ABSTRACT
Objective: Understand the meaning that a group of adult women gives to personal experiences in the process of educational empowerment, when studying a degree within their living conditions, to identify the driving and inhibiting factors that emerge from their collective life stories focused on the stage of childhood in rural communities.
Theoretical Framework: This topic presents the main concepts and theories that support the research, among which the following stand out: factors of female empowerment, personal dimension, dimension of close relationships, collective dimension, theories of female empowerment.
Method: The research was carried out from the qualitative paradigm under the approach of life stories, within biographical-narrative studies. It was carried out with women from San Antonio Acahualco, a town in the Municipality of Zinacantepec, State of Mexico. To select the participants, a type of convenience sampling was used, selecting the most accessible cases and due to the proximity of the subjects to the researchers. Seven women whose ages ranged between 32 and 40 years collaborated. To select the informants, the following inclusion criteria were considered: being a woman, having finished high school, living in the town of San Antonio Acahualco, being enrolled in the Women Building the Future program and being available to be interviewed in various occasions. Furthermore, to protect the anonymity of the participants, established keys for qualitative research were used: S (Subject); F (Feminine); 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (assigned number). To collect the information, two fundamental techniques were used, the in-depth interview and natural semantic networks. As part of the in-depth interview, the interview script and the stimulus word were generated with the consequent activities to follow in the case of the natural semantic network. A letter of informed consent was also signed by the participating women, and, regarding the interviews and natural semantic network, they were carried out in an appropriate place and with full respect for the privacy of the informants.
Results and Discussion: Driving and inhibiting factors of female empowerment were identified, highlighting among the former happiness, affection, study and play, among the latter insecurity, economic and educational problems. In this context, there is a need to investigate proposals to transform adverse situations from the family, socioeconomic and school conditions in which the women lived. The limitation to the childhood stage to collect information from life stories must be recognized, so it is suggested to build the proposals based on the analysis of other life paths.
Research Implications: Research like this favors the commitment of women's studies institutes and social management observatories, to generate well-founded proposals for cultural changes and improvements to rural environments. It involves the efforts of those who promote a balanced image of women and promote strategies aimed at eliminating sexism and gender stereotypes.
Originality/Value: Research based on life stories is of great theoretical-practical value, since in them the dialectical relationship is discovered, the daily negotiation between aspiration and possibility, between utopia and reality, between creation and acceptance; without forgetting that its information comes from everyday life, common sense, the explanations and reconstructions that as an individual make to live and survive daily. It is an original way of becoming interested in understanding the social phenomenon, from the actor's point of view. In addition, it considers the emotional meaning of the things, situations, experiences and relationships that affect people. Investigating from this vision is relevant to investigate the human factor of women, considering the internal source of empowerment to also incorporate its community scope.
Keywords: Empowerment, Women, Education, Social management, Life stories, Rural Environment Management.
RESUMO
Objetivo: Compreender o significado que um grupo de mulheres adultas dá às experiências pessoais no processo de empoderamento educativo, ao cursar uma licenciatura dentro das suas condições de vida, para identificar os fatores impulsionadores e inibidores que emergem das suas histórias de vida coletiva focadas na fase da infância em comunidades rurais.
Referencial Teórico: Este tópico apresenta os principais conceitos e teorias que sustentam a investigação, entre os quais se destacam: fatores de empoderamento feminino, dimensão pessoal, dimensão de relacionamentos próximos, dimensão coletiva, teorias de empoderamento feminino.
Método: A pesquisa foi realizada a partir do paradigma qualitativo sob a abordagem de histórias de vida, no âmbito de estudos biográfico-narrativos. Foi realizado com mulheres de San Antonio Acahualco, município do Município de Zinacantepec, Estado do México. Para seleção dos participantes foi utilizado um tipo de amostragem por conveniência, selecionando os casos mais acessíveis e pela proximidade dos sujeitos com os pesquisadores. Colaboraram sete mulheres com idades entre 32 e 40 anos. Para a seleção das informantes foram levados em consideração os seguintes critérios de inclusão: ser mulher, ter concluído o ensino médio, residir no município de San Antonio Acahualco, estar matriculada no programa Mulheres Construindo o Futuro e ter disponibilidade para entrevistas em diversas ocasiões. Além disso, para proteger o anonimato dos participantes, foram utilizadas chaves estabelecidas para pesquisas qualitativas: S (Sujeito); F (feminino); 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 e 7 (número atribuído). Para a recolha da informação foram utilizadas duas técnicas fundamentais, a entrevista em profundidade e as redes semânticas naturais. No âmbito da entrevista em profundidade foram gerados o roteiro de entrevista e a palavra estímulo com as consequentes atividades a seguir no caso da rede semântica natural. Também foi assinado um termo de consentimento livre e esclarecido pelas mulheres participantes e, quanto às entrevistas e rede semântica natural, foram realizadas em local apropriado e com total respeito à privacidade das informantes.
Resultados e Discussão: Foram identificados fatores impulsionadores e inibidores do empoderamento feminino, destacando-se entre os primeiros a felicidade, o carinho, o estudo e a brincadeira; entre estes últimos problemas de insegurança, económicos e educacionais. Nesse contexto, há necessidade de investigar propostas para transformar situações adversas das condições familiares, socioeconômicas e escolares em que viviam as mulheres. Deve-se reconhecer a limitação da fase infantil para coletar informações de histórias de vida, por isso sugere-se construir as propostas a partir da análise de outras trajetórias de vida.
Implicações da pesquisa: Pesquisas como esta favorecem o compromisso dos institutos de estudos da mulher e dos observatórios de gestão social, para gerar propostas bem fundamentadas para mudanças culturais e melhorias nos ambientes rurais. Envolve os esforços daqueles que promovem uma imagem equilibrada das mulheres e promovem estratégias destinadas a eliminar o sexismo e os estereótipos de género.
Originalidade/Valor: A pesquisa baseada em histórias de vida é de grande valor teórico-prático, pois nelas se descobre a relação dialética, a negociação diária entre aspiração e possibilidade, entre utopia e realidade, entre criação e aceitação; sem esquecer que suas informações vêm do cotidiano, do bom senso, das explicações e reconstruções que o indivíduo faz para viver e sobreviver diariamente. É uma forma original de se interessar pela compreensão do fenômeno social, do ponto de vista do ator. Além disso, leva em consideração o significado emocional das coisas, situações, experiências e relacionamentos que afetam as pessoas. Investigar a partir desta visão é relevante para investigar o fator humano da mulher, considerando a fonte interna de empoderamento para incorporar também o seu âmbito comunitário.
Palavras-chave: Empoderamento, Mulheres, Educação, Gestão social, Histórias de vida, Gestão do Meio Rural.
RESUMEN
Objetivo: Comprender el significado que le confiere un grupo de mujeres adultas a las experiencias personales en el proceso de empoderamiento educativo, al estudiar una licenciatura dentro de sus condiciones de vida, para identificar los factores impulsores e inhibidores que emergen de sus historias de vida colectivas centradas en la etapa de la infancia en comunidades rurales.
Marco Teórico: En este tema se presentan los principales conceptos y teorías que sustentan la investigación, entre los que destacan: factores de empoderamiento feminino, dimensión personal, dimensión de relaciones cercanas, dimensión colectiva, teorias del empoderamiento feminino.
Método: La investigación se realizó desde el paradigma cualitativo bajo el enfoque de las historias de vida, dentro de los estudios biográfico-narrativos. Se llevó a cabo con mujeres de San Antonio Acahualco, una localidad del Municipio de Zinacantepec, Estado de México. Para la selección de las participantes se utilizó un tipo de muestreo por conveniencia, seleccionando los casos más accesibles y por la proximidad de los sujetos para los investigadores. Colaboraron siete mujeres cuyas edades oscilan entre 32 y 40 años. Para seleccionar a las informantes se tomaron en cuenta los siguientes criterios de inclusión: ser mujer, haber terminado la preparatoria, vivir en la localidad de San Antonio Acahualco, estar inscrita en el programa Mujeres edificando el futuro y tener la disponibilidad para ser entrevistada en diversas ocasiones. Además, para proteger el anonimato de las participantes se utilizaron claves establecidas para la investigación cualitativa: S (Sujeto); F (Femenino); 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 y 7 (número asignado). Para recabar la información se utilizaron dos técnicas fundamentales, la entrevista en profundidad y las redes semánticas naturales. Como parte de la entrevista en profundidad se generó el guion de entrevista y la palabra estímulo con las consiguientes actividades a seguir para el caso de la red semántica natural. También se procedió a la firma de una carta de consentimiento informado de parte de las mujeres participantes y, respecto a las entrevistas y red semántica natural, se llevaron a cabo en un lugar adecuado y con pleno respeto a la privacidad de las informantes.
Resultados y Discusión: Se identificaron factores impulsores e inhibidores del empoderamiento femenino, destacando entre los primeros la felicidad, el afecto, el estudio y el juego; entre los segundos inseguridad, problemas económicos y educativos. En este contexto se advierte la necesidad de investigar propuestas transformadoras de situaciones adversas desde las condiciones familiares, socioeconómicas y escolares en las que vivieron las mujeres. Debe reconocerse la limitación a la etapa infantil para recabar información desde las historias de vida, por lo que se sugiere construir las propuestas con base en el análisis de otros trayectos de vida.
Implicaciones de la investigación: Una investigación como la presente favorece el compromiso de los institutos de estudios sobre las mujeres y observatorios de gestión social, para generar propuestas fundamentadas de cambios culturales y de mejoras a los ambientes rurales. Implica el esfuerzo de quienes fomentan una imagen equilibrada de las mujeres y promueven estrategias encaminadas a la eliminación del sexismo y los estereotipos de género.
Originalidad/Valor: Es de un gran valor teórico-práctico la investigación desde las historias de vida, toda vez que en ellas se descubre la relación dialéctica, la negociación cotidiana entre aspiración y posibilidad, entre utopía y realidad, entre creación y aceptación; sin olvidar que su información proviene de la vida cotidiana, del sentido común, de las explicaciones y reconstrucciones que como individuo efectúa para vivir y sobrevivir diariamente. Es una forma original de interesarse por el entendimiento del fenómeno social, desde la visión del actor. Además, toma en cuenta el significado afectivo que tienen las cosas, situaciones, experiencias y relaciones que afectan a las personas. Investigar desde esta visión es relevante para indagar en el factor humano de la mujer, considerando la fuente interna del empoderamiento para incorporar también el ámbito comunitario del mismo.
Palabras clave: Empoderamiento, Mujeres, Educación, Gestión social, Historias de vida, Gestión del Ambiente rural.
1 INTRODUCTION
Access to education can enable women to break gender paradigms and become agents of change. Exercising their right to schooling represents one of the best instruments for empowering themselves and achieving gender equality, in addition to enriching general economic processes and strengthening the economy of families in particular.
In this sense, it can be stated that the higher the level of education, the greater the possibility of effective empowerment of the female population (State Council of Population, 2017). Achieving high levels of education means having access to better employment and greater control over one's reproductive life, to break with the traditional stereotype of womanmother, in contrast to what those people experience with limited educational expectations and without a life project (State Council of Population, 2019; State Council of Population, 2020).
From this perspective, the incorporation of women into the student environment reflects the changes in the sociocultural construction that has allowed the opening towards areas that allow female access to the public space. This change has as a consequence the conception of young women who seek autonomy in their decisions and who are interested in their personal development, displacing those areas destined purely for traditional female life (Fleet, 2009).
In this sense, experiences and feelings play an important role. Therefore, it becomes essential to analyze their life stories since they reveal the dialectical relationship, the daily negotiation between aspiration and possibility, between utopia and reality, between creation and acceptance; without forgetting that their information comes from daily life, from common sense, from the explanations and reconstructions that they make as individuals to live and survive daily (Chárriez, 2012). Investigating from life stories allows us to delve deeper into the human factor of women (Barrón, 2016), considering the internal source of empowerment to also incorporate the community sphere of it (Cedeño, 2006; Gómez, 2022).
Therefore, the overall objective of the study was to understand the meaning that a group of adult women give to personal experiences in the process of educational empowerment, when studying for a bachelor's degree within their living conditions, in order to identify the driving and inhibiting factors that emerge from their collective life stories focused on the childhood stage in rural communities.
2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 FACTORS OF FEMALE EMPOWERMENT
Historically, women have been ignored by men, and it is clear that it is important to join forces to empower them. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop in them the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to improve their living conditions.
In this sense, it is of great relevance that they have access to the availability of economic, social and educational resources with the intention of being able to make strategic life decisions (Casique, 2020). More than having access to resources, what women want is to have control over their own lives. That is, they not only want to participate in decision-making through quotas for women, they also seek to fully enjoy all their rights as citizens and, in addition, they want to have a decent and well-paid job. The capacity for female empowerment includes three interrelated components (Kabeer, 1999):
2.1.1 Resources
This aspect includes not only material resources in the conventional economic sense, but also various human and social resources. These resources are acquired through a multiplicity of social relations that occur in the institutional spheres that make up a society (family, market, community, etc.).
2.1.2 Agency
This component is related to agency, that is, the ability to define one's own goals and act accordingly. It also encompasses the meaning, motivation and purpose that individuals bring to their activities, their sense of agency or inner power. Agency can take the form of bargaining and negotiation, deception and manipulation, subversion and resistance, as well as intangible cognitive processes of reflection and analysis. It can be exercised by both individuals and collectivities.
Agency has both a positive and negative meaning in relation to power. In the positive sense of power to , it refers to the ability of individuals to define their own life choices and pursue their own goals, even in the face of opposition from others. It can also be exercised in the more negative sense of power over , that is, the ability of an actor to override the agency of others, for example, through the use of violence, coercion, and threat.
2.1.3 Achievements
All the functional and value-added elements that women obtain by becoming empowered are considered a set of achievements. To give the social meaning of achievement, it is necessary to consider very specific cultural norms and components of the context of women's performance. To evaluate the effect of resources and women's agency in the empowerment process, achievements must be verified in terms of economic, social, political well-being, justice and equity. The health of children and family planning, as well as the adequate and independent management of financial resources are indicators of achievements.
The manifestations necessary for the empowerment process are considered to be, more precisely, the following (Hernández and García, 2008): sense of security and vision of the future; ability to earn a living; ability to act effectively in the public sphere; greater power to make decisions at home; participation in non-family groups and use of solidarity groups as resources of information and support; mobility and visibility in the community.
However, an interesting perspective is that of Rowlands (1997) which proposes that empowerment can be seen in three dimensions:
The personal dimension; where empowerment consists of developing the sense of being and individual capacity (which involves destroying the effects of internalizing oppression).
The dimension of close relationships; in this, empowerment consists of developing the ability to negotiate and influence the nature of the relationship and the decisions made within said relationship.
The collective dimension - here individuals work together to achieve a greater impact than they could individually. This includes participation in political structures, but can also be collective action, based on a cooperative rather than a competitive model.
Empowerment, from its collective dimension, needs to be further subdivided as a category, since it covers a wide range of scales from the local level to the international level. In this way, a local or informal collective aspect and an institutional or formal collective aspect can be distinguished. In the case of this research, emphasis will be placed on the collective dimension proposed by this author, since it allows for a better approach and general understanding of what power and empowerment can mean in the Mexican and Latin American context.
2.2 AN APPROACH TO THEORIES ON FEMALE EMPOWERMENT
Empowerment is understood as the process through which one acquires control over oneself, over ideology and over resources related to power, where individuals and groups strengthen their capacity to make changes and take decisions about their own lives or organizations, in order to influence broader social changes.
The term empowerment is derived from the English word empowerment , whose equivalent in Spanish would be strengthening, acquisition of power or, as Lagarde (1997) points out, power. Theories on empowerment foresee both processes and results, suggesting that actions, activities or structures can be empowering and that the results of these processes result in becoming an empowered person.
Both the empowerment process and the outcome vary because they do not have a pattern that fully captures their meaning in the context of the population (Meléndez-Ferrer, 2016). The distinctions between the empowerment process and its outcome are very important to understand the definition of empowerment theory. According to Meléndez-Ferrer (2016), the empowerment process for individuals must include community participation of organizations, collective decision-making and shared leadership, as well as collective actions to access government resources.
The results of individual empowerment should specifically include control of skills and resources, as well as evidence of pluralism, the organizational existence of coalitions, and accessibility to resources by communities. In an article referring to empowerment models, Jiménez-Munive et al. (2022) point out that in the term empowerment it should be noted that for this process to take place, it is suggested to distinguish the levels at which it operates:
Individual; solving empowerment problems at a personal level requires the transformation of individual consciousness and attitudes.
Collective; solving problems such as legal norm structures, power relations and changes in social values that require education, employment, material resources and political power.
Both individual and collective empowerment require effective organization among women, as well as mutual aid, sacrifice and sisterhood. The goal of women's empowerment is to challenge the ideology of patriarchy in order to transform the structures of institutions that reinforce and perpetuate gender discrimination and inequality so that women have access to control, material and information resources (Pérez-Sánchez et al., 2018).
According to Reyes (2022), there are different multidisciplinary perspectives that describe the different processes that determine the empowerment or disempowerment of a community, as well as the impact that can threaten it. His model is distinguished by:
Formal empowerment, what can be called structural or social empowerment, in which most of the political decisions of the system allow local control to be measured and given meaning.
Instrumental empowerment, which means the effective action of a citizen through his or her participation.
Community or organizational empowerment, which is the effective action of a group.
The particular experiences of women collected through life stories represent the possibility of recovering the meanings associated with the experiences they have lived. They also allow us to perceive a world of intimate meanings that pose the challenge of reinserting the individual meanings attributed to the experience in the social context in which they originate (Kornblit, 2007).
Women's life stories have specific and general aspects that are important to know in order to make their problems visible and to initiate further reflection, since they have lived in plural ways in the most diverse circumstances. They are subjects of their own, complex, diverse and contradictory history that can only be understood from the experience they have as part of their gender (García-Peña, 2016).
3 METHODOLOGY
The research was conducted from the qualitative paradigm as a way to understand in depth the educational and social phenomena ( Sandín, 2003), highlighting the importance of the context in the present study and the importance of reality as it is experienced and perceived by women (Martínez, 2014). In addition, this way of investigating the subject in question is distinguished because it is descriptive, inductive, phenomenological, ecological, structuralsystemic, humanistic and flexible in design (Martínez, 1997).
The selected approach was that of life stories, within biographical-narrative research and as a way of subjectivation that makes the voice of ordinary people visible, highlighting the complex and situated nature of social problems (Rivas et al., 2012; Sancho, 2014).
The research was conducted with women from San Antonio Acahualco, a town in the Municipality of Zinacantepec, State of Mexico. For the selection of participants, a type of convenience sampling was used, selecting the most accessible cases and the proximity of the subjects for the researchers (Otzen and Manterola, 2017).
Seven women between the ages of 32 and 40 participated in the study. The following inclusion criteria were taken into account when selecting the informants: being a woman, having completed high school, living in the town of San Antonio Acahualco, being enrolled in the program Mujerestruyendo el futuro (Women Building the Future ) and being available to be interviewed on several occasions. In addition, to protect the anonymity of the participants, established codes for qualitative research were used: S (Subject); F (Female); 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 (assigned number).
To collect the information, two fundamental techniques were used: the in-depth interview and natural semantic networks. As part of the in-depth interview, the interview script and the stimulus word were generated with the subsequent activities to follow for the case of the natural semantic network. A letter of informed consent was also signed by the participating women and, regarding the interviews and natural semantic network, they were carried out in an appropriate place and with full respect for the privacy of the informants.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The life story linked to the process of female empowerment in higher education recovers the interactive nature of the group of women in which interpersonal encounters, a sense of belonging and common experiences are shared to face various situations that require solutions in a given historical, social, economic, political, cultural, educational and family context.
It refers to the processes, achievement of objectives and efforts to gain control, shared by a group, in this case women, who have common goals and processes (Silva and Loreto, 2004). It has to do with the collective power to modify gender relations in the aforementioned areas (Charlier and Caubergs, 2007).
Regarding age, it can be seen that all women are in adulthood, which is important to understand their actions in different areas of their lives, although the following analysis is focused on the childhood stage.
4.1 CHILDHOOD
For most women, their childhood was happy, marked by family aspects and ups and downs.
Innocent, I was a very innocent girl and I was very happy, I had a very close family (SF4); Very innocent and full of love, and I was enormously free, although I lived through sad and difficult episodes I was very happy and had a healthy childhood (SF5); Full because I lived a happy childhood in a close-knit family, and full of love and peace (SF6); Happy, it was a super happy stage where I began to develop my social, mental and physical abilities (SF7).
In this sense, it must be considered that happiness in childhood is related to secure attachment, which in turn has to do with the way in which parents relate to each other. Good treatment fosters self-esteem, confidence and autonomy throughout the child's life, in addition to allowing them to better manage their emotions and establish healthier relationships.
Her life as a child in the family was full of affection and love.
They treated me very well, I never lacked affection, my childhood was very good (SF1); Pretty, they treated me well. I had a healthy and affectionate coexistence (SF2); Good and complicated, I was full of love and tolerance (SF5); Loving and understanding, I always felt a healthy and harmonious coexistence (SF7).
In Contreras' (2010) view, affectivity is made up of internal and external reactions through which a subject can feel and act differently in response to the stimuli that are presented to him throughout his life. It represents a bond that human beings have with the family, especially between the child and the mother, since it is through the family that different emotions and feelings are expressed. Affection is an intense and lasting feeling in infants that is often associated with joy in their daily lives.
They were not born or lived in San Antonio Acahualco, but in towns belonging to the municipality of Zinacantepec.
San Luis Mextepec (SF1); San Cristobal Tecolit (SF2); San Francisco (SF3); San Juan de las Huertas (SF4); San Cristobal Tecolit (SF5); Zinacantepec (SF6); Zinacantepec (SF7).
In the neighborhoods where they lived, the situation was complicated due to reasons of social insecurity.
Complicated, very difficult, it was somewhat unsafe to live in a place like that (SF1); Complicated, but without personal problems (SF3); Somewhat complicated, since there was insecurity (SF4); Complicated and difficult since there was a lot of insecurity and crime (SF5).
In the surroundings of his neighborhood, a certain degree of insecurity could be perceived. In this regard, insecurity problems break into the public space of the communities, which threatens the peaceful coexistence of people (Díaz and Esteves, 2017).
At a broader social level, they did perceive social problems, but they were able to live together with a certain amount of peace.
Yes, I saw it around me, they were not so good, but I lived well (SF3); Yes, they were very serious problems, although I did not realize them very well, little by little I understood them (SF5); Difficult, but good, at least we did not have problems with others and there was no bad coexistence (SF6); Yes, I realized some of them, not in the same way, but I understood them (SF7).
In this context, coexistence was a fundamental element for establishing relationships between people in society; however, it could be threatened by the violence generated by certain groups (Sánchez-Villafañe and Quiceno-Pérez, 2016).
Economic problems in the community were also noted.
Yes, I noticed them in my family and in others too, it was not very serious in my case (SF3); Yes, I saw a lot of unemployment and lack of job opportunities (SF5); Yes, I noticed it around me, and it was common to see people with deficiencies (SF6); Yes, there were not as many as now, but that problem was increasing (SF7).
Zinacantepec and Acahualco are located on the outskirts of the capital of the State of Mexico, which places them in a unique situation given that in the neighborhoods located in the peripheral area of the state capitals, problems of marginality can be identified, where their inhabitants have few opportunities for social advancement and where poverty and unemployment are experienced in their daily lives (Valencia and López, 2013).
In the educational field they noticed some problems.
Yes, I noticed this through conversations or reading (SF1); Yes, there was a lack of opportunity to study (SF5); Yes, not all of us had the opportunity to study (SF6).
The socioeconomic background of students and their families has a great influence on their chances of entering school due to the cost involved in being able to send a child to school, especially when parents are unemployed or underemployed (Institute of Legislative Studies, 2019).
However, they did have significant experiences such as living with other people, especially other children, adults and animals.
Living with other children (SF3); Living with children other than me (SF5); Living with adults and learning from them (SF6); Living with animals, I loved being with them (SF7).
In this regard, coexistence has to do with the ability of human beings to interact with others based on respect and mutual solidarity. It takes into account the recognition and approval of diversity where differences and the opinions of others are accepted (Carrillo, 2018).
In everyday life, during an ordinary day, activities such as studying, helping around the house, and playing stood out.
Playing at home, studying and being at home (SF1); Going to school, being at home, playing, being with my parents, watching television (SF2); Constantly helping at home while studying (SF5); Being at school and coming home to help with housework (SF6).
This brought benefits for them. Playful activity in children favors their psychological development, especially their learning and socio-emotional development. Play allows them to build ideas and exchange dialogues with a higher level of complexity. Through it, they exercise various intellectual possibilities (Damián and Flores, 2011).
Regarding academic tasks, they are part of the most frequent extracurricular activities at school, which is why they are part of the daily life of students and teachers (Suárez et al., 2014). On the other hand, it is very useful to involve children in household chores since it promotes cooperation, responsibility and a sense of belonging. In addition, they learn that there are both rights and obligations.
Parents, siblings, relatives and friends treated them with love.
Very well, I lived in a loving and peaceful environment with my family (SF1); Very well, I received a lot of love from all family members (SF2); With love, we were a united and supportive family, and I liked our coexistence (SF5); Very well, they treated me with love and respect, I felt loved and protected by them (SF6).
Good treatment is manifested daily and in the natural interaction between peers, children and adults; it is the link where they will strengthen their learning of what good treatment is. This implies the respect and communication that occurs between parents and children. It has to do with relationships with other people and the environment where a reciprocal feeling of recognition and appreciation is established (Iglesias López, n.d.).
Among the critical moments they experienced were those of an economic and educational nature.
Lack of education and resources, lack of necessary resources (SF5); Economic problems (SF6); Problems at school, sometimes I had difficulty doing well (SF7).
There is a significant portion of workers, who are also parents, who survive in needy or low-income households. On the other hand, school learning problems have to do with students who have poor academic performance and grades that leave much to be desired (Ramírez, 2011).
The relationships they had with their friends and acquaintances were pleasant and friendly.
Pleasant, I was very friendly and I got along well with everyone around me (SF1); Friendly, I was very sociable as a child (SF2); Very friendly, I got along well with everyone around me (SF4); Pleasant and cordial, I liked the way we all got along (SF5).
These friendly relationships of children with their peers help them with psychosocial adaptation, management of socio-emotional skills, proactive participation, acceptance of others and positive relationships.
Most of them had socializing experiences in preschool.
Yes, it was a very good experience, I liked living and socializing more with new people (SF1); Yes, very nice, I got to know a new stage in which I learned too many things that I didn't know (SF2); Yes, very nice, I learned to live together and learn new things (SF5); Yes, full and good. I liked this new stage because I learned not to depend on my parents and to be a little independent (SF6).
Socialization is the process that emerges from the interrelations that the child has with different people on a daily basis, through which negotiations of various kinds are established in a dynamic and continuous manner. In this process, the child actively participates in learning about social life (Núñez and Alba, 2011).
For their part, the experience in primary school was pleasant because they learned about various topics.
Good, I learned a lot, and I really liked learning and getting to know new topics of great importance (SF1); I enjoyed the experience a lot, it was something that taught me new ways of seeing things in my society and world (SF2); Pleasant, I learned new things and new learnings (SF4); Very good, I liked attending fully, I liked school and learning new things, which, although they were difficult, I tried with great effort (SF6).
These significant childhood experiences, derived from learning in primary school, are related to socio-educational integration in various contexts (Guzmán and Saucedo, 2015).
Most of the participants had photographs from their childhood up to a certain year.
Approximately from age 5 to 11 (SF1) ; Yes, I couldn't determine an order since they don't follow it (SF3); From my date of birth to 1989 possibly (SF4); Yes, from age 2 to 10 (SF5).
They had favorable opinions about the photographs related to happiness.
It was very good and happy (SF1); That I was very happy, they are beautiful and unforgettable memories (SF2); Well, I was very small and I was happy (SF4); They were beautiful times and moments (SF5).
These photographs constitute an important element in the social construction of their childhood since they provide knowledge about childhood and school, which allows us to identify their narratives, experiences, emotions, affections and real-life situations (Montaño-Peña, 2020).
They socialized predominantly with relatives.
Only with my family (SF4); Only my parents and siblings (SF5); My close friends such as parents and distant or close relatives (SF6); My siblings and parents, and my friends from school (SF7).
It should be noted that the family is the main instance of socialization of the child, which affects their development through the quality of the interactions they have with each member (Ramírez, 2009).
They also observed that women were treated with respect.
I was treated well (SF1); Yes, we were treated with respect (SF5); Yes, in a respectful and peaceful manner (SF6); Yes, at least they were respected around me (SF7).
Respect for women is fundamental because it gives them the opportunity to develop and is a basic condition for promoting values (Von Hildebrand, 2004).
Regarding religion, during their childhood they had a lot of contact with it.
A lot, I was encouraged to get very close to religion (SF2); Now that I think about it, a lot by my parents (SF4); My childhood was very influenced by religion (SF6); A lot, I attended catechism (SF7).
It should be noted that religious faith is related to the idea of God to be applied in personal and social life. This relationship involves cognitive, affective, social and cultural aspects that are linked to a commitment and to certain rules that must be observed (Habenicht, n.d.).
His love life during this period was pleasant and full of love.
Nice, my childhood was pleasant and full of love (SF1); Good with my parents and close ones, everyone was friendly to me (SF2); Good and peaceful, I liked my childhood because it was pleasant (SF4) ; I had a good relationship with my parents and brother, we treated each other very well and I never lacked love (SF6).
In this aspect, the family has the mission of ensuring optimal physical and emotional development of the child, so it must facilitate positive links with him to guarantee his emotional security (Quintero and Leiva, 2015).
One of his childhood wishes was to improve his socioeconomic situation.
Improve my life, have a good position (SF3); Follow my parents' example and have a better quality of life (SF4); Have a good social and economic position (SF5); Have a good social and economic position and I did not think about family (SF6).
It is important to point out that family incomes have been deteriorating due to periods of inflation, economic instability inherited from the past and inequalities in household income, which is why the members of these families want to improve their economic situation (Montoya, 2017).
Regarding their social position, they belonged to the middle class.
Medium (SF1); Medium (SF2); Medium (SF3); Medium (SF4).
This socioeconomic position has as distinctive characteristics not being in a vulnerable situation and not being at risk of falling into poverty in the presence of economic crises (Teruel et al., 2018).
When carrying out the analysis it was found that the participants define the Female empowerment in higher education as : equality, equity, opportunities, rights, responsibility, commitment, justice, leaders, independent, jobs, wisdom, decision, value, economy and loyalty. As a result of the semantic categorization, the following were obtained: rights, values and economic improvement.
Girls live with the concern for their personal integrity or the possibility that their property or a family member's life will be affected. This inhibits their mobility behaviors, forcing them to change their routines. In the school part, socializing experiences and learning of diverse content stand out, as well as the predominant influence of religion and seeing that women were treated with respect. This process integrates dimensions such as the emotional ties that the girl establishes with parents, siblings and friends; the knowledge of principles, beliefs, habits, social practices, institutions and social symbols; as well as the assimilation of appropriate social behaviors (Cañete, 2010).
5 CONCLUSION
Life stories are related to the stages that women have lived through. In the study, special attention was paid to childhood and the recognition of its influence on reaching adulthood. From a collective level, the analysis was carried out to understand the factors that promoted and inhibited their educational empowerment from the family, socioeconomic and school conditions in which they lived.
The childhood of the participating women was contextualized in the family aspect by happiness, affection, study and play. However, in the socioeconomic aspect they suffered insecurity, economic and educational problems. Despite this, in the general school environment the socializing and learning experiences were important and significant.
In the collective dimension, belonging to groups of children at school was also identified. Their group identity, collective capacity to generate change, group dignity and selforganization were motivated by the education acquired at school and the desire to improve and help. But these elements were limited by exclusion, lack of support, mistreatment, prejudice and lack of information.
Schooling, family and values are highlighted as driving elements of the dimensions of educational empowerment in girls. It can be concluded that the three elements play an important role in learning the fundamental notions of such empowerment.
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Abstract
Objective: Understand the meaning that a group of adult women gives to personal experiences in the process of educational empowerment, when studying a degree within their living conditions, to identify the driving and inhibiting factors that emerge from their collective life stories focused on the stage of childhood in rural communities. Theoretical Framework: This topic presents the main concepts and theories that support the research, among which the following stand out: factors of female empowerment, personal dimension, dimension of close relationships, collective dimension, theories of female empowerment. Method: The research was carried out from the qualitative paradigm under the approach of life stories, within biographical-narrative studies. It was carried out with women from San Antonio Acahualco, a town in the Municipality of Zinacantepec, State of Mexico. To select the participants, a type of convenience sampling was used, selecting the most accessible cases and due to the proximity of the subjects to the researchers. Seven women whose ages ranged between 32 and 40 years collaborated. To select the informants, the following inclusion criteria were considered: being a woman, having finished high school, living in the town of San Antonio Acahualco, being enrolled in the Women Building the Future program and being available to be interviewed in various occasions. Furthermore, to protect the anonymity of the participants, established keys for qualitative research were used: S (Subject); F (Feminine); 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (assigned number). To collect the information, two fundamental techniques were used, the in-depth interview and natural semantic networks. As part of the in-depth interview, the interview script and the stimulus word were generated with the consequent activities to follow in the case of the natural semantic network. A letter of informed consent was also signed by the participating women, and, regarding the interviews and natural semantic network, they were carried out in an appropriate place and with full respect for the privacy of the informants. Results and Discussion: Driving and inhibiting factors of female empowerment were identified, highlighting among the former happiness, affection, study and play, among the latter insecurity, economic and educational problems. In this context, there is a need to investigate proposals to transform adverse situations from the family, socioeconomic and school conditions in which the women lived. The limitation to the childhood stage to collect information from life stories must be recognized, so it is suggested to build the proposals based on the analysis of other life paths. Research Implications: Research like this favors the commitment of women's studies institutes and social management observatories, to generate well-founded proposals for cultural changes and improvements to rural environments. It involves the efforts of those who promote a balanced image of women and promote strategies aimed at eliminating sexism and gender stereotypes. Originality/Value: Research based on life stories is of great theoretical-practical value, since in them the dialectical relationship is discovered, the daily negotiation between aspiration and possibility, between utopia and reality, between creation and acceptance; without forgetting that its information comes from everyday life, common sense, the explanations and reconstructions that as an individual make to live and survive daily. It is an original way of becoming interested in understanding the social phenomenon, from the actor's point of view. In addition, it considers the emotional meaning of the things, situations, experiences and relationships that affect people. Investigating from this vision is relevant to investigate the human factor of women, considering the internal source of empowerment to also incorporate its community scope.