Download - Growing up Happy
Growing up HappyExploring the pedagogical meaning of happiness from
children’s voices
Growing By Playing Foundation
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Gonzalo JoverBianca Thoilliez
INTRODUCTION
Growing By Playing Foundation
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Spanish children have the second highest rate of subjective well-being
Growing By Playing Foundation
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Children’s subjective well-being in OECD countries:
An overview of child well-being in rich countries. UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence, 2007.
Children’s material welfare in OECD countries:
Although they do not need to have many things to be happy
Growing By Playing Foundation
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Questions:
A) How happy Spanish children are?
D) How do they experience happiness in their daily life?
C) What are their hopes and aspirations?
B) What do they feel good at?
E) Who do they feel happiest with?
Growing By Playing Foundation
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
METHODOLOGY
Growing By Playing Foundation
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Growing By Playing Foundation
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
817 Children
Five Primary Schools:
• Three public schools
• Two private-subsidized schools
Sample:
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
GRADE 1 2 3 4 5 6
AGE 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 10-11 11-12
NUMBER 35 46 170 218 179 169
Sample:
Interview Questionnaire
Growing By Playing Foundation
elisa.raúl.belén.alba.javier.valerio.jorge.félix.susana.laura.francisco.isabel.estefanía.alfredo.elena.pilar.eloy.carlos.covadonga.alberto.rafael.david.lorena.esther.irene.ernesto.yolanda.maría.jaione.gonzalo.rosa.marta.cristina.luis.roberto.álvaro.ángel.josé.amelia.aarón.paloma.penélope.pablo.pascual.gemma.gloria.gisela.gabriel.genaro.germán.gustavo.teresa.tania.belinda.tamara.teo.macarena.candela.marcelo.malena.maite.matilde.domingo.melissa.miriam.marcos.manuel.maura.ana.rogelio.miguel.mariano.matías.inés.isidoro.íñigo.jon.israel.yannick.narciso.natalia.nieves.nicolás.lola.leonor.leticia.fernando.carmen.lorenzo.carolina.carlota.felisa.generosa.claudia.judith.paula.camilo.césar.cristóbal.diana.diego.matilda.virginia.eva.esperanza.erica.esmeralda.eduardo.tomás.esteban.fátima.fabiola.flora.mónica.fabián.felipe.feliciano.valentina.vicente.víctor.alejandro.diego.ofelia.oliva.octavio.ramón.raquel.rosario.rodrigo.santiago.sebastián.rosana.sandra.silvia.soraya.sergio.tatiana.verónica.salomé.nadia.jimena
Diana’s happiest day, 7 years old
Children’s voices:
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Because my father knows I really like hamsters, but we’re not allowed to have pets in my building. So he tried to get them to let me have one for my birthday, and when I went there to see if he had gotten me anything, I started to cry because of the hamster.…………………… ……………………………………………………………….
Growing By Playing Foundation
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Children’s perception and understanding of happiness:
A: self-satisfactionB: masteryC: aspirationsD: vital events and daily liveE: relationships
Five fields
Growing By Playing Foundation
A) SELF-SATISFACTIONAm I happy?
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Growing By Playing Foundation
12
34
56
78
910
01
23
45
67
89
10
01
23
45
67
89
10
12
34
56
78
910
0
The “Stair of Happiness”
Growing By Playing Foundation Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Children claim to be very happy
As they get olders, the rate of self-satisfaction diminishes
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Evolution of self-satisfaction
6,50
7,00
7,50
8,00
8,50
9,00
9,50
10,00
6 7 8 9 10 11 12Age
8,53
8,46 8,50
8,00
8,10
8,20
8,30
8,40
8,50
8,60
Girls Boys Total
Self-satisfaction
Growing By Playing Foundation
B) MASTERYI’m good at…
Growing By Playing Foundation Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Children perceive their parents and teachers value their effort to improve
Children who do not feel valued by their parents and teachers are less happy
Teachers do not give compliments Parents do not give compliments
Growing By Playing Foundation Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Boys and girls feel competent in different skills
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Sch
oo
lle
arn
ing
ski
lls
Re
cre
atio
nsk
ills
Sp
ort
s sk
ills
Vid
eo
ga
me
ssk
ills
So
cia
l ski
lls
Co
llab
ora
tive
skill
s
Art
istic
ski
lls
Se
lf-d
isci
plin
esk
ills
Dis
rup
tive
skill
s
Self-assessment by gender
Boys
Girls
Carlos, 8 years old
Tell me about the three things you think you’re good at.Sports…I’m pretty good at them. Tests…I usually get 8, 9 or 10 out of 10. Umm…three things that what?Three things you’re good at.Oh, yeah…I behave myself pretty well.You behave yourself at what?Uh, for instance, helping out at home…and I’m a pretty good eater… .…………………………………………… ……………………………………….
Growing By Playing Foundation
C) ASPIRATIONSI want that!
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Growing By Playing Foundation
Children’s aspirations move between the desire for security and the expectation of emancipation
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Job w orries
Continuity
Emancipation
Material w orries
School achievement
Values
Magical thinking
Special events
Skepticism
Aspirations in the long term
Growing By Playing Foundation
“I will be happy because I’ll be an architect and I’ll save me from the crisis” (Adolfo, 10 years old )
The context determines children’s aspirations
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Growing By Playing Foundation
D) VITAL EVENTS AND DAILY LIFE
My jows and sorrows
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Growing By Playing Foundation
“The happiest day of my life was when I was born because all my family was at birth" (Juanjo, 10 years old)
“To pass a test and to win a match make me feel happy” (Rudy, 11 years old).
Happiness is for children a comunitarian experience
Pablo, 7 years old
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Because I was celebrating my birthday and they gave me a bow and arrow set and a racquet with some practice balls and I was with my family: my mother, my father, my brother and I were at the hotel at the beach..…………………………………………… ……………………………………….
Growing By Playing Foundation
“My father left home, they got angry, and he decided to leave us" (Rebeca, 10 years old)
Situations of sadness are also lived communally
Diana, 7 years old
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
It’s not that I’m not happy, it’s just that…my cousins, as soon as they see that I’m the littlest, I’m the littlest in the family, they always boss me around and they hit me, and since we little ones are the most mischievous, the older ones act like they’re hurt the worst, they act like they’re crying, and I don’t cry, and then I blame myself for not hitting them. That’s when I feel sad and that act as if I had, and I just… ..………………………… ………………… ……………………………………….
Growing By Playing Foundation
E) RELATIONSHIPSWhat makes me happiest is…
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Growing By Playing Foundation
RA
QU
EL
Carlos, 8 years old
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
I’m going to show you some pictures…. OK…. This is a girl called Rachel…. OK…. You see her here in four different situations. In this one she’s at home playing with her toys. Here she’s being praised by her teacher, here she’s watching TV with her family, and here she’s playing in the park with her friends OK? Look at them carefully, and I want you to imagine yourself in each of these 4 situations…. Yes…. And then tell me which one you think you would feel happiest in... In two of them. OK, could you tell me why you chose each one?.................... Because I like to be with my family... I like being praised by my teacher—when I do something right…… ..………………………… ……………………….………… ..………………………… ……………………….…………..………………………… ……………………….…………..………………………… ……………………….………… ..………………………… ……………………….………… …………………………………………………………..….
Growing By Playing Foundation
CONCLUSIONS
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Growing By Playing Foundation
For children, a stable area of relationships is a prerequisite for happiness.
Children’s aspirations of enhancement or self-improvement depend on what their context value and offer to them.
To be happy, children need an education environment which gives them security as well as it provides them opportunities to grow up.
Research Group on Pedagogy of Children Values
Facultad de Educación – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant
Growing By Playing Foundation