Toward a Pedagogical Epistemology of Consciousness: A Transdisciplinary and Holistic Curricular Proposal Mediated by the Poetry of Walt Whitman.
Wilmo Ariel Candanedo Guevara
Revista Epicentro October 31, 2026 DOI: 10.61209/re.v4i2.186 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Graduate students in two virtual focus groups |
| Key findings | Proposes a pedagogical epistemology centered on consciousness, using Walt Whitman's Song of Myself as pedagogical mediation. The authors report that in two virtual focus groups with 10 graduate students, the poetic encounter provoked reflective, imaginative, and social states that can sustain practical aesthetic training and ecological action. From this interrelation they propose four epistemic curricular pillars as foundations of a Holistic Curriculum from Consciousness (HCC). |
Abstract
Facing the epistemological fragmentation of the sciences and the emergence of challenges such aseducational, social, and environmental reforms, this research proposes a pedagogical epistemologycentered on consciousness as the foundation for a holistic curriculum. The study connects atransdisciplinary theoretical framework (philosophy, aesthetics, neuroscience, quantum physics,transcendentalism in American literature, translation studies, complexity theory) with qualitativemethods: poetic inquiry, focus groups, and an action-research logic. Walt Whitman and his poem cycleSong of Myself (“La Canción de mi Consciencia”) are used as a pedagogical mediation to activateimagination, attention, ethical sense, and ecological communion. The empirical component (twovirtual focus groups, N = 10 graduate students) shows that the poetic encounter provokes reflective,imaginative, and social states that can sustain practical aesthetic training and ecological action. Fromthis interrelation four epistemic curricular pillars are proposed as the foundations of a HolisticCurriculum from Consciousness (HCC), with modules, practices, rubrics and a formative assessmentproposal. Implications for teacher education, authentic assessment, and future research lines (mixedintervening studies and longitudinal studies) are discussed.