes are accredited on a continental scale. This paper illustrates the main outcomes of the EUR-ACE (EURopean ACredited Engineer) project, aimed at the establishment of a pan-European system for accreditation of engineering educational programmes on the basis of a multilateral, bottom-up agreement between national and regional bodies and Associations concerned, and the perspectives for its implementation. This paper is a revised and updated version of an invited lecture presented at the 7th World Conference on Engineering Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines international student mobility between member states of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), a group of 47 countries that committed to reforming their higher education systems to improve the comparability and compatibility of degrees. While increased student mobility is a key goal in its official documents, little research has empirically investigated student mobility patterns in respect to the EHEA. The analysis employs multivariate techniques to identify trends in student mobility between 1999 and 2009, using a spatial approach to visualise the relationships between member states as constituted through student mobility flows. Results show that within the analysis timeframe student flows in the EHEA became more even in their distribution, but that in terms of the relationships between states, the EHEA became more centralised and segmented, meaning that key actors mediated exchanges between peripheral states and the region was more easily divided into self-contained clusters. These trends indicate a need to critically reconsider the nature of the EHEA and its role in the globalisation of higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The launching of the European higher education area (EHEA) in 2010 has imposed new challenges on European universities. Traditional teaching methods, based on lectures and examinations, are no longer suited for the new EHEA educational approach, now focused on competences development. Instead, active learning methods as problem-based learning are far more appropriate. This paper examines the effect of a change to competence-based education through problem-based learning (PBL) in the field of structural engineering, carried out in a first year structures course. The structures program design is described with details of the PBL implementation. A program evaluation based on students' and faculty surveys is carried out. The evaluation results show that the program has been effective in the achievement of the proposed objectives. The benefits of the new approach include an increase in students' motivation and a better integration with other architecture disciplines. The main challenges encountered are the increase in faculty time commitment and the academic resistance to change. Extrapolation to other disciplines is possible, although it requires restructuring of subject knowledge and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student-centred learning has gradually come to the foreground of the Bologna Process. In parallel, learning outcomes have been advocated as key degree descriptors, illustrative of student-centred approaches. This paper examines learning outcomes in their diverse understandings and enactment in three European countries – England, Portugal and Denmark – further to Bologna policy developments. Resorting to a conceptualisation of the intersection between global and local policy fields and to policy theories highlighting the interpretative nature of policy processes, the implementation of learning outcomes is analysed from the perspective of different policy fields (European, national and institutional). Variation in understandings and usage has been observed especially between the institutional fields in the three national contexts, as well as between academic practice and student experience. A discrepancy has also emerged between the policy discourse which highlights students' centrality in a learning-outcomes-based approach and the limited relevance of learning outcomes to students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the last decades of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, the teaching of English for specific and/or professional and academic purposes has probably constituted one of the most innovative areas in the Spanish University. With the advent of the Bologna reform, the theory and praxis of this dynamic field of knowledge has enhanced its range of activity, so as to include not only students, but also lecturers, whithin its concerns. The result can be measured by the innumerable variety of CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning) teacher training experiences carried out along the Spanish Tertiary Education geography. This paper has two main purposes: on one hand, to give the account of the CLIL teacher training at the UPCT (included in the larger frame of teaching innovation programs), under its corresponding theoretical approach and bearing in mind the particular circumstances of the institution. On the other hand, to pose questions about the future perspectives of similar experiences in a teaching context that is becoming more and more complex and 'hybrid' from its very foundations. The partial conclusions of this study depict a global teaching/professional scenario that is both challenging and appealing, which must be seriously dealt with from the Universities and our common European administrative framework alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The academic organization of university degrees, in the frame of the European Higher Education Area, has facilitated the constitution of teachers' teams (Zabalza, 2009; Lopez, 2007). This is one of the key points in the processes of organization and improvement (Lester and Evans, 2009; Bacharach, Washut and Dahlberg, 2008) of higher education, but simultaneously, a hanging topic for the difficulty in obtaining a culture's change of university teachers, also demarcated in slightly agile and flexible structures. The paper is focused in a research caught out a group of university teachers, with the aim to realize a diagnosis of the situation of the teachers' teams between the courses 2009-2010 to 2011-2012. The methodology used was the survey, with questionnaire and focus group. The results show that the organization in teachers teams is a reality perceived positively by teachers, but with problems and challenges that we have still further to go. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the results of researcher' ongoing activities regarding the use of smartphones and a specific subject-app used at the Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED) have been reported. The purpose of this trial is to assess the app's didactic use and potential to enhance student learning in university subjects in ubiquitous environments and developing generic competencies according to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). To this end, a scale has been developed and validated to identify these factors based on the participation of 388 students from the class "Curriculum design and innovation" within the "University Degree in Pedagogy" program. This study has been developed through two perspectives; the first being through a descriptive methodology in which the current researcher has detailed the creation process of an app. The second perspective being through a quantitative methodology in which students' perceptions regarding the capabilities of smartphones and apps for improving learning processes in university subjects were assessed. The conclusions indicate that the use of apps developed specifically for following university subjects is highly valued by students as a new format which both supports and enhances learning practices while also providing not only further opportunities to establish connections and relations with their subjects, but also fostering collaborative work among students and professors. Therefore, it is recommended that universities continue developing new didactic strategies to connect both formal-informal and face-to-face ubiquitous learning settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governance of higher education has been changing across Europe, most notably in response to the reform agenda that has been pervading many higher education systems. This wave of reforms has given enhanced visibility to external stakeholders, which has been often received with contrasting views. Some regarded it as a factor that would undermine institutions' mission, while others viewed it as a rhetorical change, which would hardly have an impact on institutional life. In this paper, we analyse the introduction of external stakeholders in governance and quality assessment processes by looking at the Portuguese experience, and more specifically at their contribution to the implementation of internal quality assurance systems. We use empirical data collected from four higher education institutions under the framework of the IBAR project, subsumed in the form of barriers to and good practices for the implementation of policies and procedures for quality assurance. The results suggest that although the presence of external stakeholders has become more visible, it is yet to be fully reflected in the way institutions are governed or the way in which they manage their internal quality assurance processes and mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a software tool designed to enhance the tutoring assistance in the context of the European Higher Education Area as a way to improve the service offered to students in their learning process. This tool, named Tutorial Action, allows to the students the online booking of face-to-face tutoring with their teachers, and allows to these teachers the management of tutoring schedules and registration of the issues addressed in each tutoring session. The research conducted in this work has aimed to determine the usefulness of the developed tool for the student attendance at tutoring. The sample analysed corresponds to grade students in Software Engineering Degree from the Technical University of Madrid. The instruments used in the research have included a questionnaire to know the opinion of the students who have composed the sample. The obtained results indicate a greater attendance at tutoring sessions in the students under study, and a positive perception of the designed tool used and the influence that these kinds of tools can have on the academic performance. These results suggest that the use of tools designed to facilitate student attendance at tutoring can contribute significantly to the student performance in their learning processes and the improvement of the service offered by the University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades regional agreements have become more significant in educational and training. This paper situates and analyses the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the Bologna Process and the Lisbon Strategy and explores their influence on the integration of higher education systems in Mercosur (the Southern Common Market of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela). Mercosur is still a customs union, and the project of integrating higher education is at an early stage. Lacking organically established regional bodies, coordination of integration in Mercosur has focused on summits and meetings of officials. However, in a context of unequal maturity in regional integration, there is emerging evidence that the EHEA project is influencing the reforms of national systems of higher education and even Mercosur’s model for a regional area of higher education. A nascent Europeanization of higher education systems in the Mercosur region is emerging, by-passing Mercosur’s regional structures. The formulation of policies has been permeated by policy transfer from Europe to national territories within Mercosur. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

European universities are currently going through a process of change in order to meet the common goals set for higher education by the European Commission. They are revising their educational models to adjust them to the guidelines of the 'Bologna Process' and are devising an institutional strategy for its implementation. In practical terms, this means aligning former national degrees and diplomas to standard European Bachelor and Masters degrees and PhD doctorates, by creating acknowledged professional qualification benchmarks that also include adjusted course lengths and contents. This process, in the end, mostly affects academic staff members who have a fundamental role to play in carrying out the pedagogical reforms on the teaching front. Besides presenting a commentary on the institutional approach of one particular technical university in Spain, the purpose of this paper is to propose, from the authors' point of view as lecturers, a strategy which has the potential to create a favourable atmosphere for carrying out such a reform. The article's main objective is to highlight a series of action points which may serve to reinforce and advance the main institutional strategy by relying on the powerful influence of its academic staff members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the value of the Bologna Process in placing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) on a solid institutional footing. How far has Bologna contributed to firming up the views academia, management and students have of the EHEA? The article is based on a survey administered across four systems of higher education in 2008. It underlines the importance for those active in shaping policy both at national and at European level to take fully into account the views of the different interests in higher education, difficult and at times non committal though these latter might be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching has been a widely discussed issue in our context, especially since the implementation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The new ways of conceiving and describing the teaching, learning and assessment require a rethinking of the university pedagogy. However, this reformulation should not be limited to a psycho-pedagogical question. This paper presents the teaching work from a relational and human dimension that, not surprisingly, has also an impact on learning and student development. The communitarianism criticism of the principles of liberalism emphasize the importance of this dimension of teaching work, and raise questions that should be addressed in order to maintain the university as a unique life experience, and an important social institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of building the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has not been without controversy and different levels of interpretation in its creation, foundation and development. The aim of this paper is to portray the situation and go beyond the theoretical study, based on official documents which have accompanied and complemented meetings of European ministers responsible for higher education. From these deep interviews, in semi-structured format, we found interesting to capture the views, expectations and perceptions of responsible and active actors in the process of building the EHEA: Guy Haug, Domenico Lenarduzzi, Marius Rubiralta, Eric Froment, Josep M. Bricall and Jorge Fernández Díaz. All of them with political and university relevance have been implicated from different institutions: European Conference of Rectors, European University Association, Department of Education of the European Commission and various Ministries of Higher Education. Their contributions have provided knowledge to contrast and offer a better understanding of EHEA display. Based on the triangulation of the contributions of the interviewees and the review of official documents and statements the study concludes that the university (together with the research - European Research Area and lifelong learning - European Lifelong Learning Area) is the fundamental hinge for society development and European seal. But it needs to adapt to changing times and to be linked to competitiveness and efficiency. It also needs to provide more and better cooperation and proximity to encourage mobility and mutual recognition. Besides, the creation of EHEA corresponds to a power struggle between the University autonomy rights, the legislative right of state governments and the European Commission's recommendations. However, all of them agree to raise a self-critical reflection as regards the diffusion of information so as to avoid possible misinterpretation or misunderstanding and enable more and better ways of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation is a process whose results can be used to make improvements in the teaching‐learning process. From this view, evaluation is largely used within the bound which is maintained with the students, but its contributions to teachers’ learning can be wasted. Also, the information obtained from evaluation makes it possible to regulate the factors involved in teaching. To that end, we must pay attention to all the agents (teachers, students, contents, the classroom and the academic environment) and collect data in natural contexts. Evaluation does not close the circle; this is supplemented by the adjustments which are introduced into the process using the results obtained. In a sense, the adjustment phase is turned by natural evolution into the framework of conditions for the planning phase of the next stage, and so the circle begins again (Zabalza, 2009). In this paper, in the first place, we present the students’ evaluation as a process that regulates the teacher’s practice, that is, as an instrument to analyze the teaching‐learning process. Secondly, we describe the results obtained by conducting a survey. The analysis of the information collected through that instrument was carried out on the basis proposed by Grounded Theory, a qualitative methodology developed by Strauss and Corbin (1998) that can lead to a new theoretical framework based on the collection and systematic analysis of data. Furthermore, the resulting data have been linked with other quantitative data shown in another context (Daura y Amarante, 2011). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of the European Higher Education Area in Spain has involved a substantial change in the traditional practices of university education, introducing important modifications both in the teaching methodology and in the assessment criteria. This work presents the experience carried out by the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Albacete in the subject of Cost Accounting. The paper aims to determine whether the new methodologies used in recent years and the introduction of new criteria for assessment have had a positive impact on the improvement of the students' performance and motivation in the aforementioned subject, which is taught in the third year of the degree in Business and Management Administration (ADE). In order to achieve this, we compared the grades obtained by students during the academic years 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 (in which the ECTS methodology was applied) with those obtained in the two immediately preceding academic years: 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 (where the teaching methodology involved lectures and a final exam worth 100% of the final grade). The findings evince an overall increase in the rate of students who take the exam and participate in the process of continuous assessment as a result of the new teaching methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internet has become the main source where information can be located, which has facilitated certain university student practices, plagiarism and cyber-plagiarism in particular. Academic plagiarism and related dishonest practices result in the incorporation, although unevenly, of legal, educational, and anti-plagiarism software, etc., on websites in an increasing number of Spanish university libraries. This can be a strategic decisión if considered within the framework of the new EHEA teaching methods, which require that students produce a large number of academic papers, and the growing implementation in the Spanish universities of informational skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing political institutions is a balancing act between upholding democratic ideals and accommodating constraints. Advocates of deliberative governance in the European Union live this tension in a particularly polarized manner, torn between the deliberative ideal of consensual decision-making and the reality of power politics. To which extent does deliberative governance provide a suitable conceptual framework as well as a mode of governance in its own right for European policy-making? This paper applies five features of deliberative governance suggested by Teague (2001) in his study of European social policy to the genesis of the Bologna Process and subsequent domestic reforms. The Bologna Process has, since the Sorbonne declaration of 25 May 1998, aimed at creating a European Higher Education Area. This study concludes that deliberative governance has the potential to start a long-term process of progressive domestic policy change and therefore deserves further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Universities are currently immersed in what is known as the process of European convergence to create the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The aim is to establish a standardized, compatible and flexible European university system that enables graduates and undergraduates to move easily from one institution to another within Europe. As a result of evaluation mechanisms, the system will be transparent and of high quality, which will make it attractive and competitive internationally in a globalized world. In this paper, we focus on two distance learning modes that will become more important as a result of this change in universities: e-learning and b-learning. These basically involve the virtualization of learning processes through the use of computer equipment. We carried out a qualitative study using the case study method. The results indicate that teaching staff use information and communication technology (ICT) to improve student learning. Similarly, a high percentage (78%) of lecturers use some form of digital platform as a support for teaching. In conclusion, training policies should strengthen university teachers' skills in the use of ICT equipment, tools and resources related to blended and virtual learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we show the most relevant results of the first year of implementation of the Educational Evaluation National Network and University Teaching. The basic methodology used was action-research on formative assessment practices in higher education, in subjects taught by teachers members of the net, with a total of 41 cases. The results present the advantages that this assessment system meant both for students and for teachers involved, including the greater involvement and motivation of students, as well as further development of students' autonomy. Some difficulties were also detected, such as excess work for the teachers or the lack of habit of students in formative assessment processes. The project we have developed has a direct effect on the university teaching practice and lead us to consider the formative evaluation as an essential element to renew our teaching practice and as a good alternative for dealing with the changes arising from the European Higher Education Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Quantitative Methods for the Economy and the Company" was a class traditionally taught through conventional lectures leading to a feared final exam as the sole form of evaluation. In order to make that methodology more attuned to the European Higher Education Area, we have decided to incorporate a more practical approach to promote student-centred learning as well as a new system of lifelong evaluation. This paper presents the analysis of students' opinion about the new methodology and training materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initial design, development and evaluation of an innovation experience are presented in this paper. The subject "Gerontological Pedagogy" constitutes the context where this experience which has been denominated as "Knowledge exposition and construction" has been developed in the Department of Educational Sciences at the University of Oviedo. The main objective has been to stimulate students' participation. The article describes how the methodological change took place in the academic course 2007/2008 and, moreover, what conclusions can be extracted in order to improve the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the results arising from a project to the preparation and testing of a multimedia material to promoting autonomous learning in the acquisition of specific competences of the Ecology practices course, in Biology studies at the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB). The main objective lies in the gradual adaptation to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) from greater coordination among teachers and the acquisition of new resources for teaching. The results obtained in the materials experimentation can be considered significantly positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) laid the foundations for a model of competency-based training. In this sense, there are several proposals suggest working on the ability for teamworking in activities developing the content of one or several subjects. However, they aren't so common in assessment tasks. This paper contains an application of Teams-Games-Tournament (DeVries and Edwards, 1973) to carry out the assessment of a subject. Teams-Games-Tournament is an alternative to traditional assessment tests based not on individual assessment, but on the development and group collaboration to achieve common goals. The implications, advantages and disadvantages of the application of this technique are discussed in the framework of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major element in the creation of the European area of higher education is the adoption of a common structure of degrees, implying in several countries the reduction of the duration of the first degree to 3 years, which is a controversial change. Cardoso et al. (CESifo Econ Stud 54(2): 229–247, ) have analyzed student confidence in the curricula change, quantifying its impact on students’ first choices of academic programs. This paper goes two steps further. First, it concentrates on a variable that better translates total demand for an academic program, namely the total number of students who place the program among their six revealed preferences, instead of just the first option; and, second, an econometric model that better fits the data is estimated. Results confirm a positive impact of the Bologna process on the demand for programs, which varies with program size and across fields of study. Our results complement those in Cardoso et al. (), as they uncover that being a program leader, i.e. the only institution in the country that restructured a given program, was associated with higher demand by prospective students, which nevertheless stemmed from their “second best" options and not from their first choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents some findings of an evaluation study conducted in five spanish universities on the design of a 'FORCOM Guides for Self-Assessment Teaching Competencies'. This device has been developed to help university teachers to cope with the teaching demands of EHEA. Data collected in a previous teaching needs? assessment were the grounds of the very first design of the guide. Sixteen senior university teachers - of any scientific area- had been demanded, firstly, implementing the Guide, and next, they had been required in order to look for their perceptions about: a) the ease and other aspects of practical management of the Guides ('format evaluation'), and b) the utility and suitability of its content to teachers? teaching needs ('content evaluation'). Data analysis points to: 1) the validity and utility of the created device, especially for helping well experienced teachers in EHEA; 2) its capability the increase the teaching technical knowledge of the teacher, and 3) some change demands related with the present format and with the content of the Guides, as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]