DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A CHEMISTRY LABORATORY IN THE AGROINDUSTRIES CAREER OF THE UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE SANTIAGO DE GUAYAQUIL

Abstract

Higher education has been based almost exclusively on the compilation of theoretical-practical information or on practices of verification of known information, which has limited the development of abilities and skills, in students of the Agroindustrial Engineering Career of the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, in the physical and chemical characterization of animal and vegetable raw materials, agro-industrial products and by-products. Therefore, a non-experimental research project with a qualitative and quantitative approach was proposed. The relevance of the practical component of the Chemistry subjects was evaluated to establish the type of laboratory practices required as well as the design of a laboratory with the necessary equipment. Surveys, interviews, document analysis, test were applied to students from previous and current years of subjects related of chemistry, as well as to specialists in the subject. Then, the independent variable referring to the practical component was analyzed, and the dependent variable to the abilities and skills of the students, with which, a database was generated with Microsoft Excel, to determine the results in percentage terms. It was evidenced that only 7.30% of the total curricular hours are related to practical applications; in the syllabus, practical hours are not scheduled, and students do not have skills and abilities in the handling of equipment, laboratory materials and chemical reagents. Therefore, it is concluded that the lack of a Chemistry Laboratory and the necessary teaching resources, prevents students from being competitive in the labor market.