About
Abstract: The learning environment is considered to be a mediating dimension of the learning system in action, development and implemented with financing from CNPq between 2011 and 2018. In all studies resulting from the implementation of the two projects, the learning environment played a crucial role, whether in the physical dimension arising from the implementation of the research and business practice observatory (OPPA), or in the students’ and teachers’ experience when active teaching strategies were being used, in assessing learning styles, or as a learning space capable of stimulating students’ reflective practice. The learning environment is regarded as the place where learning takes place (FRASER, 2002), encompassing learning resources and technologies, teaching media, learning modes (WARGER; SERVE; DOBBIN, 2009), which can be analysed from a multidimensional perspective that covers the physical, psychological, social and technological dimensions (SILVA; SILVA; COELHO, 2018). The aim of this work is to analyse the implications of the learning environment in the training of Business undergraduate students in Brazil, Spain and Portugal. The contributions of the proposal are as follows: (a) the development and validation of a scale to analyse the learning environment and its validation in three countries may help expand the impact of the learning environment in various multicultural contexts; (b) the characterisation and analysis of the learning environment in a multicultural perspective may indicate how educational contexts of various countries impact on the training of professionals; (c) understanding the specificities of each of the dimensions of the learning environment and its implications in professional training may help the transition of students to countries other than the one in which the professional was trained; (d) the analysis of the learning environment from a multicultural and multidimensional perspective may help the design of teaching strategies that enhance students’ engagement, their motivation to learn, adn the development of social and emotional skills. The research methodology consists of two stages: the development and validation of a scale to assess the learning environment, from a multicultural and multidimensional perspective, in Brazil, Spain and Portugal; a survey carried out in the three countries to analyse the relationship between the learning environment, engagement, motivation, and socio-emotional skills of Business graduate students in Brasil, Spain and Portugal. In addition to the impact of technical-scientific results from the study, the research will also help improve teaching, as teaching actions will be carried out in the three countries. From an innovation point of view, we aim to develop a version of the student learning monitoring system (www.saad.net.br) in Spanish and incorporate modules on engagement, motivation for learning, and socio-emotional skills as specific actions of this project. This may help students in their professional training process and help teachers plan teaching activities that enhance student training.
End beneficiaries/target population: Business course students and teachers
Timeline: 2019-2022
Cristina Parente, researcher in charge at FLUP.
