Internet Archaeol. 12. Copeland. Citizenship Education and Heritage

Heritage Education

Heritage education is a relatively new addition to the curriculum, rarely mentioned in official documents and rarely defined in any detail. As part of a study for the Council of Europe (Copeland forthcoming a) the following definition was constructed from a variety of pedagogic sources and participants' perspectives:

Heritage education is not a subject but a type of education rather like human rights education or global education.
In using an intercultural approach, it seeks to engender in students an understanding and appreciation of material and tangible cultural heritage in order to:
1. identify and understand the past at a range of scales - local, national and international
2. recognise the similarities between peoples and celebrate the differences
3. fight racism, xenophobia, violence, aggressive nationalism and intolerance
Because heritage education is not a subject but an approach it utilises a range of subjects and expertise:
1. being constructivist in nature it is based on personal enquiry and problem solving using primary sources and first-hand experiences. It is often undertaken as a co-operative activity therefore being social constructivist
2. as a dynamic process, there are implications for how heritage will develop within the life span of the participants, and it is also important that acquiring skills be built in to help participants define and identify heritage of the future, that which we cannot know now, which therefore has implications for life-long learning
3. in terms of curriculum achievements it sharpens perceptions and gives a context for the development of both literacy and numeracy.

Such a definition brings together many of the facets of active citizenship and a developed view of heritage.

Heritage Education	Citizenship Education
active methods project-based teaching	constitutes a life-long learning experience of participation in various contexts
self-management and self-discipline	equips men and women for active and responsible roles in life and society
interdisciplinary exchange to fight racism, xenophobia, violence, aggressive nationalism and intolerance	aims at developing a culture of human rights
interculturalism	prepares people to live in a multicultural society
co-operative practices	strengthens social cohesion, mutual understanding and solidarity
partnership between teachers, cultural leaders, craft workers, parents and financial backers	promotes inclusive strategies for all age groups and sectors of society

Table 4: Citizenship and heritage education - active methods

Clearly as education for democratic citizenship is a major educational aim, then heritage education, as a type of education, can contribute to it. However, examination of the various citizenship curricula in the United Kingdom reveals that, while implicit references are made to 'human culture' (Scotland), and 'wider issues and challenges ... including sustainable development' (England), there are no explicit references to heritage or heritage education.

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