Student's perspectives on INSTALL training in Spain: achievements and challenges

! 1! Chap e 9 S uden s’ pe spec i es on INSTALL aining in Spain: Achie emen s and challenges José M. La ié-Ma ínez*, M. Te esa Padilla-Ca mona**, José González-Mon eagudo*** *Depa men o Educa ional Didac ic and O ganisa ion, Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain **Depa men o Educa ional Resea ch and Assessmen Me hods, Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain ***Depa men o Theo y and His o y o Educa ion, and Social Pedagogy, Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain Key wo ds: S uden s' oices; S uden s' Iden i ies; Na a i e aining; Academic pe o mance; In-dep h in e iews In oduc ion This chap e is loca ed wi hin he Spanish con ex o he INSTALL aining. We e lec on he a ious ways in which he aining has p omo ed a change in he s uden s’ iden i y as a basis o imp o ing academic achie emen . Fo his pu pose we ake in o accoun wo di e en poin s in ime ha help o lay down whe he a posi i e e olu ion in achie emen is gene a ed h ough he INSTALL aining, and wha he speci ic a eas in which his e olu ion occu s a e. The i s ime poin is he beginning o he aining and we p esen he p o ile o he Spanish s uden s ha pa icipa ed in i s i s ound, based on ques ionnai es and w i en ! 2! ex s comple ed a he momen o s a ing he aining. This helps us o app oach he unde achie ing and a - isk s uden s s a ing he cou se by iden i ying hei needs and he special condi ions ha hinde hei achie emen a he uni e si y. The second poin in ime in which we ocus ou analysis is six mon hs a e inished he INSTALL cou se. He e we adop a di e en pe spec i e as we e ol e a ound he e lec ions and expe iences o h ee speci ic s uden s. Based on ollow-up in-dep h in e iews and using a na a i e s yle, we in end o gi e answe o a se ies o ques ions ha dig in o he ela ionship be ween s uden iden i y and academic pe o mance. Mo e speci ically, we analyse he in luence ha he INSTALL aining has had on ebuilding hose iden i ies and imp o ing academic achie emen . We explo e he concep ions o sel and expe iences o hese h ee s uden s h ough he p esen a ion o a sho biog aphical accoun o each. The chap e hen mo es on o analyse he di e en iden i ies ha eme ge in hese accoun s, unde sco ing hei common ea u es (e.g., hey a e all imbued wi h ea and a sense o being di e en ). Bu each o hem highligh s a dis inc i e elemen ha is no p esen as ma kedly in he o he s: being in e io o pee s, using/d opping masks o co e /unco e di e ences, and leeing and isola ing om pee s. He ea e we ske ch he di e se pa hs h ough which hese s uden s a e seeking o gene a e mo e posi i e iews o hemsel es h ough he e lexi e compe ence o men aliza ion ha is so pi o al in he Na a i e Media ion Pa h (NMP) model. A b ie no e on he da a collec ion p ocedu es The de elopmen o he INSTALL aining was moni o ed by means o mul iple da a collec ion p ocedu es, which include seman ic di e en ial scales, sa is ac ion ques ionnai es, e lexi i y scale and o he s, as s a ed and documen ed in o he chap e s ! 3! o his book. Among all o hem, he e we selec he ones ha we conside ha bes sui he speci ic objec i es o his chap e . Hence, o iden i y he cha ac e is ics and p o iles o he 30 s uden s pa icipa ing in he i s cycle o he aining cou se1, we concen a e in he analysis o bo h he En y Fo m and he Academic Re lexi i y Fo m, illed in du ing he i s session, be o e s a ing he o mal cou se. The En y Fo m (EF) included da a on pe sonal, educa ional, social and economic backg ound o he s uden s and hei amily, mos ly in closed esponses. All s uden s applying o he cou se had o ill up his o m be o e beginning he aining. The Academic Re lexi i y Fo m (ARF) asks o w i en and open commen s abou he ollowing issues: key-wo ds ela ed o uni e si y; eelings du ing he i s mon hs o he uni e si y expe ience; changes in hose emo ions o e ime; main ac o s ha ha e in luenced he uni e si y pe o mance; di icul ies encoun e ed a uni e si y and ways o dealing wi h hem; ac o s ha ha e in luenced pe o mance ega ding unsa is ac o y expe iences aking an exam o simila e alua i e e en ; and aspec s ha in luenced, acco ding o he s uden s, he lec u e ’s beha iou in he assessmen o s uden ’s pe o mance. This ool will be desc ibed wi h mo e de ail in chap e 10, and was used in he ou coun ies o measu e he de elopmen o e lexi i y. He e, we pe o m ano he ype o analysis o he s uden s’ answe s o he o m in o de o be e unde s and he p ocess o iden i y cons uc ion o he sel , ins ead o measu ing he e lexi e compe ence o men aliza ion. Hence, we ca ied ou a con en analysis o he open-ended answe s as na a i e ex s in o de o iden i y he main opics ha eme ged in ela ion o iden i y. As o he impac o he cou se on he academic expe ience, we use in o ma ion ga he ed h ough ollow-up open, in-dep h in e iews ha ha e been discussed in he p e ious chap e . Six mon hs a e comple ing aining, we in e iewed a numbe o pa icipan s ! 4! who olun ee ed o e lec upon hei aining expe ience and i s impac on hei own. Each in e iew was conduc ed in a suppo i e a mosphe e and ook abou one hou long. By using an open-ended se o ques ions, we encou aged each s uden o look back and e lec on he in luence he INSTALL aining was ha ing on hem a e comple ion. All da a we e eco ded and hen ansc ibed. We p esen he e h ee o hese in e iews wi h a special ocus on hese s uden s’ cons uc ions o hei own sel es as s uden s. We ha e in e oga ed ou own da a by asking ques ions such as: Who am I? How do I see mysel as a s uden ? How he INTALL aining has helped me o gain a new insigh on his co e ques ions? Unde he auspices o he na a i e u n ope a ed in he social sciences, we app oach na a i es as a ool o ep esen ing and ad ancing sel and agen i i y (F eda, 2008; González-Mon eagudo, 2011). Iden i y as a discu si e cons uc ion in ol es an unde s anding o sel ha is only possible as a p oduc o na a i e: he way we unde s and and ep esen ou iden i y depends on he discou ses we c ea e abou ou ela ions and ou sel es. F om his pe spec i e, bo h indi idual and g oup iden i ies a e buil upon a p ocess o di e en ia ion. Iden i y o ma ion may he e o e be bes ep esen ed as an ac i e p ocess o indi idua ion based o he es ablishmen o limi s in ela ion o con ex , a he han a simple collec ion o ea u es. These limi s can be unde s ood as bounda ies (Cas o iadis, 1995) wi hin which indi iduals and g oups c ea e hei own o de and eali y and de ine hei own pa icula in e p e i e sys ems. In acco dance wi h his social-cons uc ionis app oach, we unde s and iden i y as an open, ela ional de ice ha , like he na a i e h ead, e ol es o e ime (Ricoeu , 1996). I does no exi , he e o e, beyond ep esen a ion (which is undamen ally sel - biog aphical, e en when i e e s o a g oup). Explo ing hese cons uc ions implies ! 5! analysing he meanings ha eme ge whene e an indi idual – a g oup o s uden s in ou case – in e oga e hemsel es abou who hey a e, wha hey do, and wha hey wan o be (Ha ch & Schul z, 2004). The s a ing poin : Who a e he s uden s in he INSTALL aining and wha needs do hey ha e? Thi y s uden s illed in he en y o m. All o hem can be labelled bo h as non- adi ional and unde achie ing s uden s, as his was a c i e ion o he selec ion. Table 9.1 shows hei main cha ac e is ics. TABLE 9.1 HERE As showed in able 9.1, many s uden s p esen ed a he same ime wo o mo e o he cha ac e is ics usually associa ed o non- adi ional. The mos equen case was s uden s o i s gene a ion who also decla ed o ha e low economical incomes. Bu also he e we e some ma u e s uden s ha ing amily esponsibili ies. In gene al, he p o ile o s uden s applying o he cou se i qui e well he equi emen o he me hodology o be implemen ed: s uden s whose pe sonal, social, cul u al o economic ci cums ances migh de i e in unde achie emen and educa ional disad an ages. Rega ding hei educa ional expe ience and ajec o y in he uni e si y, he a e age o exams ha hey had passed is 48.81%. I means ha hey had ailed mo e han he hal o examina ions so a aken. Bu i is somehow su p ising o no e ha hei a e age ma k in he seconda y school –wha e e he pa h hey had aken- was 6.08 poin s, mo e han one poin abo e he minimum ma k o en ance in Uni e si y (5 poin s). So, many o hem we e no “bad s uden s” in hei p e ious educa ional expe ience. In spi e o his, ! 6! 30% o hem, so 9 ou o he 30 s uden s, decla ed o ha e abandoned a leas one uni e si y deg ee be o e en e ing in he cu en one. These s uden s we e acing many di icul ies when s udying a he uni e si y, as s a ed in he en y o m. These di icul ies a e gi en he e in equencies ins ead o pe cen ages as each s uden could desc ibe mo e han one di icul y: p oblems wi h exams, especially es s and p ac ical exams (8 s uden s); o ganisa ion o hei pe sonal s udy ime (7); lack o s udy echniques (7); lack o concen a ion (6); memo y and di icul y o keep hings on mind (4); lack o a p e ious base (4); lack o exp ession abili y (3); and o he di icul ies, such as unde s anding eache s, lack o ime lexibili y, lack o mo i a ion and simila issues (18 s uden s). In addi ion, he en y o m con ained a scale wi h se e al Like - ype i ems, which was in ended o app oach he ini ial mo i a ion o s uden s ega ding he aining cou se. Resul s showed good, high mo i a ion owa ds he cou se. I is pa icula ly no able he ac ha hey showed high ag eemen wi h he i s i em, which e lec ed ha hey had a poo assessmen o hei academic pe o mance. The h ee mos ele an i ems (scale be ween 0 and 5) we e: - I hink ha my academic pe o mance is poo (Mean: 4.10). - I hink ha I could bene i om a cou se on he compe ence o Lea ning o lea n (Mean: 4.83). - I hink ha my academic pa h would bene i om a cou se (Mean: 4.87). S uden s’ pe cep ions on hei uni e si y expe ience we e also explo ed h ough he ARF. In wha ollows we discuss in some de ail he co e hemes ha sp ing ou o he con en analysis o hei w i en answe s. ! 7! When asked o hink abou he se o wo ds ha bes desc ibe hei iew o Uni e si y, s uden s’ choices na iga ed h ough a e y simila sample o bo h posi i e and nega i e e ms. Mos s uden s associa ed a meaning o pe sonal and p o essional p ojec ion wi h he wo d Uni e si y. Te ms like “ u u e”, “d eams”, “oppo uni ies”, and “ eedom” we e among he mos epea ed in pa icipan s’ ex s. They also con eyed he wo d Uni e si y a meaning ha impinged upon hei pe sonal capabili ies, pa icula ly hose ha demand a p ominen in es men and in ol emen om hem. “E o ”, “ esponsibili y”, and “sel - imp o emen ” we e commonplaces in hei answe s. S ill a signi ican amoun o hem sa ed a wo d o wo ha deno ed hei u ge o socialize: “ iendship”, “colleagues”, “co ee”, “ a elling”. Bu o e a hal o s uden s depic ed hei iew o Uni e si y in ambi alen e ms, adding o he a he bene olen cons uc ions ha ep esen he o me examples o he exp essions ha sugges ed eelings o angs and us a ion, like “di icul y”, “o e whelming” o “chaos”. A simila bu mos s iking ambigui y su aced when s uden s we e asked o desc ibe he ea ly mon hs o hei uni e si y expe ience. He e a undamen al ension coexis ed in mos o hei accoun s ha e ol ed a ound wish- ul ilmen on he one hand, and emo ions like g ie , ea o despai , on he o he . The joy o making a d eam come ue – access o highe educa ion – was empe ed by he disillusionmen o no being pe sonally up o expec a ions. This sense o ailed expec a ions un h ough se e al o hei ex s, and can be analyzed in o wo sub hemes: a sense o pa alysis and a sel -iden i y o di e ence. Many o hese s uden s exp essed us a ion, impo ence and lack o con idence as hey ealised ha Uni e si y equi emen s did no i well wi h hei pe cei ed capabili ies o possibili ies a ha momen . They also saw hemsel es as somewha di e en om hei pee s in e ms o abili ies o oppo uni ies, some imes coupled wi h a eeling o loneliness ! 8! and displacemen . One o he s uden s de ined he sel as “a snail” ha could only p og ess a a slowe a e han hei class oom ma es. Though some pa icipan s epo ed a ce ain mi iga ion o hese nega i e emo ions as hey e ol ed in hei uni e si y ca ee , a signi ican amoun o hem s ill e ained hese angs eelings and, in some cases, e en poin ed ou inc easing le els o us a ion. These la e s uden s seemed o ha e allen in o a de encelessness spi al hey canno ge id o . Bu e en hose s uden s ha acknowledged an imp o emen in hei emo ional expe ience o being a uni e si y s uden s ill es ained bi e swee emo ions owa ds an ins i u ion ha does no mee hei indi idual di e ences. When asked o e lec upon he main eason ha may impinge upon hei academic pe o mance, pa icipan s poin ed ou bo h in e nal and ex e nal ac o s. The e was a gene al h ead in hei discou ses ha conce ns he pa icula condi ions ha a ec ed hei li es a he ime: mos no ably, hei amily esponsibili ies and/o hei wo king a angemen s. Some o hem epo ed u he pe sonal ac o s ha ela ed mo e closely o pe sonali y ai s o disposi ions: lack o sel -con idence, lack o pe sis ence, poo s udy skills, and so on. As o he ex e nal ac o s, a numbe o s uden s iden i ied cou se plans o adi ional eaching as impo an ba ie s o hei academic p og ess. When asked o e lec on his la e so o obs acles, he lis o ac o s epo ed inc eases conside ably: syllabuses deemed oo la ge, eaching based on adi ional lec u ing, lack o com adeship among s uden s, absence o con inuous assessmen me hods, insu icien guidance p o ided by he ins i u ion, in lexibili y owa ds s uden s who wo k ei he ull- ime o pa - ime. Finally, s a egies o deal wi h all hese di icul ies we e poo ly iden i ied and de ined by pa icipan s. Thus mos o hem e e ed o “e o ”, “sac i ice” o “ esigna ion” as he main esou ces hey u ned o in o de o o e come o mi iga e hei unde pe o mance. ! 9! In summa y, he p o ile o s uden s applying o he cou se i s qui e well he equi emen o he Na a i e Media ion Pa h. They all can be conside ed as a - isk s uden s o some ex en in he sense ha has been desc ibed in Chap e 2 ega ding o he ac ha hei social, economic and cul u al ci cums ances could po en ially hinde hei academic p og ession. A he same ime, many o hem epo ed o ha e had a good school ajec o y ha did no con inue he same when hey s a ed highe educa ion. Some o hem had p e iously abandoned a deg ee and all a e delayed s uden s. Though hey spoke abou many “academic” p oblems (like exams, poo s udy skills, adi ional and non- lexible lec u ing), he e a e o he psychological, ela ional and pe sonal ac o s, such as eeling o isola ion, poo sel -concep ,...) ad e sely a ec ing hei p og ess a he uni e si y. The inal poin : How did he INSTALL aining in luence he academic expe ience? Among all o pa icipan s who olun ee ed o e lec upon hei aining expe ience h ough ollow-up in-dep h in e iews, we selec he e h ee cases ha illus a e he impac o he cou se on hei academic expe ience. The analysis o hei expe iences and na a i es will p o ide insigh in ela ion o INSTALL achie emen s and challenges. Explo ing discu si e cons uc ions o sel In his sec ion an ou line is p esen ed o he expe iences and pe cep ions o h ee s uden s on hei academic pe o mance as exp essed in he in e iews we held wi h each o hem. Wha ollows is an a emp o cap u e hei cons ual and po ayal o hemsel es as s uden s ‘a isk’ h ough he use o di e en iden i y me apho s. In his sec ion we ha e decided o use he p esen ense o be e con ey he deep meaning o pe sonal expe iences. ! 16! sen ence like “You a e no alone; he e a e mo e people like you”. Al hough his emo ionally-laden accoun o he app aisal sugges s only su ace le els o e lexi i y, i is an impo an s ep o wa d in he own iden i y wo k. And ye she epo s some imp o emen s in mo i a ion as a esul o he INSTALL aining. She eels mo e con iden o ask ques ions in a lec u e, o isi eache s o guidance, and he like. To sum up, ou analyses o hese na a i es depic h ee di e en iden i ies o wha migh be e med as s uden s “a isk”. These h ee iden i ies sha e some co e elemen s ( hey a e all imbued wi h ea and a sense o di e ence). Bu each highligh s a dis inc i e elemen ha is no p esen as ma kedly in he o he s: being in e io o pee s, using/d opping masks o co e /unco e di e ence, leeing and isola ing om pee s. By d awing a b ie po ai o hese s o ies, we ha e a emp ed o ske ch he di e se pa hs h ough which hese s uden s a e seeking o gene a e mo e posi i e iews o hemsel es h ough p ocesses o e lexi i y and men aliza ion ha a e pi o al in he NMP model. Conclusions This chap e has p esen ed he main cha ac e is ics o he po en ial a ge s uden s o INSTALL aining. As shown, all o hem we e s uden s wi h pe sonal, social, cul u al o economic ci cums ances ha could de i e in academic unde achie emen and e en d opou . In ac , some o hem had p e iously abandoned o he deg ee, and he pe cen age o he subjec s no passed was high. An impo an ac o o be conside ed is hei low academic sel -concep , pe cei ed no only in hei answe s o he scale, bu also in hei w i en epo s ega ding hei expe ience a he uni e si y. As a whole, hey el us a ed because hey hough hey lacked o he capabili ies o success in he uni e si y. This made hem conside hemsel es as “di e en ” o hei ma es. Thei c i ics o he uni e si y as an ins i u ion we e add essed o he lack o a en ion i pays o mee hei special needs. ! 17! And maybe o i ha hei ways o dealing wi h he di icul ies hey encoun e ed a e, somehow, “de ensi e”: pu mo e e o o sac i ice and become esigned. Howe e , eading benea h hei answe s, we a e inclined o hink ha he da a he e p esen ed show ce ain agen i i y o he s uden s in o de o o e come hei di icul ies. Thei posi i e a i udes owa ds he cou se is a sign ha hey had no so a gi en up, and ha hey we e sea ching o new ways o de elop a posi i e academic ca ee a oiding u u e d op-ou . The u he analysis o he na a i es o Paco, Beni o and Cla a no only ein o ces his ini ial assessmen , bu also p o ides some insigh on he achie emen s and challenges o INSTALL aining, discussed he e om a mo e gene al pe spec i e, conside ing i s po en ial bene i s as well as con ex ual ac o s o he aining o be deepened in u u e in e en ions (La ié-Ma ínez, González-Mon eagudo, Padilla-Ca mona & F eda, 2014). Among he achie emen s, i is ema kable he imp o emen o he image s uden s ha e o hemsel es. Hence, he cou se has helped hem o ewo k on a mo e posi i e iew o hemsel es as uni e si y s uden s and o be awa e o hei capabili y o ans o m hei own academic ca ee . Secondly, we ha e app ecia ed an inc ease o he capaci y o analyse hei own academic ca ee . They a e able o hink mo e posi i ely abou hemsel es, pa ially because hey ha e now mo e ools o bo h sel -analysis and e alua ion o he social and academic en i onmen . They can mo e clea ly disce n he elemen s ha seem o be a ec ing hei academic pe o mance, and how much pe sonal con ol hey can exe cise o e hese elemen s o imp o e hei academic pa h. Thi dly, he e has been a end o he de elopmen o pa e ns o in eg a ion and au onomy in hei ole as s uden s. In gene al, hey con i med hey a e aking a mo e ac i e ole as s uden s, making use o suppo se ices and o he de ices ha p e iously did no used o conside . Simila ly, hei a i ude in class is mo e pa icipa o y. And, ! 18! beyond academic pe o mance, also hey eel mo e in eg a ed in o he social dynamics o he uni e si y. Finally, as aine s o he INSTALL cou se, all o us we e e y imp essed by he ac ha bene i s and posi i e esul s o he aining ha e been p oduced in a sho pe iod o ime, as his in e en ion was de eloped h ough six weeks. F om his iewpoin , he INSTALL aining has been alida ed as a bene icial ool in ela ion o he cos o he in e en ion. Thinking on u u e and nex s eps o be planned based on INSTALL app oaches, we conside now some challenges o his aining. In some na a i es, he ole o he aine appea ed o be a ele an issue o s uden s ebuilding hei iden i ies. As a consequence, i is impo an o p o ide a good aining o po en ial aine s as hey migh be in ol ed in o some ex en « he apeu ic » p ocess ha no mally equi es aining in psychology ha hey migh no ha e. I is impo an ha he aine ac s as an accompanying and acili a ing pe son, bu she also should os e s uden s’ e lexi i y. These ques ions a e he ocus o chap e 11 o his book. In ou p ojec we ollowed-up he s uden s who pa icipa ed in he aining only o e alua e some issues and unde ake some in e iews six mon hs a e inished he cou se. Bu beyond hese speci ic ollow-up ac i i ies we conside use ul, o u u e in e en ions, o ex end he scope and ange o in e en ion o he INSTALL aining. A e six mon hs, he cou se esul s seem o pe sis o e ime, bu i is impo an o ensu e i s e ec s, in nex edi ions o he cou se, by p omo ing ace- o- ace mee ings among INSTALL s uden s ha would be use ul bo h o de ec any backwa d s ep as well as o ein o ce s uden s’ de e mina ion i needed. Re e ences ! 19! Cas o iadis, C. (1995) Los dominios del homb e: las enc ucijadas del labe in o. Ba celona: Gedisa. F eda, M. F. (2008). Na azione e in e en o in psicologia clinica. Cos ui e, pensa e, e as o ma e na azioni a logos e pa hos. Naples: Liguo i. González-Mon eagudo, J. (2011) Je one B une and he challenges o he na a i e u n. Na a i e Inqui y, 21(2), pp. 295-302. Ha ch, M.J. and Schul z, M. (Eds.) (2004) O ganiza ional iden i y. A eade . Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess. He mans, H.J.M. (2001) “The Dialogical Sel : owa d a heo y o pe sonal and cul u al posi ioning”. Cul u e & Psychology, 7, pp. 243-281. La ié-Ma ínez, J. M. ; González-Mon eagudo, J. ; Padilla-Ca mona, M. T. ; F eda, M. F. (2014) Mediación na a i a en o mación de es udian es uni e si a ios, in E. Guicho - Muñoz, J. Fe nández-Ga i a, J. González-Mon eagudo (2014) (Eds.) Fo mación y mediación pa a la inclusión social. Con ibuciones en in es igación e in e ención. Se illa : P oyec oA leKin / Uni e si y o Se ille, pp. 77-89. Ricoeu , P. (1996) Sí mismo como o o. Mad id: Siglo Vein iuno. Foo no es 1!The INSTALL aining in Spain was conduc ed h ough wo cycles and a o al numbe o 48 s uden s pa icipa ed in i (30 in he i s cycle and 18 in he second one). Chap e 10 will deal wi h he ou comes o he aining in hese 48 s uden s o bo h ounds. He e we only used in o ma ion and da a om s uden s in he i s cycle as we we e in e es ed on deepening in hei na a i es so ha we could ge some insigh o he deploymen o he second ound o aining. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!