Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades

Community practices and the construction of Buen Vivir in Guatemala: Experiences from the local social fabric in Qachuu Aloom

Alfredo Itzep — 2025-03-14

The peoples, who have historically inhabited in Mesoamérica, have constantly had concerns to achieve their survival. In this concern they have achieved alternatives that have guaranteed their community life in coexistence with nature and Mother Earth. Given the great biodiversity, diverse physical and climatic conditions they have developed social paradigms of life. One of these paradigms is Good Living, which is based on their cultural, social and economic conceptions, in constant interaction with their communities and Mother Nature. The objective of this article is to analyze and discuss Good Living, as an alternative to the neoliberal, polluting and predatory conditions of modernity. Good Living in the Mayan language is translated as Utz K'aslemal, Utziläj K'aslemal, the Raxnaquil K'aslemal. For its development and viability, I identify some principles: plurinationality, complementarity, unity in diversity, interdependence, right to difference and citizenship, interculturality, community, and sustainability. The experience of the Qachuu Aloom comunity asociation is presented to achieve the Good Living in the Maya Achí of Ixim Ulew-Paxil Cayala´.

Sociodemographic factors, quality of life profile, and academic performance in Escuela de Formación de Profesores de Enseñanza Media, USAC, Guatemala students

César Leonel Montenegro Pérez — 2025-06-12

The quality of life affected by sociodemographic factors can impact students' academic performance. It is influenced by physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and the individual’s environment. In the multicultural setting of EFPEM, establishing this relationship is crucial to designing and implementing inclusive educational strategies that enhance students' well-being and performance. The general objective was to determine the relationship between sociodemographic factors, quality of life profile, and academic performance of EFPEM students. A mixed-methods approach was used, with a correlational scope and a concurrent transformative design. Data collection techniques included surveys and document review, using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the WHOQOL-BREF scale, and a questionnaire with open-ended questions. The population consisted of students from various teaching specializations in both weekday and weekend programs. A concurrent, non-probabilistic convenience sampling method was applied for mixed methods. Quantitative data were analyzed using JAMOVI, while qualitative data were categorized with QCAmap. The results indicate that students perceive their quality of life as moderately positive, with significant differences among the four dimensions. Sociodemographic factors such as gender, age, and socioeconomic level influence quality of life, while study schedule and ethnicity affect academic performance. A positive, low, and significant correlation was found between psychological health and academic performance. It is recommended to develop psychological help programs that meet the needs of students and promote general well-being and student success.

Pedagogical reflections on the concept of social actor

Sergio Moctezuma Pérez — 2025-05-21

The concept of the social actor is fundamental in the social sciences for various theoretical currents and has been a topic of discussion since the 19th century. Even the emergence of anthropology as a science is linked to the interest of social scientists in unraveling the role that human behavior plays within social structures. The aim of this article is to reflect on the importance of learning to relate the content of a theoretical text with findings in ethnographic fieldwork. To achieve this, the concepts of social action, actor, agency, and support used by classic and contemporary sociological thinkers such as Max Weber, Bruno Latour, and Norman Long are presented.

Analysis of psychological distress in university students and its association with resilience

Donald Wylman González Aguilar — 2025-06-26

This study looks at the relationship between resilience and psychological distress symptoms in university students in Guatemala. Using a non-experimental, cross-sectional and predictive correlational design, three psychometric instruments were utilized: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7(GAD-7), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10). The population of interest was 16,706 students from several campuses of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. The analyses indicated a negative association between resilience and the major depressive disorder symptom indices and the generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, specifically as resilience increased, psychological distress symptoms decreased. The regression coefficients were for the major depressive disorder symptom indices: -0.4065(p < 0.0001) and for the generalized anxiety disorder indices -0.2408(p < 0.0001), with significant confidence intervals. Overall, these findings highlighted the importance of resilience as a protective factor for mental health in university contexts, particularly given the constraints of local psychological support services. This research has contextualized the need for psychoeducational interventions to enhance emotional and academic wellbeing of students.

Increase in femicides and other forms of violence against women in Zacapa, Guatemala, as a result of the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

Cossethee E. Quan-Galvan — 2025-05-02

Violence against women is a worldwide incidence problem, recorded throughout history. Guatemala is not an exception to this. In March 2020, the first positive case of the new coronavirus was identified, from a Guatemalan within the national territory. In order to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Guatemala, mobility restrictions were established for the Guatemalans, during some months of the year 2020, during these periods of confinement, families were forced to stay together for a greater number of hours within their homes. With this study, the increase in violence against women in its different manifestations was determined, during the period of confinement established, for a few months of the year 2020. Data provided by the Public Ministry and the National Civil Police of Guatemala were taken in relation to the complaints filed during the years 2019 and 2020 per day and month in the department of Zacapa, since this is the department under study. In the same way, the behavior of femicide crimes was studied in the department of Zacapa without and with the confinement measures. Obtaining results where it can be observed that the confinement to which Guatemala was subject affected the increase in Violence against women in all its manifestations. Of this account, the largest number of complaints coincided with the months with the longest hours of mobility restriction.

Contributions of master’s degrees in arts to the improvement of educational quality

Patricia Luz Mazariegos Romero — 2025-06-26

The research focused on analyzing how the master's programs in arts at the Facultad de Humanidades de la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala have positively influenced the quality of education, specifically in the job performance of its graduates. Using a mixed and descriptive approach, surveys were conducted with eighty-nine graduates, six focus groups and interviews with seventeen authorities where Master of Arts graduate’s work. In addition, fifty-nine action research outcome reports produced by study participants were reviewed. The key results reveal that the graduates perceive significant improvements in communication, technological, research, leadership, professional ethics, and socioemotional competencies thanks to the training received in the master's program. They also highlight aspects that favored their training process, such as the schedule, class days, number of courses, virtual modality, teacher support and tutoring. The action research projects undertaken by the graduates had a notable impact on students and teachers, and to a lesser extent on the authorities of the institutions where they were carried out. In conclusion, it is determined that graduate programs have contributed significantly to the professional development and work performance of their graduates, generating beneficial changes that strengthen educational quality. These changes include the professionalization of teachers, the adoption of digital tools, innovation, participation in graduate programs and the promotion of educational research.