The Faculty of Humanities and Education is in charge of degrees, masters, doctorates and science education studies research.

Within the faculty, the Didactic of Sciences Department is responsible for the initial training of teachers in the didactics of experimental sciences, mathematics and social sciences. In-service education is also provided through strong and well-established connections with the official institutions for in-service teacher training (Teachers’ Centres) and other institutions (such as teachers’ associations in sciences and mathematics). There is continuous collaboration with many schools and teachers in the province.

The department includes experts in experimental mathematics and social sciences education. It focuses on initial teacher training, in-service teacher education, doctoral programmes and research in the field of science education. There is close collaboration between the department and international researchers (Europe & Latin-America).

J. García is experienced in initial and in-service teacher training with an interdisciplinary approach. He works closely with teachers and collaborates actively with Teachers’ Centers. This collaboration will ensure effective dissemination and exploitation of the materials designed in the project.

He also develops his research on mathematics education with a special focus on modeling as a tool for meaningful learning at school and in teacher training. He is interested in how competencies associated to modeling and interdisciplinary approaches can enhance students’ lifelong learning skills.

Dr. García participates actively in several networks and regularly attends conferences. He is currently involved in the European project LEMA.

Dr. Marta R. Ariza obtained her European Doctoral Degree in 2002 after carrying out some of her PhD work abroad and presenting her thesis on Organic Chemistry, both in Spanish and in English. She spent several years researching on the chemical properties of natural products with biological activity, but in 2005 changed her interests, focussing on science education. Currently, she is a lecturer at the Department of Didactics of Sciences in the University of Jaén. She has worked on the development of innovative pedagogical materials and methodologies for science education. Currently, she is especially interested in the potential of technological resources (simulations, modelling software, virtual laboratories, discussion tools, etc) to facilitate meaningful learning and the understanding of scientific concepts and procedures.

Dr. Antonio Quesada studied Chemical Sciences at the University of Jaen ( Spain), where he obtained his Ph.D. in June 2003. He worked at this University from 1998 to 2005 in the Organic Chemistry Department. During this time, his scientific production was related to synthetic products with antitumor activity, pheromones and structural studies by x-ray diffraction. He joined the Department of Didactics of Sciences as a lecturer in April 2005. Currently, his research interests focus on the application of information and communication technologies for the teaching and learning science at primary, secondary school, and at higher education. For the last two years, he has been involved in some innovative local projects about design, application and evaluation of multimedia resources for b-learning, to complement laboratory practices and enhance thinking and learning in science.

Ana Mª Abril’s research is centred on science teachers’ knowledge, understanding and skills. She collaborates actively with several networks, including gender and science studies networks. Currently, she is involved in a Program supervising PhD students in science using interdisciplinary approaches, she is carrying out research on the professional development of science teachers related to inquiry-based learning and she is an expert in teacher training. She closely collaborates with several Teachers’ Centres. Dr. Abril collaborates actively with the Association of Teachers and Researchers in Didactics of Science. This will ensure an optimal link between the project’s actions and the Spanish network of science teachers and trainers.