Traveling to learn: railway journeys as a pedagogical strategy for teaching national history
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55040/r3j6yb88Keywords:
heritage learning, educational mediation, Ecuadorian railway, history and citizenship, experiential educationAbstract
This study aimed to analyze the impact of railway heritage mediation on the historical learning, cultural identity, and civic education of History and Social Sciences Pedagogy students at the National University of Chimborazo, using experiential and collaborative strategies. A mixed-methods approach was employed, with an exploratory-descriptive design and quantitative and qualitative techniques, including a pre- and post-test survey, semi-structured interviews, observation using an observation guide, reflective journals, World Café sessions, and a triangulation matrix to compare the results. The findings demonstrated increased heritage awareness, active participation, critical reflection, and contextualized historical thinking. The railway experience transformed the relationship between history, territory, and citizenship through experiential and collaborative learning, consistent with the postulates of Kolb and Mezirow. The study concludes that experiential heritage education is an effective means of promoting historical understanding and civic engagement, consolidating railway heritage as a pedagogical space and a means of identity construction.
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