Students want to test a four-day week of classes

The Porto Academic Federation wants to test a four-day week of classes in higher education and has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, which the institution announced on Monday.

The proposal for four-day classes at higher education institutions (HEIs), which has already been sent to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, includes an “implementation period”, which will be “the first semester of the 2023 academic year.” 24″ and the cycles of study that will apply to the offerings will include “degrees and integrated masters”, “2nd, 3rd or 4th year,” according to the document Lusa had access to.

Providing a day off in universities for study cycles covered by the pilot project, reducing the workload in the context of the classroom, and promoting pedagogical innovation through new teaching and learning methods, including the use of digital tools, are the first requirements listed in the FAP Proposal.

The development of training activities for teachers on the methods and methodologies mobilized for the project, as well as the implementation of transversal development activities and the assessment of student involvement through the recognition of credits in the Diploma Supplement, are also part of the list of requirements for conducting four-day classes.

The evaluation of the pilot project should be carried out through a “self-assessment in each institution” with the participation of students, faculty and research center.

The FAP pilot project also determines the existence of a control commission, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, the General Directorate of Higher Education, the Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education, the Council of Portuguese University Rectors, coordinating the Council of Higher Polytechnic Institutes (CCISP), the Portuguese Association private higher education and student representatives.

“The proposed proposal does not imply that universities will work only four days a week. It involves a reorganization of the school day. (…). If we never test it, we will never know if it works,” defends the president of the Academic Association of Porto (FAP), Ana Gabriela Cabillas.

For the FAP, the format of the lessons, especially in relation to the theoretical components, is still based on a predominantly expositional model, with one-way communication and passive participation of students. “A reorganization of the weekly schedule is possible if we adopt different practices and pedagogical methods,” he defends.

“To make up for the reduced workload, commitment to the pilot project must consider technology as an facilitating element in the learning mission. Teacher-student contact times should become more dynamic, stimulating and motivating for students with the introduction of digital tools that match the capabilities and interests of digital natives,” he adds.

The release of one working day will increase the time allotted for transversal developmental activities, whether formal or informal, as well as for participation in sports, cultural, social or volunteer activities either at the university or in the city of study.

“Formal recognition of non-formal learning is essential in order for more students to understand the importance of developing other skills beyond the teaching component and the dedication that this requires. The personal and interpersonal development of students is fundamental to their inclusion in active life,” he says, the president of the student organization.

According to the FAP, Portugal is among the European countries with the highest hourly rates.

“Weekly classes last 21 hours, compared to an average of 16 to 18 hours in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, 14 to 15 hours in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and 10 hours in Sweden,” notes FAP, adding that Portugal is in among the European countries with the highest prevalence of psychological or mental disorders, and the student population is no exception, as situations of “burnout” (exhaustion) are increasingly common among university students.