Principios éticos: Integración curricular de los significados y sentidos del proyecto de vida adolescente

Abstract

In Colombia, various public policies have promoted the development of skills and autonomy among school-age youth, with a focus on building a life plan that meets their needs and enhances their personal fulfillment. However, challenges remain, such as educational inequality, early school dropout, and lack of continuity in formal education, which limit the effectiveness of these policies. This problem is reflected in the city of Palmira, in the department of Valle del Cauca, where there is a complex context for young people with a high level of violence and community conflict, in which the phenomena that have led to a failure rate of 9. 2% failure rate and a 5.6% dropout rate in recent years (Fundación Empresarios por la Educación, 2022). These data reflect a reality in which education and adequate support are essential to offer students meaningful opportunities for development. With this starting point, the following question was answered: What are the ethical principles for curriculum integration that emerge from the analysis of the meanings and senses of life projects of ninth-grade students in eight official educational institutions in Palmira, Valle del Cauca? The overall objective was to analyze ethical principles of curriculum integration that allow for the articulation of the concept of life projects in ninth-grade students in eight official urban educational institutions in Palmira, Valle del Cauca. To achieve this objective, the study was guided by the hermeneutic paradigm with a qualitative methodology and the educational ethnography method. Through the application of various techniques and instruments validated by experts and the triangulation of theoretical and contextual references, the meanings and senses that students and teachers assign to the concept of life project were analyzed. The participating group included 48 students (six from each institution) and eight teachers (one from each institution), whose selection allowed for the exploration of perspectives on the importance of life projects in secondary education. The research carried out reflects that the life project is an essential component for the holistic development of individuals, as it relates their personal aspirations, ethical values, and ability for social interaction.