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

http://www.ucm.es/info/quiron/pedinfant

INTRODUCTION






Spanish children have the second highest rate of subjective well-being





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






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?






METHODOLOGY










817 Children

Five Primary Schools:

• Three public schools

• Two private-subsidized schools

Sample:





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



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:




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.…………………… ……………………………………………………………….






Children’s perception and understanding of happiness:

A: self-satisfactionB: masteryC: aspirationsD: vital events and daily liveE: relationships

Five fields



A) SELF-SATISFACTIONAm I happy?






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




Children claim to be very happy

As they get olders, the rate of self-satisfaction diminishes




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



B) MASTERYI’m good at…





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





Boys and girls feel competent in different skills




0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

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Re

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Sp

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Art

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Se

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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… .…………………………………………… ……………………………………….



C) ASPIRATIONSI want that!






Children’s aspirations move between the desire for security and the expectation of emancipation




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



“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






D) VITAL EVENTS AND DAILY LIFE

My jows and sorrows





“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




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..…………………………………………… ……………………………………….


“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




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… ..………………………… ………………… ……………………………………….


E) RELATIONSHIPSWhat makes me happiest is…





RA

QU

EL

Carlos, 8 years old




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…… ..………………………… ……………………….………… ..………………………… ……………………….…………..………………………… ……………………….…………..………………………… ……………………….………… ..………………………… ……………………….………… …………………………………………………………..….


CONCLUSIONS





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.





growing up happy

Documents

foundation research

happy spanish children

foundation grade123456age6

happy growing

oecd countries

rich countries

years old childrens

childrens material welfare