Representaciones sociales de salud y enfermedad infantilConcepciones y prácticas de maestros, encargados de crianza y profesionales de la salud en Rosario (Argentina)

Abstract

This thesis is the product of research on social representations of children's health and disease. The representations considered are those of key actors in the development of childhood: teachers, caregivers and health professionals in the city of Rosario (Argentina). For this work, two social spaces related to Unsatisfied Basic Needs were compared. First of all, a conceptual deepening of the theory was necessary in order to articulate it to the educational problems of the representations and thus be able to take a methodological position. An interpretative hermeneutic perspective is assumed that seeks to understand the representations of the groups in relation to the daily practices in the field of childhood. A conceptual analysis of the concepts of childhood, health, illness and education is carried out. This analysis is contrasted with the conceptions of the actors and institutions involved. After the field work and the analysis of the interviews (16 interviews with teachers, 16 interviews with caregivers and 16 interviews with pediatricians), it is concluded that there are different models of child health and education according to each social space. In the social space of poor living conditions, there is a model linked to subsistence and the fulfillment of vital needs; the practices are exclusively linked to the biological and control of the bodies. In the social space of very good living conditions there is a model linked to the quality of life, the empowerment of multiple abilities and the development of intellectual and affective dimensions. There are significant differences in practices, conceptions and information between groups and between social spaces. Individualism, pathologization and the incidence of psychiatric criteria have a profound impact on the logics of working with different children.