Jordi Peris

Scrutinising the Process of Adaptation to the European Higher Education Area in a Spanish University Degree Using Power Analysis

In this article the authors explore power imbalances in a decision-making process to define the contents of a new Spanish degree adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), specifically the industrial design and product development engineering degree which started in the academic year 2009/10 at the Higher Technical School of Design Engineering (ETSID) at the Technical University of Valencia (UPV). They start the article with a description of the tool they used to analyse the power issues: the power cube, developed by John Gaventa. Then, they briefly explain the process of adaptation of the Bologna Process at the UPV in general and at the ETSID in particular. They introduce the methodology used in their research by referring to the type of questions asked and the criteria used to select their informants. Subsequently, they discuss the answers, paying special attention to three aspects: the quality of participation and the quality of the process; the types of power; and the concept of education. Lastly, they propose a series of recommendations intended to improve the quality of participation in deliberative processes at university.

Critical Learning in Development Projects and International Cooperation

The Master’s degree in Development Cooperation of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia started in the year 2011–2012 with a specialization in Project Management and Development Processes which capitalized the experience gained in the four previous editions of the master in Development Policies and Processes. Since its inception, the Master has been designed and developed on the basis of principles such as critical learning, participation, and the connection between the local and global problems. These principles have been incorporated into both the contents and the learning process leading to several teaching–learning practices that transcend the classroom space and help to define a very specific profile of specialist in project management and development processes. This article presents and discusses the main methodological innovations developed at an educational level in the master, as well as the monitoring and evaluation spaces that have been established to incorporate the active participation of students and other stakeholders from outside university. The analysis explores the major difficulties and the main supporting factors for a critical learning practice in the field of development projects and international cooperation.