Transformation in economic studies via problem-based learning: facing fears to acquire professional skills

ABSTRACT Over the last 40 years, the learning process in university studies has gradually shifted from a teacher-centered approach to a student-centered approach. Economic and Business studies are a suitable sector for active teaching-methodologies such as Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and it is becoming popular in business programmes. Nevertheless, they cause students stress. The aim of this work is to study the fears that PBL produces in students and the perception whether it is worthwhile to overcome them in view of their professional development. It is applied to a Faculty of Economics and Business in order to detect the main factors that influence the success of PBL. One of the conclusions is that the main cause that hinders PBL materialization is the difficulty that students find in making their opinions known in the classroom. So, it is necessary to offer teachers educational programs for learning emotional methods to face those fears to successfully develop PBL among students.