Abstract:

Within the framework of the European Higher Education Area, important changes have been made at the university level in the curricula and teaching-learning methodology. In this context, this research used the Project-Based Learning (PBL) as a teaching-learning methodology to achieve three main objectives:
1) to determine the work carried out by different educational agents (schools, social agents, and public institutions) to address social diversity;
2) to promote collaboration between the University and various social agents favoring an inclusive school;
3) to publicize the initiatives or appropriate practices proposed by the different social agents to meet the challenges of inclusive education and reflect on them in collaboration with these agents.

59 students, 13 social agents, and 6 teachers participated in the project. The participating students majored in Special Education in the Degree of Early Childhood Education and Primary Education in the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU); 52 were female and 7 male, with a mean age of 22 years (SD = 1.35; range 21-29). Students were assigned randomly to workgroups of 5-6 people, choosing from a list provided by the social agent with whom they wanted to collaborate during the entire school year. The students had to collect general information about the selected social agent and his or her scope of work, conduct an interview with him/her, design and edit a short film that showed the social agent’s work supporting diversity and the inclusive school, and direct the discussion after the screening of the short film in front of an audience made up of collaborating social agents, classmates, and University Faculty. The qualitative and quantitative data collected after the experience indicate that the students valued project very positively, and it obtained a medium-high score on the test-type questionnaire designed ad hoc to assess the competences derived from the objectives of the research. In conclusion, it should be noted that, according to the students' suggestions, improvements will be made in the project with a view to future editions, and it will follow in the same line in order to increase student's preparation and job placement.

Keywords:

Educational innovation, project-based learning, higher education, pre-service teachers, social agents, collaboration.