Emotional and Educational Accompaniment through Dialogic Literary Gatherings: A Volunteer Project for Families Who Suffer Digital Exclusion in the Context of COVID-19

Abstract

In order to improve educational conditions of families lacking digital resources during the home lockdown associated with the COVID-19 crisis, a project of educational and emotional support through books featuring Dialogic Literary Gatherings was carried out, with the name “Books that Bring People Together”. We present the main results of the impact of this activity from the point of view of n = 63 volunteers who participated in it. Using Student’s t-test for related samples, the differences in volunteers’ competencies before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the experience were tested, in order to analyze whether the activity had also exerted an impact on these competencies. Moreover, a correlation analysis was applied between the items for evaluating family participation by the volunteers, volunteer skills, and training, with the aim of testing the relationships between those variables as a result of participation in the experience. Results show that families found that accompaniment improved the quality of life of their children, making them feel loved and accompanied. In addition, the family atmosphere was improved, as did the children’s interest in reading. This mode of training led to greater involvement, motivation, and interest, thereby complying with a transversal axis of the process—community participation.