Research areas in master´s thesis of the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán of Honduras

Abstract

Introduction. Universidad Pedagógica Nacional "Francisco Morazán" (UPNFM) published the registry of postgraduate thesis defenses between 2002 and 2016. This study analyzed the scientific production through academic’s thesis from master programs of the UPNFM, based on the implementation of institutional research areas. Methods. A database was developed which included the variables master's program, research area, subject and thesis advisors. Data was processed and analyzed using frequency distributions and chi-square test. Results. A total of 365 thesis records were analyzed. Four master's programs represented 63.3% of the total theses defended: education management (20.3%), educational research (16.2%), curriculum (14.5%) and training of trainers (12.3%). A total of 64% of the theses were concentrated in two of the five institutional research areas: training and teaching profession and quality and equity of education. According to chi-square statistics, the possibility that the proportion found on research areas had a random distribution was rejected. From 126 university professors, who advised the theses, some had another university’ affiliation. Conclusion. A marked trend was identified towards educator´s training and access to education. Publication and use of the results reported in the UPNFM thesis are needed, since they are not available in indexed on international databases or repositories.