Fostering civic values through short animations: A didactic resource for elementary students

Abstract

Citizenship education holds paramount importance in Spain’s primary education curriculum, aiming to prepare students with the skills needed to become discerning and responsible citizens in an age dominated by widespread misinformation and unreliable content. Navigating through the vast landscape of online information and identifying valuable didactic materials represent significant challenges for teachers. This article presents animated-based learning (ABL) as a didactic resource to foster civic values in elementary education. The first objective of this article is to explore the potential of this didactic resource and assess its suitability to promote civic values in primary schools. In the context of a world, where mistrusting information on social media is prevalent, the second objective of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness of this didactic tool in cultivating critical thinking skills from the perspective of aspiring educators and university students themselves. The study involved a sample of 89 Spanish 3rd-year primary education degree students, of whom 92.8% were women aged between 22 and 30 years old. The instrument utilized to collect data was an online survey conducted through SurveyMonkey. The analysis of data using SPSS software, version 27, reveals that this didactic tool enhances their critical thinking skills. Similarly, they recognize the potential of animated short content to instill human and civic values in children in primary education. The findings also display a positive impact of ABL on training future teachers, underscoring the importance of incorporating innovative methodologies into teacher training programs and acknowledging the pivotal role of visual tools and digital resources in guiding the development of future citizens