Mancera-Valencia, F.J. & Mayagoitia, E.A. (2023) Cultural Heritage and Education. Universidad Pedagógica del Estado de Chihuahua Editorial

Abstract

Although the topics of the research articles that are compiled in this book focus on a wide range of themes, such as the connection between school and museums, the use of radio as a schooling device for indigenous population or the unique architecture of Mennonite schools in the north of Mexico; they all share the same objective: to foster a debate regarding the relevance of heritage education.

Some of the texts are research articles, others document intervention experiences in different educational contexts, both formal and informal. Most of them narrate practices that were implemented in Mexican territory (specifically, the states of Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Mexico City and Baja California), except for one project that was conducted in Spain. The articles cover topics like the implications of educational heritage, its purpose, didactic orientations, devices, and places.

The book coordinators, Federico Mancera-Valencia and Eva Mayagoitia, prestigious Mexican researchers, argue that patrimonial education is in its gestational state, and, since it is a research field that is constantly evolving, it has its own tensions and contradictions. The book is composed of 12 chapters, created by authors of different backgrounds and fields: professors, researchers, educators, an archeologist, an anthropologist and a geographer, all of them with extensive experience in educational heritage. These articles are organized in four sections: a) Educational heritage: tensions and debates, b) Academic Cultural Heritage, c) Cultural Heritage of Indigenous Education and d) Museums, libraries and cultural heritage management.