La importancia de apoyar y valorar la colaboración entre profesores y maestros de escuela

Hoy leo en el Chronicle of Higher Education la conclusión de un informe en torno al poco apoyo y reconocimiento que reciben los  profesores que colaboran en proyectos con maestros de escuelas.  Y el problema es que los mecanismos de promoción y permanencia en las universidades no se han revisado para considerar y valorar adecuadamente estas tareas.  De la misma manera que se apoya la investigación tradicional, hay que valorar y recompensar estos esfuerzos de colaboración entre la Universidad y las escuelas.

Science professors receive few professional rewards for joining projects financed by the Math and Science Partnerships program, the federal government’s principal effort to improve math and science teaching in elementary and secondary schools, a recent report says. The report calls this «a major roadblock» for the program.

With one exception — the University System of Georgia — many universities that lead projects paid for by the program have not adjusted their promotion and tenure processes to encourage participation by mathematics and science faculty members. Universities continue to base promotions largely on professors’ research productivity, even though one goal of the partnerships is to encourage faculty members to participate and even though some universities have received millions of dollars from the National Science Foundation to lead the projects.