Family orientation to complement the geographical knowledge of the locality in students with intellectual disabilities

Mendive. Journal on Education, april-june 2022; 20(2): 541-554

Translated from the original in Spanish

Family orientation to complement the geographical knowledge of the locality in students with intellectual disabilities

Orientación familiar para complementar el conocimiento geográfico de la localidad en educandos con discapacidad intelectual

Orientação familiar para complementar o conhecimento geográfico da localidade em alunos com deficiência intelectual

Javier Anulfo Martínez Páez¹ http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6612-5111
Yeniar Rivera Cordovés² http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5905-6269
Sayuris González Reyes¹ http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7176-3388

¹University of Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Cuba. javier.martinez@upr.edu.cu, sayuris.gonzalez@upr.edu.cu
²Special School " Isidro Barredo Díaz". Pinar del Río. Cuba. yeniar.cordoves@upr.edu.cu

Received: December 7^th, 2021.
Accepted: February 14^th, 2022.

ABSTRACT

The orientation to the family in the Special Education and in particular in the pupils with intellectual disabilities should include its preparation for the accompaniment to their children in their interaction in diverse scenarios. The present work has as objective to socialize the reached results in the educational practice with the application of the shops of family orientation to supplement in pupils with intellectual disabilities the geographical knowledge of the town, the one which in turn favors its future social inclusion. Investigation methods were used among those that stand out the analytic one - synthetic, the documentary analysis, the interviews, the pedagogic test, the modeling and the procedures of the descriptive statistics; those that allowed to verify the initial state of this preparation and the shops preparations. The search for information on the topic threw that this edge has been little tried in the schools of family education; besides lacks in the geographical knowledge of the town where they live on the part of the family and their children. In consideration to the reached results and the approached approaches related to the thematic, studies of family orientation were elaborated to supplement the geographical study of the town that they carry out to the pupils with intellectual disabilities of 7th grade of the municipality Consolación del Sur. The reached results evidence transformation levels in the preparation of the family of these pupils to supplement the geographical knowledge of the town where they live, the one which in turn favors their future social inclusion.

Keywords: geographical knowledge; intellectual disabilities; Special Education; family orientation.

RESUMEN

La orientación a la familia en la Educación Especial, y en particular en los educandos con discapacidad intelectual, debe incluir su preparación para el acompañamiento a sus hijos en su interacción en diversos escenarios. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo socializar los resultados alcanzados en la práctica educativa con la aplicación de los talleres de orientación familiar para complementar, en educandos con discapacidad intelectual, el conocimiento geográfico de la localidad, la cual a su vez favorece su futura inclusión social. Se utilizaron métodos de investigación entre los que se destacan el analítico-sintético, el análisis documental, la entrevista, la prueba pedagógica, la modelación y los procedimientos de la estadística descriptiva; los que permitieron constatar el estado inicial de esta preparación y la elaboración de los talleres. La búsqueda de información sobre el tema arrojó que esta arista ha sido poco tratada en las escuelas de educación familiar; además, deja ver carencias en el conocimiento geográfico de la localidad donde viven por parte de la familia y sus hijos. En consideración a los resultados alcanzados y los criterios abordados relacionados con la temática, se elaboraron talleres de orientación familiar para complementar el estudio geográfico de la localidad, realizado por los educandos con discapacidad intelectual de 7^mo grado del municipio de Consolación del Sur. Los resultados alcanzados evidencian niveles de transformación en la preparación de la familia de los educandos con discapacidad intelectual para complementar el conocimiento geográfico de la localidad donde viven, la cual a su vez favorece su futura inclusión social.

Palabras claves: conocimiento geográfico; discapacidad intelectual; Educación Especial; orientación familiar.

RESUMO

A orientação familiar na Educação Especial, e em particular nos alunos com deficiência intelectual, deve incluir a sua preparação para acompanhar os seus filhos na sua interação nos diversos cenários. O objetivo deste trabalho é socializar os resultados alcançados na prática educativa com a aplicação de oficinas de orientação familiar para complementar, em alunos com deficiência intelectual, o conhecimento geográfico da localidade, o que por sua vez favorece sua futura inclusão social. Foram utilizados métodos de pesquisa, dentre os quais se destacam os procedimentos analítico-sintético, análise documental, entrevista, teste pedagógico, modelagem e estatística descritiva; aqueles que permitiram verificar o estado inicial desta preparação e a elaboração das oficinas. A busca por informações sobre o assunto mostrou que esse aspecto tem sido pouco tratado nas escolas de educação familiar; Além disso, revela deficiências no conhecimento geográfico da localidade onde vivem pela família e seus filhos. Considerando os resultados alcançados e os critérios abordados relacionados ao tema, foram desenvolvidas oficinas de orientação familiar para complementar o estudo geográfico da localidade, realizadas por alunos do 7º ano com deficiência intelectual do município de Consolación del Sur. Os resultados alcançados mostram níveis de transformação na preparação da família de alunos com deficiência intelectual para complementar o conhecimento geográfico da localidade onde vivem, o que por sua vez favorece sua futura inclusão social.

Palavras-chave: conhecimento geográfico; Discapacidade intelectual; Educação especial; Aconselhamento familiar.

INTRODUCTION

In order for people with intellectual disabilities to be able to access and use social services without discrimination, as an internationally recognized right, it is necessary, first of all, that they know the resources and services that are provided in the locality where they live, so that this knowledge can favor their adaptation to the social environment and later, when using them, put into function their potentialities for their social inclusion.

In Cuba, the fulfillment of this right is contemplated in Article 42 of the Constitution of the Republic (Ministry of Justice, 2019) and materialized in the conception of the educational system, reaching its maximum splendor in the curriculum. From the first cycle, in the subject the world in which we live, the use of the geographical environment is conceived as a resource for the appropriation of knowledge, habits, skills and values in students with intellectual disabilities. Later, in the Natural Sciences subject, through excursions, they study the natural peculiarities of the environment where the school is located.

However, it is in the Geography of Cuba subject that its fulfillment in educational attention to students with intellectual disabilities is fully conceived (Martínez, Salabarría and González, 2019), with the geographical study of the locality where the school is located. This constitutes a unit of the subject in the 7th grade program ⁽Guerra, Conill, García, Díaz, Martínez, Sierra and Laborit, 2014), in which, under the direction of the teacher, a comprehensive study of the place where the school is located with a defined geographical orientation.

The integrality of the study is achieved by considering Geography a discipline of integration of knowledge of nature and society. The teaching of the Geography of Cuba has to be based on the relations of multilateral cooperation of Geography with other sciences, to achieve the link with life; being the locality where the school is located the geographical space closest to the development of students with intellectual disabilities, by enhancing their experiences during their study and promoting their enrichment to the extent that they are active participants during their direct contact with it.

When referring to the geographical study of the locality in the educational attention to these students, Guirado and Guerra (2013) emphasize:

(...) take advantage of the conditions offered by the locality to carry out communicative and sociocultural interaction activities (...)" (p. 91). Highlighting in this the carrying out of visits directed to the largest number of production and/ or service centers, and interviews with personalities and professionals related to the activities they carry out to provide their services or to promote, maintain and rescue the traditions; activities of great instructive and educational value.

In this sense, Martínez, Salabarría and González (2018), recognizing its relevance, state that:

"(...) knowledge of the characteristics of the locality, its social composition, the living conditions of the family, its interests and needs and the social activity of citizens notably influences the training and development of skills in these schoolchildren (p. 384).

In the geographical study carried out in the locality "Pilotos", by 7th grade students with intellectual disabilities from the municipality of Consolación del Sur in the province of Pinar del Río, it was found as a result that they orient themselves in the environment , integrate the physical elements with the socioeconomic ones, they recognize the main resources and services that are provided and the possible sources of employment, they recognize the practical and social usefulness of learning and the personal meaning that this can bring them in their future life and they interact with other subjects outside the context school; elements that favor their preparation for social inclusion.

In order to favor this preparation in students with intellectual disabilities during the geographical study of the locality, it is of great importance the conception of the preparation of the subject by the teacher and the preparation that he makes to other teachers, relatives, personalities and professionals of the locality, based on their active participation as mediators during the development of the excursions and practical work.

The participation of these subjects in the study of the locality in the educational attention to the students with intellectual disabilities contribute to the understanding of what happens in the environment, to the security in the application of the geographical knowledge acquired to other situations, and to feel identified with the locality. However, not all students live in the locality where the school is located and it is not possible to study each of the localities where they live during the teaching-learning process of the Geography of Cuba subject.

This reality constitutes a powerful reason to have the support of the family in the fulfillment of its educational function, for which it must be prepared, so that it allows it to carry out a educational process, which contributes to the end of education (Dupeyrón, Cabrera, Amor and González, 2021). In addition, it is important to take into consideration the criteria of Calzadilla, Rodríguez and Cedeño (2021), when they state: " The preparation of families (...) is essential to achieve the stimulation of communication in children and develop their level of socialization" (p.67).

These criteria are also valid in educational care for students with special educational needs, since it coincides with Chambala, Díaz and Rodríguez (2020) when they state: "All children are educable, and so are their families; what materializes from a particular combination of potentialities and specific conditions of life and stimulation" (p. 56). When referring to the preparation of the family of students with intellectual disabilities, Téllez (2018) argues: "(...) so that their educational management meets quality, without which it would be impossible to achieve a harmonious development of the personality of schoolchildren with mental retardation disabilities." (p.235).

The foregoing evidences the need to achieve the preparation of the family, in a way that allows it to participate actively and beneficially from the perspective that it is possible, which is why it coincides with Herrera and González (2017) when they state: "The family is capable of changing and growing according to the internal demands and those of the social environment in which it develops (...)" (p. 3), and when they point out: "The effectiveness of social support depends on the source of help (... )" (p. 21).

The school offers them help, as a cultural educational space that treasures a psycho pedagogical culture that is governed by ethical norms that it shares, as a transmitter of values that provides socially acceptable action models. These models must be in correspondence with the real possibilities and needs of the family of students with intellectual disabilities. In this sense, Acuna, Cabrera, Medina and Lizarazo (2016) state: "It is clear that the family has several needs, but it is also clear that their work, functions and objectives (...) are essential, since their accompaniment and guidance greatly influence in the development of these people" (p. 132), so it is about guiding them towards a coherent collaboration.

In relation to family orientation in educational care for students with intellectual disabilities, it is also important to take into account the criteria of Aranda, Salas and Duany (2020), when they state: "(...) the family is the most important institution of society and the immediate context of the person-environment relationship (...)" (p. 111), and on the role of their orientation: "(...) to face the challenges that life can offer them in their interaction with others in various profitable scenarios for their individual, labor and social growth" (p. 108).

When referring to the significance of the role that this should play in terms of its contribution in the contextualization of geographic learning, acquired by students with intellectual disabilities in the locality where the school is located, in the environment where they live, Cordovés, Martínez, González and Salabarría (2020), state: " (...) that people with intellectual disabilities know the resources and services that are provided in the locality where they live favors their adaptation to the social environment and puts their potential to access and use them without any discrimination" (…) (p. 2).

The family of students with intellectual disabilities participates in the geographical study of the locality where the school is located, in which it acquires a leading role by participating in the excursions; it contributes with the teachers in the protection of the students and in the control of discipline, and turns it into a recipient of geographic knowledge; which conditions her to help her children during the tasks of the content at home.

However, in an exploratory study carried out in the 2018-2019 academic year at the "Isidro Barredo" special school in the municipality of Consolación del Sur, there are insufficiencies in the preparation of the family to promote knowledge in their children with intellectual disabilities in the locality where they live; as well as difficulties in spatial orientation, in the description of the physical characteristics, also in the knowledge of the main services and resources, and in the possible sources of employment in the locality where they live.

It is in this context that this article is inscribed, which aims to socialize the results achieved in family orientation of students with intellectual disabilities, with the application in educational practice of family orientation workshops, to complement in these the geographical knowledge of the locality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To carry out the diagnostic study carried out in the 2018-2019 academic year, all 7th ^gradestudents with intellectual disabilities in the municipality of Consolación del Sur who do not live in the "Pilotos" locality, where the school is located, and a member of the family of each of these; this provided a figure of nine students who star in the teaching-learning process of the Geography of Cuba in the grade , the nine relatives of these and a director of the organizations of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) or the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) of the locality where each student lives .

The general methodological conception of the research was based on the dialectical-materialist method, allowing the study of the object as a process, the determination of its components and the main dialectical relationships, supported by the use of theoretical-level research methods such as an analytical-synthetic, which enabled the critical assessment of the literature consulted and the specialized documentation related to family orientation aimed at complementing learning in educational care for students with intellectual disabilities.

In addition, the inductive-deductive method was used, which made it possible to achieve the necessary abstractions for knowledge related to the reality of family orientation, aimed at complementing the learning of geographical knowledge of the locality in the educational attention to students with intellectual disabilities. Likewise, the hypothetical-deductive was used, which helped the analysis of the scientific theories of the object of study and facilitated the systematization of scientific knowledge and the construction of hypothetical approaches that allowed making deductive logical inferences to arrive at generalizing conclusions.

Regarding the methods of the empirical level, documentary analysis was used for the schedule of family education schools to obtain information on the frequency and the topics to be treated, the preparation of family orientation topics in the educational attention to students with intellectual disabilities and to the minutes of the topics taught to obtain information on the treatment given to issues related to learning support for the family of students with intellectual disabilities.

To verify the current state of preparation of the family of students with intellectual disabilities who do not live in the locality where the school is located, to complement the learning of geographic knowledge of the locality where they live, an interview was applied to parents and directors of the mass organizations of the locality where they live to obtain information on the knowledge that the family has of the main socioeconomic characteristics of the environment where they live and the participation that they give their child in the social life that they develop in him .

Regarding the development of family orientation workshops, to complement students with intellectual disabilities in the 7th ^gradeof the "Isidro Barredo" special school, the geographical knowledge of the locality where the school is located, modeling was used , that allowed the representation of the structural components, the theoretical and methodological elements of the proposed workshops, as well as their essential relationships as a solution to the problem, in which the dynamics between theory and practice were integrated . The structural-functional system was also used, which provided the general orientation for the study and determination of the components, the relationships between them, their dynamics and movement in family orientation workshops to complement students with intellectual disabilities in 7th ^grade.The Geographical knowledge of the locality where the school is located.

RESULTS

The analysis, integration and synthesis of the instruments applied during the diagnostic study carried out allowed obtaining the following strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths

- The school has the necessary educational resources to successfully develop the family orientation process.

- The evident support of the family to the school in the educational work in subjects in which it has received orientation.

Weaknesses

- Insufficient use by the family of the resources and services provided in the locality where they live.

- Difficulties in attendance and spontaneous participation of the family in social activities developed in the environment.

- Less accompaniment of the family to their children in the social life in the environment where they live.

- Little preparation of the family to take advantage of the potentialities of the locality where they live in the educational work.

Causes of insufficiencies

- In the process of family orientation, the support that the family must provide to the learning of the Geography of Cuba subject does not have a coherent solution.

- In the family orientation process, issues related to the preparation of the family are not included to enhance the geographical knowledge of the locality where students with intellectual disabilities live.

In consideration of the results achieved and the criteria addressed, family orientation workshops were developed to complement the geographical study of the locality where the school is located, in the environment where they live, in students with intellectual disabilities. In its conception, it is based on the potentialities and needs of the family and their children with intellectual disabilities and the strengths of the different contexts, as well as the role of educational agents to fulfill them.

Taking into account the criterion that fathers, mothers and guardians become development enhancers when they have the disposition and intention to raise their educational potential, it is sought through the workshops, as a priority: to sensitize them, prepare them and commit them to the work that they can carry out directed to the support that they must provide to their children with intellectual disabilities in the geographical knowledge of the locality where they live, as preparation for their full participation in the social life that takes place in it.

The use of the documentary analysis method made it possible to identify and specify the essential theoretical foundations that support the proposed family counseling workshops, which are complemented by the integration of the basic elements provided by Philosophy, Biology, Psychology, Sociology and Pedagogy.

It is considered necessary, when designing family orientation workshops to complement the geographical study of the locality in the environment where they live in students with intellectual disabilities, starting from the dialectical materialist philosophy in general, since it serves as a beacon to guide the course towards the type of man that is required to prepare, to successfully assume the challenges of reality imposed by current and future life.

It is in the Philosophy of Education that the closest relationship with the phenomenon of education and the need to count on the support of the family in its contribution is specified, since it allows the theoretical understanding of family orientation and its instrumentation in educational practice.

This helps to interpret and contextualize the aspirations of family orientation to complement in students with intellectual disabilities the geographical study of the locality in the environment where they live, taking into account the psychosocial characteristics of the family, the needs of their children with intellectual disabilities with respect to knowledge of the socioeconomic development of the environment and the diversity of the localities where they live and their particularities.

The conjugation of scientific, pedagogical and geographical knowledge with the theory of teaching and education conditions what is oriented, who is oriented and what is oriented for, in order to complement the geographical study of the locality in the environment where they live. The use of the potentialities of the geographical content in the study of the locality where the school is located and the adequate orientation to the family for its contextualization in the environment where they live, as well as the treatment of its practical and social utility, contribute significantly to the comprehensive training of students with intellectual disabilities, for their social inclusion as a manifestation of independence.

The biological foundation is based on the conception that people with intellectual disabilities also constitute a biopsychosocial unit and that in whose development biological and social factors are combined. The understanding of biological factors in development as a general process and in particular of the human psyche, takes into account the dynamics of the structure-function, cause-effect, unity-diversity and essence-phenomenon relationship.

The interaction of the human organism with the social environment as the foundation of the dialectical relationship that is established between the biological, the psychological and the social, and the leading role of the nervous system in its functional integrity, allows not only the scientific foundation of the processes that lead to intellectual disability, but also to the understanding of the possibilities of compensatory corrective care. It is assumed that intellectual disability is an expression of human diversity and its development is governed by the same laws common to all humans.

Although intellectual disability is based on an organic lesion in the central nervous system, which is expressed in the peculiarities of general psychic development, especially in cognitive processes and in the volitional-affective sphere, the multiplicity of factors that come together in its origin and evolution, the variability of the manifestations and the cerebral plasticity, duly stimulated from an adequate organization of the social and educational conditions in the family context, constitute pillars of the compensatory processes and, with them, of the development that they can achieve and that it sucks on them.

The workshops are based on the humanistic essence of the historical-cultural approach that characterizes Special Education in Cuba; Due to its optimistic perspective, in which the family is made aware of the responsibility it has in the education of their children with intellectual disabilities for social inclusion, the characterization of the social situation of family development, the role of their experiences and their orientation, aimed at the support, which they must provide to the training process of these for their full participation in the social life of the locality where they live.

Taking into account that students with intellectual disabilities, with the mediation of the teacher, the family, help and support in correspondence to the variability of their development, as well as with systematicity, perseverance and effort, achieve higher levels of progress in participation in the social life of the locality where they live , the need for the proposal of family orientation workshops is justified to complement in them the geographical study of the locality where the school is located in the environment where they live.

These workshops are based on the individual-society relationship, with the participation and accompaniment of the family to their children with intellectual disabilities in activities of communicative and sociocultural interactions in the locality where they live. This guarantees the relationship of the student with the society in which he accumulates life experiences that influence his attitudes, qualities and forms of action.

In addition, the use of the personal and collective experiences of the family acquired in the social environment , as well as the use of various forms of organization in the workshops, as a process of participation and collaboration, condition their socialization and allow them to acquire resources to take advantage of the potentialities of their locality, which ensures their children with intellectual disabilities a cultural base that contributes to their training, so that they can work as future active builders of society.

In the pedagogical order, the family orientation workshops take into account the complex nature of the interactions that take place in the dynamics of the pedagogical activity and its results; those that include the activity of the teacher and the activity of the student with intellectual disability during the teaching-learning process of the Geography of Cuba subject in general and the geographical study of the locality where the school is located in particular. All this for the achievement of their purposes, both in the classes, in the context of the school or in the environment where they live.

The treatment, during the classes, of theoretical elements related to the geographical content and its observation on the ground materialize the link between theory and practice; It allows students with intellectual disabilities to discover the practical and social usefulness of the learning they have acquired and reveals to them the personal meaning that this can bring them in their future life.

Family orientation for taking advantage of the potentialities of the geographical study of the locality where the school is located, in students with intellectual disabilities, and its accompaniment in the contextualization in the environment where they live allows them to orient themselves in it and behave according to established social norms as a manifestation of independence. Its execution materializes the unity of instruction and education, based on the necessary preparation of students with intellectual disabilities for their future social inclusion.

The study of the bibliography used led to the analysis of the principles that respond to the conception of family orientation in Cuba; which are assumed and contextualized to the orientation of the family of students with intellectual disabilities, to complement the geographical study of the locality that is carried out in the school; as a basis for the structuring and development of the workshops:

Principles that support family orientation workshops

Principle of knowledge and stimulation of functioning: it is specified in the diagnosis that the family has on the subject under study and its use as part of the educational work carried out in the training of their children with intellectual disabilities. The knowledge that the family has of the place where they live, related to the socioeconomic development of the locality and the stimulus that is provided to them for the use that they must make of their potentialities in fulfillment of their educational function must report to their children with intellectual disabilities significance and allow them to recognize their practical and social usefulness.
Principle of the integrity of the orientation: it is summarized in the coherence of the orientation to the family in relation to the aspiration that is desired. Family orientation requires the timely use of the potential of the locality where they live, in accordance with the needs of their children with intellectual disabilities with respect to knowledge of the socioeconomic development of the environment; as well as their responsibility in accompanying them for their knowledge of the existence and operation of the resources and services that are provided in the locality, and the transmission of the social experience acquired during their use.
Principle of participation: it is concretized in guaranteeing that the family constitutes the dynamic center in the conception and direction of the orientation process. It constitutes the leading participation of the family based on their needs, demands, knowledge and potentialities related to the knowledge they have of the locality where they live and their responsibility in accompanying their children with intellectual disabilities for their knowledge and use. In this sense, it is also important to take into consideration the diversity of families and the localities where they live.
Enrichment of communication: it is synthesized in providing and favoring mutual knowledge in the family related to the subject under study and its use as part of the educational work, for which it is feasible to promote the socialization of positive affective experiences for the satisfaction of the participants. Communication must stimulate the socialization of experiences acquired in the locality where they live, which, regulated by who guides, can be used as a means of learning and serve as a mode of action to imitate in the accompaniment of their children with intellectual disabilities in the locality knowledge, without forgetting the diversity of the places where they live and their peculiarities.

With the intention of complementing the geographical study carried out by students with intellectual disabilities from the locality where the school is located in the environment where they live, the following objectives were formulated.

Overall objective

Contribute to the preparation of the family of students with intellectual disabilities to support the geographical knowledge of the locality where they live.

Specific objectives

Make the family aware of the importance of knowing the main socioeconomic characteristics of the locality where they live.
Prepare the family to take advantage of the main socioeconomic characteristics of the environment where they live in the educational work.
Commit the family to support the education process of their children with intellectual disabilities and their full participation in the social life of the locality where they live.

In its conception, the particularities of each family, the social needs of their children with intellectual disabilities in the environment where they live and the diverse characteristics of the places of residence of each student were taken into account.

Thematic plan of the workshops:

Workshop # 1. Role of the family in preparing their children for life

Workshop # 2. Help your child to know the locality where they live

Workshop # 3. Discover the main productive activities

Workshop # 4. Visit the production centers with your child

Workshop # 5. Accompany your child to commercial and gastronomy establishments

Workshop # 6. Use the repair shops and other services

Workshop # 7. Enjoy the cultural, recreational and sports spaces

Workshop # 8. Investigate with your child other places of interest in the locality

Workshop # 9. Discover the possible sources of employment for your child in the locality

Workshop # 10. In the town where we live we have discovered…

The evaluation of the family orientation workshops will be carried out by applying the value scale of Achieved, Little Achieved and Not Achieved. Achieved (L), when family members show sensitivity, preparation and commitment with the support they must provide to their children with intellectual disabilities for their full participation in social life in the locality where they live; Little Achieved (PL), when family members show sensitivity and preparation for the support they should provide to their children with intellectual disabilities for their full participation in social life in the locality where they live, but they do not show commitment to it and Not Achieved (NL), when family members do not show sensitivity and preparation for the support they should provide to their children with intellectual disabilities for their full participation in social life in the locality where they live.

DISCUSSION

The family has among its functions the education of its children, which can fulfill it effectively, to a great extent, the responsibility of the school. Valuable have been the studies carried out related to family orientation by: Acuna, Cabrera, Medina and Lizarazo (2016); Herrera and González (2017); Téllez (2018); Chambala, Díaz, Rodríguez, Aranda, Salas, Duany, Cordovés, Martínez, González and Salabarría (2020); Dupeyrón, Cabrera, Amor, González, Calzadilla, Rodríguez, and Cedeño (2021).

In these it is recognized that the orientation to the families of the students at all levels and types of education advances to the extent that it is carried out by the parents themselves. This guide places the family in better conditions to converge with the efforts made by the educational system, to together contribute to raising the quality of our education.

To complement students with intellectual disabilities with geographic knowledge of the locality where the school is located and its contextualization in the locality where they live, the workshop was used as a means of orientation, despite how contradictory it might seem; taking into consideration that the proper modality to be used in it is the group and these families live in different localities whose socioeconomic characteristics are diverse.

For the selection of the workshops as a way of orientation, the following criteria were taken into account, despite the diversity of the characteristics of the localities where they live, the themes to be dealt with in them are common, that the families live distant from the school and attend once a week with limited time, and that group work facilitates the use of their visit to school, respecting the time to share with their children.

Family orientation workshops to complement in students with intellectual disabilities the geographical knowledge of the locality where the school is located carried out simultaneously with the class system of Unit # 1. The locality "Pilotos", corresponding to the geography program of Cuba in 7th grade, the theoretical knowledge addressed was integrated with the experiences acquired by the family in the environment where they live, the exchange, the interaction on the subject that was analyzed, the presentation of proposals that accredited the educational work of the family, the confrontation of ideas, judgments and opinions, the exercise of criticism, as well as the socialization of the knowledge acquired.

The treatment of the topics in the workshops was flexible, adapting them to the main needs of the family and their children with intellectual disabilities, in correspondence with the specific situations of social life that they develop in the environment where they live. The intention was to reflect and debate with the participants on the socioeconomic particularities of the locality where they live and their use as part of the educational work that the family must carry out in the education of their children with intellectual disabilities.

At least one member of the family of each learner participated in the development of the workshops. They were developed for 10 weeks, with a weekly frequency; on Wednesdays, parents' visit day, during the continuity schedule with a variable duration in correspondence with the subject under treatment and the needs shown by the members in relation to it, for which they ranged from 30 to 45 minutes.

These exchanges began to develop from week # 5 and from the third workshop the theme to be dealt with was made to correspond with the socioeconomic content, in treatment in the classes of Unit # 1. The "Pilotos" locality, so that the family will support learning by accompanying their children with intellectual disabilities in the contextualization of the content in the environment where they live.

The results achieved with the application in the educational practice of the family orientation workshops, to complement the geographical knowledge of the locality in students with intellectual disabilities , show levels of transformation in the family in the educational work in terms of taking advantage of the possibilities of each locality where they live , so that this knowledge favors in these students their adaptation to the social environment where they live and put into function their potentialities for their social inclusion.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

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Conflict of interest:

The authors declare not to have any conflicts of interest.

Authors´ Contribution:

The authors have participated in the writing of the work and analysis of the documents.

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Copyright (c) Javier Anulfo Martínez Páez, Yeniar Rivera Cordovés, Sayuris González Reyes