Abstract:

Generally, conversations about school with students focus on issues such as: how the day has gone, what they have done throughout the school day, what they have played with and what their pet is called, etc. However, these questions do not help us to know what it is that children in your school like, what they like of this, how would you like it to be, etc. The teachers are more concerned about the academic results they will achieve. This logic responds to the philosophy that prevails today: educational policies based on success, benefits, profitability, the knowledge economy and the robot economy.

It is important to listen to children to know their experiences and perceptions conceptions of school, because it will help us to improve it. It will also be possible to use it to make an inclusive school because it will be tailored to the characteristics and needs of the student. The project is entitled “The sense of the school for children of the early childhood education from their voices and conceptions". The project is framed in the research approach focused on listening to children (Coyne & Carter, 2018; Castro, Ezquerra, Argos, 2016; Harcourt, Perry & Waller, 2011; Susinos y Ceballos, 2012; Clark, 2005; Luxmoore, 2001; Christensen & James, 2000). From this approach, the children are recognized as capable people, active agents, possessors of knowledge and interests and with the ability to interpret their environment. Providing voice to students helps them feel the protagonist of their learning, participating, collaborating, teaching and learning from their role as a "student" (Gimeno Sacristán, 2003).

The aim of the research is to know early childhood education from the voices of children regarding their experiences, difficulties, needs, motivations and expectations.

If our purpose is to give voice to the students, the selected methodology is qualitative. We have conducted qualitative interviews with children in the second stage of early childhood education, between the ages of four and five. A total of 107 pupils (54 boys and 53 girls) were interviewed. These interviews were conducted in a group. The result was 16 groups. The ethical criteria required in this form of research have been met.

From them we have extracted interesting results related to the relevance of the whole school community generating a climate that favors the collaboration and enrichment of all its members through innovative and inclusive proposals; the conception that the students have of the teacher as an instructor, and not as a facilitator and mediator, role that they long for because they want an adult to listen to their proposals and motivations, so that the school curriculum comes close to their needs and interests from playful, cooperative and innovative methodologies more often in their classes. These children live immersed in the information society, but currently consider that the school does not help them as much as possible to navigate it and above all to enjoy the journey.

Keywords:

Early childhood education, qualitative interviews, listening to children, robot economy, knowledge economy.