Geography education and citizenship education: Pedagogical strategies from a territorial perspective

Abstract

Chile’s territory and its growing exposure to socio-environmental risks reinforce the relevance of geographic education for the development of critical and responsible citizenship. The literature highlights that this discipline contributes to the development of spatial thinking, territorial awareness, and the critical understanding of social, environmental, and natural phenomena, which are essential capacities for civic engagement. This study aims to analyze how the teaching strategies employed by History, Geography, and Social Sciences teachers contribute to citizenship education in secondary education. The study adopted a qualitative approach and an interpretive paradigm, using semi-structured interviews with five teachers from schools in Santiago. Thematic analysis identified nine categories related to pedagogical practices, resources used, and the main challenges involved in connecting geography and citizenship education. The findings show that the critical use of cartographic materials, analysis of the local environment, and neighborhood-based studies foster territorial understanding, critical thinking, territorial awareness, and social responsibility. However, limitations persist regarding teacher education, resource availability, and the limited curricular presence of geography. It is concluded that the potential of geographic education for citizenship education depends both on teachers’ ability to connect content with concrete territorial issues and on curricular and institutional conditions that support and sustain these practices.