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TopIntroduction
This investigation begins from the formulation of the following question, what happens to the communication between the external tutors at the practicum center and the organizing center? In general, the studies focus on the existing communication between students and academic tutors. This is an important issue because external internships represent a prominent part in the curricula of vocational training, in general, and sports technicians in the case of study in a particular. The novelty of this research is in the approach to the existing communication between the external tutors and the organizing centers, considering the vision that they have the first of the existing relation. It revolves around three important elements, external practices, e-learning courses and communication that as such do not mean much originality, but if the fact of the interrelationship between the two concepts and the approach that is made from a point of view hardly ever considered: external tutors.
The aim of the research presented in this article is to approach relative aspects of the current communication between the organizing center and the external tutors at the practicum centers; and, it aims to find out what are the means used for communication between the institution and external tutors. What type of communication there is? Which means are used? What are the needs and contributions that, from these tutors´ points of view, are given in relation to the organizing center? All of these questions should be related to distance learning. This training is increasing in the number of students, in the number of centers and each time used by active professionals for their training lifelong learning, especially in the university environment (Poulin & Straut, 2016). This research is carried out in the courses organized by the Royal Spanish Skating Federation under the distance modality to train the future sports technicians and to focuses on describing the communication established in the coordination of the courses and the external tutors of practices.
Thus, within the framework of distance learning an e-learning, the following research objectives were considered:
- 1.
To find out more about the communication between the organising center and the external tutors at the practicum center of the e-learning courses; and
- 2.
To establish some guiding principles with the information given by the external tutors, for the future elaboration of an action plan meant to facilitate communication between the organising center and the external tutors at the prácticum center.
TopTheoretical Background And Literature Review
The almost null existence of studies related to the training of sports technicians. The link with external tutors and practicums means that the following literature review is carried out around the university environment and vocational education. The latter is an equivalence to sports technician degrees.
External Practice
External practice are important in the initial training of different studies because they have become an essential element. It’s the bridge between the academia and the labour market (Tejada, 2015). The external tutor is responsible for the first contact with the professional world (Méndez, 2011).
That is why this research is limited to studies carried out at the university level and in vocational education. There is a double control in both educational stages. First, from the university itself, indirectly, and second, from the internship center with much more direct supervision of student learning and training (Olmos et al., 2019; Zabalza, 2016). The control from the educational centers is established from telephone calls to the external tutors, visits the practices centers and meetings with the students in the practice centers. This relationship between both entities is relevant for the formation of future teachers because they contribute to the connection between theory and practice, as long as tutors from both centres share the same criteria (Onrubia et al., 2017).