Resumen del proyecto
The educational attainment levels of the Spanish population reflect a strong polarisation characterised by the insufficiency of people with intermediate education (ISCED 3-4) and a high number of people with a low educational level (ISCED 0-2). The Spanish Early leaving from education and training (ELET) rate stood at 17.9% in 2018, rate above the European Union (EU) average (10.6%) and far from the Europe 2020 Strategy objective.
On the other hand, the percentage of participation in Vocational Education and Training (VET) out of the total number of students in upper secondary education is 35% compared with the 48% for the EU and the 46% for the OECD. In turn, drop-out rates at these training levels are high, so the data obtained in the project Success and dropout pathways in vocational training educational system levels 1 and 2 (EDU2013-42854-R) shows it.
In this context, the increase in participation and qualification rates at basic VET (BVET) and Intermediate VET (IVET) contributes to the reduction of ELET by providing greater possibilities of access and permanence in the labour market. Numerous studies also indicate that a greater engagement between students and teachers decreases the number of students who drop out while at the same time contributing to an improvement in academic results. At the same time, recent research confirms the influence of the teaching styles and pedagogical practices on the development of students' engagement as well as on academic achievement and the prevention of ELET.
The project that we present delves into this subject, focusing on the analysis of teaching styles and pedagogical practices in secondary VET and its influence on improving the students' academic achievement and the prevention of early leaving from vocational education (ELET).
Therefore, the project general objectives are:
(1) To obtain new knowledge on the characteristics of teaching styles and pedagogical practices, as well as their relationship with academic results and the prevention of early leaving in vocational secondary education (BVET and IVET).
(2) To establish the characteristics of successful practices in BVET and IVET on the basis of scientific evidence derived from the study of teaching styles and pedagogical practices of teachers, and their relationship with educational outcomes.
(3) To promote the generalization of successful pedagogical practices to reduce drop-out in vocational secondary education (BVET and IVET).
In order to achieve these objectives, the project is structured in two phases: a first descriptive-explicative phase in which the teaching styles and pedagogical practices and their influence on the students’ academic results will be identified and analysed. A second phase, implementation and transfer, in which successful practices will be developed in two educational centres as a strategy for the prevention of ELET for its subsequent transfer to other educational centres. For the execution of the research, a mixed methodological perspective is adopted that includes elements of the quantitative and qualitative.
The results obtained will allow us to provide evidences, strategies and instruments that contribute to the improvement of existing knowledge about teaching styles and teachers’ pedagogical practices and their relationship with the students’ academic results as well as the transfer of successful pedagogical tools and practices for the prevention and reduction of early leaving from education and training.