La movilidad independiente infantil en los caminos escolares: la percepción de los niños y niñas sobre las dificultades en su entorno

Abstract

[EN] The rate of children's independent mobility has declined significantly over the last few decades. This situation has made it more difficult for children to explore, play or walk independently through the streets of their neighbourhoods and cities. The aim of this research is to find out the reasons that encourage or make it difficult for children to have experiences of autonomy, as in this case through the school journey without an adult figure, to see how they perceive their environment, how parental decisions influence them and to find out what their own personal capacities are like. A total of 1,002 boys and girls between 8 and 16 years from various municipalities in Bizkaia (northern Spain) took part in the study. The answers were collected through open-ended questions and analysed using Iramuteq software. Three types of analysis were carried out: the Reinert method, lexical similarity analysis and specificity analysis. The results show that children who obtain permission from their families to travel to school independently have a greater perception of safety in their environment. On the contrary, those who are accompanied to school perceive their streets as more unsafe and repeat more frequently the difficulties that may be involved in making the journey independently. Finally, it has been observed that children with higher rates of independent mobility perceive themselves to be more mature and better able to move around their surroundings.The rate of children's independent mobility has declined significantly over the last few decades. This situation has made it more difficult for children to explore, play or walk independently through the streets of their neighbourhoods and cities. The aim of this research is to find out the reasons that encourage or make it difficult for children to have experiences of autonomy, as in this case through the school journey without an adult figure, to see how they perceive their environment, how parental decisions influence them and to find out what their own personal capacities are like. A total of 1,002 boys and girls between 8 and 16 years from various municipalities in Bizkaia (northern Spain) took part in the study. The answers were collected through open-ended questions and analysed using Iramuteq software. Three types of analysis were carried out: the Reinert method, lexical similarity analysis and specificity analysis. The results show that children who obtain permission from their families to travel to school independently have a greater perception of safety in their environment. On the contrary, those who are accompanied to school perceive their streets as more unsafe and repeat more frequently the difficulties that may be involved in making the journey independently. Finally, it has been observed that children with higher rates of independent mobility perceive themselves to be more mature and better able to move around their surroundings.

[ES] La tasa de movilidad independiente infantil ha sufrido un descenso significativo durante las últimas décadas. Esta situación ha provocado que la infancia tenga más dificultades a la hora de explorar, jugar o caminar de forma autónoma por las calles de sus barrios y ciudades. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo conocer las razones que impulsan o dificultan que los niños y niñas puedan tener experiencias de autonomía como en este caso a través del trayecto escolar sin una figura adulta y ver, así como es su percepción sobre el entorno, como influye la decisión parental y conocer cómo son sus propias capacidades personales. En el estudio han participado un total de 1.002 niños y niñas de entre 8 y 16 años de varios municipios de Bizkaia (norte de España). Las respuestas han sido recogidas mediante preguntas abiertas y analizadas mediante el software Iramuteq. Se han realizado tres tipos de análisis, el método Reinert, el análisis de similitudes léxicas y análisis de espeficidades. Los resultados muestran que los y las menores que obtienen el permiso de sus familias para realizar el trayecto escolar de manera autónoma, tienen una mayor percepción de seguridad sobre su entorno. Por el contrario, aquellos que van acompañados a la escuela, perciben sus calles como más inseguras y repiten más frecuentemente las dificultades que puede conllevar la realización del camino de forma independiente. Finalmente, se ha observado que los niños y niñas con mayores tasas de movilidad independiente se perciben con mayor madurez y mejores capacidades para moverse por su entorno.