Summary/Abstract

The Project for the undergraduate degree, Plan for academic reinforcement for the management of academic reinforcement, has derived in the present article, which focuses on academic reinforcement since during the Pre-professional Practice (PP) of the National University of Education (UNAE) carried out in the Educational Unit (U.E.) “Herlinda Toral” the participant observation and analysis of institutional documents were carried out obtaining as a result a pedagogical situation that requires attention. The pedagogical situation is stated in the Institutional Self-evaluation of the Institutional Educational Project (PEI) in the pedagogical dimension, in the process of academic reinforcement, which expresses textually that: “the institution has reinforcement plans for students who have less than 7/10 in the different subjects, but these have been effective in less than 79% of the benefited students” (School Government of the Educational Unit “Herlinda Toral”, 2017, p.18).

In other words, there are 21% of students with low academic performance who do not achieve the required learning even after the support classes received, since a grade lower than 7/10 represents that the student is close to achieving the required learning (Ministry of Education, 2017). Thus, the research question arises: What is the need for the application of an Institutional Improvement Plan in the management of academic reinforcement for the development of Performance-Driven Skills (DCD)? Consequently, it is proposed as an ideal contribution to this situation to apply an institutional improvement plan focused on the management of academic reinforcement for the development of skills with performance criteria for students who do not achieve the required learning.

Next, the theoretical framework for the fundamental pillars of research is established. The theoretical references helped to delimit the concept, phases and components of the Improvement Plan, as well as, the concept of academic reinforcement, its own actions and the pertinent methodological strategies for it.

The Improvement Plan is an instrument that allows the planning of actions that address the weaknesses found in the Institutional Self-Evaluation and then move on to the implementation and evaluation of actions with the aim of improving the quality of educational programs (Ahumada et al., 2011; Arnaiz et al., 2015; Barrera et al., 2017; Marín et al., 2017; Ministry of Public Administration of the Dominican Republic, 2017; Ministry of Education of Ecuador, 2012).

The Improvement Plan is developed in several phases, part of the formation of the work team, then there is the phase of identification of the pedagogical situation, which is the object of improvement of the Plan to plan actions based on it. Next is the implementation phase that goes hand in hand with the evaluation of each of the actions. Finally, to conclude the process, there is the phase of socializing the results of the Plan’s implementation to the educational community (Garcia, 2019; Arnaiz et al., 2015; Barrera et al., 2017; Ministry of Public Administration of the Dominican Republic, 2017).

In relation to the concept of academic reinforcement, this is a set of methodological strategies that are developed with the purpose of strengthening, consolidating and enriching the learnings of the students. It is aimed at students who have various difficulties in the ordinary teaching-learning process (Boix, Gil, Martín, & Vázquez, 2005; Francesc, 2012; Longás, Civís, & Riera, 2013; Ministry of Education of Ecuador, 2017; Montserrat, Gisbert, & Isus, 2007; Oliva, 2015). The application of reinforcement classes requires the use of methodological strategies, which can be individualized academic reinforcement, group academic reinforcement, peer help, learning through the use of technology, and homework (Ministry of Education of Ecuador, 2017; Oliva, 2015).

Consequently, the research methodology is framed in a social-critical paradigm supported by participatory action research. The approach used for the research is mixed in nature because quantitative data collection instruments were applied through the survey and qualitative data through an open question for teachers to describe their experiences in the application of academic reinforcement. In short, it allowed a diagnosis of the reality of the E.U. in terms of the methodological strategies that are used in greater and lesser percentages and, those that have given better learning results to teachers and students.

The application and assessment of the Improvement Plan, allows us to conclude that, the percentage of effectiveness of the same, does not show a great change in relation to the percentage obtained in the Institutional Self-Assessment, however, the Improvement Plan takes into consideration the methodological strategies that have given better learning results to the students and contributes to the development of collaborative and participative processes of the educational community. Besides, the Improvement Plan contributes to the delimitation of the sequence of actions for the management of the academic reinforcement, in which the E.U., both directors and teachers, can base and apply it in all the grades and courses since in the present investigation the effectiveness ‘only in the 9th “A” of EGB is valued.

Publication date: November 2019.

Description: Editorial Cuenca, Ecuadorian Association for the Promotion of Educational Research (AsEFIE).

ISBN: 978-9942-8808-0-2.

Link: http://dspace.ucuenca.edu.ec/handle/123456789/34211

How to cite (APA Sixth edition): 

Ortega-Ochoa, E., & Taquez Taquez, A. (2019). Management of academic reinforcement for the development of skills with performance criteria. In Aguilar D., Cobos, M., Cortés, L. & Campozano, E. (comp.). La Investigación Educativa en un Mundo en Constante Transformación (pp. 81 – 102). Editorial Cuenca.