Social recreation: an important right in the psycho-educational development of children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v69.116795Keywords:
Well-being, participation, psychoeducational, recreation, socialAbstract
Introduction: Social recreation has been recognized as a basic need for the comprehensive development of children, playing a key role in their emotional, social, and cognitive well-being.
Objective: To analyze social recreation as a fundamental right for the psychoeducational development of children in Ecuador, considering its influence on emotional well-being, school motivation, and socialization.
Methodology: A quantitative approach was applied with a descriptive and correlational design. The sample consisted of 240 elementary school students from the provinces of Pichincha and Guayas. A structured Likert-scale survey was used to measure the frequency, perceived quality, and effects of recreational activities.
Results: The findings showed that children with greater participation in recreational activities exhibited higher levels of emotional well-being, positive social relationships, and greater motivation toward learning. Significant differences were also observed between geographical contexts, with Pichincha being the province with the highest access to and reported benefits from recreational experiences.
Discussion: When comparing these findings with recent research, the transformative role of social recreation in childhood was reaffirmed. Previous studies have also highlighted the importance of play and recreation in both emotional and academic development.
Conclusions: It is concluded that social recreation should be recognized as a key tool to strengthen children's psychoeducational development. Therefore, its systematic implementation in school environments represents an urgent necessity.
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