Innovativeness in teaching European studies: An empirical investigation

Abstract

Due to the growing centrality of knowledge in our society, innovation in teaching is playing an increasingly important role for maintaining the competitiveness of the European Union (EU). Innovative teaching methods allow a more effective delivery of knowledge as compared to the more traditional pedagogical approaches - such as the “chalk and talk” - thus fitting the educational needs of a modern competitive society. Using primary data from a large research project aiming at understanding how European Studies are currently taught across the EU, we set out to test the correlates of three different innovative methods used in teaching these classes, namely internships, distance learning, and exchange programmes. In particular, we investigated whether certain lecturer’s characteristics (Jean Monnet scholars’ status, tenured academic position, and level of experience) and class features (presence of students’ evaluations and class size) correlate with more innovation in teaching European Studies. Our findings partially support our hypotheses across the three innovative teaching methods we considered, thus backing up some of our intuitions while at the same time providing directions for future research which would allow a more nuanced understanding of the correlates of innovation in teaching European Studies. The authors benefitted from feedback obtained at the Twelfth Biennial International Conference of the European Union Studies Association (EUSA), Boston, MA, March 3-5, 2011. All errors remain our own.