Research skills in initial teacher education. A case study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION As a way to improve educational systems, it is necessary good prepare teachers in research, so that they can effectively consume the scientific production in their professional field and so that they themselves can become social researchers and innovators. In order to complement the research that is being carried out on the subject in Spain and Ibero America, this work focuses on the curriculum of initial teacher training in Primary Education grades, and the developing research skills. It aims to characterize the study plans according to their orientation and curricular organization and to evaluate their functionality, as a dimension of educational quality. METHOD The content of the curricula of three Peruvian universities, selected by non-probabilistic sampling of homogeneous cases and for convenience, is analyzed through a qualitative approach of open coding with Atlas.ti 9. RESULTS It is obtained a higher prevalence of procedural developments and evidence of coherence between the organization of the contents and the professional profile, which in turn reflects a favorable response to social demands and expectations, which constitutes an indicator of program quality. Spaces for improvement are detected, such as the fact that the three universities dedicate a low percentage of subjects to the development of research skills, despite being a guiding axis of their structure and being included in the graduate profile as an option for professional performance. DISCUSSION In line with what has been provided by the research in this context, improvement strategies are suggested, such as drawing links with other subjects, of statistical or computer resources, which could increase the impact of these competencies in the curricula.