In educational practice, the classroom is rarely a neutral space: its architecture, the professional trajectories of those who teach, and the institutional cultures that frame it leave their imprint on how new methodologies are adopted.
The study by Estévez-Méndez et al. (2024) illustrates this clearly by showing that the implementation of the Flipped Classroom does not depend solely on pedagogical will, but rather on a network of contextual factors that shape its scope. Far from being homogeneous, methodological innovation fragments according to the type of school, the teacher’s age, or the area of specialization, thus revealing an uneven topography of educational transformation.
This landscape raises a crucial question: to what extent can active methodologies be sustained if the ecosystem in which they are applied is not ready for them? The research shows that younger teachers and more flexible disciplines—such as English or Vocational Training—favor the incorporation of the model, while other, more rigid subject areas tend to resist.
Such findings invite us to understand innovation not as a universal methodological package, but as a situated process that requires dialogue with the material, organizational, and cultural conditions of each institution.
For teachers and researchers, the main lesson lies in recognizing the need for support policies that take these differences into account. The Flipped Classroom, more than a mere shift of roles between home and school, requires a scaffolding of resources, continuous training, and the design of learning spaces that foster active participation. If the pandemic demonstrated that school dynamics can be abruptly altered, studies like this remind us that the consolidation of innovation depends on a critical engagement with the contexts in which it unfolds.
Thus, research does not merely measure the degree of adoption; it also traces pathways toward building a pedagogical culture capable of integrating flexibility, equity, and sustainability at the very heart of educational change.
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How to Cite: Estévez-Méndez, J. L., Díaz Palencia, J. L., Sánchez Sánchez, A., & Roa González , J. (2024). Evaluation of contextual variables in the implementation of the Flipped Classroom methodology in secondary education. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 27(2), 317–337. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.27.2.38980
