Changes in children’s knowledge and perceptions of bats following an ethnographically informed experiential-learning intervention: a longitudinal study near La Malinche National Park, Mexico

Negative perceptions of bats can hinder their conservation, particularly where limited biological knowledge coexists with cultural representations of bats as blood-feeding, disease-carrying, dangerous, or strange animals. We evaluated changes in elementary school students’ knowledge and social perceptions of bats following an ethnographically informed experiential-learning intervention in a community bordering La Malinche National Park, Tlaxcala, Mexico. The longitudinal educational model comprised three sequential phases: researcher familiarization and participant observation within the school, an experiential workshop structured around Kolb’s learning cycle, and a follow-up assessment after one month without additional bat-related activities. The workshop combined multisensory activities with a modular bat-construction activity linking functional traits to feeding ecology. Ninety-nine fourth-to-sixth-grade students (9–12 years old) were assessed before the workshop, immediately afterward, and one month later. Changes in bat diet selection, Likert-scale responses, semantic categories derived from open-ended responses, and associations among dietary categories were evaluated using Bayesian Beta–Binomial, Dirichlet–Multinomial, and cumulative ordinal regression models. After the workshop, students recognized a broader range of bat diets. Representations initially concentrated on blood and other animal-based foods expanded to include pollen, nectar, fruits, flowers, and seeds. Recognition of bat diversity and ecological importance increased, and references to anatomy and ecology became more frequent, while miscellaneous and negative affective responses generally declined. Associations among dietary categories became more integrated immediately after the workshop. At the one-month follow-up, overall knowledge remained above baseline, although retention varied among topics and several conceptual associations weakened. Affective and conservation-oriented responses were less consistent than changes in biological knowledge. The observed changes involved both the acquisition of information and the restructuring of pre-existing representations within a sociocultural context. Integrating ethnographic engagement, experiential education, and longitudinal assessment provides a useful framework for examining situated learning and may inform biocultural conservation initiatives involving bats and other stigmatized or non-charismatic species.