Abstract

MARTIN-GARCIA, Jorge  and  DIES ALVAREZ, María Eugenia. What drives in-service teachers to participate in non-formal Science activities?. Educ. quím [online]. 2022, vol.33, n.4, pp.179-191.  Epub Dec 13, 2022. ISSN 0187-893X.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fq.18708404e.2022.4.0.80045.

Non-formal science activities have become valued environments to complement and improve formal learning, as they offer broad possibilities to meet science education needs. However, their potential is not fully exploited, maybe because they have not been studied as much as more formal education. For that reason, it is necessary to get to know what teachers need and expect from non-formal environments in order to improve how they are designed.

This paper describes a study which provides insight into teachers' reasons for participating in a non-formal school crystal-growing competition, named Concurso de Cristalización en la Escuela. Qualitative analysis drawn from educators' responses to an open-ended questionnaire reveals eight main categories in which their reasons to take part in the activity may be classified. These results allow researchers to interpret educator's beliefs and to gain a deeper comprehension of the different motives that drive them to take part in non-formal activities. Finally, the answers also reveal those characteristics of the contest that are more valued by the educators, providing some evidence that they consider the contest to be a highly enriching experience both for them and for their students.

Keywords : Crystallography; non-formal education; science education; teachers’ perceptions.