103
How did the children learn? A response
from the underlying social constructivism
within the current historical and
sociocultural context
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas1
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo2
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo3
To reference this article / Cómo citar este artículo / Para
citar este artigo: Redondo-Salas, D. D., Puentes-Rozo, P. J. y Brito-
Carrillo, C. J. (2024). How did the children learn? A response from
the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and
sociocultural context. Revista UNIMAR, 42(1), 103-117. https://doi.
org/10.31948/ru.v42i1.3851
Date of receipt: May 24, 2023
Date of revision: September11, 2023
Fecha de aprobación: 22 de octubre de 2023
Abstract
This article aims to analyze the learning of children in early childhood, based
on the principles that govern the social constructivist theory proposed by
Lev Vygotsky, within the current historical and socio-cultural context, also
considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodology was based
on a documentary review and on the dialectical and interpretative hermeneutics
of various research studies and reports by international organizations that
provide relevant information on the subject. Among the main findings, it
became clear that the learning process of children left gaps and deficiencies
that should be addressed in the future, because the fundamental factor for
them to acquire knowledge, skills, abilities, and other behaviors is based mainly
on social interactions, as well as cognitive and affective development, which
was interrupted due to the pandemic. Among the conclusions, the challenge of
assuming the leveling of children and the preparation that must exist to face this
type of eventuality is highlighted.
Keywords: learning theory; social constructivism; social interaction; social
and cultural context.
1 Principal Investigator. Doctoral student in Educational Sciences. Universidad Simón Bolívar. Master in Education with emphasis in
Early Childhood Education, Universidad del Norte. Teacher, Universidad de La Guajira. E-mail: dredondo@uniguajira.edu.co
2 Doctor in Psychology with a focus on Cognitive Neuroscience, Universidad de Maimonides, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Master in
Neuropsychology, Universidad de San Buenaventura, Medellín. Researcher-Professor of Doctorate in Educational Sciences, Universidad
Simón Bolívar. Researcher-Professor, Universidad del Atlántico, Barranquilla. E-mail: pedro.puentes@unisimon.edu.co
3 Master in Social Enterprise Development and Management, Universidad Simón Bolívar; Specialist in Social Management. Social
Worker. Teacher Universidad de La Guajira. E-mail: clarabrito@uniguajira.edu.co
This article is the result of a research in progress entitled: La interacción social y su relación con las prácticas pedagógicas en el
contexto socio histórico actual, carried out since June 2021 in Riohacha, La Guajira, Colombia, product of the doctoral thesis in
Educational Sciences, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla.
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
104
¿Cómo aprendieron los niños? Una respuesta desde
el constructivismo social subyacente del contexto
histórico y sociocultural actual
Resumen
En el presente artículo, se pretende analizar el aprendizaje de los
niños en la primera infancia, a partir de los principios que rigen la teoría
constructivista social propuesta por Lev Vygotsky, dentro del contexto
histórico y sociocultural actual; además, teniendo en cuenta los impactos de
la pandemia por COVID-19. La metodología se basó en la revisión documental
y en la hermenéutica dialéctica e interpretativa de distintas investigaciones e
informes de organismos internacionales que muestran información relevante
sobre la temática. Entre los principales hallazgos, se evidenció que el proceso
de aprendizaje en los niños deja vacíos y falencias que deben subsanarse
prospectivamente, porque el factor fundamental para que ellos adquirieran
conocimiento, destrezas, habilidad y otras conductas se basa principalmente
en las interacciones sociales, así como en el desarrollo cognitivo y afectivo,
el cual fue interrumpido por causa de la pandemia. Entre las conclusiones, se
resalta el reto de asumir la nivelación de los niños y la preparación que debe
existir para enfrentar este tipo de eventualidades.
Palabras clave: teoría del aprendizaje; constructivismo social; interacción
social; contexto sociocultural.
Como as crianças aprenderam? Uma resposta do
construtivismo social subjacente do atual contexto
histórico e sociocultural
Resumo
Este artigo tem como objetivo, analisar o aprendizado das crianças na primeira
infância, com base nos princípios que regem a teoria construtivista social
proposta por Lev Vygotsky, dentro do atual contexto histórico e sociocultural,
levando em conta também o impacto da pandemia da COVID-19. A metodologia
baseou-se em uma análise documental e na hermenêutica dialética e
interpretativa de vários estudos de pesquisa e relatórios de organizações
internacionais que fornecem informações relevantes sobre o assunto. Entre
as principais conclusões, ficou claro que o processo de aprendizagem das
crianças deixou lacunas e deficiências que devem ser abordadas no futuro,
pois o fator fundamental para que elas adquiram conhecimentos, habilidades,
capacidades e outros comportamentos baseia-se principalmente nas
interações sociais, bem como no desenvolvimento cognitivo e afetivo, que foi
interrompido devido à pandemia. Entre as conclusões, destaca-se o desafio
de assumir o nivelamento das crianças e a preparação que deve existir para
enfrentar esse tipo de eventualidade.
Palavras-chave: teoria da aprendizagem; construtivismo social; interação
social; contexto sociocultural.
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
105
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
Introduction
There are several contemporary theories of
learning, where the process of knowledge
acquisition occurs within a framework of
theoretical guidelines that define the educational
paradigms, which represent a set of theories,
conceptions and conceptual postulates that
explain the development of learning. The most
relevant paradigms are: behaviorist, cognitive,
environmentalist, constructivist, critical social,
positivist and interpretive, which have defined
the procedures followed by teachers to achieve
the learning of children.
For example, in the behaviorist paradigm,
people learn observable, measurable, and
quantifiable behaviors (Posso et al., 2020); in
the cognitive paradigm, they develop cognitive
and affective processes in their learning process
(Gil-Velázquez, 2020); in the environmentalist
paradigm, its main proponents defend that
what is fundamental is the scenario in which
the interactions between social actors and
the environment take place (Martínez and
Mendizabal, 2019); in the constructivist
paradigm, it is able to develop cognitive and
affective processes within a scenario suitable
for learning (Ortiz, 2015); in the social criticism,
the person is not the only variable for learning,
but the environment, cultural development
and the historical moment also have an impact
(Trujillo, 2017).
As for the positivist paradigm in the educational
field, reality is already given and the subject
can know it absolutely when he discovers the
appropriate method (Millán, 2018); finally, in
the interpretive paradigm, reality is built on
the basis of observable facts, in an external
space constituted by symbolic meanings and
interpretations of the subject, product of the
interactions he develops with others (Trujillo,
2017).
Now, the current historical and socio-cultural
context shows the effects of a pandemic situation
declared by the World Health Organization as a
result of the spread of COVID-19, an emergency
that immediately forced the application of
health measures to deal with it, among which
social distancing, confinement to the home for
quarantine, suspension of educational activities,
etc., stand out. According to the United Nations
(2020, cited in Naslum et al. 2020), “the closure
of schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
caused an unprecedented disruption in the
education systems of 1.6 billion students in 190
countries” (p. 3).
This situation caused an abrupt change; as a
result, the teaching-learning methodology,
which had traditionally been in the face-to-
face mode, had to move with significant speed
towards totally remote environments, using for
this purpose any number of computer tools,
virtual platforms, digital devices, among others.
This has been a great challenge for educational
systems in general to meet the learning and
well-being of children (Naslum et al., 2020).
In this new historical and socio-cultural context,
early education, the stage where children
achieve cognitive development through the
senses (touch, hearing, sight, taste and smell),
the achievement of distance learning became
a complex and difficult goal (Butcher and
Plecher, 2016). Indeed, the measures adopted
by the pandemic situation: social distancing
and prolonged home confinement (United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization [UNICEF], 2020), abruptly
interrupted face-to-face attendance and, with
it, the cognitive development that was normally
obtained through the application of teaching
strategies in the classroom, based mainly on
social interaction.
In view of the above, the question arises: how
did children learn during this long period of
confinement, which prevented the application of
the constructivist theory of learning, based on
cognitive and affective development generated
by social interaction? With this question in mind,
it is necessary to inquire about the objectives
that were actually achieved by the remote
methodology used in most countries to face
the contingency presented by the declaration
of the pandemic and the measures adopted to
counteract it.
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
106
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
Materials and Methods
To carry out the research, a large number of physical and digital documents socialized in the
last two years were used, among them: scientific articles extracted from recognized databases;
reports published on the web portals of important international organizations, such as the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UNICEF, WHO, among others,
with the purpose of extracting recent data or information on some elements to be considered
when delving into children’s learning during the pandemic.
From this perspective, the study is framed within the hermeneutic approach; an interpretive
dialectical technique was applied, using the theoretical contributions obtained from the documentary
review (Muñoz, 2020). For this reason, the material includes secondary data obtained through
research or contributions from other researchers. The data were analyzed, articulated, integrated
and interpreted to respond to the main purpose of this study. In addition, the author’s own
experience in the field of education and her proximity to the subject were considered.
In this regard, Rodriguez (2020) emphasizes that comprehensive hermeneutics facilitates, among
other processes, the questioning of thematic aspects of knowledge, the ways of questioning reality,
and the making of interpretative critiques under the criterion of intersubjectivity as a person
involved in some way with the reality under study.
The method used to develop the document was the systematic review of scientific literature or
literature review, defined as “a process based on the search, retrieval, analysis, criticism and
interpretation of secondary data, that is, those obtained and recorded by other researchers in
documentary sources: printed, audiovisual or electronic” (Arias, 2012, p. 27). In fact, the review
involves a series of actions that must be carried out systematically in order to examine each category
of studies and be able to put together a solid theoretical construct on which to contrast the results
and generate new knowledge.
The type of sampling used was the non-probabilistic purposive type, as suggested by Hernández
and Coello (2011): “In qualitative research, the non-probabilistic purposive technique is generally
used to obtain the sample” (p. 96). That is, the researcher intentionally selects the group of
documents needed to develop the research, usually as a result of very specific criteria that are fully
valid in terms of the results. In this particular case, a sample of recent documents was selected
(no more than ten years old), consisting mainly of scientific articles in indexed journals, reports
from international organizations, and dissertation research products published in institutional
repositories of recognized universities.
Figure 1 shows the methodology used to develop the research process.
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
107
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
Figure 1
Methodological route
Use of the hermeneutic approach
Findings
The systematic review of the scientic literature
allowed the development of a series of arguments
that allowed a better understanding of the issue
of children’s learning, under the approach of
social constructivism, whose main exponent
was Lev Vygotsky with his socio-historical and
cultural theory, focused mainly on the reality
generated by the declaration of a pandemic by
the WHO with the appearance of COVID-19.
From this declaration, the measures applied
had a great impact on the educational system,
with special emphasis on vital processes such
as children’s learning.
Realities of the impact of the pandemic on
learning
Currently, the documentary review brings a
large number of studies that have emphasized
the main eects that humanity has suered
with the pandemic situation, but also with
the consequences generated by the measures
adopted to deal with it, which have aected the
personal and social development of individuals
in all areas of action. In this regard, Gualdrón-
Moncada (2021) stated: “the pandemic has
caused a crisis in all areas, and education has
not been indierent to this situation” (p. 336).
In fact, the education sector was one of the
most aected by the whole situation. The
World Bank Group (2020) points out that a
number of consequences have been identied
in the education sector due to the closure of
schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;
among them, it mentions mainly: interruption
of learning, increase in inequality in learning,
reduction of attachment to school, lower quality
of education and teaching.
Based on the above, the measure of social
distancing and home connement generated
that, approximately, more than one third of
school-age students worldwide did not have
access to distance or remote education during
the time that schools were closed. Among
the main reasons, the Organization of Ibero-
American States (OEI, 2021) states: “This
would be related to the lack of access to
technology and the necessary tools to support
distance learning, as well as the lack of support
for studying at home” (p. 10).
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
108
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
Similarly, Heredia et al. (2022) state:
In times of pandemic, academic learning
was aected for children by the lack of
technological tools; for parents, [by]
assuming teaching roles with their children
and the dierent time implications; and
for teachers, by adapting their pedagogical
practices for early childhood through digital
means, creating emotional aectations
during this time. (p. 1530)
Regarding the lack of technological tools,
Murillo and Duk (2020) emphasize that, in the
specic case of Latin America, only four out of
ten households have an Internet connection,
revealing the inequalities that exist and
that increase when an analysis is made by
socioeconomic level. Another important fact is
provided by UNICEF (n.d.), an organization that
published gures showing that only half of the
students in public schools had access to distance
learning, compared to three quarters of those in
private schools.
Therefore, it is explicit that children’s learning
was hindered as a result of inequalities in
connectivity and technological equipment; but
in addition, there were other reasons, such
as those exposed by Murillo and Duk (2020),
from other areas; they add to the technological
problem situations such as insucient food,
poor preparation of parents to assume a
teaching role, lack of availability of educational
resources, inadequate spaces for study, the
digital gap between teachers, etc.
Learning through platforms: solution or
new problem?
Dreesen et al. (2020) state that in Latin
America, 90% of governments have adopted as
their main educational response, the use and
implementation of technological platforms to
ensure continuity in studies. Similarly, Osorio
and Cárdenas (2021) point out: “The possibility
for children to continue their learning, playing
and socialization processes remotely from home
has been the main strategy of countries to cope
with the pandemic” (p. 20). This decision was
taken by educational institutions as a response
to the health contingency presented, as a result
of the few alternatives that the health measures
allowed to continue the educational processes,
using the few teaching resources available, most
of which depended on the technological factor.
Consequently, the actions carried out did not
guarantee the acquisition of the knowledge
that the children should acquire in each of the
educational levels, since several determining
elements in the context of virtuality or distance
education were not made viable. In this regard,
Kim (2020) notes the existence of limitations
for online learning, such as the lack of teachers
and children’s ability to use online sites, which
require technological skills; also, the use of
devices such as computers or telephones,
which require adult supervision at home to
complete the learning process, especially for
younger children.
On the other hand, the Instituto de
Investigaciones sobre la Universidad y la
Educación en México (IISUE, 2020) points
out that the transformation of the home
into a school has shown that teaching and
learning are processes that require the
training and professionalization of the people
who carry out these tasks, thus justifying the
teaching function. Among the main diculties
experienced by families in supporting their
children’s learning process, the following
were identied: i) lack of knowledge about
pedagogical strategies that promote learning;
ii) complications in expressing their concerns
about the process in a precise manner; and iii)
poor understanding of the methods used by
teachers in developing classes.
However, IISUE (2020) points out that these
diculties could be overcome if the parents or
representatives of the students had a higher
level of education, or also if dialogues were
established at home that favored collaborative
work to complete the activities assigned by
the teachers, resolving any doubts or concerns
by seeking complementary information
or establishing eective interactions and
communication with the teachers through the
available channels.
On the other hand, Muñoz (2020) points out that
the period of connement generated moments
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
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Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
of anxiety for students, parents and representatives, where the main uncertainty was the date of
return to normality. Then, despite the measures that the educational institutions took to comply
with the teaching, there was the need to prioritize spaces for the tranquility of students and
parents with specic communication. Figure 2 shows the main consequences of the situation
created by COVID-19 in the educational environment, according to UNESCO (2020).
Figure 2
Main consequences of COVID-19 for education
According to UNESCO (2020), the elements
shown in Figure 2 affect the learning of
children and adolescents equally. This shows
how the online education implemented by
the emergency has revealed the digital divide
that exists between different educational
institutions, because it is not only about the
technological capacity that they manage as
an institution, but also about the teachers’
own competencies to manage information
and communication technologies (ICT) as a
pedagogical resource for the learning of their
students (Murillo and Duk, 2020; Weeden and
Cornwell, 2020; Muñoz, 2020).
Naslum et al. (2020) state: “In virtual
environments, young children lose interest in a
lesson after 15 to 20 minutes, drastically reducing
the daily hours of interaction and learning”
(p. 3). Then, considering the contributions of
UNESCO (2020) and those of Naslum et al.
(2020), it can be indicated that new problems
have emerged with the transfer of normal face-
to-face education to a remote, virtual, distance
modality, being the most affected factors, social
interactions and learning, adding also, the
work overload, the shortcomings to work the
computer platforms with the required agility,
time management, among others.
Thus, the impossibility of establishing quality
social interactions between teachers and
students, students, and the interruption of
learning, as stated by UNESCO (2020), show
that children did not learn during the limited
time in which virtual platforms were used, since
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
110
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
“the lack of adequate interaction with teachers
is also a major concern associated with online
learning” (Muñoz, 2020, p. 36). Therefore,
social interaction is an important foundation on
which children’s learning development rests;
moreover, the use of online education hindered
the acquisition of meaningful learning.
It is noteworthy that, researchers have found
that the general perception of student learning is
correlated with their sense of social presence in
the course (Sintema, 2020). In fact, it has been
observed that students in the online modality
tend to receive lower grades than students who
attend class daily (Basilaia and Kvavadze, 2020).
Among the explanations commonly found in
the literature are late submission of activities,
misreading of instructions, technological
problems, among others.
Constructivist paradigm
In the literature review, the plurality of paradigms
that exist to explain learning processes in the
educational field is observed. Currently, “a
paradigm is described as a consensus in the
scientific community on how to use the progress
achieved in the past in the face of existing
problems, thus creating universal solutions”
(Trujillo, 2017, p. 7). Therefore, it is necessary
to establish a paradigmatic position before the
occurrence of a phenomenon, fact, event, or
educational problem about which one wants to
scientifically deepen.
Then, “in general terms, a paradigm is a certain
framework from which we look at the world,
understand it, interpret it, and intervene in
it” (Trujillo, 2017, p.07). On this premise, the
question: how did the children learn? must be
answered by establishing a position through the
paradigm on which the process of reviewing,
analyzing and interpreting existing knowledge
is carried out, in addition to other information
gathered from the literature socialized in the
community in general.
In the case of educational paradigms, these are
circumscribed in laws, theories and educational
applications that include referential theoretical
frameworks, theory and practice, and the
classroom performance of teachers, with the
purpose of guiding the pedagogical foundations,
educational action and scientific research of
those problems that arise in the educational
context. Figure 3 relates the above assumptions.
Figure 3
Conceptual framework of the educational
paradigm
Note. In Trujillo (2017).
Lev Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism
The question: How did children learn during the
pandemic? seeks to explain whether children
were able to learn during this historical and
sociocultural moment, considering that the
consequences of this situation affected the
learning process, as well as the acquisition
of skills and abilities. The literature review
allowed us to identify a variety of authors who
support the thesis that knowledge is a product
of social interaction and culture (Galán and
Murillo-Estepa, 2020). This thesis refers to
the social constructivism that, years ago, Lev
Vygotsky exposed within the historical and
sociocultural theory.
The theory of social constructivism emphasizes
the influence of social and cultural contexts on
knowledge and supports a discovery model of
learning that emphasizes the active role of the
teacher, while students’ mental abilities are
naturally developed through different routes of
discovery. In this regard, Quintero (2019) states:
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
111
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
The social approach makes it possible to
understand how the student constructs
his learning through interaction with his
environment -his social environment-
because the interaction that the individual
establishes with society plays an important
role in his intellectual functioning. (p. 327)
Based on the contribution of this author, it is
stated that learning in general is a social process.
Arias (2009) points out: “Social interaction
is essential for learning, as it favors the
development of human capacities, considering
language as a mediating mechanism in this
development” (p. 46). The above is conrmed
by Cámara (2017), who asserts that learning is
an active, intentional, collective and extensive
process of meaning construction. The exercise
of learning involves dierent processes that
start from the interactions with the surrounding
world, as it happens in the activities developed
in the classroom.
Vygotsky (1978) stated:
In the cultural development of the child, each
function appears twice: rst at the social
level, and later at the individual level; rst
between people (inter-psychological), and
then within the child (intra-psychological).
This is true of voluntary attention, logical
memory, and concept formation. All higher
functions originate as real relationships
between individuals (p. 5).
In line with the above, Cisternas and Droguett
(2014) state:
One of Vygotsky’s fundamental propositions
about development is that mental processes
develop first on a shared level, that of
socialization, and are then internalized, which
implies a journey from the inter-psychological
to the intra-psychological level. (p. 8)
Vygotsky was interested in analyzing how
children learn semantics as they develop. For
him, children construct the meanings of words
through a shared activity that he called the ‘zone
of proximal development’. Therefore, the social
constructivism he proposed underlies the process
of social interaction that children experience in
the classroom because it allows them to first
build knowledge from the relationships and
communication they experience daily with the
teacher and with other children, and then to
internalize all that learning to form knowledge
that will serve them throughout their lives.
In this regard, Osorio and Cárdenas (2021)
state: “During the first years of life, children
learn to walk, sit properly, interact with others,
communicate, and develop basic cognitive skills,
which are essential elements for their future
development” (p. 19).
Social constructivism as a learning theory gives
relevance to social cognition produced in shared
spaces of interaction. In this regard, Sahakian et
al. (2021, as cited in Gualdrón-Moncada, 2021)
point out: “Not only is social cognition important
and therefore necessary for success in school
settings, but children’s personal relationships
are essentially based on emotional reasoning as
a whole” (p. 338).
The authors point out, for example, that if
children do not play or spend leisure time with
their peers, they are likely to have difficulties in
learning, showing empathy, sharing, managing
their emotions, developing language and the
ability to communicate socially; consequently,
they will be vulnerable to its effects in the future
as a result of not experiencing social interactions
with their peers.
In summary, the social constructivism presented
by Vygotsky assures that children’s learning
is the product of the integration of cognitive
development and affective and emotional
development within an appropriate context to
interact with both teachers and peers in the
classroom. Arias (2009) affirms Vygotsky’s
approach as follows:
The role of social interaction with others
(teachers, parents, older children, peers) is
considered fundamental for socio-affective
development and is essential for the
development of the teaching and learning
process in accordance with the current
times. (p. 50)
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
112
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
Likewise, UNESCO (2020) reinforces the role of
social interactions within the learning process
when it states that access to school in early
childhood allows children to interact more
easily with others of their age and to find an
environment that stimulates not only cognitive
but also social and emotional capacities. Then,
learning should be understood as a social
activity and not only as a process of individual
realization (Amayuela, 2017). This conception
reinforces the importance of facilitating spaces
for social interaction as an entry to learning,
and also spaces where the child internalizes
learning individually.
In addition, Lev Vygotsky emphasizes the
link between education and communication,
which is a process that favors the formation
of the student’s personality, the acquisition of
knowledge and the appropriation of culture,
which is generated by the interactions that take
place in the classroom and in other educational
spaces. Amayuela (2017) states: “It is very
significant the value that communication has in
the educational influence that the teacher must
exert on the student and in the assimilation of
learning, as well as in their formative process in
general” (p. 10).
It is then necessary to understand that
communication and education are processes
that cannot be separated, but are related
and complementary (Amayuela, 2017).
When this complementarity is subjected to
the current context experienced by children
in times of detention, it can be inferred that
learning, as part of educational processes,
and communication, established in social
interactions within the classroom, left empty
spaces in their continuity; therefore, from the
perspective of social constructivism, children
did not achieve the expected learning with the
use of virtual platforms.
Socio-Historical and Cultural Theory
First of all, it is important to quote the
contributions of Quintero (2019): “Sociocultural
theory emphasizes the active participation
of the subject in its social context, since the
development of thought is the product of
the interaction between the two” (p. 327).
Similarly, Castellanos and Castro (2017)
emphasize that “the best teaching and the
most significant learning of the human being
comes from the context itself, where he creates
his social life” (p. 78).
The above contributions are derived from Lev
Vygotsky’s sociohistorical and cultural theory,
which refers to the transcendence of the context
in which individuals develop for learning.
Galán and Murillo-Estepa (2020) express that,
from his socio-cultural perspective, Vygotsky
(1978) stated that all learning is the product
of interaction with the social environment and
always has a previous history, experiences prior
to the institutionalized training phase that are
characteristic of socio-cultural interaction.
Vygotsky’s theory emphasizes the role of the
individual as a social and cultural being within
the framework of a history that develops over
the course of his or her life, starting from the
interpersonal to the intrapersonal. Castillo and
Gibert (2021) express that Vygotsky’s theory is
based on the gradual construction of learning
from the first years of the child, under the
influence of the social context, because learning
is acquired through social interaction, in addition
to developing new and better skills, as well as
immersion in a routine and familiar way of life.
The documentary review of the socio-historical
and cultural theory proposed by Vygotsky
significantly highlights the interaction of children
with their teachers and classmates, in addition
to other adults who at some point become
facilitators of learning. Based on the above
criteria, it is possible to understand that the
learning process in the current socio-historical
and cultural context has affected the normal
learning process of children, severely hampering
the pedagogical strategies used by teachers to
achieve academic goals. Consequently, new
actions should be implemented that, in some
way, allow to recompose the void left by the
pandemic during the last two years.
Discussion
Therefore, the teacher is responsible for the
processes of “education, teaching and learning of
students in accordance with the social, cultural,
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
113
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
ethical and moral expectations of the family and
society” (Law 115, 1994, art. 104). In order to
oer a quality educational service, teachers
must constantly update their knowledge, know
the advances of the educational system, the
new trends in the design and implementation of
teaching strategies that allow them to keep pace
with the changes of the educational community
and respond eectively to its needs.
The current socio-historical context, explained
in detail in previous sections, redenes the role
of the teacher in the learning processes under
the criteria of social constructivism provided
by Lev Vygotsky within the learning theories.
In this regard, Loaiza and Duque (2017) point
out: “The teacher’s work once again assumes
a leading role, since he/she is the one who,
through his/her training and experience,
must guide the formative processes of the
school and be constantly updated in his/
her disciplinary, pedagogical, curricular and
didactic knowledge” (p. 67).
Therefore, the children’s learning was largely
dependent on the forms and strategies that
the teacher used through non-conventional
teaching methods to accomplish this formative
and stimulating task of learning. This is based on
Vygotsky’s (1982) premise that “the greater the
social interaction, the greater the knowledge”
(p. 20). Undoubtedly, the main argument in
support of his learning theory lies in the social
interactions that children experience from their
earliest years in school.
In support of the above, Inga (2020) emphasizes
that school learning spaces are conducive to
establishing social interactions because they
are specically designed to promote the child’s
learning. So, these conditions will be necessary
for children to be autonomous, with the capacity
to solve any situation, but remembering that in
early education they are still looking for their
own identication, as well as their place in the
world. Social interactions are the way that allows
them to take on roles and internalize them in
their daily activities.
However, the above theoretical principles have
not been fullled in the current historical and
sociocultural context because “children who
remain at home are also deprived of the important
social interactions that are essential for their
development and well-being” (Naslum et al.,
2020, p. 3). This conrms social constructivism’s
answer to the question: How did children learn?
They could not learn according to the postulates
of the learning theory proclaimed by Vygotsky,
precisely because the lack of social interactions
interrupted learning (UNESCO, 2020).
On the other hand, Quintero (2019) states:
The development of the individual’s cognitive
processes depends considerably on social
interaction, arming that children develop
their learning through the relationships they
establish with the environment around them
and, from there, they build and reconstruct
their knowledge, acquiring new cognitive
skills, which allows us to assert that the
transformation of learning is based on the
social context in which the individual develops
(pp. 327-328).
The panorama caused by the health contingency,
influenced by the measures adopted to face this
threat, has unfortunately generated dissonances
in the learning processes when educational
institutions have opted for online, distance or
remote education. Although for Arias (2009)
“what is essential in learning is to conceive
the learner as capable of constructing his own
knowledge and not as a passive entity that
learns only by transmission” (p. 48); the lack
of preparation that this strategy had in the new
modality did not allow the expected results; it
only became a circumstantial solution for the
continuation of studies, but without achieving
the learning objectives.
From this perspective, Khati and Bhatta
(2020) and Toquero (2020) mention that
among the factors that condition access to
quality online education are: social class,
race, ethnicity, geographic location and the
type of educational institution to which they
belong. However, none of these factors could
be considered within a consensus strategy and
with the depth of its implementation in terms
of training teachers and students, ensuring
the availability of the necessary technological
tools, dedicating time and developing new
methods of learning assessment.
How did the children learn? A response from the underlying social constructivism within the current historical and sociocultural context
114
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2024
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 42 No. 1 pp. 103-117
Conclusions
The current socio-historical and cultural
context has left a void in the continuity of
children’s learning, from the perspective of
the learning theory proposed by Lev Vygotsky,
mainly due to the untimely changes caused by
the closure of schools and the general state of
confinement, which undoubtedly influenced all
social actors involved in educational processes.
Children did not learn enough; only distant
activities were carried out in order to justify
the continuity of studies and the transition
to a higher level, a fact that leaves a large
number of shortcomings that must be worked
on in subsequent levels in order to achieve an
adequate formation of the students.
The theoretical foundations of social
constructivism indicate that the children did
not acquire any significant learning during the
two years in which the schools were closed
or alternated between attendance with health
measures and distance learning. Therefore, the
educational community faces great challenges
in finding solutions to somehow remedy the lack
of learning that they were exposed to during the
long period of confinement, especially in early
childhood, which is so dependent on the social
interactions that take place in the classroom.
Finally, this experience leaves deep reflections
on the application of traditional pedagogical
strategies, since the emergence of this
circumstantial stage revealed the innumerable
shortcomings of the educational system and,
therefore, of the institutions. It is necessary to
be prepared for future events that may once
again affect learning processes; therefore,
alternative responses must be developed in
order to try to maintain educational continuity
and normality.
Conflict of Interest
The authors of this article declare that they have
no competing interests in the work presented.
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Contribution
Danni Dexi Redondo Salas: principal
investigator. Development of the phases of the
document, drafting of the document adapting
contributions of the co-authors.
Pedro Julio Puentes Rozo: co-author. Thesis
director, advisor.
Clara Judith Brito Carrillo: co-author. Final
revision.
All authors participated in the preparation of the
manuscript, read and approved it.
