The impact of active methodologies in academic results: A case study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine whether the application of active teaching methods during the primary education stage impacts the pupils' academic performance in the early stages of secondary education. To do so, we used a quantitative research model and an almost experimental design to compare the results of first-year secondary-school pupils who had completed primary education at two different schools in the same geographical region of Majorca, thereby limiting outside variables: in the first school, active methods have always been used, while in the second, traditional methodologies are applied. All pupils from both schools attend the same secondary school, the only one in the area. According to the results, obtained by studying data from both schools from the last six years, done to ensure an adequate sequence and to neutralise the individual characteristics of each group of pupils, there are no statistically significant differences between the academic results from both schools. These findings show that the use of active methodologies in primary education is in no way detrimental to the academic performance of pupils who then go on to follow a traditional methodology in the first year of secondary education.