Paula Alvarez: “The first step in developing an innovative mentality is to understand that we are able to generate new ideas”
Paula Alvarez: “The first step in developing an innovative mentality is to understand that we are able to generate new ideas”
Paula Alvarez: “The first step in developing an innovative mentality is to understand that we are able to generate new ideas”
The international dissertation “Exploring student perceptions towards innovation in relation to the academic and social context,” defended by Paula Avarez on the Eskoriatza campus last July, earned the cum laude designation. We spoke with the author about her research.
On June 30, Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences researcher Paula Alvarez (Oviedo, Asturias. 1980) defended her doctoral dissertation, “Exploring student perceptions towards innovation in relation to the academic and social context.” The event was held online. We asked Paula Alvarez about her research, which earned the cum laude designation.
How would you summarize the central theme of your dissertation?
In this study, we explored the perceptions that university students have about their ability to innovate. We also analyzed the capacity that certain types of contexts and educational environments can have to influence those perceptions.
Why is the perception that students have about innovation important?
Innovation, or the ability to implement new ideas, and transform them into values for others, is a skill that is necessary in order to tackle the complex social changes we’re experiencing. It is relevant to analyze the perception that students have about their ability to innovate, since the first step in developing an innovative mentality is to understand that we are able to generate new ideas, implement them, and persevere in the face of difficulties. That’s why the differences that we have found in students’ perceptions of their ability to innovate are significant, in terms of both gender and branch of knowledge.
How do you measure the students’ “perception”?
There’s a certain tendency to associate innovation with business development, which makes it difficult to analyze the innovative competence of students in educational contexts. It has also been pointed out that this limited partnership of innovation with the business world tends to be gender biased. Therefore, given the need to consider innovation from a more inclusive perspective and as a skill to develop in educational contexts, in this doctoral dissertation we propose a new definition of the innovative mentality and we built a model to analyze students’ perceptions of their ability to innovate.
What sample did you use in your research?
Almost all the students who participated in this study were enrolled in different degree programs at Mondragon University. However, in order to make the sample more representative, we extended our data collection to other territories and educational contexts. Data were collected over a period of three academic years, 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, and the sample size was 2,300 people.
Your dissertation is international. What was your work process like?
During the dissertation, I had the opportunity to start a research residency at the Center for Postsecondary Research in the College of Education at Indiana University. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, my in-person residency was interrupted. However, I was fortunate to be able to continue the residency virtually and collaborate with researchers from Indiana University on various projects, a collaboration that is still active and that made it possible for this dissertation to earn the international designation.
What new lines of work have you opened with your research?
In the dissertation, I highlight the need to work in the future with longitudinal and mixed designs in order to understand how student perceptions evolve throughout their degree program. I believe that the use of these types of designs is necessary, not only to understand the university experience, but also to enrich it. In addition, the incorporation of an ethical dimension and the adoption of a culture of collaboration and cooperation are key in innovative processes. Therefore, exploring the cooperative identity of the student body would make it possible to identify additional relevant variables in the analysis of their innovative development. Future research could examine other variables that are also relevant in relation to innovation, such as openness to diversity and critical thinking.
Finally, the use of intersectional approaches, which take the students’ gender identity and ethnic culture into account, as well as socioeconomic variables, could substantially improve our knowledge and provide critical ideas on how to foster an innovative mentality in the whole student body.
During the process of writing your dissertation, was there anything that particularly surprised you?
Perhaps I would highlight the process of publishing scientific articles. During my time as a doctoral student, I came to realize how arduous the publication process is and how important it is to take care in deciding what, how and where you want to publish. I am also more aware now of the real need to reflect together on the suitability of the current model of scientific dissemination.