Implementation of a sensory room to strengthen emotional regulation and empathy in secondary school adolescents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64092/8q6av985Keywords:
Sensory classroom, emotional regulation, empathy, secondary school, adolescents, socio-emotional developmentAbstract
This article proposes the implementation of a sensory classroom as a strategy to strengthen empathy and emotional regulation in secondary school students. An interpretive, qualitative paradigm with an exploratory design was used, employing interviews, logbooks, and participant observation. The students were selected through convenience sampling, consisting of five students and two teachers from Secondary School 253 T.M., located in the Iztapalapa borough of Mexico City. The objective is to demonstrate how the implementation of a sensory classroom influences the development of emotional regulation and empathy in first-year secondary school students. The sensory classroom was designed as a safe space that incorporates stimuli for all the senses: visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and, in certain situations, gustatory. It also includes activities focused on attention, motivation, concentration, relaxation, musicosophy, and reflective activities as experiential learning. The results show significant improvements in concentration, empathy, resilience, communication, and expression. Furthermore, a reduction in anxiety and an increase in stress management were observed, which benefited collaborative work and coexistence among the students. The results reaffirm that socio-emotional development is a progressive process that is enhanced through diverse strategies and emotional support. It is concluded that the sensory classroom is a useful tool for transforming educational environments into more holistic ones, focused on the emotional well-being of students.
Downloads
References
Alonso, J. R. (2018). El futuro del cerebro. Revista Telos, Fundación Telefónica. https://telos.fundaciontelefonica.com/telos-109-analisis-el-futuro-del-cerebro/
Barrientos, A., Sánchez, R., & Arigita, A. (2019). Formación emocional del profesorado y gestión del clima de su aula. Praxis & Saber, 10(24), 119–141. https://www.redalyc.org/journal/4772/477266187006/html/
Carbajo Vélez, M. del C. (2014). La sala de estimulación multisensorial. Tabanque: Revista Pedagógica, (27), 155–172. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5084331
Castro Pérez, M., & Morales Ramírez, M. E. (2015). Los ambientes de aula que promueven el aprendizaje, desde la perspectiva de los niños y niñas escolares. Revista Electrónica Educare, 19(3), 138–170. https://www.redalyc.org/journal/1941/194140994008/html/
Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos. (2022). Contra el bullying: Guía para docentes, alumnado, familias y comunidad escolar. Di no al acoso escolar. https://www.cndh.org.mx/sites/default/files/documentos/2022-02/Cuadr_Contra_Bullying.pdf
De Araújo Pinto, A., Claumann, G. S., De Medeiros, P., Dos Santos Puga Barbosa, R. M., Nahas, M. V., & Pelegrini, A. (2017). Association between perceived stress in adolescence, body weight and romantic relationships. Revista Paulista de Pediatria, 35(4), 422–428. https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-0462/;2017;35;4;00012
Erazo Santander, O. A. (2016). La adaptabilidad en el aula: Una reflexión desde los trastornos de integración sensorial, atención y conducta. Tesis Psicológica, 11(2), 36–52. https://revistas.libertadores.edu.co/index.php/TesisPsicologica/article/view/748/706
Erazo Santander, O. A. (2018). Dificultades en integración sensorial, afectividad y conducta en estudiantes de una escuela pública. Praxis & Saber, 9(20), 143–165. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=477257681007
Flores-Kanter, P. E., & Medrano, L. A. (2019). Núcleo básico en el análisis de datos cualitativos: Pasos, técnicas de identificación de temas y formas de presentación de resultados. Interdisciplinaria. Revista de Psicología y Ciencias Afines, 36(2), 203–215. https://doi.org/10.16888/interd.2019.36.2.13
Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia. (2019). Panorama estadístico de la violencia contra niñas, niños y adolescentes en México. https://www.unicef.org/mexico/media/1731/file/UNICEF%20PanoramaEstadistico.pdf
Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia. (2025). La salud mental de la generación Z en México: Entre esperanza y agotamiento. https://www.unicef.org/mexico/informes/la-salud-mental-de-la-generaci%C3%B3n-z
Golota, N., & Brika, O. (2022). Fundamentals of management of the quality of sensory-cognitive development of children of the fourth year of life in a preschool education institution. Pedagogical Education: Theory and Practice. Psychology. Pedagogy, 38(2), 30–35. https://doi.org/10.28925/2311-2409.2022.385
González Arboleda, L. L., & Valega Mires, L. (2018). Actividades sensoriales para el desarrollo de la expresión de emociones en los niños de 5 años de una institución educativa en San Isidro [Tesis de licenciatura, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú].
López-Cassà, È., & Bisquerra-Alzina, R. (2024). Educar en las emociones en tiempos de crisis. RELIEVE. Revista Electrónica de Investigación y Evaluación Educativa, 30(1). https://www.redalyc.org/journal/916/91678088001/html/
México. Secretaría de Educación Pública. (2023). Educación socioemocional en el marco de la Nueva Escuela Mexicana. https://educacionbasica.sep.gob.mx/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Educacion-socioemocional-en-el-Marco-de-la-NEM.pdf
Narváez Marín, M., Gómez Tabares, A. S., & Correa Duque, M. C. (2024). Efecto de las emociones sobre la empatía en adolescentes vulnerables. Diversitas, 20(1), 66–86. https://doi.org/10.15332/22563067.10219
Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura. (2024). Violencia y acoso escolar: La UNESCO reclama una mejor protección de los estudiantes. UNESCO- https://www.unesco.org/es/articles/violencia-y-acoso-escolar-la-unesco-reclama-una-mejor-proteccion-de-los-estudiantes
Organización Mundial de la Salud. (2025). Adolescent mental health. https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health
Osés Bargas, R. M., Aguayo Chan, J. C., Duarte Briceño, E., & Ortega, J. I. M. (2011). Autorregulación en estudiantes de secundaria: Influencia de sexo, edad y apoyo familiar. Psicología Iberoamericana, 19(2), 38–46. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/1339/133921440005.pdf
Rakesh, D., McLaughlin, K. A., Sheridan, M., Humphreys, K. L., & Rosen, M. L. (2024). Environmental contributions to cognitive development: The role of cognitive stimulation. Developmental Review, 73, 101135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2024.101135
Román-Camacho, D. E., Campoverde Bustamante, L. L., Jiménez Tinitana, M. del R., & Valle Gálvez, Á. G. (2025). Impacto del aprendizaje multisensorial en la adquisición de reglas ortográficas en estudiantes de básica elemental. Polo del Conocimiento, 10(7), 2689–2707. https://polodelconocimiento.com/ojs/index.php/es/article/view/10043
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mario Suárez-Zambrano (Autor/a)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in Sophia Research Review (SRR), agree to the following terms:
1. Copyright
Authors retain unrestricted copyright to their work. Authors grant the journal the right of first publication. To this end, they assign the journal non-exclusive exploitation rights (reproduction, distribution, public communication, and transformation). Authors may enter into additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal, provided that acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal is given.
© The authors.
2. License
The articles are published in the journal under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). The terms can be found at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en
This license allows:
- Sharing: Copying and redistributing the material in any medium or format.
- Adapting: Remixing, transforming, and building upon the material.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if any changes were made. You may do this in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses or sponsors your use.
- NonCommercial: You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- ShareAlike: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your creation under the same license as the original work.
There are no additional restrictions. You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
