Student-centred learning in the European Space of Higher Education (ESHE): a case study of the course Structure of Social Communication

Abstract

The Bologna Declaration is a pledge by, up to now, 47 European countries to reform the structures of their higher education systems in a convergent way. The action program set up in the Declaration is based on a common goal: to create a European Space for Higher Education (ESHE) in order to “enhance the employability and mobility of citizens” and increase the international “competitiveness” of European higher education. This paper describes the adaptation to the ESHE of the course Structure of Social Communication, included in the Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism at the Faculty of Communication of Pompeu Fabra University. Besides the new curricular design based upon skills, the main aim was to add new teaching and assessment tools to the students’ learning process, while introducing blended learning. The paper also highlights the main
challenges that arose from the process and the students’ assessment.

Keywords: ESHE, Structure of Social Communication, learning, teaching methods, curricular innovation, blended learning.