Narratives on the category "value" in high school students: two case studies in the city of Bogotá

Abstract

This article is the result of an investigation of the Master in Education program of the Universidad La Gran Colombia; A general objective was proposed to determine how the category "value" of undergraduate students from two schools in the city of Bogotá, with ages ranging from fifteen to nineteen years respectively, are constructed. The methodological approach was of a qualitative nature in which the information gathering techniques will be used: focus groups and in-depth interviews, which had the purpose of collecting and interpreting the allocation of meanings and representations expressed in the narratives of the participating actors. Some of the findings find that the perceptions of the population under study regarding the "value" category are related to the processes of subjectivation that are constructed in everyday life in complex dynamics and not complex dynamics, as a result of social agreements. On the other hand, there is a significant tendency to construct the category "value" according to the needs, interests and motivations that are generated in the school context, which produce conflicts, contradictions and moral evaluations that often become a force struggle with the institutions. Among other conclusions, the game in which students immerse themselves based on ethical practices associated with the teleological category "value" stands out, because the behaviors try to avoid punishment or achieve a prize; and autotelic because the behaviors produce happiness in doing.