sustainability

Article
Project-Based Learning through Information and
Communications Technology and the Curricular
Inclusion of Social Problems Relevant to the Initial
Training of Infant School Teachers
Delfín Ortega-Sánchez 1, * and Alfredo Jiménez-Eguizábal 2
1 Department of Specific Didactics, Faculty of Education, University of Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain
2 Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Education, University of Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain;
[email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +34-947-111-832




Received: 7 October 2019; Accepted: 11 November 2019; Published: 13 November 2019


Abstract: Project-based learning (PBL) is considered to be one of the most highly valued methods in
the development and acquisition of competencies at all educational levels. From an interdisciplinary
and collaborative focus, pupils acquire knowledge and skills through investigative tasks, with a
view to responding to a problem or challenge, in the form of a final product. The methodological
implementation of PBL in specific teacher-training contexts is especially useful for curricular inclusion
and the didactic treatment of relevant contemporary social problems and socially alive questions.
In this investigation, the assessment of the perceived learning of a group of infant-education teacher
trainees (n = 59), following a teacher-training program on social problems, is analyzed. The program
is designed on the basis of the principal methodologies of PBL and the operational integration
of information and communications technology (ICT) (WebQuests). The study begins with the
pre-experimental quantitative designs of a cross-cutting prospective nature with a control group.
The results provide information on the special didactic potential of active methodologies, including
PBL, for the creative development of thought processes and the acquisition of social competencies
and good citizenship in relation to social problems on interdisciplinary curricular projects for infant
education. Likewise, it is evident that PBL methodology through ICT facilitates the acquisition of
technological competencies, linked to the development of social and communicative competencies, as
well as cooperative–collaborative work.

Keywords: project-based learning; social problems; infant education; teacher training; WebQuests

1. Introduction
Assessed as one of the active student-centered methodologies [1] and the acquisition of
competencies, project-based learning (PBL) encourages higher levels of responsibility from pupils
and students, who will have to manage their projects and problem-solving in work groups [2].
This methodology begins with constructivist principles, according to which the pupil builds knowledge
through personal experience [3]. The learning results arise from a problem-solving oriented process,
the end-purpose of learning, proposed at the outset when this methodology is implemented. From an
interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, the students acquire knowledge and skills through
investigative tasks, with a view to providing a response to the problem or challenge before them in the
form of a final product [4–6].
Despite the unequal application of those methodological principles in higher education [7], their
general guidelines consider the use of problems for knowledge construction, self-directed learning,

Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370; doi:10.3390/su11226370 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability

Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370 2 of 14

student-centered teaching, group activity of the students, and the acceptance by the teacher of the role
of animator rather than transmitter [8]. This methodological model seeks to align different curricular
and educational elements in a coherent and integrated manner, such as competencies and objectives,
the teaching design of the project, evaluation, materials, and student expectations [9,10]. The projects
upon which the methodology is based follow PBL principles, understood as a model of teaching and
learning in which “the students, actively and with a very clear personal intention, investigate their
environment, form ideas and concepts around it, try to understand it, form opinions of it and act
upon it” [11] (p. 46).
Among the specific PBL proposals in higher education, the following may be mentioned [12]
(pp. 94–95): development of skills for problem-solving, both in the acquisition and the application
of knowledge in different situations; development of critical thought, and the capability to analyze
and to resolve complex real-world problems; development of skills for research, evaluation, and the
use of appropriate learning resources; development of skills, values, and attitudes for collaborative
work in teams and small groups; and, the development of skills for independent, self-directed, and
permanent learning.
One of the strategies that best integrates the methodological principles of PBL is WebQuest (WQ).
It is also the most useful in the development and acquisition of social and communicative competencies,
critical and creative thought, and digital-teaching competencies [13]. Its designer, Bernie Dodge,
describes it as an investigative activity in which the information with which the students interact arises
totally or partially from Internet resources [14]. It could be affirmed that it is a guided learning unit,
which consists of the development of varied sorts of tasks (investigation, analysis, etc.), completed
on the basis of consulting websites previously selected by the teacher [15], or a guided learning
strategy by discovery that is developed by students, using the resources of the World Wide Web,
which integrates “the principles of constructivist learning, project-based learning teaching and web
navigation to develop the curriculum with a group of students in an ordinary classroom [16].
WQ proposes a feasible, significant, and attractive task for students from a problematized proposal
and an activity-based process, directed toward information processing (analysis, synthesis, creation,
evaluation, etc.) for its solution [17]. Its design and application should be capable of promoting
the development of cognitive skills of a higher order, transforming information into knowledge in a
cooperative–collaborative manner. According to Dodge, one possible taxonomy of tasks contemplates
activities relating to self-knowledge, science, judgement, design, mystery, analytics, compilation, and
consensus, among others.
The selection of web resources by the teacher saves time that would otherwise be invested in
their localization by the pupils, so as to prioritize the use, treatment, processing, and subsequent
transformation of the information, after following up an inquiry/investigation process directed at
developing critical thought, decision-making, and creativity, which are defining elements of PBL.
The WQ strategy offers multiple advantages for a functional integration of ICT in the
infant-education classroom, and for the development of social competencies and learning-to-learn,
cooperative–collaborative work and student creativity. In that sense, the implementation of WQ in work
plans based on PBL is especially valid for the didactic treatment and curricular inclusion of relevant
social problems and socially alive questions in infant and primary education [13,18]. This inclusion
and didactic treatment of social problems from the early educational stages constitutes one of the
most recognized teaching and research concerns in the scientific field of geographical, historical, and
social education [19,20]. The acquisition of social and citizen competences, based on the development
of critical and creative social-thinking skills, implies the approximation and understanding of the
complexity of social reality for participation and intervention, in a critical and responsible way, in social
and environmental problems.
There are numerous studies that show the advantages of integrating ICT for learning social,
artistic–creative, and technological skills in early childhood education [21,22], as well as in training and
teachers’ professional development of this educational level [23–28]. Despite the known educational
Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370 3 of 14

value of the WQ and its usefulness in the operational and effective integration of ICT in education,
this strategy, located in certain teaching–learning models, such as the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical
Content Knowledge) model, continues to generate interest in higher education, and in the development
and acquisition of the digital competence of the future teachers [29], in particular, in the training for
the disciplinary field of social sciences (geography and history) [18,30].
From this scientific field, the 2016 International Declaration on Geographical Education highlights
the relevance of technologies in improving geographic education for sustainable development, stating
that those responsible for teaching geography need the best critical knowledge for the use of new
technologies and problem-based learning about relevant social issues and education of the future [31,32].
However, we agree with Agut, Ull, and Minguet [33] to identify the absence of specific curricular
contents and competencies aimed at sustainable development in early childhood education, as well as
its teacher-training deficiencies.
From this methodological perspective, the curricular inclusion and the didactic treatment of
social problems [34–37] are necessarily directed toward the initiation of the students in democratic
participation, the development of social thought [38], and the generation of a social conscience in
the teaching and learning of social sciences. In that sense, the acquisition of methodological and
professional competencies that constitute education in and for democratic citizenship is necessary [39].
Within the framework of education for sustainability and, therefore, of the dimensional integration
of sustainable development—social, cultural, economic, and environmental—the importance of this
initiation lies in the need for early education for citizen participation, including the values of justice,
tolerance, inclusion, solidarity, and cooperation [40–43].
Social problems, controversial topics, and socially alive questions are therefore presented as
indispensable elements for the integral development of civic- and citizenship-related competencies [44],
through their relations with the modeling of social thought [45,46]. The conversion of the social
conflict or problem into content offers an excellent educational opportunity [47,48] for the acquisition
of learning that is truly based on competencies with which to approach, in a responsible and committed
manner, contemporary social problems [19].
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
sustainable development seeks to find a means to solve today’s social and environmental problems
and learn to live sustainably. Both social and environmental problems, understood as human problems
of a social nature, constitute the explanatory core of education for sustainable development and
demonstrate their relevance in the field of social studies and geographic education, from the earliest
educational stages. According to Tonucci, “the child is a sensitive environmental indicator, and when
the child is well and can walk the streets of the city, it will mean that the city will have resumed its
natural function as a place of shared, cooperative, and solidarity experiences. This is a correct way
to propose sustainable development” [49] (p. 78). From this perspective, the social-science-teacher
training plans should respond to the conceptual interrelation between sustainable development and
participatory citizenship.
Two decades have passed since the Council of Europe included, within the framework of the
well-known Lisbon Strategy, the promotion of the concept of active citizenship and the learning
of values and democratic participation as educational objectives. To speak of education for citizen
participation or for the exercise of active citizenship implies reflecting on the way of teaching to
intervene, from commitment and responsibility, in relevant social problems or controversial issues.
Despite the progress made, the design of educational programs and practices specifically aimed at
treating social and environmental problems, as well as community intervention from the perspective
of active citizenship [41,50,51], continues to be necessary.
Understanding the teaching of social and human science disciplines as one of the priority curricular
spaces for the promotion of social values and the commitment to a global democratic citizenship,
education for sustainable development is presented as one of its fundamental axes. Precisely, the
UNESCO World Conference for Sustainable Development, held in Nagoya (Japan) in 2014, recalled the
Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370 4 of 14

necessary conceptual integration between education for development and global citizenship education,
in order to respond to the social problems [52].
In this context, the present research analyzes the evaluations that relate to the perceived learning of
a group of infant-education trainee teachers (n = 59) in the context of the methodological implementation
of PBL for the curricular inclusion and treatment of social problems through ICT and, in particular,
through WQ teaching designs. The following hypotheses are proposed:

Hypothesis 1 (H1): The students enrolled in the experimental group will perceive the existence of close didactic
relations between the methodological implementation of PBL and the development of creative thought and the
necessary social competencies for the didactic treatment of relevant social problems and socially alive questions.

Hypothesis 2 (H2): The evaluations of the students enrolled in the experimental group, who follow the
teaching program on ICT and social problems, will present higher scores than those of the control group for the
evaluation of the methodological implementation of PBL in the teaching and learning of social sciences and in
their initial training.

Hypothesis 3 (H3): The differences between the evaluations returned by the students in the experimental group
will be statistically significant with regard to the evaluations returned by the control group.

Hypothesis 4 (H4): The follow-up of the teaching program will show high size-effects between the evaluations
on the PBLt -ICT (project-based learning on social problems through ICT) scale produced by the experimental
group and by the control group.

2. Method

2.1. Participants
The sample comprised a total of 59 students (women: f = 49; 83.1%; men: f = 10; 16.9%), enrolled
in the third year of the Degree in Infant Education taught at the University of Burgos. The average age
of the students was 21.20 years (SD = 2.27).
Their selection was based on intentional criteria, so that the characteristics of the participants
would be adapted to the objectives of the investigation: enrolled on the study module ICT in the teaching
of Social Sciences, an optional third-year module (experimental group) and, alternatively, enrolled on an
optional module that is part of the same course and semester of the qualification (control group).

2.2. Instrument
The instrument of data collection consisted of a twelve-item questionnaire, designed ad hoc, with
a 5-point Likert-type scale, where 1 was totally in disagreement and 5 was totally in agreement; and
of two (nominal) categoric measurement items (sex and group). The preparation of the Project-based
learning on social problems through ICT (PBLt -ICT) began with the review of scientific literature and,
in particular, with the work of Ortega-Sánchez [13,53], and Ortega-Sánchez and Gómez-Trigueros [18].
Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to determine the reliability and the internal consistency of the
results and, the coefficient of composite reliability or omega coefficient, in view of the ordinal nature of
the variables of the Likert scale that was applied. The results of both tests returned satisfactory indices
(α = 0.908; ω = 0.936).
A PCA exploratory factor analysis and a varimax rotation were performed to test the validity of
the construct and the goodness of fit of the data. The type of factor rotation that was employed applied
the Kaiser criterion to eigenvalues greater than 1. The model identifies levels of correlation and the
theoretical relation between the variables under study, to reduce their number and to summarize the
data in accordance with the objective of the study.
Prior to the analysis, we examined the correlation/covariance matrix between the variables, with
the aim of establishing the matrix factorization possibilities, through the application of Bartlett’s
Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370 5 of 14

sphericity test and the Kaiser, Meyer, and Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy. The results of
the KMO test (0.771) and the sphericity test (χ2 (45) = 496.199; p < 0.000) indicated the adequacy of the
matrix to be factorized. The exploratory factor analysis identified three factors that explained 80.56% of
the total variance. Loads lower than a value of 0.4 were omitted for the validation of the scale (Table 1).

Table 1. Matrix of factor loads of the project-based learning through information and communications
technology (PBLt -ICT) scale.

Component
PBLt -ICT Scale
1 2 3
PBL facilitates the development and the acquisition of social competencies around
1 0.840 0.442
social problems ranging from cooperation to collaboration.
PBL facilitates the development and the acquisition of communicative competencies
2 0.831 0.438
ranging from cooperation to collaboration.
PBL drives the development of personal competencies (empathy) ranging from
3 0.818
cooperation to cooperation.
PBL and its articulation through ICT (WQ) facilitates the development and the
4 0.703 0.409
acquisition of technological competencies ranging from cooperation to collaboration.
PBL favors the development and the acquisition of higher-order cognitive skills in a
5 0.520 0.508
cooperative–collaborative way.
6 PBL promotes decision-making and solutions to social problems (creative thought). 0.876
7 PBL stimulates the development of critical thought upon relevant social problems. 0.844
PBL is useful in curricular inclusion and the didactic treatment of social problems
8 0.622 0.506
relevant to infant education.
The operational integration of the ICT (WQ) facilitates the transformation of digital
9 information handled by students into social knowledge, on the basis of the 0.922
methodological implementation of the ABP.
WQ permits a truly operational integration of the ICT in the teaching of social
10 0.487 0.683
sciences, on the basis of the methodological implementation of PBL.

The results confirmed the dimensional correspondence of the instrument with the three
following factors:
Factor 1. PBL, competencies and cooperative–collaborative work (5 items): the items linked with this
dimension highlight the contribution of the principle methodologies of the PBL to the development
and the acquisition of key (personal, social, communicative, and technological) competencies and
cognitive skills of a higher order, through the cooperation and the collaboration of the students.
Factor 2. PBL, social problems, and critical and creative thought (3 items): the items linked with
this dimension are oriented toward the potential didactic contributions of the PBL methodology for
curricular inclusion and the didactic treatment of relevant social problems and socially alive questions
in the teaching and learning of social sciences in infant education. This inclusion begins with the
development of (critical and creative) social thought for analysis and participation in the social context
of the student.
Factor 3. ICT (WQ), social knowledge and PBL (2 items): the two last items concretize the use of WQ
as a strategy for the functional and operational integration of ICT in the teaching and the learning of
the social context, and in the construction of social knowledge through the methodological principles
of PBL.

2.3. Design and Procedure

The investigation follows the methodological principles of quantitative investigation and begins
with the pre-experimental designs with a prospective cross-sectional control group [54,55].
The questionnaire was administered during the final week of the ICT study module on the social
sciences course during two academic years. After the explanation of the purpose of the investigation,
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Sustainability 2019, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 14

the participants were reminded that any personal data would remain anonymous and would be treated
investigation, the participants were reminded that any personal data would remain anonymous and
as confidential.
would be treated as confidential.
As an add-on strategy [56] to the study plan of the Degree in Infant Education (Infant School
As an add-on strategy [56] to the study plan of the Degree in Infant Education (Infant School
Teacher) and a project approach by disciplines, the trainee teacher responsible for the study module
Teacher) and a project approach by disciplines, the trainee teacher responsible for the study module
presented the problematic social issues during the first teaching sessions, with which they would have
presented the problematic social issues during the first teaching sessions, with which they would
to work for 51 practice hours. Each issue, centered on real life, is described as a structural axis upon
have to work for 51 practice hours. Each issue, centered on real life, is described as a structural axis
which to define the problem around the pluralist construction of cultural identities, social inequality
upon which to define the problem around the pluralist construction of cultural identities, social
(among which, those of gender), and economics, sustainability, poverty, armed conflict, and the defense
inequality (among which, those of gender), and economics, sustainability, poverty, armed conflict,
of Human Rights. Through the design of different study cases, small groups of students, guided
and the defense of Human Rights. Through the design of different study cases, small groups of
by their own experience, had to discuss the curricular viability of their proposals, challenging the
students, guided by their own experience, had to discuss the curricular viability of their proposals,
educational stage of infant education and the action plan, including the digital selection of materials
challenging the educational stage of infant education and the action plan, including the digital
and resources, in order to approach the social problem or socially alive question chosen on the basis of
selection of materials and resources, in order to approach the social problem or socially alive
a critical social approach [57]. Once the teaching design and its challenging question had been decided
question chosen on the basis of a critical social approach [57]. Once the teaching design and its
and agreed with the teacher, the students sequenced the digital development of the project on the basis
challenging question had been decided and agreed with the teacher, the students sequenced the
of the preparation of each one of the sections that comprise the WQ, adjusted to the methodological
digital development of the project on the basis of the preparation of each one of the sections that
principles of the PBL: introduction, task, process, evaluation, resources, evaluation, and self-evaluation
comprise the WQ, adjusted to the methodological principles of the PBL: introduction, task, process,
of its future staff. The didactic sequences of the ABP were matched, therefore, with the organizational
evaluation, resources, evaluation, and self-evaluation of its future staff. The didactic sequences of the
phases of the WQ design. The development of group projects could be done in PowerPoint and,
ABP were matched, therefore, with the organizational phases of the WQ design. The development of
preferably, on specific platforms (BookWidgets. Interactive Learning/https://www.bookwidgets.com)
group projects could be done in PowerPoint and, preferably, on specific platforms (BookWidgets.
(Figures 1 and 2).
Interactive Learning / https://www.bookwidgets.com) (Figure 1 and Figure 2).

Figure 1. WebQuest
Figure 1. editor. Initial
WebQuest editor. Initial screen.
screen.

Figure 2. WebQuest
Figure 2. editor. Data
WebQuest editor. Data tab
tab on
on the
the first
first page.
page.

In the
In the conceptual
conceptual framework
frameworkof ofthe
theWQ,
WQ,thethepresentation
presentation of of
thethe
social problems
social problemsselected by the
selected by
trainee teachers should be expressed as a challenge for the pupils of infant education.
the trainee teachers should be expressed as a challenge for the pupils of infant education. Likewise, Likewise, the
trainee
the teachers
trainee should
teachers consider
should consider thethe
development
development of ofcognitive
cognitiveskills
skillsofofaa higher
higher order in their
order in their
problem-solving designs
problem-solving designs task
task (final
(final product
product of of the
the process),
process), among
among which,
which, those
those corresponding
corresponding to to
critical and creative thought and to those of investigation. Finally, the evaluation included
critical and creative thought and to those of investigation. Finally, the evaluation included in the WQ in the WQ
projects would have to value the scope of those cognitive skills present in the design of the activities
of the process and, in an integrated manner, in the final products that are suggested. Equally, the
Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370 7 of 14

projects would have to value the scope of those cognitive skills present in the design of the activities
of the process and, in an integrated manner, in the final products that are suggested. Equally, the
projects should favor cooperative–collaborative construction of social knowledge among future pupils
of infant education.
The control group received the programmed training content from a traditional approach, based
on normative principles of the Spanish Social Sciences curriculum for Early Childhood Education.
Consequently, there was no didactic treatment and curricular inclusion of social and environmental
problems (absent, specifically, in the official curriculum) through information and communications
technology. In any case, in both groups, the students adequately achieved the basic objectives and
professional competences included in their teaching guides.

2.4. Data Analysis

Aware of the asymmetrical distribution of the variables of study, we completed a descriptive
analysis (medians, SD, and variance) of the total obtained and an inferential analysis (coefficients of
correlation rho of Spearman by factors and scale, and the Man–Whitney U-test), with the objective of
testing the existence of statistically significant differences in each group (control and experimental).
With a view to testing the size of the difference between the assessments of the experimental
group and the control group, we calculated the effect size [58] and interpreted the results in accordance
with Cohen’s criteria [59].
We used the statistical package SPSS v.24 for the treatment and the analysis of quantitative data.

3. Results
The students enrolled in the control group and in the experimental group expressed their
generalized agreement with the didactic capability of the PBL methodology for the development
and the acquisition of social and communicative competencies, and the promotion of higher-order
cognitive skills through cooperative and collaborative work in the teaching–learning of the social
sciences (Table 2).

Table 2. Descriptive statistics by variable and by group on the PBLt -ICT scale.

Control Group (n = 30) Experimental Group (n = 29)

Item Me SD Var. Me SD Var.
1 4 0.490 0.240 4 0.509 0.259
2 4 0.466 0.217 5 0.258 0.067
3 4 0.679 0.461 5 0.384 0.148
4 3 0.507 0.257 4 0.509 0.259
5 4 0.379 0.144 5 0.412 0.170
6 3 0.834 0.695 4 0.484 0.234
7 3 0.714 0.510 4 0.471 0.222
8 3 0.183 0.033 4 0.509 0.259
9 3 0.868 0.754 4 0.471 0.222
10 4 0.490 0.240 4 0.509 0.259

The assessments are especially prominent in the experimental group under items 2 (communicative
competences), 3 (personal competences/empathy), and 5 (cognitive skills of a higher order), with
averages of 5 (totally agree) and a low dispersion of the data (<0.45). While that group expressed their
satisfaction with the potential of PBL for the acquisition of technological competencies (Me (exp.) = 4,
SD = 0.50), the students enrolled in the control group expressed doubts over that particular didactic
advantage (Me (con.) = 3, SD = 0.50).
The development of (critical and creative) social thought, and both the curricular
inclusion and the didactic treatment of social problems through the implementation of the
methodological principles of PBL were highly valued aspects by the experimental group
Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370 8 of 14

(Me (exp.) = 4, SD < 0.50). The control group, on the contrary, expressed its doubts in relation
to those potential didactic advantages (Me (exp.) = 3, SD ≥ 0.18), with a significant dispersion of the
scores given to item 6 (creative thought) (SD = 0.83) and item 7 (SD = 0.71).
Finally, the students enrolled in the experimental group expressed their agreement with the
contribution of this methodology to the construction of social knowledge and the operational and
functional integration of ICT (WQ) in the social sciences classroom (Me (exp.) = 4, SD < 0.50). The control
group, in turn, expressed agreement with the functional integration of ICT and PBL in the teaching
of social sciences (Me (con.) = 4, SD = 0.49), but expressed doubts, with a significant dispersal of its
responses, over its contributions to the construction of social knowledge and the implementation of
the principles of PBL (Me (con.) = 3, SD = 0.86).
With the exception of the absence of any correlation between the didactic possibilities of ICT (WQ)
in the construction of social knowledge on the basis of PBL, and the potential of that active methodology
for the development and the acquisition of social competencies through tasks relating to social issues,
all the variables that formed the scale, on the whole, recorded moderate degrees of agreement.
High levels of dependency stand out, nevertheless, between the advantages of the implementation
of PBL and the development of personal (empathy) and communicative competencies; between
the didactic contributions of PBL and ICT (WQ) to the acquisition of technological competencies,
and the development of communicative and social competencies through tasks relating to social
issues; between the contributions of this methodology to the development of critical thought and the
solutions to social problems (creative thought); between its methodological possibilities for curricular
inclusion and the didactic treatment of social issues, and the development of creative thought; and,
finally, the dependency between the operational integration of ICT (WQ) for the construction of social
knowledge and the acquisition of technological competencies through the methodological principles
of PBL (Table 3). Very notable relations of dependency are evident between the development and the
acquisition of critical thought and creative thought through PBL, and the strong linkage of PBL with
curricular inclusion and the didactic treatment of relevant social problems in infant education.

Table 3. Correlation coefficients by variable and levels of meaning (experimental and control groups).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 1
2 0.648 ** 1
3 0.673 ** 0.705 ** 1
4 0.738 ** 0.747 ** 0.618 ** 1
5 0.606 ** 0.551 ** 0.524 ** 0.426 ** 1
6 0.485 ** 0.304 * 0.346 ** 0.568 ** 0.511 ** 1
7 0.679 ** 0.410 ** 0.486 ** 0.586 ** 0.534 ** 0.704 ** 1
8 0.589 ** 0.548 ** 0.698 ** 0.661 ** 0.568 ** 0.751 ** 0.691 ** 1
9 0.165 0.462 ** 0.476 ** 0.376 ** 0.400 ** 0.506 ** 0.333 * 0.664 ** 1
10 0.620 ** 0.648 ** 0.449 ** 0.775 ** 0.401 ** 0.603 ** 0.430 ** 0.589 ** 0.553 ** 1
Notes: * p ≤ 0.05, ** p ≤ 0.01.

The intensity of the correlations between the variables by group showed high correlations, for
the experimental group, between the contributions of PBL to the development of creative thought
and the acquisition of social competencies through the didactic treatment of social issues (% = 0.75,
p = 0.0001) (H1 ); between the contribution of PBL through ICT (WQ) to the acquisition of technological
competencies and social competencies (% = 0.72, p = 0.0001); and between the possibilities of operational
integration of the ICT (WQ), through PBL, in the construction of social knowledge and in the acquisition
of social (% = 0.86, p = 0.0001) and technological competencies (% = 0.86, p = 0.0001), and in the
development of creative thought for solving social problems (% = 0.75, p = 0.0001).
These results were achieved with a moderate degree of correlation between factors 1 and 3 (% = 0.57,
p ≤ 0.01) (Table 4).
Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370 9 of 14

Table 4. Factor correlation coefficients and significance levels (experimental group).

Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3

Factor 1 PBL, competencies, and cooperative–collaborative work. 1
Factor 2 PBL, social issues, and critical and creative thought. 0.331 1
Factor 3 ICT (WQ), social knowledge, and PBL. 0.574 ** 0.334 1
Notes: ** p ≤ 0.01.

In the control group, in contrast, a very high correlation was obtained between the contributions of
PBL to the development of personal competencies (empathy) and the acquisition of social competencies
(% = 0.92, p = 0.0001). Likewise, there were high correlations between the acquisition of technological
competencies through PBL and ICT (WQ) and the development and the acquisition of communicative
competencies (% = 0.70, p = 0.0001). High levels of correlation were also recorded between the
operational integration of ITC (WQ) for the construction of social knowledge through PBL in the
teaching of social sciences (% = 0.78, p = 0.0001) and in the development of critical thought through the
didactic treatment of relevant social issues (% = 0.70, p = 0.0001).
The assessments given by the experimental group exceeded, by one degree, the assessments in
the control group in each of the factors of the scale (H3 ). Those intergroup differences were statistically
significant in all the factors that constituted the scale (H2 ) (Table 5).

Table 5. Factor comparison by groups.

Control (n = 30) Experimental (n = 29)

Me DT Var. Me DT Var. U r
Factor 1 4.00 0.551 0.303 5.00 0.384 0.148 84.0 *** 0.75
Factor 2 3.00 0.521 0.271 4.00 0.484 0.234 9.5 *** 0.87
Factor 3 3.50 0.645 0.416 4.50 0.246 0.060 42.0 *** 0.81
Scale 3.50 0.410 0.168 4.50 0.450 0.203 60.0 *** 0.76
Notes: *** p < 0.001.

The magnitude of these differences yielded high size-effects for the first (r = 0.75), the second
(r > 0.80), and the third factor. Likewise, a high size-effect between groups for the total of the scale was
also found (r = 0.76) (H4 ).

4. Discussion and Conclusions

In accordance with the results from the experimental group, the implementation of active
methodologies, particularly PBL, favors the development of creative thought [60] and social
competencies through relevant social issues and socially alive questions, contemporaneous for pupils
following infant education. This linkage between critical and creative thought, and the pedagogic
principles of PBL, constitutes, in effect, one of the most characteristic defining relations of this active
methodology [12]. The opinions of the students who followed the course of social issues and ICT,
in effect, reflect a relation of moderate dependency between the functionality of ITC (WQ) and PBL in
the transformation of digital contents in social knowledge, and in the development and acquisition of
key competencies through cooperative–collaborative work. However, despite their high assessments,
no relation is observed between the didactic potential of PBL for the specific curricular inclusion of
relevant social issues and the development of social thought, and the factors linked to the acquisition
of competencies and the operational integration of ICT in the teaching of social sciences.
The implementation of this methodology through ICT (WQ) facilitates the acquisition of
technological and social competencies related to the issues that are approached. Evidence for
the didactic advantages of the integration of ICT in active methodological proposals has been shown
in investigations, such as those conducted by Chávez, Cantú, and Rodríguez [61]. The acquisition of
technological competencies and digital-teaching competencies and their links with the development
Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370 10 of 14

of social competencies, are among the factors that trainee teachers of infant education recognize best
while following the training program.
PBL favors cooperative–collaborative work and the acquisition of communicative competencies [62]
on the basis of interdisciplinary curricular projects. Along those lines, the conclusions reached in
investigations on teaching experiences developed at the stage of infant education are significant [63–65].
PBL and the operational integration of ICT, and education and communication technologies
(ECT) [66] favor the acquisition of the investigative competencies of future teachers of infant education.
Their professional practices “must go beyond the consideration of technical tasks to be qualified as
independent intellectual practice” [11] (p. 54), capable of generating projects for the description,
analysis, and intervention in the social reality of students. Along those lines, “CPBL [collaborative
project-based learning] simultaneously stimulates cognitive, motor, ethical, and affective aspects,
enabling work with an active pedagogy. The students, as investigators, are turned into agents
generating the knowledge that they learn” [60] (p. 169). From that perspective, the participants in the
present investigation oriented their training activity toward the design of projects based on tasks and
processes that would enable their future students to develop key competencies, social thought, and
collaboration on the basis of guided solutions to the social issue that is selected [13].
The results of the projects that were presented confirmed that PBL in infant education “is a
methodological resource that permits the development of capabilities at this psycho-evolutive stage,
and [ . . . ] that students can successfully develop in situations of daily life” [63] (p. 84). Those
conclusions coincide with others reached by García-Varcálcel and Gómez-Pablos [67], which reflects
the positive opinions expressed by fifth and sixth-year primary education pupils on PBL methodology.
The results are consistent with those obtained in recent research, which reveals the need to develop
curricular guidelines and specific plans for the training teachers in early childhood education in ICT.
Likewise, these studies emphasize the active and creative use of technologies [68] to improve the
digital competence of future teachers [26]. These results offer suggestions to overcome, at different
levels, the obstacles identified by Magen-Nagar and Firstater [27] in the implementation of ICT in this
educational stage: (1) recognition and integration of the pedagogical value of ICT in the educational
philosophy of trainee teachers; (2) use of ICT as a resource for the development and implementation of
alternative teaching strategies (project-based learning); and (3) use of digital technological resources
for the promotion of social and citizen learning in education, for sustainable development.
The didactic consideration of social problems as curricular content and strategy will, in consequence,
favor the development of social thought, reflection and analysis of social reality [69], decision-taking, and
the proposal of solutions [70,71]. In that sense, assuming the importance of the assessment of the results
obtained from didactic experiences in the educational training of the teachers, longitudinal studies
are necessary in the generic analysis of the implementation of PBL and, in particular, the curricular
inclusion of social issues in the teaching practice of primary and infant school teachers. The absence of
social issues in the infant and primary education curricula will limit the approach of pupils to integral
social content, to its utility for understanding the world, and to their possibilities of interpretation
and response for the understanding of the world, and to their possibilities of interpretation and their
responses to the complexity that characterizes it. In accordance with the perceptions of learning
received by future teachers of infant education, the active methodology of PBL and the integration
of ICT in the (social and cultural) environmental studies classroom affect the proposal of problems
that are part of the student’s reality. However, the application of a single quantitative instrument,
before and after the teaching intervention, motivates to accept, with caution, the consistency of the
results obtained in the present investigation. In future studies, it would be necessary to use qualitative
research techniques and instruments capable of deepening and confirming, in a comprehensive manner,
the effects of teacher programming.
Finally, we agree with the limitations indicated by other studies on similar educational experiences
based on PBL, which include the need for additional work for its implementation, the need to
extend long periods of time [72], and the need to specify new forms of competencies assessment [3].
Sustainability 2019, 11, 6370 11 of 14

The high level of autonomy granted to students in their learning process also leads to difficulties in
the development of the teacher/tutor’s role [73]. Furthermore, if this teaching and learning strategy
integrates ICT, it will require greater teacher training in the three types of content contemplated in the
TPACK model (technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content knowledge) [74].

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, D.O.-S.; methodology, D.O.-S.; software, D.O.-S.; validation,

D.O.-S.; formal analysis, D.O.-S.; investigation, D.O.-S.; resources, D.O.-S. and A.J.-E.; data curation, D.O.-S.;
writing—original draft preparation, D.O.-S.; writing—review and editing, D.O.-S. and A.J.-E.; supervision, D.O.-S.
and A.J.-E.; funding acquisition, D.O.-S. and A.J.-E.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Acknowledgments: This research was completed with the support of the Research Group of the University of
Burgos Didáctica de la Historia y de las Ciencias Sociales (DHISO).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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