Basic skills and university success: an analysis of the difficulties faced by teacher students
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Abstract
Aiming at contributing to the discussion on the increasing number of early leavers from education and on the difficulties met by many students in their university programs, we present data on basic argumentative, linguistic and mathematical skills of Primary Education Sciences students. Students’ difficulties are often referred to, but detailed data on these difficulties are not easy to find. Believing that an overview of the problem is essential for developing strategies to address it, we analyze outcomes of a series of activities conducted for students with Additional Educational Needs. These activities are structured around the key consideration that argumentation is at the core of the skills and abilities required for university study. The development of argumentative skills is addressed in a joint transdisciplinary approach that combines linguistics and mathematics in order to enhance the common aspects beyond the differences related to the various disciplinary fields.
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