Scientific research and its contribution to the development process of Western Honduras

Abstract

This study presents an assessment of the relevance of scientific research in public and private universities with a presence in western Honduras. The research was conducted between October 2016 and July 2017. The tools used were mainly questionnaires and interviews with managers of development and higher education. The results show that there is a substantial delay in scientific research; The coordination between the different universities to promote research and linking processes are almost nil, and there is a distance between the Academy and development interventions. The research is reduced to a few teachers and is poorly socialized. For its part, development is still perceived as a goal to be achieved and as simple economic growth. The respondents perceive that universities should study more topics related to education, health, environment, entrepreneurship, food security, and citizenship. Problems affecting the western region are unemployment, corruption, and widespread poverty; this is related to the need of society to deepen these themes. Relevance must be more in line with the needs of the population and not from a vertical view of taxation, so lines and studies must be defined as emerging from society itself. It is necessary permanent criticism that makes possible the search for alternative thoughts; the paradigmatic shifts of science and development interventions must be reviewed, this forces us to enter into a process of epistemological decolonization and cultural deconstruction that allow us to reconnect with other paths.