MARIA BELEN CABALLO VILLAR

Dr. MARIA BELEN CABALLO VILLAR is a Professor in the Department of Pedagogy and Didactics at the Faculty of Education Sciences, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. She is affiliated with the Institute for Aquatic Research for Global Health (iARCUS) and the SEPA-interea research group focusing on Social Pedagogy and Environmental Education. Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to education, community development, and environmental stewardship.

She earned her doctorate in 1997 with a thesis titled "The organizational models of local administration in the horizon of the educating city realities and perspectives in the Spanish context", supervised by Dr. José Antonio Caride Gómez. Her research spans over two decades, addressing themes such as leisure education, nature deficit disorder in children, municipal cultural policies, and gender empowerment in community leadership.

Key research interests include:

• Social pedagogy and its application in urban and community settings
• Environmental education for adolescents and nature literacy
• Policy analysis on child leisure rights and family conciliation
• Gender equality in educational and community roles
• Digital transformation impacts on municipal cultural professions

Her work frequently intersects with practical interventions, such as evaluating municipal education departments, designing recreational programs, and promoting intergenerational leisure activities. She has collaborated extensively with Galician institutions on projects addressing youth inclusion, sustainable community development, and policy advocacy for vulnerable groups.

Notable contributions include studies on time management in education, the role of schools in addressing nature deficit disorder, and empowering women leaders in Latin American communities. Her research has been presented in over 50 peer-reviewed articles and numerous conference proceedings.

Current initiatives focus on:

• Developing frameworks for eco-pedagogical practices
• Advancing digital literacy programs for municipal workers
• Assessing the impact of pandemic-era confinement on family leisure dynamics
• Promoting intergenerational recreational spaces in urban environments