Beginnings and endings. Post-Bologna teaching transformations. The case of the School of Architecture at the University of Alcalá (UAH)

Abstract

The following article has two objectives. The first is to present the results of the innovation in teaching project entitled “Teacher transformations in the initial and final cycles of the architecture major in the new disciplinary, social and technological context” (University of Alcalá, 2017- 2018). The impact or responses given in the initial and final cycles of the major at the University of Alcalá’s School of Architecture were evaluated in light of two phenomena that have conditioned the teaching of architecture in the last two decades: the organizational and methodological reforms to European higher education summarized in the Declaration of Bologna (1999), and a professional context marked by complex social and professional transformations. The second objective is to compare these results with the current situation of architecture schools in Chile. In summary, the results of this research confirm that in the initial cycle a new student profile has arisen with special characteristics that require the rethinking of teaching approaches in the classroom. Meanwhile, in the final cycle it was observed that the implementation of the license-granting master ́s degree required to practice architecture has made it necessary to modify the structure and teaching in the last stage of the educational process with shortened periods of study and by fostering the integration of knowledge in the final project when faced with the fragmented understanding achieved with the degree. In comparison with the case in Chile, there are a number of similarities, but also significant differences mainly due to the university policies of both countries. Likewise, it is clear that the ambitious and opportune objectives established by the Bologna Process do not produce the expected results in the end.