A Participatory Action Research (PAR) to reduce alcohol consumption in students of the Instituto Padre José Bartocci in the municipality of Muy Muy, Matagalpa. Nicaragua

Abstract

For the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol addiction is linked to the dependence syndrome, understood as the set of physiological, behavioral and cognitive manifestations, in which the consumption of a substance acquires the highest priority for the individual, even higher than any other behavior that in the past had a higher value. It is the often strong or insurmountable desire to ingest a psychotropic substance, alcohol or tobacco”. (Narcotics Anonymous, 51). In 2021, the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education, within the framework of educational quality in continuous improvement, identifies that 35% of eleventh grade students of the Saturday modality of the Instituto Padre José Bartocci presented various problems of: non-attendance, low academic performance, difficulties in the learning process, short-term memory learning, attitudinal problems and symptoms of alcoholism. Therefore, the research team decided to implement the methodology of Participatory Action Research (PAR), in order to diagnose the reality and influence the reduction of alcohol consumption in the students involved. The subjects of the research were: teachers, the school counselor of the Institute and the students. The instruments applied were: survey, focus group and observation guide. The implementation of the intervention plan was a relevant process to influence the problems encountered, 7 workshops were conducted with different participatory techniques. As a result of the accompaniment during this research process, the students developed skills for self-knowledge, self-confidence, self-esteem and self-control, strengthening their generic competencies and reducing alcohol consumption by 60%.