A SWOT ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH PROJECTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL: THE MENINAS PROJECT II

Science plays an important role in our society. However, the dedication time to the scientific matters in secondary schools have been reduced in the last few years. This could have a negative impact in the students to choose scientific matters in the high grades of secondary schools, and finally to study scientific and technical disciplines in the University. The new educational trends to design and development of Curriculum of Basic Education try to implement some innovative methodologies based in active paper of students and the introduction of new pedagogic tools among them Science projects. Science projects and specially, research projects, could be an important innovative approach to develop the most fundamental and transversal competences of curricula and to connect contents with everyday problems. In fact research projects could be a stimulus for the students to develop some scientific traits and to catch the attention of scientific disciplines in the University. In secondary school science projects and specially research projects are scarcely implanted. In this study we conducted a SWOT (Strength-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) analysis to evaluate the implementation of research projects on several secondary schools of Bizkaia province in the Basque Country (Spain).

We analyzed among other fields the appropriate scientific formation of teachers, scientific contents and methodologies, motivation aspects in students and teachers, and intra- and interrelationship among educational communities. For this study several research and educational agents (the research group -EKOFISKO of the University of the Basque Country, the Innovation and Educational Center Getxo-Berritzegune, and 3 Centers of Secondary School involving 14 teachers and 290 students in the influence area of the Getxo Berritzegune. We design a research project (The Meninas Project II) and the experimental part could be done by the teacher and students in the classroom along a week. We create the materials (for teachers and students) and give the basic formation to teachers in order to work the basic competences of the curriculum.

Our results indicate a moderate acceptance by teachers of research projects as innovation methodologies to develop and accomplish the competences of curriculum as a multidisciplinary activity. In spite of the advantages to achieve a better scientific culture in pre-university period though science projects, numerous and heterogeneous groups, disconnection with research groups, traditional teaching, etc. limits the motivation and implementation of these innovative approaches. Some of these limitations can be overcome by convergence of several educational and research agents. In this way University groups could transfer some of the scientific research culture and the Innovation and Educational Centers plays an very important role to track and give support to the teachers to implement research projects in secondary schools.