European Credit Transfer System Research Articles

Legal Linguistics of Judicial Educational Activities

The objective of the study is to provide characteristics to the state of academic discipline “Legal Linguistics” in Ukraine and in the countries of Romano-Germanic law, and its origin. To achieve the objective, the author has solved the following tasks: 1) description of the state of academic discipline “Legal Linguistics” in Ukrainian educational institutions; 2) “Legal Linguistics” as an academic discipline and as a research direction in the educational institutions of Germany and Switzerland and its importance for training a “European lawyer”.
 It has been concluded that “Legal Linguistics” as an interdisciplinary academic discipline must be offered in the curriculum for training a lawyer in the specialty 081 “Jurisprudence” as an academic discipline of choice. The purpose of its study is to get acquainted with the main directions, ideas and problems of the current legal and linguistic science; studying theoretical and methodological principles of legal linguistics; mastering the methodology of drafting, editing and analysis of legal texts, namely normative and legal, various substatutory acts and law-enforcement documents. The tasks of the academic discipline are: students acquire in-depth knowledge, skills and abilities on the role of a language within legal regulation, the basics of legal technique, law-making and law-enforcement errors, specific features of linguistic examination of bills, mastering the methodology of drafting, editing and analysis of legal texts.
 The training of a modern lawyer in Europe is increasingly directed not at the study of state legislation, but on the formation of a “European lawyer”, who thinks globally, is able to work not only with national law, but also with the acquis communautaire and to correctly interpret such acts, based on the provisions and conclusions of legal comparative studies. Training of law students in accordance with the European Credit Transfer System, which facilitates their mobility, assists in such a formation.

Europeanizing the Danish School through National Testing: Standardized Assessment Scales and the Anticipation of Risky Populations

This paper explores “the peopling of Europe through data practices” in relation to standardized testing of students in Denmark. Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a central component of Danish and European education infrastructures. In Denmark, mediocre PISA results spurred the introduction of national testing. With inspiration from Michel Foucault’s notion of biopolitics, this paper analyzes how complementary Danish national test assessment scales make up population objects and student subjects and how these scales are aligned with European and transnational standards. A norm scale, standardized against the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) grading scale, enacts a population whose performance can be tracked over time. A criteria scale introduces categories describing skills and enacts a moving student subject whose progression can be tracked. This paper argues that the three assessment scales enact the student population as bound to the nation and as simultaneously constituted in relation to transnational European categories and imaginaries of competition. As part of this, this paper discusses how the national test and PISA are used to single out students of non-European background, anticipated to be low PISA achievers and nonparticipants in a European knowledge economy.

“Cheap” and “expensive” credit points: a case study of their causes and utility at a high course-load university

Failures to standardize the work required to receive equal credit points from different courses make credit points unfit for their official purposes. Moreover, increasingly, institutions are found where students are required to take a high number of courses simultaneously. This study aimed to identify plausible hypotheses about how high course-loads and standardization failure interact by examining credit point standardization failure at an Estonian university where students are required to take twice as many courses as their peers at better performing universities. The hypotheses supported by the study are: the high course-load both made standardization failure useful to students seeking to manage the high course-load and contributed toward standardization failure because it rendered students’ assessments of workload untrustworthy to lecturers who regulate that workload. Existing advice on standardization of workloads within the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is criticized for its insensitivity to the constructive effects of course-load on student workload preferences.

Features of teaching thermal injury course for the third-year students at the general surgery department.

In the article, on the basis of methodological recom­mendations on the introduction of the European credit transfer system and its documents, current issues of optimizing the educational process, the effectiveness of mastering the material on the topic "Thermal trauma", based on theoretical training and practical skills are elucidated. Lectures, practical classes and skills are formulated taking into account modern terrorist attacks with outlining effective ways of medical self-aid, mutual and first aid.

ECVET and ECTS credit equivalency in higher education – A bridge too far?

AbstractThe implementation within Europe of a credit system for vocational education and training known as ECVET is a European Commission priority. The potential for permeability between the ECVET and European Credit Transfer and accumulation System (ECTS) was foreseen in the Recommendation to establish ECVET in 2009, while the Bruges Communique of 2010 called for the promotion of flexible links between vocational and higher education and increased coherence between ECVET and ECTS. To this end a significant number of EU‐funded projects were undertaken to explore compatibility between ECVET and ECTS. This article reviews the findings of these projects and reflects on their success in terms of achieving this policy goal. These bridging projects identified several points of compatibility between the two credit systems and produced valuable tools and frameworks to facilitate such permeability. Achieving credit equivalency between ECVET and ECTS does not appear feasible, rather the evidence points to using a learning outcomes‐based equivalency framework. However, this article calls into question the sustainability of these project results with regard to the lack of success in translating these findings into practice and the lack of co‐ordinated efforts to implement these findings at a national or pan European level.

Successful Curriculum Change in Health Management and Leadership Studies for the Specialist Training Programs in Medicine in Finland.

In Finland, the specialization programs in Medicine and Dentistry can be undertaken at all five university medical faculties in 50 specialization programs and in five programs for Dentistry. The specialist training requires 5 or 6 years (300–360 ECTS credits) of medical practice including 9 months of service in primary health care centers, theoretical substance specific education, management studies, and passing a national written exam. The renovation of the national curriculum for the specialization programs was implemented, first in 2008 and officially in August 2009, when theoretical multi-professional social, health management and leadership studies (10–30 ECTS credits) were added to the curriculum. According to European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), 1 ECTS credit (henceforth, simply “ECTS”) means 27–30 h of academic work1 National guidelines for the multi-professional leadership training include the basics of organizational management and leadership, the social and healthcare system, human resources (HR) management, leadership interaction and organizational communication, healthcare economy, legislation (HR) and data management. Each medical faculty has implemented management studies autonomously but according to national guidelines. This paper will describe how the compulsory management studies (10 ECTS) have been executed at the Universities of Tampere and Turku. In Tampere, the 10 ECTS management studies follow a flexible design of six academic modules. Versatile modern teaching methods such as technology-assisted and student orientated learning are used. Advanced supplementary management studies (20 ECTS) are also available. In Turku, the 10 ECTS studies consist of academic lectures, portfolio and project work. Attendees select contact studies (4–6 ECTS) from yearly available 20 ECTS and proceed at their own pace. Portfolio and project comprise 2–5 ECTS each. The renovation of medical specializing physicians' management and leadership education has been a successful reform. It has been observed that positive attitudes and interest toward management overall are increasing among younger doctors. In addition, management and leadership education will presumably facilitate medical doctors' work as managers also. Continuous development of medical doctors' management and leadership education for physicians and dentists is needed while the changing and complex healthcare environment requires both professional and leadership expertise.

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND FUNCTIONAL MAPS OF QUALIFICATIONS IN ECVET CONTEXT

Introduction. Activation of the process of internationalisation and mobility in Russian Vocational Education and Training (VET) is quite possible by adapting principles and methodology of the European Credit Transfer System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). The need to achieve transparency of qualifications, recognition of learning outcomes in view of achieving qualifications, accumulation, comparison and transfer of learning outcomes becomes more apparent and urgent for integration processes of VET systems in Russia and European Union countries and is currently under consideration by the RUECVET project team. The aim is to adjust application of functional analysis to description of an occupation in terms of work functions with the following conversion of the defined functions into sets of learning outcomes necessary for characterizing a qualification. The ECVET principles and technical specifications form the context of the research in order to develop an adequate VET study programme for achieving the correspondent qualification of level 4 or 5 of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in the Russian education environment. Methodology and research methods . The methodology is based on the functional analysis of an occupational sector and the functions performed within it in such a manner that the following identification of the correspondent units of learning outcomes for the relevant qualification can be fulfilled. The research has been conducted by means of the content-analysis, modelling and expert estimation method. Results and scientific novelty. Comparative analysis of approaches to the design of occupations and qualifications in both national and European environments is presented in the article. The functional analysis is used for allocation of work functions and creation of units of learning outcomes related to a particular qualification. The procedure of applying functional analysis to an occupation as well as the technology of consequent construction of the functional map for the correspondent qualification taking into account the relevant educational and occupational standards and sectoral preferences have been elaborated. The result of the study is adaptation of methodology of functional analysis and verification of the developed procedure when constructing a functional map of the chosen qualification. The procedures are illustrated on the qualification of a lawyer achieved in the VET study programme “Legislation and Social Protection”, equivalent to level 5 of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). Successful experiments with occupations of welders, electricians, web designers, hospitality managers and others related to the qualifications of level 4 and 5 of EQF have been also completed in RUECVET project, although are not described in the article due to the restricted volume. Practical significance. The derived procedures are useful for development of a set of detailed learning outcomes from functional mapping by allocating knowledge and skills and using the concept of unit of learning outcomes for compilation of a qualification in accordance with the relevant educational and occupational standards and employers’ understanding how the real work should be performed. The procedures are useful also for identifying units of learning outcomes to build an adequate VET study programme in ECVET context of Russian educational system.

A Joint Effect to Train over 1,200 Chinese Medical Professionals for Organ Donation in 5 years in China to Boost up the Organ Donation Rate

Background Following the guiding principles of World Health Organization (WHO) on organ transplantation and in accordance with cultural traditions and current socioeconomic conditions of the country, China has established a scientific and ethical system to foster sound development of organ donation(OD) and transplantation(OT). A rapid raising trend in the annual number of OD after citizen’s death in China; from 34 cases, 0.03 OD per million population (PMP) in 2010 to 4080 cases,3 PMP, in 2016; more than 10% of total deceased OD worldwide, shows a promising outcome. However, only 1 out of 43 patients can receive kidney transplant in a year. The gap between demand for OT and supply is growing continuously. Meanwhile, only 0.062% of hospital deaths converted to actual organ donors in 2016, indicating a low identification rate of potential donors. To tackle this issue, a joint international approach to train over 1200 Chinese organ procurement professionals in 5 years had been proposed and put into action since December 2014. Methods Adopting TPM methodology, continuous professional trainings were done at national and regional level. Working in conjunction national authorities and local hospitals, a common curriculum was designed. The courses were led by international and local experts who were well-trained overseas. Participants received a 3 to 5-days course composed of theoretical seminars, case studies section and simulation workshops for each step of the OD practices. Interpretation was provided by professional translators with medical background during the course. The knowledge level of participants was evaluated by a final test. To those who successfully passed the evaluation, a recognized certificate was given. In the last two courses, individual self-evaluation tests measuring the level of knowledge acquired were performed before and after the course. These trainings were validated both by European Credit Transfer System and Health care continuous education program of the region organizing the course. Result 610 health professionals (HP)from 30 provinces in China are trained over the last 3 years. 19% of the participants are HP from 88 OPO, 37% are surgeons from 72 Transplant centers, and 39% are physicians from critical /emergency units from 95 donor hospitals. An increasing trend through the years in number of OD were observed in all cities the trainings took place. The organ utilization rate is higher in provinces where the course was repeated. Comparison results performed before-after the course shows greater knowledge, as reflected in the test correct rate increasing from 71.48% to 82.84%. Discussion The sufficiency of skill and knowledge acquired by HP is of essential to boost up the progress of an efficient and healthy OD in China. Therefore; as estimated, in 2019, the number of well-trained HP in this program will be 1200. Of those, if consider, each one performing 6 cases yearly, more than 7200 donations will be performed annually.

Analysis of and reflection on bachelor thesis in nursing students: A descriptive study in Spain

IntroductionThe bachelor thesis, a final year subject to obtain a nursing degree, presents an ideal opportunity for the development and assessment of professional competencies. Thus, it is necessary to specify that the structure of the bachelor thesis works as an element of review and reflection from both a pedagogical and professional perspective. ObjectiveTo analyse the main elements of the bachelor thesis in the nursing degree 2015–16 in Spain. MethodologyA transversal descriptive study was conducted using a quantitative documentary analysis via study guides or grade reports. The variables were the main academic elements of the bachelor thesis subject (credits, competencies, learning outcomes, contents, methodologies, training activities and assessment). A probabilistic sample of 66 institutions was studied using descriptive statistics with statistical measures of central tendency and measures of variability. ResultsThe results showed a maximum range of 12 and a minimum of 6 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System. The definition and number of competencies to be developed varied and the learning outcomes were formulated in only 40.9% of the guides consulted. The most widely used teaching methodologies and training activities were academic supervision (87.9%) and autonomous work (80.3%). Regarding types of work, basic investigation (34.8%), care plans (33.3%) and literature review (30,3%) ranked highest. No specific descriptors could be linked to the contents. Finally, two main assessment tools were found: process and product. The rubric is presented as a main element of the assessment. Discussion and ConclusionsThe bachelor thesis is conceived as autonomous, personal and original academic work. But no homogeneity was observed in the key development elements such as competencies, teaching strategies, or type of bachelor thesis. Therefore, the findings from the analysis and the bibliographic review are presented as recommendations as regards the outcome, structure and/or teaching elements linked to the bachelor thesis.

Questionnaire of Third-Year Medical Students of the Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University Undergoing Shortened Course of Study About Delivered Lecture in Clinical Anatomy and Operative Surgery

The educational process in Ukraine, that is undergoing reform due to the introduction of the European Credit Transfer System, requires the improvement of the basic forms of education, namely lectures. This is due to the dynamic development of scientific advances in medicine, the appearance of innovative technologies, the growth of requirements for the formation of a competitive specialist, a doctor who constantly needs to improve his/her knowledge and practical skills in particular. The questionnaire of student audience helps clarify the advantages and disadvantages of the teaching material presented during the lecture and the level of mastering the key moments of the lecture by students. We present the results of a questionnaire of students about the lecture delivered at the Department of Cinical Anatomy and Operative Surgery.

Didática da matemática em cursos de formação de educadores e professores

RESUMO O Processo Bolonha visou a reestruturar o ensino superior europeu, intensificando uma formação de qualidade e a sua uniformização. Mas esse objetivo ainda não foi alcançado. A formação dos Educadores de Infância e Professores dos anos iniciais de escolaridade é díspar, designadamente em termos das habilitações exigidas e do acesso aos cursos e sua cartografia. No que se refere a esses cursos, foram analisados, em particular, os programas das unidades curriculares relacionadas com a didática da matemática. Conclui-se principalmente pela diversidade de situações no que concerne: à (in)dependência das disciplinas; à sua distribuição no curso; ao número de European Credit Transfer System (ECTS); aos objetivos que perseguem; aos conteúdos programáticos; às metodologias e avaliação das aprendizagens preconizadas; e à bibliografia proposta.

Improvement of qualification of managing, pedagogical and scientific-pedagogical workers by the accumulating system: answer to challenges of modernity

There is elucidated the urgent problem of organization of increasing the qualification of educational workers corresponding to requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On education”, Conception “New Ukrainian school” and time challenges. There is analyzed the prospective foreign and native experience of the continuous professional improvement of aforesaid workers, based on accumulating systems. The notion “accumulating system of educational process organization” is defined as a totality of mutually coordinated content, organizational and technological components of improving the qualification that provide constructing individual educational trajectories of the professional-personal development of specialists corresponding to own needs, their realization, recognition and addition of results. The qualification improvement is grounded by the accumulating system of educational process organization in SHEI “University of educational management” that is embodied in the correspondent normative document of the institution. There is considered the theoretical background of the qualification improvement by the accumulating system that includes the scientific approaches (system, synergetic, personally-oriented, competence) and principles (continuousness; open education; diversification; module character of constructing a content of improving the qualification; European credit-transfer system; correspondence between the content and individual needs and demands of a person, level of the professional competence and so on). Attention is accented on the list of competences as a base of assessing/recognizing of results of teaching students. Peculiarities of organizational models of improving the qualification of educational workers are characterized according to this system, especially: staged mastering no less than five competences, mastering separate competences, distant additional study, verification of results of teaching students, acquired at other institutions/organizations or by informal education. In further studies there is provided to probate the qualification improvement by the accumulating system in SHEI “University of educational management” and to assess its effectiveness

A module on Learning Technologies for teachers in Higher Education

This paper describes a 10 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS ) module in Learning Technologies which forms part of a Post Graduate Diploma in Academic Practice, part of a professional development framework for academic staff. The module, which is taught through seven themed workshops over one semester, is research-informed and practice-based. Assessment is on a pass/fail basis and includes three aspects supporting reflection, technical competency and the implementation of a technology-based project. Throughout the module, technology is used as a showcase for the module content itself. The intention is to integrate the use of technology to support the pedagogy, without over-using technology for its own sake. Through surveying past participants on the module there is evidence to suggest that good practice in the use of technology is being embedded in teaching and learning activities across the university.

Promoting safety teaching: An essential requirement for the chemical engineering education in the French universities

The essential contribution of education to safety and loss prevention is emphasized in this paper. It provides a review of the chemical engineering undergraduate and graduate French curriculum “Process safety”. First, the specific situation of the French chemical engineering departments is situated in the Bologna Accord. Then the three main ways to teach occupational health, safety and loss prevention in chemical engineering cursus are discussed. The principle of a layered approach is reported with the corresponding levels of outcomes, competences and safe work practice expectations.The content of the undergraduate safety mandatory program of the French University Institutes of Technology (IUT) is indicated for the concerned chemical engineering departments.Finally, some selected detailed lists of the different safety mandatory and elective courses concerning the corresponding French Master degrees (topics – time allocation and European Credit Transfer and accumulation System ECTS) in two Chemical Engineering Schools ENSIC Nancy and ENSIACET Toulouse are commented.

Curricula, attributes and clinical experiences of radiography programs in four European educational institutions

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to compare radiography curricula, teaching/learning strategies, skill development, clinical practice outcomes and research development delivered by four European educational institutions. MethodsThis study was carried out in two phases: the first focused on curricula analysis; the second involved online questionnaires to ascertain data from two key-informants: students who had recently completed their bachelor thesis and teaching-staff. Questionnaires were designed to capture teaching and learning strategies, skill acquisition and outcomes of clinical practice and research. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were performed according to the nature of the questions. ResultsThe European Credits Transfer System dedicated per core subject area (natural sciences, clinical practice, research, imaging technology, humanities) differed between institutions. Students classified technical, practical and communication skills as the most important, teaching-staff highlighted also critical thinking. The students defined as “very good” their experience in radiography (58.5%) and computed-tomography (45%). Magnetic resonance imaging practice was considered “Average” by 53% of the UK-students and “Good” by the other European students (40%). According to 71% (55/78) of the students, research work contributed to the development of critical/reflective thinking. ConclusionsThe four radiography programs presented variations in curricula, contact-hours, clinical experience and outcomes. Research units allowed the participant-students to develop their critical thinking capabilities. The outcomes from clinical practice differ across the institutions, mainly due to differences in background and access to specialities. Further work is necessary to assess the real impact of different radiography programs on professional and academic mobility across Europe.

A probabilistic approach to student workload: empirical distributions and ECTS

The ECTS, European Credit Transfer System, is now widely used throughout higher education institutions as it facilitates student mobility within Europe and the comparison of study programs and courses. Most European institutions provide students with the number of ECTS each course and module is worth. A full-time student needs to complete 60 ECTS per academic year, which represents about 1500 to 1800 h of study. However, there is a lack of research showing that ECTS metrics have been properly implemented in different degrees and universities. The aim of this paper is to assess the relevance of the ECTS metric as a valid indicator of students’ and courses’ workloads. Detailed workload measurements have been taken in two Spanish universities, with 250,000 work hours monitored from 1400 students. This is the first study published with such a large dataset that includes a range of simultaneous courses and throughout a whole semester. Empirical distribution functions of workload indicators have been obtained. Evidence is provided indicating that nominal ECTS credit hours may be overestimated, that the variability of student workload could be too large for ECTS to sensibly characterize course workload, and that workload statistics of courses with same nominal ECTS are generally not comparable. Although the ECTS metric conception seems to be a valid metric to facilitate mobility between different institutions and higher education systems, in practice, according to this study, it requires revision, at least in the two institutions that have been included in this study. Further studies like the present one are required to test if this is a broader problem that has implications for the comparability of degrees across Europe.

Flipped learning and formative evaluation in higher education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to design and validate a continuous self-assessment tool that involves university students in reflection processes on their Flipped Learning model learning.Design/methodology/approachFor this, 66 students (18.77±1.36) of the first year of the Degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences participated for nine weeks in the weekly completion of a self-assessment tool. The questionnaire followed a content validation by a group of experts and, subsequently, reliability was found from the internal consistency perspective through Cronbach’s α.FindingsThe results obtained show a reliable tool that facilitates the work by competencies in university education under the Flipped Learning model.Originality/valueThis work is the first step that responds to the almost non-existent practices of democratic evaluation in Higher Education. The design and validation of questionnaires that consider the measures adopted by the European Higher Education Area and that takes into account European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is scarce.

Learning radiation oncology in Europe: Results of the ESTRO multidisciplinary survey

IntroductionRadiotherapy education can be very different across Europe, despite the publication of the ESTRO core curricula in 2011. The purpose of the current study is to map the different RO European education systems, to report their perceived quality and to understand what could be improved to better teach RO. MethodsAn online survey consisting of 30 questions was sent to RO professionals under 40 years of age via email and social media. Clinicians, radiobiologists, physicists and radiation therapists (RTTs) were invited to answer questions regarding (1) demographics data, (2) duration, (3) organization, (4) content, (5) quality and potential improvements of national education programs. ResultsFour hundred and sixty three questionnaires were received from 34 European countries. All disciplines were represented: 45% clinicians (n = 210), 29% physicists (n = 135), 24% RTTs (n = 108) and 2% radiobiologists (n = 10). Male and female participants were well-balanced in each speciality, except for radiobiologists (80% males). Median age was 31.5 years old (range 21–40). A large range of the duration of the National RO education programs was observed: median = 9 years (range: 3–15). In half of the surveyed countries the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), that facilitates mobility for trainees, has been implemented. Participants declared only a minority of countries have implemented the ESTRO Core Curriculum (n = 5). A quarter of participants indicated that their national education program is insufficient. ConclusionThis is the first study to examine the different RO education systems in Europe. Large differences in organization and duration of national education programs have been found, along with perceived quality across Europe within each speciality. These results show the necessity of a discussion on how to move forward in this diversity of education programs and the potential contribution that the ESTRO may fulfil.

Master Programme “Information and Electrical Engineering” for International Students at Hochschule Wismar: Theoretical Framework

Abstract Hochschule Wismar, Germany, has been implementing Master programmes for international students since 1992. However, for most European universities, it is a rather new phenomenon. The purpose of the work is to analyse scientific literature on European higher education programmes for international students and to outline a theoretical framework of European higher education programmes for international students underpinning elaboration of new research question on master programmes for international engineering students. The research methodology comprises the study of the meaning of the key concepts of “framework”, “theoretical framework” and “international students”. Moreover, the logical chain of analysis is shown: theoretical framework → empirical study within a multicultural environment → conclusions. The case study research is applied. The empirical study was carried out at Hochschule Wismar, Germany in March 2017. Semi-structured interview served as the basis for data collection. The empirical findings allow complementing the elaborated theoretical framework consisting of the concepts on reasons for, language and impact of Masetr programme for international students with such a concept as European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Directions of further research are proposed. The novel contribution of the paper is the newly formulated research question on master programmes for international students.

ECTS in Romania – a regulated counterexample

Abstract Building a grading system compatible of a uniform but performing university structure of the European Community was a good time subject of analysis, competition and criticism. Far for being abandoned, the idea must recur by means of individual initiatives but also by systematic applications. The present work resumes the principles of ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) grading in the conditions when these became in Romania the subject of a law. Further the principles are analyzed, also as the practical experiments and the baleful consequences of an obtuse and profound limitative law which restricts the progress and the university initiative. The analysis manner is a comparative one, emphasizing the close but also the lasting time consequences.