Abstract:

In Catalonia, the baccalaureate curriculum (post-compulsory or upper secondary education – level 3 in the International Standard Classification of Education framework) includes the preparation of a research project (RP) with the aim of developing research competence and scientific literacy. This competence includes the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are deployed to answer relevant questions or solve authentic problems through research. Students need to develop research competence—together with scientific literacy—to respond to the challenges that they will face in their personal and professional lives as people, workers and citizens and to pursue higher education, if they wish.

Although there is abundant literature on the development of research competence in different educational stages both in Spain and internationally, few studies focus exclusively on the RP, probably due to its specificity and their autonomic nature. In addition, studies about the RP during the Covid-19 health crisis are non-existent, due to the novelty of the situation.

Our main objective was to identify the implications of Covid-19 for the process of preparing an RP, taking students’ perceptions into account. Therefore, and keeping in mind the novelty and emergence of the object of study, we administered an ad-hoc questionnaire to 82 students in the second (final) year of the bachillerato (N=82), selected by non-probabilistic sampling.

The results indicate that the health crisis caused by Covid-19 has had implications for how students carried out the RP, especially in planning, data collection and fieldwork; their motivation towards the RP; and their relationship with their supervisors. However, these effects were quite unequal across the student body, suggesting a strong interrelationship with structural, contextual and personal aspects, such as socioeconomic situation; the digital divide; digital competence; social, cultural and emotional capital; and the nature of the research. These findings urge us to pay special attention to the educational response that schools give to the RP in this exceptional situation, especially if we consider its importance (the RP is worth 10% of the final baccalaureate grade) and its unique properties within this educational stage.

Keywords:

Baccalaureate (ISCED 3), research project (RP), research competence, Covid-19.