The Orthography as a Quality Factor in Higher Education. Data for a Reflection

Resumen

It is becoming increasingly evident that spelling problems have settled at the university and that higher education students show little interest in alleviating them, let alone eradicating them. All their academic writings (exams, papers, emails, forums or messages through virtual platforms, etc.) are full of spelling mistakes. When an academic degree leads to professional teaching (preschool, primary or secondary) the problem becomes even more serious because if the benchmark fails, the level of exigencies that children and young people can be asked is at risk. This evidence is not associated with specific geographic areas or university campuses, but it is a characteristic, unfortunately negative, of the second millennium university student. A comparative study carried out in three such different contexts as the Universities of Málaga, Extremadura and Valladolid, among the second-year students of Degree in Primary Education in the respective Faculties of Education, confirm similar, repeated and very abundant spelling errors, which also verify a low level of vocabulary. Accent errors, H-use, S/X or Y/LL confusions, or spelling difficulties, so common in primary levels, characterize the spelling profile of university students, a consequence of their inattention and lack of interest, rather than of ignorance of grammar rules. By contrast, the lecturers are stunned by this reality. The reflection and self-analysis of mistakes made by students can contribute to their decline.