Engineering-Based Educational Model to Promote Equality of Rights, Opportunities, and Spaces for Adolescents from Within the School

Abstract

Education and innovation are key drivers of development, requiring a systematic and iterative approach to solving problems and creating functional products or solutions. This process combines scientific, technical, and creative knowledge to transform needs into concrete solutions. Such an approach is applied at Santa Magdalena Sofía Educational Institution, where the reality reflects poverty, family unemployment, violence, and other social factors. This context raises the question: How does the application of the engineering-based model develop the competency to manage economic and social entrepreneurship projects? The proposal seeks to promote equality of rights, opportunities, and spaces for female students within the school. The objective of this research was to implement an intervention plan using a quasi-experimental design with fourth-grade secondary students from sections L, M, and N, specializing in administrative management. The students developed a business idea through an engineering-based process that included market analysis, production planning, financial evaluation, formalization, human resource management, and marketing strategies—integrating the Happiness Management Model. In doing so, the initiative promotes equality of rights, opportunities, and spaces for female students by enabling them to generate employment or self-employment, access sources of wealth, and meet their basic needs. The model significantly improved the students’ entrepreneurial competencies and contributed to narrowing the gap in Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger), 4 (Quality Education), and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).