Student Centered Classroom: a Myth or Reality?

Abstract

Student centeredness and the related terms - student centered classroom and student centered learning are very commonly used nowadays. The aim of this paper is to examine how university professors understand the concept of student centeredness, if and how they apply it in their everyday teaching situations and to what extent it is really present in today’s university classrooms. The assumption is that apart from language teachers at South East European University (SEEU) in North Macedonia, university professors of content subjects, such as economy, law, and other professionally related courses, do not fully implement student centered learning. They do not seem to be familiar with the scientific background of the concept and the ways to achieve it. The methodology includes class observations of hundred and sixty eight (168) university professors from the five Faculties and the Language Centre at SEEU, conducted during two academic years and interviews with twelve (12) professor. The teaching observation process is one of the instruments for quality assurance (QA) operated at SEEU. Recommendations based on findings are expected to be useful for all teaching staff at university level, as well as for policy makers in the country and the region because of the similarities of their educational programs.