DANCE AND MOVEMENT AS PEDAGOGICAL MEDIATION TO STRENGTHEN VALUES AND EMOTIONS: A SCHOOL COUNSELING EXPERIENCE IN RURAL EDUCATIONAL CONTEXTS

Abstract

Rural education in Colombia faces structural limitations that affect the overall development of rural children and adolescents.

This essay presents a pedagogical experience developed through school guidance at the Institución Educativa Nueva Esperanza, located in the municipality of San Luis de Gaceno (Boyacá), where a playful-pedagogical strategy was implemented using dance and movement as mediating tools to strengthen values, emotions, and social skills in a vulnerable context.The proposal lasted more than six months and included extracurricular activities with students from preschool to sixth grade, focused on using the body as an educational, cultural, and emotional resource.Elements of body pedagogy, experiential learning, and the humanistic approach were integrated, facilitating processes of self-regulation, self-esteem, identity, and emotional expression.The findings show significant changes in interpersonal relationships, active participation, and a spontaneous approach to the school guidance office. Cultural identity was also strengthened through the inclusion of artistic expressions rooted in the local territory. This experience confirms the importance of school guidance as a key connection between academic, emotional, and ethical learning. It also proposes including art and movement as cross-cutting strategies in rural education. The conclusion is that the body, art, and emotions are legitimate paths to a transformative education, especially in historically marginalized territories.