Análisis del desarrollo profesional del docente universitario de Ciencias de la Salud a través de las Ecologías de Aprendizaje

Abstract

This research approaches the study of faculty professional development, in the field of Health Sciences, through the paradigm of Learning Ecologies. The aim is to shed light on the complex and diverse processes of learning and professional updating of university professors in the Digital Age. To respond to the objectives of the study, the research has been framed in a sequential-exploratory design. In the first place, a Case Study was conducted, with the purpose of dimensioning, structure and define the Learning Ecologies of the five best teachers (in the field of Health Sciences) of the University of Coruña. The data was collected carrying out three interviews per professor. Then a quantitative approximation, based on a descriptive-correlational design, was selected to develop the second phase of the study. Thus, a survey was applied to 416 health science faculty belonging to Spanish universities. The results show, in a global way, a high and intrinsically motivated, active and participatory university professor. However, the results also suggest a need to improve digital resources integration and use, in the processes of learning and professional updating. And a rethinking of formal training, offered by higher education institutions.