University Teachers’ Opinions about Higher Education Pedagogical Training Courses in Slovenia
Abstract
Pedagogical training courses (PTCs) for university teachers have often been discussed and have become a widespread trend in recent years in many countries. Many university teachers consider pedagogical training (PT) as a valuable tool in their teaching practice. In Slovenia, however, there is little evidence of teachers’ opinions and beliefs regarding PTCs.2
Many authors consider the effect of PTCs in higher education (HE) on teaching questionable, but there is also evidence of the positive impact of PTCs on university teaching. The results of the present survey show that there are statistically significant differences in teachers’ opinions on initial and sustained PTCs. Formal education for teaching in primary and/or secondary schools is often considered as appropriate for teaching in HE. The respondents with higher titles attributed the lowest importance to sustained PTCs. Those involved in (short) PTCs attributed less importance to PT, as well as to the certificate of participation in PT in comparison to the respondents who were not involved in PTCs. On the other hand, the respondents with the highest participation in PT (51 hours and more) are more in favour of PTCs, which confirms the preliminary findings that courses of longer duration provide more opportunities to affect teachers’ pedagogical thinking and conceptions of teaching and learning in comparison to shorter courses.
Downloads
References
Barnett, R. (1992). Linking Teaching and Research: A Critical Inquiry. The Journal of Higher Education, 63(6), 619–636.
Biggs, J. (1999b). What the Student Does: teaching for enhanced learning. Higher Education Research & Development, 18(1), 57–75.
Clayson, D. E. (2009). Student Evaluations of Teaching: Are They Related to What Students Learn?: A Meta-Analysis and Review of the Literature. Journal of Marketing Education, 31(1), 16–30.
Cohen, P. A. (1981). Student Ratings of Instruction and Student Achievement: A Meta-analysis of Multisection Validity Studies. Review of Educational Research, 51(3), 281–309.
Coffey, M., & Gibbs, G. (2000). Can Academics Benefit from Training? Some Preliminary Evidence. Teaching in Higher Education, 5(3), 385–389.
Coffey, M., & Gibbs, G. (2002). Measuring Teachers’ Repertoire of Teaching Methods. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(4), 383–390.
Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana (FF UL). 2013. Osnove visokošolske didaktike - razpis za vpis v program. Retrieved 10. 9. 2014 from http://www.ff.uni-lj.si/Portals/0/Dokumenti/CPI/
ProgramiZaIzpopolnjevanje/OVD_predstavitev_programa.pdf.
Fry, H. (2006). Professional Development for Teaching in Higher Education: A Brief Account of the Evolution of Accredited Programmes in the UK. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung, 1(2), 95–108.
Gibbs, G., & Coffey, M. (2004). The impact of training of university teachers on their teaching skills, their approach to teaching and the approach to learning of their students. Active Learning in Higher Education, 5(1), 87–100.
High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education (2013). Report to the European Commission on Improving the Quality of Teaching and Learning in Europe’s Higher Education
Institutions. Retrieved 10. 9. 2014 from http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/reports/modernisation_en.pdf.
Horta, H. (2013). Deepening our Understanding of Academic Inbreeding Effects on Research Information Exchange and Scientific Output: New Insights for Academic Based Research. Higher
Education, 65(4), 487–510.
Kogan, L. R., Schoenfeld-Tacher, R., & Hellyer, P. W. (2010). Student evaluations of teaching: perceptions of faculty based on gender, position and rank. Teaching in Higher Education, 15(6) 626-636.
Kump, S. (1994). Akademska kultura [Academic Culture]. Ljubljana: Znanstveno in publicistiÄno srediÅ¡Äe.
Leitner, E. (1998). The Pedagogical Qualification on the Academic Teaching Staff and the Quality of Teaching and Learning. Higher Education in Europe, XXIII(3), 339–349.
Lisewski, B. (2006). The professional development of new higher education teachers from communities of practice perspective: the challenge of ‘accounting for change’ in ‘situated pedagogy’. In Third Education in a Changing Environment Conference. UK: University of Salford.
Lumsden, K., & Scott, A. (1984). How to maximize golden opinions. Applied Economics, 16(5), 647–654.
MarentiÄ Požarnik, B. (1998). Izpopolnjevanje univerzitetnih uÄiteljev za boljÅ¡e pouÄevanje kot del kulture kakovosti [Supplemental Training of University Teachers for Better Teaching as Part of Quality Culture]. In B. Mihevc, & B. MarentiÄ Požarnik (Eds.), Za boljÅ¡o kakovost Å¡tudija: Pogovori o visokoÅ¡olski didaktiki [For Better Quality of Study: Discourse on Higher education Didactics] (pp. 29–48). Ljubljana: Center za pedagoÅ¡ko izobraževanje Filozofske fakultete, Slovensko druÅ¡tvo za visokoÅ¡olsko didaktiko.
MarentiÄ Požarnik, B. (2009). Improving the quality of teaching and learning in higher education through supporting professional development of teaching staff. Napredak, 150(3–4), 341–359.
Norton, L., Richardson, J. T. E., Hartley, J., Newstead, S., & Mayes, J. (2005). Teachers’ beliefs and intentions concerning teaching in higher education. Higher Education, 50(4), 537–571.
Uradni list Republike Slovenije (Ur. l.). 2010. Minimalni standardi za izvolitev v nazive visokoÅ¡olskih uÄiteljev, znanstvenih delavcev in visokoÅ¡olskih sodelavcev na visokoÅ¡olskih zavodih [Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia (OG RS). 2010. Minimum Standards for the Appointment of Higher Education Teachers, Researchers and Faculty Assistants at Higher Education Institutions]. No. 95/10, 17/11. Retrieved 05. 05. 2013 from http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=DRUG3538.
Uradni list Republike Slovenije (Ur. l.). 2011. Resolucija o Nacionalnem programu visokega šolstva –2020 [Resolution on National Higher Education Programme 2011–2020]. Uradni list No./2011. Retrieved 11. 10. 2014 from http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=DRUG3538.
Pleschová, G., Simon, E., Quinlan, K. M., Murphy, J., Roxa, T., Szabó, M., with comments from Clement, M., & Buelens, H. (2012). The Professionalisation of Academics as Teachers in Higher Education. France: European Science.
Postareff, L., Lindblom-Ylänne, S., & Nevgi, A. (2007). The effect of pedagogical training on teaching in higher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(2007), 557– 571.
Rosado Pinto, P. (2008). Teacher Training in Higher Education: the Case of Teachers of Medicine. Educational Sciences Journal 7(Sep–Dec), 107–120.
Seldin, P. (1997). The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions (Sec. Ed.). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company.
Stark, P. B., & Freishtat, R. (2014). An evaluation of course evaluations. Science Open Research–Section: SOR-EDU. Retrieved 19. 10. 2015 from http://www.physics.emory.edu/faculty/weeks/journal/stark-preprint14.pdf.
Trigwell, K., Prosser, M., & Waterhouse, F. (1999). Relations between teachers’ approaches to teaching and students’ approaches to learning. Higher education 37(1), 57–70.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2012). International Standard Classification of Education ISCED 2011. Retrieved 05. 04. 2014 from http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/isced-2011-en.pdf.
University of Ljubljana (UL). 2012. Criteria for Appointment to the Titles of University Teacher, Researcher and Associate at the University of Ljubljana. Retrieved 18. 10. 2013 from http://www.uni-lj.si/university/organization_legal_framework_and_reports/statutes_of_ul_and_regulations/.
University of Ljubljana (UL). 2013. Quality - University of Ljubljana, 2012–2015. Retrieved 12. 04. 2016 from http://www.uni-lj.si/o_univerzi_v_ljubljani/kakovost/projekt_kul.
University of Maribor (UM). 2012. Criteria for the appointment of faculty ranks for university teachers and other employees in higher education. Retrieved 18. 10. 2013 from http://www.um.si/en/research/habilitation/Pages/default.aspx.
University of Nova Gorica (UNG). 2013. Regulations for the determination of conditions and appointment procedures for research and teaching positions at the University of Nova Gorica. Retrieved 10. 2013 from https://www.ung.si/org/img/storage/pravilniki-obrazci/pravila_habilitacije_en.pdf.
University of Primorska (UP). 2014a. Merila za izvolitve v nazive Univerze na Primorskem [Criteria for the Appointment to Positions at University of Primorska]. Retrieved 03. 05. 2014 from http://www.upr.si/index.php?page=ac_content&item=90.
University of Primorska (UP). 2014b. Pregled dela in toÄkovalnik. Retrieved 03. 05. 2014 from http://www.upr.si/index.php?page=ac_content&item=90.
University of Primorska (UP). 2014c. Navodila za izvajanje Meril za izvolitve v nazive UP [Guidance on the Implementation of Criteria for the Appointment to Positions at University of Primorska]. http://www.upr.si/index.php?page=ac_content&item=90.
Zabaleta, F. (2007). The use and misuse of student evaluations of teaching. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(1), 55–76.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors are confirming that they are the authors of the submitted article, which will be published online in the Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal (for short: CEPS Journal) by University of Ljubljana Press (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, Kardeljeva ploščad 16, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia). The Author’s/Authors’ name(s) will be evident in the article in the journal. All decisions regarding layout and distribution of the work are in the hands of the publisher.
- The Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit themselves to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.