Methods and Findings in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Vol. 25, Suppl. A, 2003
ISSN 0379-0355
Copyright 2003 Prous Science, S.A.
CCC: 0379-0355/2003
http://www.prous.com

Teaching Aspects of Practical Courses in Pharmacology in the New "European Higher Education Area"

J.E. Baños

Teaching and Training Group, Spanish Society of Pharmacology, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona

THE CHANGE INDUCED BY THE BOLOGNA DECLARATION

On the long and difficult road to build a new European setting, a great effort has been made to harmonize the higher education system in order to achieve the so-called Europe of Knowledge. The starting point was the Sorbonne Declaration of May 25th, 1998, which stressed the role of universities in developing European cultural dimensions. The Bologna Declaration further established the important role of universities, suggesting ways to improve the standard of university education across Europe. The specific objectives stated in this Declaration are:

• Readable and comparable degrees: to promote European citizen employability and international competitiveness of the European higher education system.
• Adoption of a two-cycle system: undergraduate (at least three years) and graduate (Masters or Doctoral degree).
• Establishment of a system of credits: such as ECTS (European Credit Transference System), to promote widespread student mobility.
• Promotion of mobility: by overcoming obstacles, and applied to students, teachers, researchers and administrative staff.

The Declaration was signed by representatives of all EU countries and also by the members of 14 other European countries. This document is the keystone of the development of new directives that will lead to the establishment of a common university area within the European Union (EU). There is even a deadline for this process: the year 2010. Some universities, however, are now making an effort to modify their curricula long before this date.

The potential advantages of such an approach have already been outlined: wide possibilities of student exchanges, mutual recognition of courses among universities and automatic acceptance of university diplomas among EU countries. From the inside organization of curricula in each university, the necessity to adopt the Bologna Declaration principles will require that all universities substantially change the structure of most curricula, with the exception of those that are regulated by specific directives (Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Architecture, Midwifery). The main changes are the need to shorten the duration of each degree, a new structure for university studies in a more general Bachelor and a professionally-oriented Master's course, the new consideration of the credit as a teaching unit that includes the learning effort of students and a decreased interest in the acquisition of factual knowledge.

THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE NEW EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA

How these changes will affect specific subjects is still unknown, although some analyses have been performed in the Engineering degrees. Nonetheless, it seems reasonable to consider some general principles to make the transition from the present situation to the new curricula a smoother one. First, the Bologna Declaration should not be viewed as an additional bureaucratic imposition. Certainly, it has not been generated directly by the universities themselves, but it constitutes an excellent possibility for change. It is the first time that a whole European effort has been put into the university field, and this fact may enhance communication between centers and strengthen the mobility of their students, already started by the Erasmus programs. It is also a good opportunity to reconsider our teaching, both the contents of our curricula and the way we teach. For instance, the legal curriculum of the Biology degree is now 310 credits in 4-5 years. Following the Bologna Declaration, it should be reduced to 60 credits per year for a 3-4 year duration. This means that the full content will be 180-240 credits, a significant reduction of factual and practical content. Regarding the way we teach, it should be kept in mind that the consideration of credit will also change. In the future, one credit will be equal to 25 h, which will include the students' effort to learn. In the real world, this probably means that 10 h will be reserved for lectures and laboratory and problem-solving courses and 15 h for "student activities".

Also following the Bologna principles, the importance of self-learning by the student in the new approach should be considered. It would be a mistake to equate this self-learning only with the preparation of evaluations. Teachers should devote this curricular time to those activities that enhance the understanding of the subject by students, and specially-directed self-learning activities will be built for reaching such an objective.

HOW THE NEW GUIDELINES ARE APPLIED TO THE TEACHING OF PHARMACOLOGY

Given that we are still are at the beginning of the process, it is speculation to talk about how all of these changes will affect pharmacology teaching. General consequences have already been drawn, but I would like to outline some specific points that might be relevant for teaching our discipline in the near future:

- Curricula can not cover everything relating to the field. The desire to be exhaustive at undergraduate level will no longer be realistic. Thus, the definition of core curricula is compulsory to establish the minimum requirements. The Spanish Society of Pharmacology has almost finished its proposal of such core curricula for the health sciences-related degrees.

- Laboratory work should be redefined. Its main goal will be to teach general abilities rather than specific and highly specialized ones. A new definition of the objectives and the type of work is clearly needed.

- The autonomous work of students should be guided and deeply stimulated. Problem-based learning and case studies may be used to self-instruct the students for life-long learning. The students' work time should be used to reach this outcome.

In summary, the Bologna Declaration offers a good opportunity to review both what to teach and how to teach, the two vital questions for improving the learning of our students and enhancing our duty as academics. Although its principles are not compulsory for most health sciences degrees, it would also be advisable to apply some of them to update the teaching of pharmacology for the new scenario.

Methods and Findings in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Vol. 25, Suppl. A, 2003
ISSN 0379-0355 Copyright 2003 Prous Science, S.A. CCC: 0379-0355/2003 http://www.prous.com