“The teacher asked the children around a table to draw a picture. During this, one of the students, Carlos, realizes that he needs blue paint, but none is free. Other classmates, though, are not using blue paint in their hands.” This situation has been raised by the fifth grade teacher of Primary Education at Eleizalde Ikastola. In their day to day, in fact, they may experience it, so knowing how to act and what solution to give them helps them. This is the aim of the Kontak-Emon project, known as Alkarvida, which is currently underway at the Bizkaia Ikastola. It has been four years since its launch, and since then, teachers and students have been working closely together on social inclusion skills.

“We saw a lack in the contacts of the students, we contacted the expert who was working on the subject and we started the Alkarvida project, using the program and material created by him,” explains Belén Belt-goitia, a third-grade tutor at Primary School. To begin with, the teachers of Primary Education received a joint and intensive training of the project, after which the subject was approached periodically during the course, leading to the practice of theory. From the beginning, the teachers involved in the project were joined by the rest (Early Childhood Education and Compulsory Secondary Education).

Currently, they deal with the program once a week at tutoring time, during which students are exposed not only to the problems proposed by the teacher, but also to those that have existed in their daily lives. In any case, since they are aware that the riots between children arise mainly during the playtime, they analyze the puzzles that have existed in the next hour and look for the ideal solution to them.

Students studying and resolving conflicts

To teach social inclusion skills, they pose a conflict to students and resolve it among all. To do this, they follow five steps. The first step would be to present a certain situation on a sheet – the children are drawing the drawing at the request of the teacher, but Carlos does not have the blue paint he needs. The teacher asks students who listen attentively to explain who or who has the problem in this situation, and at the same time, describe the issue and identify emotions. Iñaki realizes that Carlos has a problem, “you can see in his face that he is nervous.” When a negative emotion appears (nervousness), they know that they are facing a problem. Next, the time has come for the students to mention all the possible solutions. They look forward to their turn to speak with their hands up. One student says that the problem will end with Carlos asking his fellow students for blue paint, while another believes that it would be best to ask the teacher for more time to finish the drawing, and in the opinion of a third, Carlos should ask the teacher for another blue paint.

“The ideal solution is to ask others, but you have to take into account that the behavior of other children has also not been correct, because having blue paint when one does not need it is not good,” the teacher reminds them. Today, students of the fifth grade have learned that when working as a team, they must take into account not only their own needs, but also those of others. At the same time, they also remember that the problem and the solution have to do with the feelings, and that one’s problem ends when one is satisfied, that is, when one seeks the most appropriate solution.

“This program or dynamic helps children to cultivate reflexive and flexible thinking,” according to the Belen Belt. It also provides them with the means to deal with problems so that they are able to solve them in the future. “It is also a preventive task, since it deals with conflicts that could later occur among children, for example, it helps to avoid violent attitudes that occur at older ages.” In any case, the High Belt recalls that constancy and systematization are essential to ensure the success of programs such

as Alcarvida, so that children can correctly assimilate behaviors. Thus, the initiative is addressed in all teaching cycles, it is the measure of application that varies from one to another. As a child, they learn to talk about problems and how to solve them, both inside and outside the classroom. On the day of our visit to Eleizalde Ikastola, four students had a problem during the game and instead of entering the classroom they asked the teacher for permission and stayed in the hallway to solve the problem. Once they have spoken, they continue to work together with the other classmates.

They know when they are facing a problem, they identify emotions and provide a solution to it. They also know that they benefit from this solution (positive feeling). On the other hand, when a student explains their problem in class, they analyze it among all. That the playing field has been taken over by someone else, that someone has stepped in line, that the ball has been taken away... The problem can be any, while the methodology to solve it will be the same in all cases.

Agreements between students and teachers

In addition to the Alkarvida program to regulate the Bilingual March, they have other resources: regulations. On the one hand, these agreements or contracts are collective – they take into account the other spaces of the classroom and the school – and on the other hand, they are personal. These rules are adapted according to the position we want to achieve and have four characteristics: to clearly and comprehensively determine the objectives to be achieved, how they will be achieved, when and how they will be valued or measured. For example, raising your hand when you want to talk can be a goal. If everyone in the class manages to raise their hand every time they want to talk throughout the week, they will go out five minutes before the game time (as a positive reinforcement). The aim is for this attitude to become a habit, and therefore to behave in the same way without reward. With the name of the works they have placed on the wall of the classroom the rules that must be respected.

Do they achieve the expected results? In the words of Mr. Goitia, “now in the classroom there is less fuss and screaming, they speak more, they have learned to listen, they have realized that there are other options than to resort to force in the face of a problem, we teachers use a more convenient way to approach students, etc.” Although the results are more noticeable in the long term than in the short term, he mentions some changes in the attitude of some students: “Before, some didn’t feel like working or had trouble keeping their attention, but now they’re working and that’s a lot for these kids.”