Multidisciplinary educational projects and service to the community

Abstract

This paper relates an experience carried out at a higher education setting, specifically involving 3rd-year students in the Early Childhood Education degree programme. In relation to this, the paper presents an educational model that takes into account the need to develop ethical and social competences and gives importance to interdisciplinary education in real contexts. To this aim, all the academic modules that form part of this degree programme devote 25% of their teaching time and evaluation to the development of an interdisciplinary project. This paper will describe one of these projects, entitled "Solve a real problem", the design of which is informed by service-learning and problem-based learning methodologies. The students, as a team, develop their projects, throughout the course, in a unique educational action setting, in a socially vulnerable environment, receiving training in successful educational practices and collaborating with the community.