Linkage: Basic Requirement in any Product of Research in Education

The scientific production, in the field of education, constantly refers to linkage as a special condition to develop research. However, its meaning and the way to achieve that condition are not always clear, particularly for those who are in a training stage of research in education. Meanwhile, the academic production reviewers consider linkage as a very important aspect and essential characteristic of any research project. This paper suggests that linkage involves an epistemological discussion on the research factors in each one of the research stages, such as the construction of the object of study, the definition of methodology, and the data analysis and interpretation, among the most important stages. Linkage takes shape in a written product showing the results from an orderly construction and communication of thought, according to the rules established in a particular field of knowledge.

Relevant Aspects on Teaching Probability and Statistics in Basic General Education

Probability and Statistics were included in the Basic General Education curricula by the Ministry of Public Education (Costa Rica), since 1995. To analyze the teaching reality in these fields, a research was conducted in two educational regions of the country: Heredia and Pérez Zeledón. The survey included university training and updating processes of teachers teaching Statistics and Probability in the schools. The research demonstrated the limited university training in these fields, the dissatisfaction of teachers about it, and the poor support of training institutions to their professional exercise.

Raising Awareness on Teacher Training Changes: Perspectives and Challenges

One of the numerous challenges in the educational processes is teacher training, particularly in the framework of neo-liberal global societies ruled by the competitiveness of regular and continuous education programs in teacher training. It is a matter of concern and, therefore, a matter of analysis, if we consider the deep impact in all contexts. Accordingly, this paper discusses the situation from a descriptive perspective as a basic requirement to go beyond the analysis on the urgency of having clear educational policies related to the variety and quality of curricular programs; and, above all, a strong awareness from teacher trainers to see themselves as the critical creative mass from which change can be made, based on socially human proposals.