Abstract:

In this research, emotional competencies are taken into consideration as an object of study, since we agree with several authors in regarding them as a subset of personal competencies, since they play a fundamental role during the child's educational process. Several studies point out that positive attitudes towards science and technology during the education stage are declining, largely due to traditional science education based on the teaching of knowledge and processes. The main objective of this study is to find out if rejection of science subjects begins at an earlier age or if these attitudes are neutral during the primary stage. Within this field of study, an analysis is presented of the attitudes and emotional reactions shown by primary school students between 3rd and 6th grade towards the different subjects that make up the basic curriculum of this stage, as well as the preferences of students regarding the different teaching methods used by their teachers. The sample was composed of 444 students from different schools in our region, aged between 8 and 12 years old. The methodology used in the design of the research has been descriptive by survey. As a measuring instrument, a questionnaire divided into several blocks of interest has been designed to analyze the variables under study. The first block was intended to investigate the emotional aspects, both positive (joy. confidence and fun) and negative (sadness, anger, disgust and fear), that students show during the learning of the subjects. The second block referred to the students' interest in the different teaching methodologies that teachers used during the sessions. The statistical analysis of the data obtained seems to indicate in general terms that positive emotions predominate in the sample under study, as opposed to negative emotions in all the subjects that comprise their educational stage. On the other hand, the inferential analysis reveals differences between the various subjects depending on the age of the students, leading to a decrease in negative emotions and an increase in positive emotions in certain subjects as age increases. Differences in the preferences for teaching methodologies are observed depending on the academic year.

Keywords:

Attitudes, emotions, didactic methodologies, science teaching, primary education.