Las ideas infantiles sobre la movilidad socioeconómica: un estudio comparativo entre niños mexicanos y españoles

Resumen

Esta investigación ha consistido en un estudio evolutivo de las ideas acerca de la movilidad socioeconómica en 100 niños mexicanos y españoles de 6 a 14 años. Se elaboró una entrevista semiestructurada que se aplicó a todos los sujetos siguiendo el método clínico piagetiano. Se han realizado dos tipos de análisis: uno de contendo, identificando categorías de respuesta, y otro cualitativo que ha permitido establecer distintos niveles evolutivos de conceptualización. En este artículo describimos los hallazgos derivados del primer tipo de análisis.

Los resultados muestran diferencias en el tipo de factores a los que atienden los niños en los distintos momentos de su desarrollo para dar cuenta de la movilidad socioeconómica. Entre ellos, la idea de trabajo como fuente de obtención de dinero es una de las que sufren transformaciones más interesantes, pasando de consideraciones centradas en aspectos periféicos o meramente cuantitativos (p. e., a mayor número de horas de trabajo mayor remuneración) a una progresiva comprensión de la organización socioeconómica y de los factores ligados a la jerarquía ocupacional. No se observan diferencias en el tipo de factores a que aluden los sujetos mexicanos y españoles ni en su curso evolutivo. No obstante, sí hay ciertas diferencias en la preponderancia que los niños de uno u otro país dan a ciertos factores.

Abstract

A developmental study involving 100 6 to 14 years old Mexican and Spanish children was carried out in order to investigate children's ideas of socioeconomic mobility. A semistructured clinical interview was designed, following Piaget's clinical method, and used with each subject. Data were analysed in two ways: a content analysis allowing the identification of response categories, and a qualitative analysis allowing the definition of developmental trends in children's conceptualization. The paper reports the results from the content analysis.

The data reveal developmental differences in the factors accounting for socioeconomic mobility mentioned by the children. The idea of work as a source of money undergoes interesting changes with age. Whereas young children focus on less specific or merely quantitative aspects of work (i.e. the more you work, the more you get paid), with age children show a progressive understanding of socioeconomic structure and factors associated with occupational hierarchy. Differences between Mexican and Spanish children lied on the importance given to some factors, not on the type of factors cited or on their developmental course.

Extended Summary

The study of children's ideas on different aspects of the socioeconomic world is receiving increasing attention within the field of social knowledge. In the developmental literature considerable research has investigated children's ideas on social inequality, social stratification, the source of money, or the relationships between work, status and remuneration, etc. (e.g., international studies by Berti & Bombi, 1981/88; Connell, 1970; Emler, Ohana & Dickinson, 1990; Furth, 1980; Leahy, 1981, 1983; and in Spain, Delval et al., 1971; and Enesco etal., 1995). Although studies on children from different countries and social backgrounds have revealed similar developmental trends, several authors (Emler, Ohana & Dickinson, 1990; Emler & Ohana, 1993) argue that some of these differences may be explained by social factors rather than by developmental causes.

The paper reports results from a developmental study investigating children's ideas of socioeconomic mobility involving 100 Mexican and Spanish subjects 6 to 14 years of age. A Piagetian cognitive-developmental framework was adopted. Our aims were twofold: a) to explore whether children's ideas and representations on socioeconomic mobility suffer developmental changes, and if so b) to investigate whether these changes follow a similar pattern in two different sociocultural contexts in which the socioecomic reality of each country is different.

Thus, based on Piagetian clinical method, a semistructured clinical interview was designed and used with each subject. Two types of data analyses were undertaken: a content analysis allowing the identification of response categories, and a qualitative analysis allowing the definition of developmental trends in children's conceptualization. In this paper, we focus on the results obtained using the content analysis.

Results show developmental differences in the type of factors children provide to explain socioeconomic mobility. Among these factors, the notion of work as the source of money undergoes interesting changes with age. While young children seem to focus on less specific or merely quantitative aspects of work (i.e. the more you work, the more you get paid), older children show a progressive understanding of socioeconomic structure and factors associated with the occupational hierarchy. No differences were found between Mexican and Spanish children with respect to the type of factors listed or how they change with development. The only exception being the importance given to some factors.

In sum, our findings confirm the existence of developmental changes in children's understanding of socioeconomic structure. Moreover, they force us to reflect on the relationship between type and content of children's thinking, and on the way these come about.

Palabras clave:

• Conocimiento social
• niños
• desarrollo
• nociones socioeconómicas

Keywords:

• Social knowledge
• children
• development
• socioeconomic concepts