Investigative competencies of upper secondary students from public educational institutions in the municipality of La Estrella, Colombia

Research skills in secondary education are essential for students' academic and professional training, as they promote the learning of specialized knowledge and facilitate the development of scientific inquiry in the school environment, preparing students to address complex realities in their present and future. Therefore, the objective of this research was to characterize the level of research skills present in secondary education students in public educational institutions in the municipality of La Estrella. To achieve this, the study was framed within the epistemic model of holistic understanding of science, and the holopractical method was applied, reaching the descriptive stage through a contemporary, univariate, non-experimental, cross-sectional field design. The research technique was observation, applying a checklist to a sample of 204 students, whose data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. The results report low levels in all synergies of research skills, leading to the conclusion that the level of research skills among students is characterized by being low in the cognitive, methodological, and communicative dimensions, although there is an imbalance between them, with the cognitive dimension closer to the lower limit. For all these reasons, it is recommended to implement innovative teaching strategies that promote the development of research skills in students.