UPDATE NEEDS OF PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY: Diagnosis of teachers and graduate degree from the School of Library, Documentation and Information (EBDI), National University of Costa Rica

This project is a diagnosis of update needs and training for professionals in bibliotecology and its results will be used for the design of a Program of Permanent training in bibliotecology, which will be implemented in Bibliotecology School, Documentation and Information of the National University.The studied population is composed by all the teachers of Bibliotecology School, Documentation and Information of the National University, in October, 2007, and all the graduated students of licentiate of the EBDI from 2000 to 2007.The results of this investigation were obtained by means of a questionnaire that was filled by each one of the members of these two populations, who corresponded to 25 teachers of the EBDI and 18 graduates of licentiate. This one also presents the information that was obtained in interviews realized to the managers of the principal institutions who are professionals contracted in bibliotecology.The results obtained of this diagnosis will allow the elaboration of the Program of Permanent training in bibliotecology, considering the formative needs of the professionals in bibliotecology of the EBDI. This project includes the following products:a) Description of the social and demographic characteristics of teachers and of graduated of licentiate of the EBDI.b) Diagnosis of needs to update and training of bibliotecology professional teachers and of graduated of licentiate of the EBDI.c) Determination of the knowledge and skills that the needs to satisfy what big employers ask for.d) Recommendations for the program. Implementation.

Evaluación de la organización académico administrativa con base en la metodología de los sistemas suaves: El caso de la licenciatura en turismo

Recibido 20 de octubre de 2010 • Aceptado 09 de marzo de 2011 • Corregido 2 de abril de 2011 El objetivo de la investigación fue evaluar, con un enfoque sistémico, la organización académico administrativa de tres programas de licenciatura en turismo, con la finalidad de identificar las características que estos presentaban respecto a los criterios del Consejo para la Acreditación de la Educación Turística (CONAET) y TedQual (Tourism Education Quality), para acceder a la certificación nacional e internacional. El cuestionario y la guía de observación fueron los instrumentos para recopilar la información necesaria, la cual fue organizada con un enfoque cualitativo (mediante el Atlas Ti) y cuantitativo (a través de la estadística descriptiva). La principal conclusión fue que la Licenciatura en Turismo, ofrecida por la Escuela Superior de Turismo (EST), cumple con los criterios de certificación. Se considera, por tanto, que sus instalaciones y el programa ofertado se encuentran de acuerdo con los lineamientos de certificación, en tanto que la Universidad el Valle de México (UVM) y la Escuela Bancaria y Comercial (EBC) presentan serias deficiencias respecto a los criterios establecidos por estos organismos.

National university`s students perspective of teachers and college education: their characteristic and classroom environment

This article presents the results of a research project in which the characteristics of university teachers and classroom environment were studied from the students´ perspectives. The study was based on a mixed design, this one attempts to develop a profile of the teachers, with the participation of students being trained in pedagogy majors. The results indicate that the students underline the importance of personality and psico-pedagogical characteristics in contrast with the theoretical findings, which point more towards professional characteristics.

A Pedagogical Strategy for Integrated Education of Spanish in the 4th to 6th Grades of the General Basic Education

Language teaching has become a priority in the Costa Rican educational system, considering it as a tool for communication and development of thought. Without language, there is no access to other curriculum disciplinary knowledge. A successful experience conducted some years ago, with students from 4th to 6th grade, was the basis for the design and implementation of a professional development activity addressed to promoting an integration strategy previously adjusted according to the Ministry’s requirements and the existing national regulations. This study is developed in the framework of a qualitative paradigm including research-action and systematization. A purposive sample was selected based on a suitability factor, through which individuals are informed about the strategy, and then the strategy is applied to a group of students from urban-marginal areas. The techniques used include literature review, analysis of curriculum and Ministry’s regulations, application of an in-depth interview, discussions from the course’s participant in a portfolio, and discussions from students to whom the strategy was applied. We analyzed the considerations of teachers and students, as well as the theoretical and regulatory information by triangulation. The study’s conclusion is the necessity of a communicative approach in language teaching and our recommendation is to implement the strategy developed in the Costa Rican classrooms as provided in this paper.