Ljubiana, Slovenia
24-26, September 2009
The development of competences at
Latin-American universities: A multilevel production function approach
Luis E. VILA*, C. Delia DÁVILA** and José-Ginés MORA***
*University of Valencia
**University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
*** Institute of Education, University of London
Outline
1. Introduction
2. Production of competences in H.E.
3. Proflex data
4. Modeling strategies
5. Some estimation results
6. Concluding remarks
1. Introduction
1
H.E. & the economy’s potential for innovation
• Individual and aggregate productivity gains, and
therefore growth and development, emerge from
using in production newly available knowledge
– Schultz (1975)

‘allocative ability’
– Lucas (2009)

 in (t)/t = (t)
• H.E. contributes to build innovation potential in the
economy via the supply of new H.E. graduates
1
Innovative role of graduates
• Fresh HEGs bring into the workplace (among other
forms of human capital) their capacity to innovate:
– Ability to mobilize in their jobs already-available
knowledge/resources not utilized previously
– Ability to continuously create or adapt, and use,
newly-available knowledge or resources while
developing tasks and responsibilities in their jobs
1
Competences to innovate (CTIs)
• Innovative behavior implies a sequence of activities
• Detection, acquisition, evaluation, reallocation
• Specific competences are needed to perform well in
the activities leading to productive innovation
• We will call them “competences to innovate” (CTIs)
1
Innovative behavior and competences
Activities
Competences
Detection of
opportunity
Alertness to new
opportunities
Idea creation
or acquisition
Come up with new
ideas, solutions
Evaluation of
new ideas
Willingness to
question ideas
Resource
reallocation
E.S.
Mobilization of
capacities of others
1
Objective and approach
• To explore production function relationships
between the development of innovation-related
competences and the prevalence of diverse
teaching and learning modes in H.E. studies
• Production of education theoretical framework
• Model-based general approach
• Data Proflex ( 8,700 graduates from 33 LatinAmerican universities in 9 countries)
1
Motivation
• Stronger emphasis in ‘the right T&L modes’ would ceteris paribus- increase the contribution of Higher
Education
to
economic
growth
and
general
wellbeing in Latin-American countries by improving
aggregate innovation potential through a more
effective development of CTIs by graduates
2. Production of competences in HE
2
Literature: two main views of learning
• Early
Childhood
Development:
Knowledge
acquisition as a cumulative process starting in
early childhood at the household
• Education
Production
Function:
Cognitive
achievement as the result of applying diverse
combinations of educational inputs to students
A model for competence production
Teaching &
learning modes
Educational
resources ( R )
Competence
Higher
development
education
E.S.
(C)
studies
Student
resources ( R )
Programme
characteristics
Dedication, effort
Prior investments
Ability
2
3. Proflex data
3
Table 1
Field of study (ISCED 2000). Descriptive statistics
Education
Humanities and arts
Social sciences, business and law
Science
Engineering, manufacturing and construction
Agriculture
Health and welfare
Total
N = 8301 records
Percent
7,2
5,2
41,9
6,1
29,0
1,9
8,8
100,0
3
Questions on competences in Proflex
A. “How do you rate your own competence level?”
B. “What is the required level of competence in your
current work?”
C. “What was the contribution of the programme
completed to your competence development?”
• Answers to A  Individual’s human capital
• Answers to B  Human capital needed for job
• Answers to C  ‘Value added’ by H.E. study
Output: Contribution of Higher
Education to competence development
Write and speak in a foreign language
Analytical thinking
Work productively w ith others
Rapidly acquire new know ledge
6
5
Negotiate effectively
Assert your authority
4
Use com puters and the internet
3
Mastery of ow n field
Alertness to new opportunities
2
1
Make your m eaning clear
Know ledge of other fields
Write reports, docum ents
Perform w ell under pressure
Present products, ideas or reports
Com e up w ith new ideas, solutions
Mobilise the capacities of others
Question ow n's and others' ideas
Coordinate activities
Use tim e efficiently
3
3
HE input: Modes of teaching and learning
Internships, work placement
5
Lectures
Multiple choice exams
4
Theories and paradigms
3
Participation in research projects
2
1
Group assignments
Written assignments
Teacher as the main source of
information
Problem-based learning
Facts and practical knowledge
Oral presentations
3
Table 2
Other variables in the analysis. Descriptive statistics.
Effort and dedication
Weekly hours spent on study
Full-Time Student
It was neccesary extra work to pass the exams
Educational Family Background
Father with Tertiary studies
Mother with Tertiary studies
Personal characteristicts
Age
Female
Mean
St. Dev.
33,54
0,77
3,89
18,04
0,91
0,41
0,28
30,96
0,55
3,75
4. Modeling strategies
4
Estimating education production functions
• Ability is unobserved  Stochastic frontier models
• Competences correlated  Orthogonal factors
• Subjective evaluation  Relative measures
• Group effects / endogeneity  Multi-level models.
– T&L modes =  (Programme, X)
– Student effort =  (Modes, Programme, Z, )
– Programme =  (Prior achievement, Y, )
4
Variance components model (two-level)
Cij = f ( Rij , Sij ) + uj + ij
Composite error terms:
• uj : group noise N( 0, 2u ) : field, institution, country
• ij : individual noise N( 0, 2 )
• Intragroup correlation = 2u / ( 2u + 2 )
5. Some estimation results
5
Table 3 :
2-level model (individual/field) for development of CTIs
Alertness to new
opportunities
Ability to come up with
Willingness to
Ability to mobilize the
new ideas and
question your own and
capacities of others
solutions
other's ideas
Coeff.
P>|z|
Coeff.
P>|z|
Coeff.
P>|z|
Coeff.
P>|z|
Lectures
0.053
0.005
0.034
0.093
0.025
0.086
0.039
0.003
Group assignments
Participation in research projects
Internships, work placements
0.019
0.126
0.010
0.334
0.000
0.523
0.058
0.080
-0.006
0.014
0.000
0.741
0.037
0.055
-0.020
0.403
0.007
0.449
0.210
0.097
0.023
0.000
0.000
0.326
Facts and practical knowledge
Theories and paradigms
Teacher as main source of information
0.148
-0.001
0.014
0.000
0.960
0.418
0.130
0.114
0.001
0.000
0.000
0.980
0.101
0.188
0.000
0.002
0.000
0.992
0.160
0.025
0.009
0.000
0.340
0.288
Project and/or problem-based learning
Written assignments
Oral presentations
0.179
-0.020
0.122
0.000
0.489
0.002
0.169
-0.036
0.139
0.000
0.116
0.000
0.143
-0.017
0.165
0.000
0.402
0.000
0.148
-0.006
0.144
0.000
0.731
0.000
Multiple choice exams
0.080
0.000
0.016
0.336
-0.022
0.394
0.050
0.000
Weekly hours spent on study
-0.0005
0.527
0.004
0.000
0.001
0.000
0.001
0.035
Full-Time Student
-0.076
0.149
-0.010
0.841
0.051
0.440
Did extra work
0.187
0.000
0.215
0.000
0.122
0.000
-0.108
0.079
0.019
0.000
Father with Tertiary studies
Mother with Tertiary studies
Personal characteristics
-0.028
-0.043
0.757
0.610
-0.030
0.100
0.495
0.034
-0.049
0.103
0.483
0.009
-0.106
0.068
0.061
0.415
Age
Female
-0.015
0.012
1.879
0.014
0.772
0.000
-0.005
-0.066
1.951
0.379
0.106
0.000
0.007
-0.053
1.671
0.328
0.355
0.000
-0.013
0.014
1.869
0.081
0.698
0.000
Modes of teaching and learning
Effort and dedication
Educational Family Background
Constant
N level 1 (individuals)
N level 2 (field of study)
Intragroup correlation Rho
5259
7
3.2%
5243
7
1.8%
5249
7
0.5%
5248
7
2.6%
Table 4:
3-level model (individual/institution/country) for development of CTIs
Alertness to new
opportunities
5
Ability to come up with
Willingness to
Ability to mobilize the
new ideas and
question your own and
capacities of others
solutions
other's ideas
Coeff.
P>|z|
Coeff.
P>|z|
Coeff.
P>|z|
Coeff.
P>|z|
Lectures
0.023
0.465
0.022
0.267
0.037
0.090
0.015
0.228
0.501
0.000
Modes of teaching and learning
Group assignments
0.044
0.036
0.064
0.006
0.040
0.111
Participation in research projects
Internships, work placements
0.120
0.047
0.001
0.121
0.086
0.010
0.000
0.555
0.079
-0.010
0.000
0.609
0.099
0.000
0.057
0.002
Facts and practical knowledge
0.139
0.000
0.140
0.000
0.091
0.000
0.143
0.000
Theories and paradigms
Teacher as main source of information
0.013
-0.012
0.614
0.767
0.107
-0.014
0.000
0.520
0.173
-0.016
0.000
0.478
0.039
0.106
Project and/or problem-based learning
Written assignments
0.160
0.005
0.000
0.929
0.168
-0.032
0.000
0.152
0.136
0.008
0.000
0.751
-0.021
0.136
0.028
0.368
0.000
0.247
Oral presentations
Multiple choice exams
0.063
0.048
0.026
0.017
0.082
0.018
0.000
0.280
0.140
-0.031
0.000
0.081
0.093
0.020
0.000
0.249
Weekly hours spent on study
Full-Time Student
Did extra work
Educational Family Background
-0.001
-0.060
0.181
0.655
0.191
0.000
0.003
0.004
0.238
0.002
0.940
0.000
0.000
0.018
0.121
0.799
0.721
0.000
0.000
-0.117
0.073
0.751
0.021
0.003
Father with Tertiary studies
Mother with Tertiary studies
Personal characteristics
-0.048
-0.079
0.087
0.178
-0.044
0.061
0.305
0.182
-0.042
0.053
0.387
0.279
-0.124
0.045
0.008
0.366
Age
Female
-0.002
0.046
1.823
0.769
0.407
0.000
0.008
-0.049
1.181
0.142
0.209
0.000
0.014
-0.023
1.798
0.034
0.570
0.000
-0.002
0.054
1.514
0.740
0.193
0.000
Effort and dedication
Constant
N level 1 (individuals)
N level 2 (institutions)
N level 3 (countries)
Intragroup correlation Rho (institution, country)
Intragroup correlation Rho (country)
5284
33
9
5268
33
9
5274
33
9
5288
33
9
9.3%
7.3%
18.5%
16.8%
11.6%
10.1%
5.8%
3.3%
6. Concluding remarks
6
Summary of main results
• Acquisition of CTIs in H.E. appears to depend on
the prevalence of some pro-active T&L modes
• Each CTI is more efficiently developed through a
specific combination of T&L modes
• Most prevalent modes in Latin-American H.E.
contribute little, if any, to develop CTIs specifically
• Field of study, institution attended and country are
crucial to development of CTI’s
6
Problems remaining / Further research
• No longitudinal information on decision rules of
– Students: programme choice, behavior
– Institutions: study design, admission
– Policy makers: regulation and funding
• Costs of teaching & learning modes unknown
• Other sources of CTIs beside higher education
• Actual CTIs utilization not yet addressed
Thank you very much for your attention
The development of competences at
Latin-American universities: A multi-level
production function approach
[email protected]