Flipped Classroom in the Educational System: Trend or Effective Pedagogical Model Compared to Other Methodologies?

Flipped Classroom methodology is gaining relative importance as time goes by, in part due to the spreading and accessibility of technological resources in the educational field. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of this methodology is still being discussed. In this sense, the aim of this study is to analyse whether flipped classroom methodology is a more effective methodology than other methodologies. For this purpose, a systematic review was carried out, considering as valid studies those that had a pre-post and a control group. Based on a total of 61 studies (n = 5541 students) from 18 databases, results revealed that Flipped Classroom methodology is more effective than other methodologies in terms of learning achievement, in secondary and higher education, and it could be more beneficial than other methodologies in other constructs as motivation, self-efficacy, cooperativeness and engagement, among others. In primary education, findings revealed that Flipped Classroom could be as effective as other methodologies with regard to learning achievement, and other construct, such as self-concept and social climate. Depending on the educational stage, the effect size of differences was between 1.36 to 1.80 times larger in the case of Flipped Classroom group in comparison with control group. Based on these results, the Flipped Classroom could be more beneficial in comparison with traditional methodologies that are mainly used in higher education. However, it would not more beneficial in other educational stages where traditional approaches are not commonly used, such as in primary education.