Plastics: a literature review in science education (2010-2019)

Abstract

Although plastics form part of everything that surrounds us due to their excellent properties, they also represent an environmental problem that requires an educational response. This paper presents an exploratory and descriptive study of the educational research published in this field, both nationally and internationally, over the past decade using the PRISMA declaration for systematic reviews. The analysis was performed using a selection of journals with confirmed quality indices in science education (six Spanish and four international). For each study, the authorship, nature (research or innovation), plastics-related content, educational level (infant, primary, secondary or university), methodology used (quantitative, qualitative or mixed) and teaching focus (propedeutic or competence-based) were analysed. The review shows that such studies are in the minority in the literature analysed, not exceeding 3.4% nationally or 2.3% internationally, with educational research accounting for the majority of studies. With regard to the content covered, the composition and properties of plastics predominate, with studies related to environmental awareness or solutions to the problem, which are considered to be key, receiving relatively little attention. It is also seen that the authorship of non-university teachers is relatively low and that qualitative methodologies are used most often. Moreover, the transmission of content rather than competence-based teaching predominates. The above suggests that the problem of plastics remains a challenge in teaching.

Key words: plastics, literature review, educational research, educational innovation