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Déficit de naturaleza y sobreuso de tecnología en la infancia. Un estudio correlacional por género sobre la influencia en la construcción identitaria sostenible de la infancia

DOI

10.22550/2174-0909.4097

Abstract

This article addresses important aspects of the fragmented bidirectionality between children and nature that currently exists in childhood. The combination of factors to consider as a result of constant socio-environmental crises makes addressing two important points relevant: where children prefer spending their free time and the differences they perceive according to whether the options are more or less artificial/natural; and, on similar lines, whether these decisions and preferences shape other key pieces of their identity, such as their sense of freedom, autonomy, and responsibility. The main aim is to identify their preferences and, based on their perceptions, analyse whether there are differences by gender in how they approach free time: whether they use technology or not, whether they prioritise the street and natural spaces, and whether effects are observed in their identity construction. An anonymous, self-administered quantitative survey using a structured questionnaire was performed. The target population comprised students enrolled in years 5 and 6 of primary school, with a sample of 2586 respondents at a national level. The statistical analysis involved calculating descriptive measures such as means, standard deviations, medians, and interquartile ranges (IR). The Mann-Whitney U test was also applied and Spearman’s correlation coefficient was calculated. The results, based on a series of correlational analyses, suggest that there are significant differences by gender in preference for use and spaces, as well as differences in the effects of these preferences on their identity. The possibility of new pedagogical demands and responsibilities for social justice in environmental matters emerging remains open.

Financiación | Funding

Project. PID2021-122993NB-I00. Análisis de los procesos de (des-re) conexión con la naturaleza y con la tecnología en la construcción de la identidad infantil NATEC-ID [Analysis of processes of (de-re) connection with nature and with technology in the construction of children’s identity]. Ministry of Science and Innovation. Project. TED2021-130300A-C22. Tecnología disruptiva como catalizadora de la transición ecológica desde la educación ambiental. Estudio y diseño de soluciones tecnoeducativas desde NATUR-TEC Kids LivingLab [Disruptive technology as catalyst of ecological transition from environmental education. Study and design of techno-educational solutions from NATUR-TEC Kids LivingLab]. Ministry of Science and Innovation.

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Author Biography

Sara Serrate-González. Associate professor of Social Pedagogy in the Department of Theory and History of Education, in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Universidad de Salamanca. She has a doctorate in Education with a European PhD mention from the Universidad de Salamanca. Academic director of the University Master’s in Social and Educational Intervention with Children and Young People (MUISEIA) and assistant director of EDUSAL-LAB (Educational Knowledge Transfer Laboratory). Her research interests centre on social pedagogy and socio-educational intervention, especially in the sphere of childhood and adolescence in social and school contexts. She also works on aspects linked to gender from its educational perspective, professional competences, and adult education. She has spent time at several European universities (Trinity College Dublin, Coimbra). She is the author of some twenty academic articles and has participated in various collective works. She has participated in various national and international conferences and has delivered courses relating, among other subjects, to socio-educational intervention by social educators in emerging spaces.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9985-7623

Judit Alonso-del-Casar. Teacher-researcher in training with a predoctoral contract since 2024. Graduate in Pedagogy (2019-23) from the Universidad de Salamanca, with special degree prize (2022-23), and University Master’s in Advanced Studies in the Global Society (2024). During her university training, she was selected by Spain’s Ministry of Education, Professional Training and Sport (MEFPD) to carry out research work in the Department of Theory and History of Education (2022-23). She has been part of the recognised research group of the Universidad de Salamanca “Educational processes, spaces and practices (GIPEP)” since 2023. Her research interests centre on the theory of education and environmental education.

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0485-3196

Carmen Patino-Alonso. Associate professor in the Area of Statistics and Operations Research (Department of Statistics) at the Universidad de Salamanca. She has a licentiate degree in Economic Sciences, a University Master’s in Advanced Analysis of Multivariate Data, and a doctorate in Applied Multivariate Statistics from the Universidad de Salamanca. She has been visiting researcher at the Lisbon School of Economics and Management at the Universidade de Lisboa (CEGE/ISEG) in Lisbon (Portugal). Her research career is highly interdisciplinary, as she has published more than a hundred academic articles in high-impact journals. She has participated in more than thirty regional and national competitive projects. Her research centres on multivariate statistics and related methodologies. She has received two positive evaluations for her teaching activity in the Support for the Teaching Activity of University Teachers Programme of the Universidad de Salamanca, DOCENTIA programme, being rated excellent both times.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8232-6685

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Palabras clave | Keywords

nature deficit, technology surplus, childhood, identity, autonomy, freedom, responsibility