Social representations of diversity in the University Children's Pedagogy Program of the Llanos

Abstract

The project investigates the importance of the recognition of diversity and its relationship with the ability to attend to boys and girls qualified as normal, with superior capacities or functional diversity, which allow innovating children's training with inclusive education strategies. The research determines the social representations of diversity that are forged by students, teachers and graduates of the Bachelor of Children's Pedagogy program at the University of Los Llanos. Through a quantitative approach and taking as a theoretical reference the work of Serge Moscovici (MORA, M. 2002, PETRACCI, M. AND KORNBLIT, A. 2007), a methodology of word evocation and prioritization of words was used to understand the degree to which the concept of diversity is framed within the daily knowledge of the participants. The sample consisted of 292 people, of whom were students of the program (n = 224), graduates (n = 46) and teachers (n = 22). An open questionnaire was designed to evaluate the level of evocation of words associated with diversity and the relevance assigned to them. In the results, differences were found between target groups and in terms of the type of words evoked, their level of prioritization and the perception of individual diversity. The academic implications of these results are discussed.