Implementation of URACCAN's Institutional Values in the academic training process at the Bilwi Campus, Nicaragua

Abstract

In the context of Higher Education, values education is a fundamental pillar for the comprehensive development of professionals and the building of more just and humanistic societies. Universities, in this sense, assume a key role in promoting and practicing ethical principles that guide individual and collective behavior. This study analyzes the implementation of the institutional values of the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast (URACCAN) in the academic training process at the Bilwi campus. Its main objective was to describe and analyze the practice of these values by faculty and students, as well as to propose methodological strategies for their strengthening. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach, with a descriptive and cross-sectional scope. Data collection techniques such as observation and semi-structured interviews were employed, involving authorities, faculty, and students as primary sources of information. The results demonstrate that URACCAN, through its philosophical framework, curriculum, pedagogical model, and institutional plan, promotes values education. The faculty, for the most part, demonstrate theoretical knowledge and commitment to teaching and practicing values, although they exhibit limitations in their comprehensive understanding of the institutional philosophical framework. In contrast, students show weaknesses in both conceptual knowledge and practical application of values. The strategies most frequently used by faculty include reflections, dialogues, motivational phrases, and participatory activities, although these prove insufficient for deep and sustained appropriation. It is concluded that, despite an institutional and faculty effort to promote values, gaps persist in their effective appropriation, especially among students and a minority of faculty. In response, the implementation of more dynamic, participatory, and contextualized methodological strategies is proposed to strengthen the internalization and practice of institutional values within the university community.