La Literatura como estrategia para transformar conflictos escolares

Abstract

This research analyzes the impact of a literature-based pedagogical strategy on the transformation of school conflicts among tenth-grade students at Colegio Nuestra Señora de la Paz in Bogotá. The research problem emerged from recurring difficulties in school coexistence, characterized by classroom disruptions, offensive remarks, peer exclusion, and resistance to traditional mediation strategies. From a methodological standpoint, a qualitative interpretive approach was adopted within an educational action research design, involving 31 students, teachers, and school administrators. Five sequential workshops were implemented, drawing on readings by authors such as Saint-Exupéry, García Márquez, Rulfo, Borges, and Anne Frank, and integrating activities such as creative writing, dramatization, reflective dialogue, and collaborative problem-solving. The results reveal a significant shift across two main categories: the first concerns the move from conflict resolution to conflict transformation, in which dialogue, mediation, and active listening replaced impulsive reactions; the second relates to literature as an act of mediation, fostering emotional identification, empathy, and ethical reflection. Overall, students transitioned from viewing conflict as a problem to understanding it as a learning opportunity. Finally, the study concludes that literature, when integrated as a formative experience rather than as academic content, constitutes a powerful pedagogical tool for reframing school coexistence and shaping citizens capable of managing their differences peacefully, in alignment with the "Peacemaker" profile outlined in the school's institutional educational project.