Effective Teaching Strategies and Behaviors of Legal Translation Lecturers in Spain

Abstract

Framed within the current accountability policies in higher education, under the strains of global competition and the internationalization of universities worldwide, this article examines effective teaching as a pillar of teaching quality in higher education among legal translation lecturers. By linking certain teaching and learning styles to the different dimensions of effective teaching (instructional, organizational, and emotional), the teaching profile of legal translation lecturers in Spain at undergraduate level is analyzed. In addition, student-centered teaching approaches are connected to the use of classroom strategies and methodological resources that characterize effective teaching. The findings of this study, obtained through the distribution of the tamufq questionnaire (Teaching and Assessment Methodology of University Faculty Questionnaire) among legal translation lecturers at undergraduate level in Spain, suggest that those lecturers who adopt a post-positivist approach in their classroom display a greater variety of teaching behaviors and strategies associated with both effective curriculum implementation and higher quality teaching than those who are closer to traditional, positivist approaches. These findings may be particularly useful in the design and implementation of continuous professional development courses and pedagogical training of lecturers.