The Academic Literacy at the University: A predictive Study

Authors

  • Fernando Guzmán-Simón University of Sevilla
  • Eduardo García-Jiménez University of Sevilla

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/relieve.21.1.5018

Keywords:

Higher Education, Critical Literacy, Writing and Reading Strategies, Writing Across the Curriculum

Abstract

The academic literacy process in the Spanish university system shows many shortcomings now days. This situation is particularly worrisome among future teachers of Pre-School and Primary Education, given the influence that these students will have on the literacy in the early school years. This study aims to determine which variables define the academic literacy of college students and which teaching and learning practices can explain it. A "Questionnaire on reading and writing habits" was administered to a population of 513 students from the Primary Education Bachelor Degree of the University of Seville. The results of this questionnaire allowed us to describe teaching and learning practices that promote academic literacy as well as the academic literacy levels attained by the students themselves. A regression analysis for categorical data was applied to determine the explanatory power of teaching and learning practices (predictors) on academic literacy (criteria). The predictors selected explain satisfactorily the variability in the different levels of academic literacy in students, which show different values for those enrolled in Pre-School and Primary Education Bachelor degrees. One conclusion from this study is that the acquisition of certain reading strategies and critical writing by future teachers requires a specific instruction beyond the development of academic socialization in a community of practice, allowing them to transform knowledge and develop an awareness and intellectual self-regulation

Author Biographies

Fernando Guzmán-Simón, University of Sevilla

Professor of Teaching Language and Literature at the Faculty of Education at the University of Seville. His research focuses on the evaluation of language skills in kindergarten and processes of academic literacy, both in developing assessment tools and validation. He is a member of the research group EVALfor: Evaluation in training contexts (SEJ-509). His mailing address is: Universidad de Sevilla. Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación. Departamento de Didáctica de la Lengua y la Literatura y Filología integradas. Calle Pirotecnia, s/n. 41013 Sevilla

Eduardo García-Jiménez, University of Sevilla

Professor of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education at the University of Seville and member of EVALfor evaluation research in learning contexts (SEJ-509). In recent years his work has focused on the development of procedures and assessment tools in education, through applications, for use by teachers working in different educational stages such as EvalCOMIX, DIPEVAL and HEVAFOR. His mailing address is:: Universidad de Sevilla. Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación. Departamento de Métodos de Investigación y Diagnóstico en Educación. Calle Pirotecnia, s/n. 41013 Sevilla

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Published

2015-05-07

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Special Section

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