The competences
The application of a competency approach has been developing for some years in the world, but the evaluations and judgments issued by the actors and participants have been dissimilar.
skills-andragogy-management-change-communication-solution-problems-projectHowever, it is a process that provides "added value" in the educational and work environments when it is designed and trained in due time for those who will participate; the right conditions are created; the time required to digest, internalize and assimilate the characteristics and requirements necessary to operate the change is given; Adequate implementation deadlines are foreseen; a permanent feedback phase is introduced and impacts and results are duly controlled.
The process as such is positive, but its results would depend on compliance with the aforementioned requirements. It is not a “magic recipe”, nor can it be implanted only by official resolution or procedure.
In Mexico and in other countries, progress has been made in the implementation of the competency-based approaches, but not all the necessary ones. Partly because a conscious and general connotation has not been reached, despite the benefits it implies and the evident need for its application.
In our opinion, after interacting with some teachers, it could be because as a process of change at last, it causes human resistance and has tried to implement and not implement, without due motivation, persuasion, preparation, negotiation, conviction and opportunity to analysis and participation of its main actors: the teachers and the students themselves.
There are the methodological normative documents covered in the Reform, but they are accompanied by reactions of resistance, doubt of their application, expectation and even a feeling of powerlessness due to the threat of new future conditions, as some university professors have told us.
I would like to point out responsibly after having implemented said competency approach, in various scenarios that:
It is useful and valuable as an approach
It is laborious, difficult and complicated It
needs a conscious vision of the Institutions, of where they need and want to go and how to plan the design strategic process
Requires a strong commitment from "senior management and stakeholders"
It requires a previous preparation of the actors to actively participate in the new challenge.
It involves performing motivational, training, persuasion, experimentation, follow-up, evaluation and correction actions by the Institutions.
You need to "divest yourself of pedagogical paradigms", giving way to new "andragogic" approaches and styles, with an adequate sense of openness.
It forces the implementation of a parallel approach to Benchmarking with a creative, flexible and personalized application that typifies local particularities.
I also consider that: "Competencies constitute knowing, knowing how to do, knowing how to be, wanting to be and being able to do a person, in a certain field." They become the human constitution resulting from the interaction of knowledge as a fundamental base, abilities and skills to apply in practice, personality characteristics, values, attitudes and capacities of conviction and persuasion to the environment; that allow you to face and solve specific problems of a given and circumstantial scenario with efficiency, prudence and opportunity in the current moment and scenario.
But since we are not "todologists" (although many believe it) it must be taken into account that the local characteristics and needs as well as the particularities of personality, values, training, social disposition, etc. they vary from one setting to another, and even from one person to another, so their suitability must be re-evaluated in each specific setting.
Competency is not automatically awarded by the professional title, and although it has been certified in one context, it is not automatically transferred to another. So they must be reevaluated from time to time.
They are usually evaluated or verified in work settings since "they are observable and demonstrable through documentary, attitudinal and, above all, evidence: actional".
They are the effective and efficient response to the conditioning of solutions to specific problems of a scenario and the solution to the needs of a group of people who coincide at a given moment.
They are related to a professional profile that makes it possible to occupy a position, provide a service, or solve problems, but they are more than that; since the global preparation and training given by the previous professional and work training and experience, must be adapted to the specific requirements of the current context in which they are evaluated; since the competences are not "exportable, nor importable".
Although modern techniques advise benchmarking to study good environmental practices, learn from them and apply what is feasible; This application could not be a textual copy, since the experiences that worked in one place are not magical and were due to contextually unrepeatable situations in another.
Being possible that someone with great experience in similar places is not competent in the current place, due to factors of human development, environment and the prevailing organizational culture. Different from your previous experience
Academic degrees and job references are part of the evidence to be demonstrated, but as the competencies approach has the novel feature that it is required to make them demonstrable; Certification is possible if they are successfully demonstrated, even if they have not been institutionally completed; as long as the response or action demonstrated in the evaluative situation and solution to the problem or behavior required in said context, is in tune with the actions required in the evaluating environment.
And at the same time there may be the case of people holding evidence of documentary competencies by degree or references, which they cannot demonstrate in practice, because the training was eminently theoretical and in practice they do not possess the corresponding skills and abilities; as well as someone who does possess the knowledge, abilities and skills, but their personality and values are inconsistent or not aligned with the policies and values of the new contracting institution.
It is urgent to carry out a profound paradigm shift in academic institutions from primary to university in all careers, to ensure proper skills training:
• Updating curricula and the evaluation system, • Abandoning the monological practices of teachers and reproductive evaluations giving way to dialogue, and stimulating innovation and creativity
• Investigating the real expectations and demands of the public and private labor market, • And most importantly, incorporating training and training in analysis, diagnosis, interpretation of scenarios and support of opinions; constructive capacity for dialogue; Convincing citizen values, strategic planning, assertive communication, self-esteem, motivation, teamwork, problem solving, decision making, negotiation, conflict resolution, and leadership, just to mention some of the most important competencies, essential in the 21st century for align the "most important product: men and women" with the true needs and professional demands of the current labor market and proceed with due fairness "
Believe me, these are tasks "for yesterday and it is urgent to carry them out as part of this new stage of university institutional growth and development" (MSc. Jover, Isabel (2012)
There are many trends, experiences and contributions worldwide on competencies. It could take us months consultation, but we do not have such time, so we will focus on some positions during the Workshop and we would like to motivate them to continue expanding the investigation on their own,
according to an article from: «http://www.articuloz.com/ administration-articles / the-importance-of-competencies-1050834.html »
"… In order to determine its importance, relevance and scope, it is important to determine what is understood by competencies: in this regard, some definitions can be pointed out that allow us to determine its scope, relevance, namely:
For Boyatzis (Woodruffe, 1993) they are: «Sets of behavior patterns, that the person must take to a position to perform efficiently in their tasks and functions
Ansorena Cao (1996):« A skill or personal attribute of the behavior of a subject, which can be defined as characteristic of their behavior, and under which task-oriented behavior can be classified logically and reliably. " (p. 76)
Script (quoted in Spencer and Spencer) defines them as "Underlying characteristics of people that indicate ways of behaving or thinking, generalizable from one situation to another, and that remain for a reasonably long time"
Woodruffe (1993) presents them as " A dimension of open and overt behaviors that allow a person to perform efficiently ».
It follows from this, as Nelson Rodríguez Trujillo relates, that the competencies:
1. Are permanent characteristics of the person,
2. They are revealed when a task is executed or a job is performed,
3. They are related to the successful execution in activity, whether labor or other.
4. They have a causal relationship with job performance, that is, they are not only associated with success, but it is assumed that they actually cause it.
5. They can be generalized to more than one activity.
Therefore, a Competency is what makes the person, is redundant, "competent" to perform a job or activity and successful in it, which can mean the conjunction of specific knowledge, skills, dispositions and behaviors. If any of those aspects fails, and it is required to achieve something, you are no longer "competent".
The ILO reminds us that in the analysis of competition it is clear what it represents:
Identification of competences: It is the method or process that is followed to establish, from a work activity, the competencies that are mobilized in order to carry out such activity satisfactorily. Competencies are usually identified on the basis of the reality of the work, which implies that the participation of workers is facilitated during analysis workshops. Identification coverage can range from the workplace to a broader and much more convenient concept of occupational area or scope of work. Different and varied methodologies are available to identify competencies. Among the most widely used are: functional analysis, the “curriculum development” method (DACUM, for its acronym in English),as well as its SCID and AMOD variants and the methodologies characterized by focusing on the identification of key competences, of a behavioral nature.
Standardization of skills: Once the skills are identified, their description can be very useful to clarify transactions between employers, workers and educational entities. Usually, when standardized systems are organized, a standardization procedure is developed, in such a way that the competence identified and described with a common procedure, becomes a norm, a valid reference for educational institutions, workers and employers. This institutionally created and formalized procedure normalizes competencies and makes them a standard at the level agreed upon (company, sector, country).
Competency-based training: Once the description of the competence and its standardization have been arranged, the preparation of job training curricula will be much more efficient if you consider the orientation towards the standard. This means that training aimed at generating competences with clear references in existing standards will have much more efficiency and impact than that unrelated to the needs of the business sector.
Rodríguez Trujillo very well points out in his analysis that it is considered that the very conception of Competencies, with their multidimensional nature, makes them complex, so it is necessary to analyze how they are shaped. Spencer and Spencer consider that Competencies are composed of characteristics that include: motivations, psychophysical traits (visual acuity and reaction time, for example) and forms of behavior, self-concept, knowledge, manual skills (abilities) and mental or cognitive skills. While Boyatzis argues that a competence can be "a motivation, a trait, a skill, self-image, the perception of their social role, or a set of knowledge that is used for work."
When reviewing the characteristics or components of the Competencies, we observe that, in some way, they are associated with the psychological constructs, but they are combined in a certain way, to generate the ability to perform efficiently in specific tasks or activities, make the competent person". How they are combined can only be determined by analyzing how successful people act at work.
Of course, an important aspect that lends itself to analysis is also what Rodríguez refers to when he indicates how much is the number of competencies? In this regard, he points out that the number of "existing" competences can be very broad. Thus it is had, that Levy-Leboyer (1996) presents six different lists. Ansorena Cao (1996) includes 50 behavioral competencies. Woodruffe (1993) presents nine generic competencies, which means that there are many other specific ones. Hay McBer's Dictionary of Competencies (Spencer and Spencer, 1993) includes 20 Competencies in their basic list, arranged by conglomerates, and an additional nine called Unique Competencies. Barnhart (1996) includes 37 basic skills in seven categories.
In all these lists there are Competences that have the same name for the same concept, but there are also some that, being similar, receive different names (Problem Solving vs. Decision Making). Likewise, some competencies are grouped in different ways (Customer Orientation can go in Support and Human Service - Spencer and Spencer - or in Management - Barnhart). This means that the number of Competencies to be defined can become very large, precisely due to the fact that the Competences are linked to the specific context in which it is revealed in the work, which suggests that each organization may have sets of Different competencies and that no organization can take a list of Competencies prepared by another organization for its use, assuming that there are similarities between them.
Rodríguez recommends that, to evaluate the competences, new psychometric instruments are used that must be generated based on the definitions of competences, or to use existing instruments, because they are related to the components of the competences. In any case, the tests must be interpreted based on a dynamic interpretation that is more similar to the Competitions. The other evaluation instruments, such as the interviews and the Assessment Centers, when well implemented can be closer to what is required at work, but they also tend to be more expensive than psychometric tests and suffer from a higher level of subjectivity.
Finally, it should not be forgotten in the analysis of competition, what the ILO points out, regarding some of the key competences, which are most emphasized today from the perspective of human resource management, are not generated in the knowledge transmitted in educational materials, but in the forms and challenges that the learning process can promote. Paradoxically, many times there is an insistence on the generation of attitudes focused on initiative, problem solving, abstract thinking, interpretation and anticipation; In the midst of educational environments in which the basic unit is the group, they all go at the same rate and they all submit to the same quantity and quality of media in a totally passive role.
Competency Certification should be considered: It refers to the formal recognition of the demonstrated competence (therefore evaluated) of an individual to carry out a standardized work activity. The issuance of a certificate implies the prior completion of a competency assessment process. The certificate, in a standardized system, is not a diploma that accredits completed studies, it is a proof of proven competence; it is obviously based on the defined standard. This gives much more transparency to the standardized certification systems, since it allows workers to know what is expected of them, employers to know what competencies they are requiring in their company and the entities that carry out the training facilitate the preparation of their curriculum.The certificate is a guarantee of quality on what the worker is capable of doing and on the skills that they possess for it.
Retrieved from «http://www.articuloz.com/administracion-articulos/la-importancia-delas-competencias-1050834.html
What competencies should the current university professor have?
AUTHOR unknown
…. ”We hear many professionals from different sciences refer to the competences that university professors must have in our time. Even though the category "competences" in some areas has a marked entrepreneurial character, it is still interesting to think of a list of competences, or capacities that, depending on personal development, are required to serve as a teacher in higher education.
It is divided into three main areas: pedagogical skills, technological skills and organizational skills.
The first group is the most important and from which the other two groups are derived. In this the teacher must have the ability to select, design and use objectives, content, methods, and forms of evaluation in the work with his students. In the same way, it requires holding the possibilities of the students to work with the previous components of the pedagogical process. The university professor must be able to contribute to the transformation of information into useful knowledge. In other words, the teacher must be competent to teach a "good class".
It goes without saying that the first competence that the university professor must have is related to his science and in particular the selection of those elements that are included in the curricular contents.
It is important that such a teacher be able to set tasks for his students to develop one of the skills that companies and many employers often demand of university graduates: teamwork. This ability is not "taught", it is applied.
The second group of competences are developed in the technological field, where teachers have to select, design, and use the different Web 2.0 media and resources useful for the science it explains. The teacher must master the work with word processors, image, sound and video editors, compressors, search and information processing through the Internet, work in social networks among other areas. This competence, which seems to be very general, greatly influences pedagogical competences and, in turn, organizational competencies.
In this last type of competences, the teacher must organize and restructure the program of his subject, taking into account the Web 2.0 tools useful for his science. You must also be able to perform the administrative and update tasks of the previous tools.
A university professor is not conceived who does not use social networks in his pedagogical activity. It is not a matter of using them to be "fashionable" but rather to promote the learning of their students, their own and therefore the development of society.
All of the above reads very "nice", but how many of these skills do we develop to be able to affirm that we are university professors of this time? What others we do not have.
Today's university must be substantially modified, why continue teaching the same as 20 or 30 years ago. How many things "we learned" that today are useless to us, that were replaced by technological processes that do it better, faster and without errors. The important thing about our teaching skills is to convince us that unless we change, if we do not adapt to the pace of Web 2.0 will remain the same teachers, who were our teachers are
not in the article as it relates to the organizational skills recalled in its initial classification but we can help you a little (MSc. Jover. 2012)
…. "The teaching process is related to the so-called administrative process and its approach as" science, art and technique ": first, it must have a systemic approach that previously links the teacher's professional and tenured preparation in the scientific order, both for the knowledge acquired in his career (substantial base) and for the constant investigation of the so-called “state of the art” that he must continue to carry out for life, in order to keep up with the continuous and accelerated development of the Tic's. Secondly, he will have the responsibility and the empathic challenge of trying to land and apply that scientific knowledge to the practice of the student, interpreting the particularities and needs of application in the work scenario of these future professionals.That is what technique consists of and it will also add its distinctive, personalized, creative personal imprint to scientific knowledge that will allow you to enrich it with your own active and non-repetitive experience, and there will be art.
This important cycle is complemented by the teaching implementation of the administrative cycle that commonly refers to the cycle: planning, organizing, directing, executing and controlling, also systemically applicable to the teaching process. In my case, I support a “theory practiced and demonstrated” which consists in that said cycle does not start with planning but with analysis, because if we are not able to interpret the scope and characterization of a problem or action / task, our planning will be incomplete..
Then applying this systemic sequence to the organizational competence of both university and other level teachers: First we will analyze the context of the students, to interpret according to the previous level and the expectations and training needs of their specific career, together with the demands, expectations and needs of the labor market where you must exercise your specialty, the scope of knowledge, abilities, skills and values that we must provide.
This will allow us to:
• Proactively plan, with a systemic approach, the content, exercise, induction, reflection, investigation, of our entire academic process and the most important part in which the student will be immersed and in line with it:
• Organize the scope and sequence of knowledge, practical activities and feedback, and partial and total evaluation;
• To direct and lead in an impactful, responsible and facilitating way the process of acquiring knowledge and skills of the students;
• Execute in practice the planning carried out, with a sense of alert that allows us to identify in time through permanent feedback if we must redesign any part of the process due to any contingency.
• And dually control the results of the evaluation process of the acquisition of knowledge and development of abilities and skills by the fundamental client: the student, through direct evaluations of the same. And the use of questionnaires and / or various tools that allow us to provide feedback on the evaluative perception of the satisfaction of the participants about the performance of the teacher and the teaching and logistical institutional process.
In the local terrain Colimense / Mexican've found an investigation into the content of the reform, by Mr. Mario Guillermo Andra in her.
Seminar on Skills degree from the University Multitécnica Professional, reflecting:
TEACHING COMPETENCIES
…. ”Nowadays, it is no longer enough for teachers to focus their pedagogical action on facilitating the acquisition of knowledge of the subjects they teach. It is essential that teachers transcend exclusively disciplinary purposes and fully support the training of students. An understanding of the role of the teacher that goes beyond traditional classroom teaching practices is necessary to adopt a focused approach to learning in diverse settings. Teachers' work, based on a focus on competencies, will allow students to acquire the generic competences expressed in the Exit Profile, with which the fundamental objectives of the Reform will be achieved.
The Teacher Profile is made up of a set of competences that integrate knowledge, skills and attitudes that the teacher puts into play to create learning environments for students to display generic competences. In other words, these competencies formulate the individual qualities of an ethical, academic, professional and social nature that the teacher must have.
One of the fundamental processes of the Reform is teacher development, which, together with the professionalization of management and the design and implementation of tutoring programs, among others, constitutes one of the four axes of the professionalization process.
Teaching competencies must have the following characteristics:
• Be fundamental for teachers and the focus on competencies from which it will be built.
• Be related to the work context of teachers at the educational level, regardless of the subsystem in which they work, the subjects they are responsible for and the socio-economic and cultural conditions of their environment.
• Be transversal to the teaching-learning practices of the different disciplinary fields.
• Be transcendental for the professional development and continuous training of teachers as trainers of integral people.
• Be a parameter that contributes to teacher training and the continuous improvement of teaching and learning. In this sense, the competences do not reflect the current situation of teaching at the educational level, nor do they simply refer to what should be; These are competences that can and should be developed by all teachers in the medium term, and on which they can continue to advance throughout their professional career.
• Be conducive to training people who meet the competencies that make up the Graduate Profile.
• There must be consistency between the competencies of the graduate profile and the teaching profile, but not necessarily a direct correspondence:
As it can be observed, the Graduate Profile and the Teacher Profile are not and should not be symmetrical or contemplate the same elements. The Graduate Profile must be shared by all the people who come of age and therefore must exercise their rights and obligations as citizens, as well as be prepared to take on various academic and professional challenges. The Teacher Profile is specific to the teaching activity. Thus, it is essential that teachers have the competencies that make up the Graduate Profile plus the competencies corresponding to the activities of their profession.
3.2. Teaching skills.
The competences of the teaching profile are eight and each one has attributes.
1. Organize your continuous training throughout your professional career.
Reflects and investigates about teaching and its own knowledge construction processes.
• Incorporates new knowledge and experiences into the heritage it has and translates them into teaching and learning strategies.
• It is evaluated to improve its process of knowledge construction and acquisition of competences, and it has a favorable disposition for teacher and peer evaluation.
• It learns from the experiences of other teachers and participates in the formation and improvement of its academic community.
• It is kept up-to-date in the use of information and communication technology.
• Updates in the use of a second language.
2. Master and structure the knowledge to facilitate meaningful learning experiences.
• Argue the nature, methods and logical consistency of the knowledge it imparts.
• Explain the relationship of different disciplinary knowledge with their teaching practice and student learning processes.
• Evaluates and makes explicit the links between the knowledge previously acquired by the students, those that are developed in their course and those that make up a study plan.
3. Plans the teaching and learning processes according to the competency-based approach, and places them in broad disciplinary, curricular and social contexts.
• Identifies the prior knowledge and training needs of students, and develops strategies to advance from them.
• Designs project-based work plans and disciplinary and interdisciplinary research aimed at developing competencies.
• Designs and uses appropriate materials for the development of competencies in the classroom.
• Contextualises the contents of a study plan in the daily life of the students and the social reality of the community to which they belong.
4. It implements teaching and learning processes in an effective, creative and innovative way in its institutional context.
• Communicate ideas and concepts clearly in different learning environments and offer examples relevant to students' lives.
• Apply learning strategies and creative solutions to contingencies, taking into account the characteristics of their institutional context, and using the resources and materials available in an appropriate way.
• It promotes the development of students through learning, within the framework of their aspirations, needs and possibilities as individuals, and in relation to their socio-cultural circumstances.
• Provides relevant bibliography and guides students in consulting sources for research.
• Use information and communication technology with a didactic and strategic application in different learning environments.
5. Evaluate the teaching and learning processes with a formative approach.
• It establishes criteria and methods of learning evaluation based on the competence approach, and communicates them clearly to the students.
• Follow up on the learning process and academic development of students.
• Communicates her observations to the students in a constructive and consistent way, and suggests alternatives for overcoming them.
• Encourages self-evaluation and peer-evaluation among academic peers and among students to strengthen teaching and learning processes.
6. Build environments for autonomous and collaborative learning.
• It favors self-knowledge and self-assessment among students. • It favors the desire to learn among students and provides them with opportunities and tools to advance their knowledge-building processes.
• It promotes critical, reflective and creative thinking, based on the established educational content, current situations and concerns of the students. • Motivates students individually and in groups, and produces expectations of improvement and development.
• Encourages a taste for reading and oral, written or artistic expression.
• Encourages the use of information and communication technology by students to obtain, process and interpret information, as well as to express ideas.
7. Contributes to the generation of an environment that facilitates the healthy and comprehensive development of students.
• Practice and promote respect for the diversity of beliefs, values, ideas and social practices among. Their colleagues and among students.
• It favors dialogue as a mechanism for the resolution of personal and interpersonal conflicts between students and, where appropriate, channels them so that they receive adequate attention.
• Stimulates the participation of students in the definition of work and coexistence standards, and enforces them.
• Promote the interest and participation of students with a civic, ethical and ecological conscience in the life of their school, community, region, Mexico and the world.
• Encourage students to express personal opinions, in a framework of respect, and take them into account.
• Contributes to the school meeting and preserving satisfactory physical and hygienic conditions.
• Promote healthy lifestyles and options for human development, such as sports, art, and various complementary activities among students.
• Facilitates the harmonious integration of students into the school environment and favors the development of a sense of belonging.
8. She participates in the continuous improvement projects of her school and supports institutional management.
• Collaborate in the construction of a comprehensive training project aimed at students in a collegial way with other teachers and school managers, as well as with pedagogical technical support staff.
• Detects and contributes to solving school problems through joint efforts with other teachers, administrators, and community members.
• Promote and collaborate with its educational community in social participation projects.
• Create and participate in learning communities to improve their educational practice ”.
For what I consider, ignoring the thousands of different positions that we can consult in specialized fields: that although it should be noted that its wording does not refer to a proper gender approach, the bases on this topic are still duly created and that what is What it needs is to “get down to work developing strategic planning to achieve the necessary change, but… with a systemic and process approach. (Jover. 2012)
And we will take advantage of the Workshop to debate the matter and arrive at our respective positions on the specific competences of the Mexican and Colima university professor in 2013 and the 21st century.
Most Important Concepts, Definitions and General Characteristics of Science
To determine the scope of Andragogy and specify if there are scientific elements that support one of the two opposing positions on the problem: Is Andragogy a science? It is convenient to specify the concepts and definitions of greater transcendence, determining factors of the theory and the andragogic model.
Adult: Félix Adam (1977; 25) expresses verbatim:
«We have said that adulthood is vital fullness. When applying it to human beings, it must be understood as their ability to procreate, to participate in productive work and to assume responsibilities inherent to their social life, to act independently and make their own decisions with complete freedom ».
The passage from the subordination situation to which, in general, children and adolescents are subjected, to another that allows them to be autonomous in economics, in their social role and in making decisions related to their education, among other aspects, constitute the main facts that differentiate the adult from the two preceding stages of his life.
The characteristics of the adult, in a learning situation, are one of the most important foundations in the development of the andragogic model and praxis.
Some Reasonings that Help Consolidate Andragogy as Science
A. Félix Adam
In his work: "Andragogy, Science of Adult Education" (1977), he expresses, among other topics, the arguments that support the hypothesis with which he affirms that Andragogy is the Science and Art of Adult Education.
Her inquiries allow us to fully understand certain aspects that provide scientific character to Adult Education such as: Adulthood. Characteristics of the Adult in Learning Situation. Comparison of Andragogical and Pedagogical facts. Principles of Andragogy. Andragogic Model and Synergic Theory.
B. Malcon Knowles
It is distinguished by the numerous contributions that favored scientific support to the theory and praxis of Adult Education. In his work: "The Modern Practice of Adult Education" (1980; 70), part of his proposal can be read about the theoretical bases to support the educational process of adults, referring to the Elements of Process in Pedagogical Models and Andragogical.
(2) In Andragogy Non-Pedagogy (1972; 32), Knowles states:
"Andragogy is the art and science of helping adults learn, based on assumptions about the differences between children and adults."
C. Manuel Castro Pereira
He elaborated on the elaboration of an Andragogic Curricular Model that constitutes a great effort to operationalize Andragogy as a science and the hypotheses and principles that support it. The reference work constitutes a very important means of accessing the curriculum and its design in a different, flexible, innovative and participatory way, which invites both to observe its application and to evaluate the factors that contribute to overcoming the adult in situation. Learning.
Some aspects of interest of the mentioned model are shown below (1990; 137 - 139)
1. The components
“An Andragogic model finds its dynamism in the following components: a) the adult participant, b) the andragogue, c) the group of participants and d) the environment »
a) «The adult participant: It is the first and main resource in the learning situation. Building on his previous knowledge and experiences, the participant only continues to exploit and / or discover his talents and abilities. Consequently, all learning can only take place if there is continuity and congruence, both at the level of being and doing, equally, if sometimes important changes are imposed. The adult is at the center of learning. "
b) «The andragogue: This is a person recognized as competent, either in the field of learning to do, or how it can be done, or even both at the same time. Reference person and / or expert person, the andragogue can and must play various roles, such as: consultant, information transmitter, facilitator, change agent, relationship agent, tutor, etc. »
«The andragogue facilitates interpersonal interactions and organizes educational activity, whose main actor is the participant. Therefore, the andragogue can be counted on as a person-resource in many situations, considering it equally, as a participant in the continuous learning process. »
c) «The group: Adults gathered in groups of participants, constitute a set of resources due to their previous experiences and their willingness to learn. In this way, each member of the group becomes a learning agent, either in terms of content or process. »
“In an educational environment, where the group has its share of responsibility, every participant can become a resource for the other. Exchanges provide a dynamic transaction. "
«The true approaches can be formulated by the group. In short, within a group of participants skillfully assisted by the andragogue, efforts can be integrated that are conducive to a heuristic relationship of the learning to be carried out. »
d) «The environment: It is possible to distinguish three (3) types of environment. The first comprises the immediate environment, created to carry out learning, that is, educational activity. The second is related to the educational agency that provides human and material resources and services. The third type includes institutions and social groups. "
"If the creation of a socio-emotional environment is necessary to facilitate learning, physical spaces and technological instruments are also important factors to facilitate learning."
Castro Pereira, based on his numerous studies, reached the following conclusion:
"Andragogy is one of the sciences of Education that aims to facilitate learning processes in adults throughout their lives."
D. Jean Louis Bernard
In the writing: Towards an Andragogic Model in the Field of Adult Education, (1985; 45 - 48), Bernard exposes some reflections that are the result of his research. The most important are:
"The Sciences of Education are developed to respond to the new demands of countries that are not simply concerned with children and adolescents in the educational field, but also with adults of all ages and all conditions."
“When an educator participates with someone called an adult in a learning situation, he is in contact with a being who changes something in his behavior.
The how of this participation involves Andragogy, which is etymologically defined as a behavior or an assistance of the being in maturity. The assistance will not be carried out if the internal process of adult learning is not deepened as well as the external process, that is, the environment. "
«Andragogy thus becomes a discipline defined at the same time as a science and as an art; a science dealing with the historical, philosophical, sociological, psychological, and organizational aspects of adult education; an art practiced in a social practice that is evident thanks to all the educational activities organized especially for the adult. »
Main Arguments Contrary to Recognizing Andragogy as Science A. Houle, Cyril O.
In his work The Desing of Education (1972), he refers, among other aspects to: (1) Education is fundamentally the same wherever it is taught. (2) It is always based on basic concepts such as: (a) The nature of the participant and (b) The proposed goals. (3) The essential principles of the educational process are the same for all ages.
B. Elijah, John
In his book Andragogy Revisited (1979), Elías exhaustively analyzes the ideas proposed by Knowles. He criticizes the andragogic theory that it raises and expresses, among other issues, that the exaggerated importance that Knowles gives to humanistic psychology, with its emphasis on the adult, has led him to establish a very rigid distinction between children and adults; as well as refers to the same scarce attention given to the influence that the negative transfer factor exerts on education.
C. Villarroel, César
The theoretical approaches of Andragogy, formulated by Adam have been object of strong criticism. César Villarroel (1971), among other topics of interest, maintains:
(1) That the distinction between children and adults regarding their possibilities of being educated is incorrect, considering that it would be to establish a difference such as the one that exists between man and animal.
(2) He affirms that the full adult presented by Dr. Adam is nothing more than a consequence of the development of his potentialities in the stages of childhood and adolescence. The child and the adult are not antitheses but different degrees of the same nature.
(3) In his study, Villarroel, opines: «In other words, the education of man in the early stages of his development is of no use to him, it is only through adult education that man can emerge from ignorance. In this way, the elimination of educational institutions at the primary and middle level, at least, can be justified without much difficulty. Why are we going to spend on education at these levels, if it is not going to be useful for the adult man? It would be more correct for us to wait for each individual to turn 18 to begin educating them at that age. This would save time, effort and resources. "
(4) The document concludes thus: «Finally we want to point out that it is not necessary to« create »a new science to be a scientist in Adult Education. This is a scientific activity because it participates in the procedures and principles of Pedagogy, which is a social science. In any case, what Adult Education seems to need is not so much a new science, but more and better scientists ».
ANDRAGOGY: NECESSARY DISCIPLINE FOR THE TRAINING OF ADULTS?
Lic. Julio A. Cabrera Rodríguez
Assistant Professor. Management Techniques Group. Agrarian University of Havana "Fructuoso Rodríguez Pérez"
Much has been written and discussed about manager training; about their needs, components and other particularities that characterize a process of greater or lesser relevance and effectiveness. However, on rare occasions the problem is approached starting from approaching it as a process based on the discipline that deals with the education and learning of the adult subject, that is, andragogy.
Multiple authors have tried to conceptualize it as a science that, like others, has had its history and development.
The term Andragogy is reported used for the first time by the German teacher Alexander Kapp, in 1833, with the purpose of explaining Plato's educational theory; as its use is not generalized, it is forgotten. Later Eugene Rosenback, at the beginning of the 20th century, takes up the term again to refer to the set of curricular elements typical of adult education, such as: teachers, methods and philosophy.
Notwithstanding these initial attempts to conceptualize and systematize adult education, “basic integration on adult education began, in Europe and in the United States of (North) America, quite late compared to its equivalent in the field of the pedagogy. It is hardly at the end of the fifties when the efforts of systematization, articulation and diffusion of specific theories about adult human learning begin; as well as strategies and methods capable of expressing themselves in terms of didactics for learning that is neither child nor adolescent: the adult ”
Knowles (1970) is considered the father of adult education for elaborating a more complete theory of Andragogy, considers it as "the art and science of helping adults learn"
Bernard (1985) sees Andragogy as “a discipline defined at the same time as a science and as an art; a science dealing with the historical, philosophical, sociological, psychological, and organizational aspects of adult education; an art practiced in a social practice that is evident thanks to all the educational activities organized especially for the adult ”
Márquez (1998) considers it as“ the educational discipline that tries to understand the adult, from all human components, is say, as a psychological, biological and social entity "
For his part, Alcalá (1997) states that “Andragogy is science and art that, being part of Anthropogogy and being immersed in Permanent Education, is developed through a praxis based on the principles of Participation and Horizontality; whose process, being oriented with synergistic characteristics by the Learning Facilitator, allows to increase the thinking, self-management, quality of life and creativity of the adult participant, in order to provide them with an opportunity to achieve their self-realization ”
As can be seen, Alcalá makes a more comprehensive proposal and conceptualizes his conception in greater depth, explaining that andragogical praxis is “a set of actions, activities and tasks that, when administered applying appropriate andragogical principles and strategies, may facilitate the process of adult learning.
The subsequent decades contemplate a development in that line of work. Adult education is considered as a university profession and the field of andragogy is delimited which, based on studies from the perspective of psychology; it contributes results to conceive practices that use pedagogical and androgynous principles, equipping didactics with instruments to face complex learning processes that involve intellectual, motor and affective aspects.
Andragogy provides the opportunity for the adult who decides to learn, to actively participate in their own learning and intervene in the planning, programming, carrying out and evaluation of educational activities on an equal basis with their fellow participants and with the facilitator; the above, together with an adequate learning environment, determine what could be called good andragogical praxis ”
It can be noted that each definition enriches the idea that Andragogy is considered as an educational discipline that takes into account different components of the individual, as a psychological, biological and social entity; a new conception of the human being as a subject of his own history, loaded with experiences within a socio-cultural context; in this case, the recipients and participants in the training process will be characterized by their adulthood, so that these recipients are considered as adult subjects.
The word "adult" comes from the Latin word "adultus" which etymologically means to grow. In the situation that concerns us, it would not explain its full implication if we only consider adulthood as the arrival of the subject at an age that is conventionally between 18 and 70 years, between adolescence and old age; it is necessary to take into account uninterrupted and permanent growth from the psychosocial and ergological point of view; therefore, it is a stage of integration of different development perspectives.
The fundamental thing in this analysis is not the definition of the term, but the knowledge of the subjects as recipients and participants in the educational processes that range from "occasional training or work, at a technical and managerial level, to growth and personal enrichment that promote social mobilization, degree of literacy and career development ”
In this context, adults express their particularities, they “are aware of their educational needs that are mature enough to select whether or not they seek means to educate themselves and in what way, that they are adequately experienced through life and work; which allows them to reason and apply particular knowledge to their range of experience, to be able to choose when and where to study and learn, being able to measure the costs of such learning (costs, either in terms of time, money or missed opportunities). Adults are assumed to have limited time and to balance the demands of family, work, and education. It can also be assumed that they have already acquired their own knowledge and knowledge of the world, sufficient to survive;even if they can't control their environment to their liking… ”
When it comes to adult education we must take into account a series of perceptions that we group into:
1. What are the fundamental characteristics of adults that must be taken into account in the training process?
2. What conditions adult learning?
3. When and where should adult education take place?
4. Who is involved?
5. How do adults learn?
6. What is the proper way to teach or help them learn?
When we approach the study of the fundamental characteristics of adults that manifest in a training process we can mention:
a. The self-concept: psychological need to be self-directed.
b. The experience. The accumulated experience serves as a learning resource and as a reference to relate new learning. Using their previous experiences, the participant can exploit and / or discover their talents and abilities.
Adult learning orientation focuses on life; therefore, what is appropriate for learning are real situations to be analyzed and lived according to your personal life project and accumulated experiences; In these circumstances, training becomes very important if it matches your expectations and personal needs.
Coupled with the experience, the adult tries to preserve experiences, knowledge, beliefs, paradigms that were useful to them at one time; but they are no longer and, therefore, they become a source of internal resistance of the individual.
Given these circumstances, a basic requirement for learning is "unlearning".
“Unlearning is simply removing what we have learned that no longer serves us and leaving room so that what we need to learn can easily enter our brain. To do this, the human being must give himself the opportunity to see himself as the holder of a point of view on any aspect and develop the awareness of the existence of many more points of view that may be as or more valid than the perceived for him. This obviously requires postponing critical judgment, which is not a long-standing custom in most adults, much less when they have a high intellectual level; for the more you have invested in learning certain information, the greater the commitment to defend this information against new information (…). Unlearning is a link between learning and relearning ”
c. Promptness in learning. Adults set out to learn what they need to know or be able to do to fulfill their role in society. They see training as a process to improve their ability to solve problems and face today's world; in this way they can develop models of behavior in given situations that facilitate their adaptation to particular circumstances in which they may find themselves at a given moment.
d. The orientation for learning. The orientation of adults for learning tends to search for the solution to the problems that present themselves in real life; with a perspective of seeking immediacy for the application of the acquired knowledge; whose objectives respond to your needs and expectations.
It must be added that the adult has a wide historical, social and cultural baggage, as a social entity integrated into certain ways of life; builds their own knowledge with the help of the trainer who becomes a learning facilitator if they take into account that adults “work, they don't have time, they tire faster, they are more motivated, they have no note-taking or study habits and they like to participate “
2. Among the main determining factors of adult learning we find:
a. They form heterogeneous groups in: age, interests, motivations, experience and aspirations.
b. The student role is marginal or provisional.
c. The general interest revolves around job promotion, well-being, and self-esteem.
d. The objectives are clear and concrete, chosen and valued.
and. Achievements and successes will be eagerly or eagerly desired.
F. There is concern about failure.
g. Possible susceptibility and insecurity in the face of criticism.
h. You often carry the weight of frustrating learning experiences that convince you that you are unable to acquire new knowledge.
i. Heterogeneous, sometimes contradictory sources of knowledge.
j. Greater concentration in classes, which favors the use of time in classes.
k. It has compensation mechanisms to overcome deficiencies and resources of the experience.
l. It needs alternation and variability due to its relative capacity for prolonged intellectual effort.
3. Great attention must be paid to the training environment. Adults prefer to select the place to carry out the training actions. Fundamentally they choose places that are related to their needs. A large part of the training takes place at workplaces or in places where they can associate positively, whether in meeting places, in postgraduate classrooms, etc.
4. To comment on those involved, let us base ourselves on an andragogic model that includes three fundamental components:
a. The adult participant: We have already referred in previous comments.
b. The andragogue. That is, the formator; becomes the facilitator of the process, makes interpersonal interactions viable and organizes educational activity, it can also be; consultant, information transmitter, change agent, tutor, etc.; he is a person - resource considered as another participant in the continuous learning process.
c. The group. Training can occur relatively autonomously and personally; but it also occurs in an intersubjective and social space. Thus, adult learning should not be understood as an isolated phenomenon, but as an experience that takes place in interaction with other subjects, so that “knowledge is not just a matter of thought and people; but of relationships that these people maintain; learning (getting to know) implies maintaining functional relationships ”.
Since the unit of analysis of adult learning is the processes of social interaction, each participant can become a resource for the other and this exchange provides a dynamic transaction of knowledge.
These components of the model should not be understood as isolated entities; but in constant interaction within an intersubjective and social space, so that adult learning is transformed into an experience of the individual that occurs in interaction with a context or environment; from this thesis it follows that the “cognitive activity of the individual cannot be studied without taking into account the relational, social and cultural contexts in which it is carried out”
5. Adults do not necessarily have to attend a training program with the aim of learning. Despite the importance of interformation, many of them will continue learning from their own experience, doing things for themselves, observing and imitating others; they will dedicate themselves to reading following procedures described by other people.
Adults have different learning styles; some prefer to do it in groups, others individually, some opt for experimentation and others require advice; On-the-job training is becoming more and more interesting.
For each approach, it is necessary to have programs tailored to them that adapt to the styles of the participants who will be more receptive when they perceive that the objectives of the training program respond to their needs and expectations.
In this context, adult learning is located, which according to Cazau (2001) is based on:
to. Learn to know. Develop skills, abilities, habits, attitudes and values that allow the adult to acquire the tools of understanding as a means to understand the world around him, communicate with others and value the importance of knowledge and research.
b. Learn to learn. Develop skills, abilities, habits, attitudes and values that allow you to acquire or create study and learning methods, procedures and techniques so that you can select and process information efficiently, understand the structure and meaning of knowledge so that you can discuss it, negotiate and apply. Learning to learn is a tool that allows the adult to continue learning throughout life.
c. To learn to do. In this way you can develop your abilities to innovate, create strategies, means and tools that give you the possibility to combine theoretical and practical knowledge with socio-cultural behavior, develop skills for group work, the ability to take initiative and take risks..
d. Learn to be. That we can compare with the know-how that is based on the development of physical, intellectual, affective and social integrity; taking into account the relationships it establishes with the entire environment; both labor and in society; and ethics of the subject as an adult, as a worker, as a member of a family, as a student, as a citizen.
6. As a result of research efforts to create a discipline particularly dedicated to adult education, there is a revival of active learning methods, both formal and informal.
Taking advantage of the particularities that characterize the adult subject, her way of learning, etc.; The use of the project method, also called the problem method, is recommended and expanded. It is conceived as "a plan of activities designed for educational purposes, according to a work schedule, to be developed in real conditions, in tangible and concrete socio-labor and cultural contexts"
The idea of the project method is associated with practice, innovation and flexible, open forms of organization, mainly oriented to solving specific problems.
The learning project is distinguished by the following aspects.
to. Relationship with the surrounding world. The learning is done taking into account problem situations in the physical and social environment of the formand.
b. Relationship with the interests of those who learn. It must be related to the particular interests of the students.
c. Orientation towards product development. Product in the broad sense of the word that contributes to improving the physical and social environment; because learning and action are integrated.
d. Interdisciplinary work. Since the problems that arise can be multi-causal, a single scientific discussion is not enough to solve them; so they need to use various subjects to approach the situation from different points of view.
and. Social relationship. Unlike learning in the workplace itself, in learning projects the social relationship of learning in the cooperative approach, in the distribution of work, in the interpretation and assessment of the product with other activities that are carried out is noted. in interaction with groups.
F. Multidimensional relationship of learning purposes. In the project-based learning situation, learning ends are pursued in various dimensions that are mutually supportive: knowing and power, thinking and acting, perceiving and deciding, remembering and producing.
g. Possibility of generalizing. Learning projects are instruction; they organize didactic situations and life situations; so that the adult prepares and learns for action.
The design of any training device must start from the proposal of objectives that respond to real learning needs.
Notwithstanding the great diversity of approaches that adult education receives, it is necessary to adjust to the national conditions and policies that are developed so that the training of adults, and in this case, managers; play a role that increasingly contributes to the economic, political and socio-cultural development of the country.
It is not by skipping stages and applying outdated idioms and models that higher levels of learning, growth and development will be achieved. It is necessary to think about pertinent ways of teaching in concrete social, political and economic contexts.
Andragogy offers us a flexible alternative to apply its principles and achieve teaching-learning methods in correspondence with current and future needs.
When designing a training device, we must take into account the laws of Andragogy stated by Calderón (1998):
• Exercise: It is remembered more clearly and for a longer period of time what has been repeated and exercised, especially linked to the solution of a practical activity, as this increases the level of motivation of people. Therefore, the methods selected to execute the study programs must ensure the active participation of the students. There is research showing that it is memorized: 90% of what is done, 70% of what is spoken, 50% of what is seen and heard, 30% of what is seen, 20% of what is heard and 10% of what is read.
• Effect: The experiences associated with satisfactory results are better understood and memorized than those associated with failure. It is not better learned if the incapacity of the individuals is constantly demonstrated. That is why the objectives must be formulated according to the possibilities of achieving them and that allow them to manifest potentialities and develop capacities.
• Primacy: Because the first experience produces a stronger and more indelible impression than the subsequent ones, it is important to approach the contents from that angle. This law originates from the maxim that it is easier to teach than to erase what has been learned.
• Intensity: All learning must be associated with experiences that cause an emotional impact since they teach more. Routine, monotonous experiences cause interest to wane and learning to be hampered.
• Usefulness: The knowledge learned and the skills developed are better remembered and consolidated if they are associated with the activities that the students will later carry out during the exercise of their profession.
Taking the ideas of Kraft (1995), let us also remember that:
a. Adults commit to learning when methods and goals are considered realistic and important and are perceived to be of immediate use.
b. Adult learning always has a personal implication that leads to development, self-concept, concern, judgment, self-efficacy.
c. Adults want autonomy and be the origin of their own learning, that is, they want to be involved in the selection of objectives, content, activities and evaluations.
d. Adults are reluctant to learn in situations that they believe question their competence or are imposed.
and. Adults' motivation to learn is internal; what can be done is to encourage and create the conditions that promote what already exists in adults.
F. Adult learning is fostered through behaviors and training activities that demonstrate respect, trust and concern for the learner.
