Developing Transversal Competencies in the Sociodramatic Space: Narrative of a Curricular Experience in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher Education plays a decisive role in the training of competent professionals and active, responsible and critical-thinking citizens. In addition to acquiring rigorous technical–scientific knowledge specific to their degree, students are also expected to develop a range of transversal skills essential for a successful academic and professional career. This article aims to narrate an experience of obtaining a Social Education degree. Since its origins, it has been assumed that students in this field should: (a) acquire specific technical–scientific knowledge; (b) get to know themselves as individuals; and (c) develop a set of transversal skills essential to relationships, some of the most salient being active listening, empathic capacity, acceptance and respect for others, trust, curiosity, creativity, confidentiality and a reflective attitude. It thus aggregates a set of Curricular Units whose main purpose is the personal, social and professional development of students, formed within active methodologies. Sociodrama is one such methodology of teaching and learning in the context of two Curricular Units of this degree, and this article focuses on my experience lived within the scope of these units.

Exploring the role of content and language integrated learning approach in developing transversal skills in university students with respect to the mediating role of emotional intelligence

“…Such skills are considered highly necessary for reaching the educational objective making students learn them during their study at universities. Moreover, in higher education contexts, explicit learning outcomes have been verified, resulting in the significant improvement of TSs, such as teamwork, communication, and problem-solving (Rakkarnsil and Butsalee, 2022;Veiga, 2022;Zheng, 2022). Additionally, such skills have been linked to the occupation outcomes of higher education students and have been the center of attention for legislators and university officials.…”