DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES IN FIRST GRADE STUDENTS: A TEACHING STRATEGY FROM THE SCHOOL

Abstract

This article presents a didactic strategy aimed at developing emotional competencies in first-grade students from a public educational institution in Comuna 20 of Santiago de Cali. The proposal emerges in response to emotional and school coexistence issues identified in the classroom, prioritizing the strengthening of emotional awareness and self-regulation. Based on a qualitative approach, playful, narrative, artistic, and reflective activities were designed and implemented, fully integrated into the daily dynamics of the classroom. These activities were grounded in the emotional competencies model of Bisquerra and Pérez, aligned with the citizenship competencies standards set by the Colombian Ministry of National Education. This allowed the consolidation of a contextualized proposal, structured into three progressive blocks: recognition of emotions, appropriate emotional expression, and self-regulation strategies. The results showed significant progress in students' emotional identification and expression, as well as improvements in self-regulation and school coexistence. Teachers’ voices, systematic observations, and institutional records revealed a shift in classroom dynamics, promoting more empathetic and collaborative interactions. It is concluded that emotional education must be integrated as a transversal axis of the school curriculum, rather than as an additional subject, acknowledging its role in the student’s integral development. Likewise, it is necessary to provide teachers with clear and relevant tools that enable them to systematically address their students' emotional world. This experience offers a methodological pathway that can be applied in similar contexts and invites us to rethink the school as a space to cultivate both the heart and the mind simultaneously.