Content validation of the ‘learning to learn’ competence in undergraduate studies

Abstract

This paper aims to validate the content of the ‘learning to learn’ competence (LTL) in undergraduate studies. LTL is in line with the Student-Centred Learning approach and is at the heart of the European Higher Education Area. Unfortunately, the academic community has not yet reached an agreement about the contents that define LTL, or common standards for assessments. While seeking a solution, we validated the content of one operative model of LTL for undergraduate students. Four types of key informants and a group of experts participated in the study. The findings revealed an agreement on the relevance of contents to define this competence. The tendency results showed that traditional content types (cognition and metacognition) were more closely associated with one another. After content validation, we enhanced the initial model using qualitative data the experts provided. Stability standards, limitations of the model to validate its content, and an emerging ethical factor in the learning process are discussed.