Social-emotional skills in school mediation processes:

a reflection from a rural context

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to reflect on the relationship between students' social-emotional skills and school mediation processes in a rural context. It should be noted that this reflection will analyze and break down concepts such as social-emotional skills and school mediation as a pedagogical strategy, because they are vital to the development of  research reflection, as identified in most research, and how they have focused on measuring socio-emotional skills or evaluating institutional programs, reflecting  more quantitative than qualitative results, leaving in the background the analysis of students' subjective experience during conflicts, which is vital to both academic and emotional development. In this sense, it is argued that socio-emotional competencies cannot be understood solely as a technical procedure, where they are measured by percentages or cases, especially in rural contexts, but rather as a process with a qualitative aspect, which is permeated by emotions that unquestionably influence the willingness of students and teachers to engage in dialogue in order to reach agreements. Likewise, the need to observe these dynamics in rural contexts is highlighted, where community relationships allow for particular emotional experiences. It is concluded that mediating conflicts from emotional experiences with a qualitative perspective allows for a broader understanding of school coexistence and provides a basis for more sensitive pedagogical strategies.