Educación social y financiera (AFLATOUN) para niñas y niños de comunidades auspiciadas por Plan Internacional. Cantón Santa Lucía. Provincia de Guayas. 2015

Abstract

This study had as its primary objective the implementation of a Social and Financial Education project for children in communities supported by Plan International, canton Santa Lucia, Guayas. The research conducted was descriptive and cross-sectional in nature, in order to collect socio-demographic information and identify essential aspects of Financial and Social Education. An interview was used to gather this information, a universe of 90 children were interviewed in the communities of Sartanejal A, Villa Bermejo, and Tamarindo. In regards to the essential aspects of Social and Financial Education, 44 % of children were identified as having low self-esteem levels, 45 % did not have an understanding of rights, gender or inclusion, 57 % displayed difficulties in the area of relationships, and 56 % were recorded as having very limited understanding and practice in savings, spending, planning and entrepreneurship. Having defined the different characteristics, a range of training workshops were developed, encouraging learning and awareness in the themes identified for intervention, generating a culture of trust, inclusion, equality, participation and entrepreneurship. At a community level, children´s rights, education rights and child protection as a whole were promoted. The results from the final evaluation showed a significant increase in the level of understanding in children across different areas. In relation to self-esteem was observed an increase of knowledge in 92 %; in rights, gender and inclusion, 90 % in the area of relationships improved in 95 %, and finally 87 % understood and practiced savings-spending practices, planning and entrepreneurship in their different activities. It is essential that the implementation of the Social and Financial Education Strategy has follow-up in order to achieve widespread social change in the group of children in the communities where the intervention took place.