Los retos actuales de la alfabetización académica: estado de la cuestión y últimas investigaciones

En este capítulo nos proponemos definir los retos actuales del estudio de la alfabetización  académica analizando su carácter situado, social e interdisciplinar y su impacto en las situaciones educativas que se promueven en la universidad.  Esta caracterización no ha empezado a ser ampliamente aceptada por la comunidad científica hasta los últimos veinte años y es, por tanto, heredera de tradiciones teóricas y epistemológicas anteriores. En primer lugar haremos un repaso al estado actual de la investigación en escritura académica situando geográfica, conceptual y epistemológicamente los enfoques predominantes. En un segundo momento analizaremos las implicaciones educativas de estos enfoques haciendo especial énfasis en el rol de los centros de escritura como agentes dinamizadores de la renovación en las prácticas de escritura y de alfabetización académica en contextos anglosajones. Finalmente, analizaremos el estado de la cuestión en el contexto español y daremos cuenta de algunas iniciativas de investigación recientes que tienen por objetivo avanzar en nuestro conocimiento acerca de las prácticas de alfabetización académica en nuestro contexto y sensibilizar a la comunidad universitaria de los retos a los que se enfrentan profesores y estudiantes

The European Writing Survey (EUWRIT): Background, Structure, Implementation, and Some Results

The European Writing Survey (EUWRIT), both the student and faculty versions, reflects the need to systematically gather data on student writing in various institutional and disciplinary contexts. The final version of the survey (status January 2015) includes questions on: personal and demographic data, general questions on writing in the study programme, writing process and feedback, text genres and writing practices, self-evaluation (students) and appreciation (faculty) of the writing skills, conceptions of “good writing”, study competences and writing support. EUWRIT is the result of a long testing and implementation process, which started in 2006. The range of projects in which the survey has been im-plemented is broad and includes assessment of writing skills in study programmes (Environmental Sciences at ETH Zurich; Economics, Journalism and Health at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences), investigations of different stages of student development (Translation Studies at Zurich University of Ap-plied Sciences); comparisons of writing cultures (universities of teacher education in the French, German, and Italian parts of Switzerland); assessments of writing cultures in certain disciplines at different universities (Spain); studies of the writing cultures of a single university (University of Constance, Germany); and comparisons of the genres in different Eastern Europe countries (Macedonia, Romania, Ukraine). The report gives a synthesis of the construction principles of the EUWRIT questionnaire and presents some of the results from the aforementioned studies.Das European Writing Survey (EUWRIT), in seinen beiden Versionen für Studierende und Lehrende, ist aus der Notwendigkeit zu einer systematischen Sammlung von Daten über studentisches Schreiben in verschiedenen institutionellen und disziplinären Kontexten entstanden. Die letzte Version (Stand Januar 2015) enthält Fragen zu persönlichen und demographischen Variablen, Schreibpraktiken im Studum, Schreibprozess und Feedback, Textgenres, Selbsteinschätzungen (Studierende) und Bedeutsamkeit (Lehrende) studentischer Schreibkompetenz, Vorstellungen von «gutem Schreiben», Selbsteinschätzung (Studierende) von und Bedeutung (Lehrende) allgemeiner Studienkompetenzen, und Bedarf an Unterstützung für das Schreiben. EUWRIT ist Resultat eines langen Test- und Implementierungsprozesses, der im Jahr 2006 begann. Die Spannweite der Projekte, in denen EURWRIT implementiert wurde, ist breit und schliesst ein: Untersuchungen zur Entwicklung von Schreibkompetenzen in Studiengängen (Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich, Übersetzen und Dolmetschen, ZHAW Winterthur), Vergleich von Studiengängen an einer Hochschule (ZHAW, Studiengänge Management and Law, Journalismus und Gesundheitswissenschaften); Vergleich von Schreibkulturen in unterschiedlichen Sprachregionen (Schreibkulturen an Pädagogischen Hochschulen der französischen, deutschen und italienischen Schweiz); Vergleiche von Schreibkulturen an bestimmten Fakultäten in mehreren Universitäten des Landes (Spanien), Totalerhebungen an einzelnen Hochschulen (Universität Konstanz), und Vergleich von Genrekonzeptionen in geisteswissenschaftlichen Fakultäten osteuropäische Länder (Mazedonien, Rumänien, Ukraine). Der Bericht gibt eine Synthese der Konstruktionsprinzipien des Fragebogens und präsentiert einige zentrale Ergebnisse aus den angesprochenen Studien.The European Writing Survey (EUWRIT), both the student and faculty versions, reflects the need to systematically gather data on student writing in various institutional and disciplinary contexts. The final version of the survey (status January 2015) includes questions on: personal and demographic data, general questions on writing in the study programme, writing process and feedback, text genres and writing practices, self-evaluation (students) and appreciation (faculty) of the writing skills, conceptions of “good writing”, study competences and writing support. EUWRIT is the result of a long testing and implementation process, which started in 2006. The range of projects in which the survey has been implemented is broad and includes assessment of writing skills in study programmes (Environmental Sciences at ETH Zurich; Economics, Journalism and Health at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences), investigations of different stages of student development (Translation Studies at Zurich University of Applied Sciences); comparisons of writing cultures (universities of teacher education in the French, German, and Italian parts of Switzerland); assessments of writing cultures in certain disciplines at different universities (Spain); studies of the writing cultures of a single university (University of Constance, Germany); and comparisons of the genres in different Eastern Europe countries (Macedonia, Romania, Ukraine). The report gives a synthesis of the construction principles of the EUWRIT questionnaire and presents some of the results from the aforementioned studies

D'ensenyar i d'aprendre... omplint l'agenda de bones intencions

En la majoria de debats, publicacions, congressos i reflexions científiques sobre el present i el futur de l'educació, quan es tracta de fixar-se en els procesos d'ensenyament-aprenentatge, destaquen, tant per la seva freqüència com per la unanimitat a l'hora de considerar la seva importància, dues qüestions que fan referencia, en primer lloc, a la necessitat de pensar, de considerar, que l'objectiu fonamental de qualsevol procés d'ensenyament-aprenentatge és el de mobilitzar processos d'abstracció, de reflexió; i, en segon lloc, al paper que la consciencia juga o hauria de jugar a l'hora de facilitar un aprenentatge de qualitat. L'article analitza les implicacions que poden - o que haurien de- tenir aquestes qüestions; a què ens obliga el fet d'ensenyar i aprendre a pensar, com s'aconsegueix aprendre "a consciència". El treball es clou amb una reflexió a l'entorn de les característiques del context sociohistòric en el qual se situa el debat sobre els reptes de l'educació en aquest final de segle, tot argumentant que són precisament aquestes característiques les que donen sentit a les qüestions analitzades.En la mayoría de los debates, publicaciones, congresos y reflexiones científicas sobre el presente y el futuro de la educación, cuando la atención se centra en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje, destacan, tanto por su frecuencia como por la unanimidad a la hora de considerar su importancia, dos cuestiones que hacen referencia, la primera, a la necesidad de pensar, de considerar que el objetivo fundamental de cualquier proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje es el de movilizar procesos de abstracción, de reflexión; y, la segunda, al papel que la conciencia juega o debería jugar en el momento de proporcionar un aprendizaje de cualidad. Este artículo analiza las implicaciones que pueden -o que deberían- tener estas cuestiones, a qué nos obliga el hecho de enseñar y de aprender a pensar, cómo se consigue aprender "a conciencia". El trabajo concluye con una reflexión en la que, en relación con las características del contexto sociohistórico en el que se sitúa el debate sobre los retos de la educación en este final de siglo, se argumenta que son precisamente estas características las que dan sentido a las cuestiones analizadas.In most discussions, publications, con ferences and scientific reflections about the present and future of education, focusing on teaching-learning processes, two issues stand out both for their frequency and the unanimous recognition of their importance. These issues are firstly related to the need to think, to consider that the main goal of any teaching-learning process is that of enhancing processes of abstraction, of reflection; and secondly to the role consciousness plays -or should play- when providing a quality learning. This article analyses the implications that can -or should- imply these issues; what does the fact of teaching and learning to think compel us to do, how can we learn "conscientiously". The paper finishes with a reflection concerning the characteristics of the socio-historical context of the debate with regard to the challenges of education at the end of this century, arguing that these same characteristics give sense to the analysed issues.Dans la majorité de débats, publications, congrés et réflexions scientifiques sur le présent et le futur de 1'éducatïón, quand 11 s'agit de fixer notre attention sur les procès d'enseignement - apprentissage, deux questions sont mises en relief autant pour leur fréquence comme pour l'unanimité de leur importance. Celles-ci font référence premièrement au besoin de penser, de considérer que l'objectif fondamental de n'importe quel procès d'enseignement - apprentissage est celui de mobiliser. des procès d'abstraction, de réflexion; et, deuxièmement au role que la conscience joue ou devrait jouer au moment de faciliter un apprentissage de qualité. L'article analyse les implications que peuvent -ou devraient- avoir ces questions; à quoi nous oblige le fait d'enseigner et d'apprendre à penser, comment réussit-on à apprendre "à conscience ". Le travail se termine par une réflexion sur les caractéristiques du contexte socio-historique dans lequel se situe le débat en ce qui concerne les défis de 1'éducation de cette fin de siècle, en argumentant que ce sont précisément ces caractéristiques celles qui donnent un sens aux questions analysées

Trends influencing researcher education and careers: What do we know, need to know and do in looking forward?

Over the past twenty years, there has been a growing international focus on doctoral education. While this investment has definitely advanced our knowledge, we argue the need to expand our conceptualization of the preparation of researchers to include individuals with up to 10 years’ experience in universities and beyond. Such early career researchers (ECRs) find themselves caught up in changes brought about by national and international policies and strategies, e.g., reduced public funding of universities, changes in funding council policies, more quality assurance, etc. These issues led to the creation of EARLI SIG 24, Researcher Education and Careers, and this special issue brings together the outcome of our first scholarly discussion at the SIG 24 inaugural meeting in September 2014 in Barcelona. It consists of five co-authored papers that address multiple levels and issues of researcher education: establishing the multifaceted phenomenon researcher education and careers is and providing key concepts that others might take up, e.g., informal/invisible curriculum; the personal as a sphere of activity that may collide with the sphere of work; drivers of education that can provide cross-national points of comparison. Further, by identifying gaps in the literature, these papers together lay out an ambitious research agenda in a number of areas related to researcher education. In the process, they provide an extensive list of references well worth exploring since they represent the knowledge networks of over thirty researchers. 

Las representaciones de profesores y estudiantes sobre la escritura académica en las universidades españolas

The version of record of this manuscript has been published and is available in Cultura y Educación 2015 http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/11356405.2015.1072357Research on academic writing has been the focus of several international publications, seminars and conferences during the last decades. However, knowledge of the practices and conceptions, along with the status of writing in higher education, is quite disparate depending on the contexts and traditions. In this paper, we survey the research on representations of academic writing internationally as well as the background of the European Writing Survey (EUWRIT), which has two versions, one targeted at students and the other at faculty, both of which were used in our research project. This paper explains the rationale of the scales and describes the items and the international underpinnings which endorse their development. Then, the characteristics of the sample, which were shared by all the studies included in this special issue, are outlined. Participants were 1,044 students and 280 faculty in different disciplines at nine Spanish universities. The theoretical structure and reliability of each of the scales are analysed. The paper ends with the descriptive general results regarding faculty and students and the differences observed based on some characteristics of participants from different disciplinesEl estudio de la escritura académica ha sido el centro de interés de publicaciones seminarios y conferencias de alcance internacional. Sin embargo, el conocimiento de las prácticas y concepciones y del estatus que la escritura tiene en la Educación Superior es muy diferente según los contextos y las tradiciones. En este artículo se revisan los trabajos sobre las representaciones de la escritura académica en el contexto internacional y se presentan los cuestionarios Encuesta Europea sobre la Escritura Académica (EEEA) para profesores y estudiantes, utilizados en el presente proyecto de investigación. También se describen las características de la muestra a partir de la cual se han realizado los análisis que conforman los artículos del monográfico (1,044 estudiantes y 280 profesores de nueve universidades españolas y se analiza la estructura teórica y la fiabilidad de las escalas. Se analizan los resultados descriptivos generales relativos a profesores y estudiantes y las diferencias observadas en función de algunas características de la muestra en las diferentes disciplinasThe research reported has been partially funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (DGICyT (CSO2013-41108-R y EDU2013-46606-C2_1-R) and the European Research Network on Learning to Write Effectively (ERN-LWE), COST Action IS0703

Estrategias para escribir pensando

En esta colaboración se ponen de relieve las relaciones entre los procesos de pensamiento y la composición escrita. Para ello, se van detallando las distintas secuencias y estrategias de la planificación y gestión del texto mediante la propuesta de las «hojas para pensar»

Doctoral candidates’ research writing perceptions : A cross-national study

Aim/Purpose This study aimed to explore individual variation in doctoral candidates’ perceptions about research writing and themselves as writers (research writing perceptions) across three countries (Spain, Finland, and the UK) and the relationship with doctoral candidates’ research conditions and social support. Background The present study employed a person-centered approach to identify profiles among doctoral candidates’ in relation to their research writing perceptions and the association between these profiles and research conditions and experiences (e.g., thesis format, thesis language, enrollment modality, phase of the doctorate, number of publications, and drop-out intentions) and perceived social support from supervisors and research community. Methodology 1,463 doctoral candidates responded to the Doctoral Experience survey. EFA and CFA were used to corroborate the factor structure of the research writing scale. Research writing profiles were identified by employing cluster analysis and compared regarding research conditions and experience and both types of social support. Contribution This study contributes to the literature on doctoral development by providing evidence on the social nature of doctoral candidates’ writing development. It is argued that doctoral candidates’ perceptions of writing are related to transversal factors, such as doctoral candidates’ researcher identity and genre knowledge. It also shows that most candidates still lack opportunities to write and learn to write with and from other researchers. Findings Three writing profiles were identified: Productive, Reduced productivity, and Struggler profiles. Participants in the Productive profile experienced more researcher community and supervisory support and had more publications, Struggler writers reported drop-out intentions more often than participants in the other profiles, and Reduced productivity writers were more likely to not know the format of the thesis. The three profiles presented similar distribution in relation to participants’ country, the language in which they were writing their dissertation, and whether they were participating in a research team. Recommendations for Practitioners Supervisors and doctoral schools need to be aware of difficulties involved in writing at the PhD level for all doctoral candidates, not only for those writing in a second language, and support them in developing transformative research writing perceptions and establishing collaboration with other researchers. Research teams need to reflect on the writing support and opportunities they offer to doctoral candidates in promoting their writing development. Recommendation for Researchers Further studies should take into account that the development of research writing perceptions is a complex process that might be affected by many and diverse factors and vary along the doctoral trajectory]. Future Research Future research could explore the influence of factors such as engagement or research interest on doctoral candidates’ research writing perceptions. The field could also benefit from longitudinal studies exploring changes in doctoral candidates’ research writing perceptions.Peer reviewe