){kind=logo}
){kind=icon}
){kind=logo}
){kind=icon}
School should be a safe place to learn, where students feel supported and accompanied by teachers and can be themselves, have fun, and strengthen friendships with their peers. Therefore, the school environment is vital for students’ learning and integral development. When the school environment is positive and welcoming, students (and the school community in general) feel safer and can learn. However, in a hostile or aggressive environment, students may experience anxiety, stress, and learning difficulties. This dichotomy is like the one experienced in the Colsubsidio School Network in Colombia. Hence, the question expressed in the title of this article leads us to share our experiences.
According to UNESCO (2013), “a welcoming, respectful and positive school climate is one of the keys to promoting student learning and high achievement in external tests.” In 2018, the Colsubsidio School Network included Integral Training for Successful Life (FIVE) in its curriculum to promote a positive and welcoming school environment where students could feel safe, respected, and valued. The training developed civic and emotional competencies essential for success in school and life.
Recording and monitoring of student behavior incidents
Colsubsidio schools serve approximately 7,000 pre-kindergarten to eleventh-grade students (ages 3 to 17). In 2019, we began recording data on minor, serious, and severe offenses committed by students, as set out in the Current Regulation of Coexistence Manual for education in Colombia. This data is recorded and monitored monthly in the institution’s quality management system and, subsequently, analyzed within each school by the schools’ coexistence and quality committees.
Between 2019 and 2023, we observed unusual trends in the offenses defined in the coexistence manual. The data indicated the following: minor offenses increased from 1.4% in 2019 to 33% in 2023; likewise, serious offenses rose from 2.9% in 2019 to 12.21% in 2022, and later, there was a significant decrease for 2023 by 9.4%. Severe offenses for 2019 were 0.8%, 5% for 2022, and 3.3%for 2023, showing a downward trend. The years 2020 and 2021 had very low offenses, probably attributed to the effects of the pandemic and the post-pandemic, where students took classes virtually in 2020 and hybrid courses (virtual and face-to-face) in 2021. During this period, Colsubsidio’s schools adjusted the coexistence plan for their virtual classes and the gradual return to face-to-face learning. Likewise, it established a psycho-emotional support plan for all educational community members called Bienestar Contigo (Wellness Together).
Proposal for designing a positive school environment
In this context, the proposal to create a positive school environment in the Colsubsidio School Network was based on four strategies: 1) FIVE (comprehensive training for a successful life), 2) an assessment of the educational climate, 3) a parents’ school, and 4) “muchosidad” (abundance). Below is a description of the relevance of each strategy.
FIVE (Spanish acronym for Integral Training for a Successful Life) is a subject through which emotional and civic competencies are practiced and strengthened for better coexistence. Students learned tools to be responsible, committed citizens through a relevant life project.
- Emotional competency: Students develop skills to help manage emotions, build healthy relationships, make responsible decisions, and cope with challenges.
- Civic competency: Students develop skills to understand rights and duties, participate in society, resolve conflicts, and build a just and caring society.
The FIVE strategy has a sequential structure adapted to the student’s progressive development. Emotional and civic skills are strengthened in topics such as awareness and self-care from pre-kindergarten onward and vocational guidance and decision-making in eleventh grade. For success, the teaching methodology is playful, integrating play and pleasurable activities essential for learning and facilitating reflection and cooperation in work. The assessments of methods and activities come from a vision focused on the student’s progress.
“The teacher guides and facilitates learning as an integral agent in the student’s education. Their openness and willingness are critical to the success of the program.”
Measurement of the educational climate: This assessment considers factors such as the sense of belonging and happiness and the elements influencing education, learning, safety, and relationships. The results fall into three categories: method, diversity, and risk factors.
Knowing the happiness and safety of its students in the schools is a priority for the Colsubsidio School Network. Measuring these variables allows us to obtain valuable information about our students’ well-being, enabling us to discuss continuous improvement.
Parents School: We are very interested in training families to play active roles in their children’s education and training. For this reason, we provide tools for parenting, prevention, and promotion of well-being. The FIVE strategy and the Parents’ School (called Padres 10!) were designed to strengthen the active role of families in the integral formation of their children. Both initiatives focus on developing emotional and civic skills in children and youth from pre-kindergarten to eleventh grade.
For example, in pre-kindergarten, FIVE helps children learn to identify and express their emotions. At the same time, the parents’ school, “Padres 10!” offers tools to parents, family members, and guardians to understand and manage their children’s emotions. This articulation facilitates collaboration between the school and the family for the integral development of the students. At the end of the training process, family members receive “Parents 10!” certification with a digital badge they can add to their email signatures.
Muchosidad: The concept of “Muchness” (abundance) is inspired by the story “Alice in Wonderland,” which invites us to conquer fear, believe in ourselves and others, and build assertive relationships to improve the educational environment. Here, the critical strategy lies in understanding and managing one’s emotions and those of others. The idea is to resignify the words “thank you,” “I love you,” “sorry,” “respect,” “kindness,” and “self-care” in a new normal based on empathy, communication, and respect.
Muchosidad takes on a new meaning in the post-pandemic era, signifying tools to rebuild trust, respect proxemics, and create warm and safe school spaces.
Reflection
Developing civic and emotional competencies is fundamental for learning and the integral development of the student body. The proposal presented here promotes the development of these competencies to create a school environment where each student feels safe, happy, and free to learn, grow, and be themselves. It is imperative to remember that to create a positive school environment, the role of the teacher as a model and manager of emotions, the participation of families as allies in educating their children, and the constant research and continuous innovation of new educational strategies are essential. Education is a dynamic process that requires everyone’s commitment to build a space where students can develop their full potential.
The Colsubsidio School Network model offers a valuable, solid way to create a positive, harmonious, and safe school environment. Educational institutions are invited to learn about and adapt this proposal to their needs to build an emotionally positive school space for their students.
To contact us, send an email to gloria.galvis@colsubsdio.edu.co or gloriacgal@gmail.com
About the Author
Gloria Carmeria Galvis Leal (gloria.galvis@colsubsdio.edu.co) is a re-education pedagogue, a specialist in management and social projection of education, with a master’s degree in education emphasizing management. She has over 20 years of experience in education. Gloria currently works as a pedagogical coordinator of the Basic and Secondary Education section of the Colsubsidio School Network. She is a co-author of the school environment proposal and other educational projects.
References
Cortés, M. E. (2020). Efectos Neurológicos y Psicológicos de COVID-19 en Niños y Adolescentes. Revista Ecuatoriana De Neurología, 29(2), 12–13. https://doi.org/10.46997/revecuatneurol29200012
Guía No. 49. Guías pedagógicas para la convivencia escolar. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.mineducacion.gov.co/portal/men/Publicaciones/Guias/339480:Guia-No-49-Guias-pedagogicas-para-la-convivencia-escolar
EL DILEMA MORAL EJE CENTRAL DE UNA ESTRATEGIA PEDAGÓGICA – PDF free download. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://docplayer.es/14908418-El-dilema-moral-eje-central-de-una-estrategia-pedagogica.html
De Jesus, R. a. H. C., & De Jesus Hernández, F. D. C. S. (2021). La inteligencia emocional del gestor educativo en tiempos de pandemia. Revista Científica UIsrael, 8(3), 11–26. https://doi.org/10.35290/rcui.v8n3.2021.446
Garduño, L. (2015). LAS ESTRATEGIAS Y TÉCNICAS DIDÁCTICAS EN EL REDISEÑO. Ipn. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/11356794/LAS_ESTRATEGIAS_Y_T%C3%89CNICAS_DID%C3%81CTICAS_EN_EL_REDISE%C3%91O
Pérez Sauceda, J. B., (2015). CULTURA DE PAZ Y RESOLUCIÓN DE CONFLICTOS: LA IMPORTANCIA DE LA MEDIACIÓN EN LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DE UN ESTADO DE PAZ. Ra Ximhai, 11(1),109-131.[consulted February 25, 2024]. ISSN: 1665-0441. Retrieved from https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=46139401006
Política para la Convivencia Escolar en Convivencia, Ministerio de Educación Colombia 2013 Accessed at https://www.mineducacion.gov.co/portal/Preescolar-basica-y-media/Proyectos-de-Calidad/322486:Ley-de-Convivencia-Escolar
UNICEF (2022). De la recuperación del aprendizaje a la transformación de la educación
¿Cómo podemos recuperar el aprendizaje perdido después de la pandemia de COVID-19? Accessed at: https://www.unicef.org/es/blog/de-recuperacion-aprendizaje-a-transformacion-educacion
Editing
Edited by Rubí Román (rubi.roman@tec.mx) – Editor of the Edu bits articles and producer of The Observatory webinars- “Learning that inspires” – Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education at Tec de Monterrey.
Translation
Daniel Wetta
){kind=icon}
){kind=icon}
This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
)