Effectiveness of an academic empowerment program in the development of research skills in undergraduate students of a public university in Peru

Abstract

The university is fundamental for the formation of academic competencies, where teachers play a crucial role in the development of research skills in students. The objective of the study was to determine the effectiveness of an academic empowerment program in the development of research skills in undergraduate students of the Professional School of Physical Education of the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano in 2024. The study was applied and used a pre-experimental design. The population consisted of 441 students, from which a non-probabilistic sample of 25 (6 females and 19 males, with an average age of 22.18 ± 3.56 years) was selected. The technique used was observation. The instruments were the empowerment program and a research skills questionnaire, with a Cronbach alpha reliability of 0.89. Pre- and post-tests were applied to the experimental group. The results showed a significant change in the levels of investigative skills. In the pretest, 48% of the students were at the low level, 52% at the medium level, and 0% at the high level. In the posttest, 0% remained at the low level, 16% at the medium level, and 84% reached the high level. The t-test for paired samples showed a value of p < 0.00 with a confidence level of 95%, evidencing significant differences. It is concluded that the academic empowerment program has significant effects on the development of research skills, as evidenced by the mean differences obtained.