Education and learning in higher education in Portugal: evaluation of the self concept of competence in online environments

Conferência internacional realizada de 10-11 de Novembro de 2011 no "Palazzo Medici Riccardi", em FlorençaStudies focused on learning experiences have clarified the concept of education in higher education, particularly in Portugal, but few have elucidated about virtual environments on academic achievement and feelings of competence of students as they learn. On the assumption that academic success is influenced not only by the power of learning but also the way students perceive themselves, and that these factors predict their subsequent success, we've relied on national studies concerning self- concept of competence of students. The main issue was to situate the self-concept of competence of university students into new virtual learning environments through online methods of teaching.This research involved 278 higher education students enrolled in classes for courses in Social Sciences which was introduced a novel approach, with education mediated by web tools, and then appraised on their perception and self-concept of competence. We rely on the Self-Concept of Competence Scale, having adapted all 31 items to online environments. The main findings indicate that the students had high perceptions of their self-concept level of competence. The results suggest therefore that the application of online pedagogical models, may have a very positive impact on self-concept of competence of students in higher education, even in social dimensions