Session Information
22 SES 07 B, Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Higher Education
Paper Session
Contribution
This paper focuses on a highly topical issue in German Higher Education, namely the issue of the time which students have to invest in order to complete their Bachelor and Master Programs successfully, usually referred to as workload. This is directly related to the discourse on the outcomes of the Bologna process, following 10 years of restructuring with the aim of enhancing the comparability and transparency of study programs.
The definition of the formal workload of each study program, of each module and each seminar within such a program was introduced with the Bologna reform process, using the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Generally it is assumed that students should invest 40 hours work per week in their studies; 30 hours of study time are rewarded with 1 ECTS point for the student (see, for example, Wex 2005, HRK 2004). Therefore, a three year Bachelor degree is generally defined by a total of 180 ECTS points and, hence, by 5,400 hours of work; a two year Master degree is defined by 120 ECTS points and 3,600 hours of work. However, one has to make a distinction between the definition of a formal workload in study programs and the actual workload of students, and one also has to ask to what extent the formally defined workload differs from the actual one. An additional dimension that has to be taken into account is the students’ perception of the workload, and their perceived stress while studying within such a program.
The main aim of the paper is to provide detailed documentation of workload distribution, using the example of a specific study program and, hence, to question the usefulness of a formal workload definition based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in terms of the comparability and transparency of study programs. Further, it aims to connect those aspects with the students’ perceived workload and perceived stress during their studies and to outline possible coping strategies.
Using empirical data from the Master of Education, a university-based Initial Teacher Education program in the Federal State of Berlin, as an example, the paper analyses the actual workload of students within this study program, its allocation over time and its allocation to specific seminars and modules. Using those data, it compares the actual time investment of students with the formal workload definition of the study program. Those data are then compared and contrasted with the students’ perceived stress at different points of time during their studies. In order to do this, the scales of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) are used (see Levenstein et al. 1993, Fliege et al. 2001), as well as scales of subjective well-being (ASTS) (see Dalbert 1992). Therefore, the paper takes other factors into account which might influence those perceptions as well as workload aspects. These are: individual context situations such as employment alongside full-time studies, as well as institutional context situations, such as specific structural aspects of the study program.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Dalbert, C. (1992). Subjektives Wohlbefinden junger Erwachsener: Theoretische und empirische Analysen der Struktur und Stabilität. In ZDDP, 13(3), 207-220. Enwistle, N. & Ramsden, P. (1983). Understanding student learning. London: Croom Helm. Fliege, H., Rose, M., Arck, P., Levenstein, S. & Klapp, B.F. (2001). Validierung des ‚Percieved Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) an einer deutschen Stichprobe. In Diagnostica, 47(3), 142-152. Isserstedt, W., Middendorff, E., Kandulla M., Borchert L., Leszczensky, M. (2010). Die wirtschaftliche und soziale Lage der Studierenden in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2009. 19. Erhebung des deutschen Studentenwerks durchgeführt durch HIS Hochschul-Informations-System. Bonn: BMBF. HRK (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz) (2004). ECTS als System zur Anrechnung, Übertragung und Akkumulierung von Studienleistungen. Entschließung des 98. Senats vom 10. Februar 2004. In http://www.hrk.de/de/beschluesse/109_276.php, 01.05.2009. Kuhlee, D. (2011). „Augen zu und durch“ – Zu (Erfolgs-)Strategien des Studierens in der gestuften Lehrerbildung. In BbSch, 63 (1), 8-14. Kuhlee, D., Buer, J. v. & Klinke, S. (2009). Strukturelle Studierbarkeit und Wirksamkeit der Lehrerbildung. Arbeitsbericht 2 zur Evaluation der Bachelorstudiengänge mit Lehramtsoption an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Studien zur Wirtschaftspädagogik und Berufsbildungsforschung aus der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Band 13. Berlin: Humboldt-Universität. Levenstein S., Prantera C., Varvo V., Scribano M.L., Berto E., Luzi C., Andreoli A. (1993). Development of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire: a new tool for psychosomatic research. J Psychosom Res, 37(1), 19–32. Wex, P. (2005). Bachelor und Master. Die Grundlagen des neuen Studiensystems in Deutschland. Ein Handbuch. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.
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