Environmental Education Mediated by ICTs: Pedagogical Transformation in Vulnerable Rural Schools in Colombia

This article presents the results of a mixed-methods study conducted in rural schools in Zapatoca, Colombia, characterized by structural vulnerability and persistent limitations in connectivity, infrastructure, and teacher training regarding information and communication technologies (ICTs). Our res...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Serrano-Ardila, Luis, Baena-Navarro, Rubén, Carriazo-Regino, Yulieth
Format: Online
Language:Spanish
Published: Instituto para la Investigación Educativa y el Desarrollo Pedagógico, IDEP 2026
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Online Access:https://revistas.idep.edu.co/index.php/educacion-y-ciudad/article/view/3467
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Summary:This article presents the results of a mixed-methods study conducted in rural schools in Zapatoca, Colombia, characterized by structural vulnerability and persistent limitations in connectivity, infrastructure, and teacher training regarding information and communication technologies (ICTs). Our research aimed to understand the impact of the pedagogical use of ICTs in strengthening environmental learning and its relationship with students’ participation within the framework school-based sustainability initiatives. A holopraxic approach was adopted, integrating quantitative and qualitative techniques, including Likert-scale surveys administered to 163 students, as well as interviews, focus groups, and participatory observation with 13 teachers. The analysis combined descriptive and correlational statistics with principal component techniques and open and axial coding supported by specialized software. The findings show that 88.3% of students positively valued ICTs as a means to investigate environmental issues, while 62.4% reported increased involvement in sustainability projects. An 18.5% improvement in average academic performance was also observed, alongside the emergence of three differentiated clusters of technological appropriation. Overall, the results indicate that a contextualized and culturally grounded integration of ICTs promotes meaningful learning, strengthens ecological awareness, and advances educational inclusion, underscoring the need to adapt technopedagogical strategies to the sociotechnological profiles of rural students in order to enhance their transformative potential.