DIGITAL LIBRARY
SECONDARY SCHOOL PROFILE IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY VERSUS THE FIRST YEAR AT THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MADRID. CAUSE OF FAILURE OR QUITTING?
Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (SPAIN)
About this paper:
Appears in: INTED2012 Proceedings
Publication year: 2012
Pages: 5828-5831
ISBN: 978-84-615-5563-5
ISSN: 2340-1079
Conference name: 6th International Technology, Education and Development Conference
Dates: 5-7 March, 2012
Location: Valencia, Spain
Abstract:
The aim of this article focuses on the analysis of the subjects that allow students in high school to develop a technological profile, which, at the time of enrolment in the technical universities, does not exactly match with the contents of the Programs of the engineering degree, causing a potential cause of absence, failure or desertion in their studies after the introduction of the European Higher Education Area.

MANAGEMENT OF HIGH SCHOOL LESSONS

In the Community of Madrid, following the Education Act (Ley Orgánica de Educación), secondary education is structured in two courses with a range of common subjects, three curricular-mode and one optative. The curricular-mode assignments are distributed along three routes: 1) Plastic arts, image design, music and dance. 2) Humanities and Social Sciences. 3) Science and Technology, which this analysis focuses in. The subjects of Science and Technology in both courses of High School are:

First year: Biology and geology, Technical Drawing I, Physics and Chemistry, Mathematics I, Industrial Technology I, Economics I
Second year: Biology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Technical Drawing II, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics II, Chemistry, Industrial Technology II, Economics II

As mentioned above, three curricular-mode and an optative in both courses are chosen, making a total of four subjects contained in the table above per course.

MANAGEMENT IN THE FIRST DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND TERRITORIAL

Considering the Program of the Grade in Civil Engineering and Master in Civil Engineering (Caminos, Canales y Puertos) at the Technical University of Madrid, the contents of the first course in each semester at the Grade are structured according to the following content:

First semester: Calculus I, Linear algebra and analytic geometry, Business Management, Computers, Graphic Expression
Second semester:Calculus II, Statistics and Optimization, Physics of Materials, Chemistry of Materials, Graphic Design

In second year (third and fourth semester), you can find subjects such as Geology or Electrical Engineering, whose profile, existing in High School, can not be attended due to the constraints of the model 3 + 1. Besides, due to this criterion, many of our students have not been able to attend in a complete way (both parts I and II) disciplines such as Chemistry or Technical Drawing in High School, finding in the first year of University with the problem that entails for its human impact, to an additional load of disorientation. Is this the cause of absence, failure or desertion?. The statistics of the first two years of Grade implementation gives us a first solution to the problem.
Keywords:
Secondary school, grade, civil engineering.