QUÉ SE PREGUNTA Y QUÉ SE ENTIENDE: ANÁLISIS DE ALGUNOS CONCEPTOS UTILIZADOS EN LA ENCUESTA DE OPINIÓN DE LOS ESTUDIANTES SOBRE LA DOCENCIA

Abstract

In this article the authors describe a study they carried out at the Universitat de Lleida during the academic year 2000-01 with a double goal in mind. The first goal was to learn about the extent to which some of the key concepts used in the questionnaire for the students’ opinion about the quality of teaching constitute objective categories. The initial hypothesis was that because of the low degree of objectivity of certain categories that appear in the questionnaire, there would be not only a high level of dispersion in the answers given by the subjects but also a significant degree of overlap among them. The second goal of the study was to explore the possibility that the instrument designed might be used at the initial stage of a course to promote the exchange of points of views and expectations about the quality of teaching between teacher and students. The results obtained confirm the initial hypothesis and point towards a series of competencies that might orient the teaching task as well as the design of future questionnaires. At the same time, the study has shown that the instrument used in the study is a useful means of promoting collective reflection in the classroom as long as the teacher responds the same questionnaire as the students and shares his/her answers with them.