Teaching psychology in Switzerland after the Bologna reform Jean Retschitzki, Carine B é trisey & M ó nica Maccabez-Arriola University of Fribourg (Switzerland) Third International Conference on Teaching of Psychology July 12-16, 2008, St. Petersburg, Russia

Overview Switzerland Swiss Universities The Bologna reform Main characteristics of the curriculum First tendencies in Fribourg Survey

Switzerland: a special country Confederation –Federal level Diplomacy, army, … –Radical federalism 26 ministers of education –Universities are not national but cantonal 4 national languages –German, French, Italian, Romansh

French Italian GermanRomansh

Swiss universities Psychology is taught in all Swiss universities: 3 French speaking Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel 4 German speaking Basel, Bern, Zurich, St Gallen 1 bilingual (German-French) Fribourg 1 Italian speaking Lugano

Number of students by university in Switzerland (all domains)

Integration of Psychology in Faculties in Swiss universities Again big differences Psychology has a Faculty by itself Basel, Bern, Geneva (with education) Included in the Faculty of philosophy Fribourg, Zurich In the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences Lausanne In the Faculty of Economics Neuchâtel

Bologna reform in Psychology The reform was introduced at different times and with different procedures Basel was the first to adopt the new system in 2002 Fribourg was second We started in 2003, 5 years ago, having the new system only for the new students The first students just finished the Master last June Geneva and Lausanne kept the former system until 2006 They changed everything at once These differences make it difficult to analyze the impact of the reform

Bologna reform in Psychology - 2 Before Bologna there were important differences with regards to the way the curriculum was organized In some universities (Geneva, Lausanne) only Psychology In others (Basel, Bern, Fribourg, Zurich) several domains: Major, Minor 1, Minor 2 We took the opportunity of Bologna to reduce these discrepancies After Bologna, all psychological departments will have a similar system

Minimum duration of education Even before the Bologna reform, there was an agreement regarding the compulsory courses But it was possible to be recognized as a psychologist after 8 semesters After Bologna, with the new system, 10 semesters is the new standard Compatible with the European project

Common number of credits A committee of the Directors of Swiss Departments of Psychology [KDIPS/CDIPS] has adopted the following standards: 300 ECTS credits in 5 years –180 ECTS in 3 years Bachelor of Science in Psychology –120 ECTS in 2 years Master of Science in Psychology

Contents of Bachelor studies General introduction3 - 9 Methods Introduction to the main domains Applications Basic competences6 - 15

Master studies Two different aproaches: 1.Unique Master in Psychology with several domains (e.g. major / minor) Geneva, Lausanne 2.Content oriented (clinical / general / work and organizational) Fribourg

Different sizes of the Departments of Psychology Number of Professors in Psychology: Geneva22 Zurich20 Lausanne15 Bern13 Basel8 Fribourg8 Neuchatel3

Paradox about the mobility One of the arguments for introducing the same system in all European Universities was to favor mobility It is now more difficult than before to spend one or two semesters in a foreign university

What happened in Fribourg I will now mainly present the situation in Fribourg

First trends in Fribourg Two years ago, the first students got the Bachelor At the same time, Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel started their Master program Fribourg had introduced a selection fot the students who wanted to enter the Master in Clinical and Health Psychology The result was clear: Only 20 students or so were candidates for this specialised Master The others disappeared

First trends - 2 We did not expect such a dramatic change Before Bologna, new students began the 2nd cycle every year After Bologna (these last two years), Only new students entered the Master program

A first conclusion Students have changed their behavior Many students do not continue immediately after the Bachelor Some take a sabbatical Some try to do different kinds of training Some change the university

Our research project Trying to apply to this problem the experimental approach that we recommend in our teaching We decided to try to understand better what was happening with our students

Method 10 individual interviews with students in the 2nd or 3rd year of Bachelor –30 to 45 minutes A questionnaire (based in part on the results of the interviews) : 37 students in 3rd year of Bachelor Statistics of the changes among universities –More difficult because of the law (protection of personal data)

Interviews / Main results Unexpectedly, students criticized the Bachelor program –Not enough choices –Some repetitions They seem to choose very carefully the university for their Master program, taking into account several aspects –Personal professionnal project –Variety of domains –Orientation of clinical psychology –….

Questionnaire – Main results 1.Positive aspects - University of Fribourg 2.Negative aspects - University of Fribourg 3.Criteria for choosing Fribourg for Bachelor 4.Criteria for choosing the university for Master 5.Popularity of different domains 6.Information sources

Positive aspects - University of Fribourg N = 111

Negative aspects – University of Fribourg N = 91

Criteria of selection for choosing the University of Fribourg for the Bachelor N = 35

Criteria of selection for choosing a university for the Master N = 35*

Which fields of psychology are the most chosen for the Master ? N = 54

Where do the students find informations about Masters ? N = 36*

Conclusions Obviously there is a need for changing something –More choices in the Bachelor program –A more attractive Master program But it is not so simple –There are conflicting interests We need to deepen the study We should have a better communication

Thank you for your attention