Independent Researcher

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Thesis Title: Educació patrimonial mitjançant recursos educatius en línia amb contingut de patrimoni cultural i xarxes d'aprenentatge (Heritage education through educational on line resources with cultural heritage content and learning networks

About

This PhD study contributes to the heritage field and specifically to heritage education. As the literature (Juanola; Calbó; Valles, 2006; Fontal, 2003a; Calaf, 2009) suggests and from what we saw in our research, heritage education seeks students’ personal development (cognitive and affective).

During the academic year 2008/09, we carried out a pilot experiment within the framework of Catalonia. The pilot experiment in heritage education brought different actors (cultural managers, teachers, secondary school students and coordinators) into a virtual platform as co-producers of on-line cultural heritage educational resources. We created and stimulated learning networks made up of the above players. We observed the teaching and learning processes and we explored whether they defined heritage education quality criteria. We also studied how they integrated cultural heritage in the school curriculum and how students assumed such knowledge through the use of on-line cultural heritage educational resources, on the one hand, and the creation of on-line cultural heritage educational resources, on the other.

Thanks to the three cases of the action research, we know that heritage education through learning networks and on-line cultural heritage educational resources implies that secondary school students acquire knowledge and skills related to heritage, curriculum subjects (social sciences and/or languages) and digital literacy. We define the on-line cultural heritage educational resources (tangible/ intangible heritage) as material or activity on the Internet created from interests, learning needs, difficulties or students’ (social) problems. However, we have not lost the human dimension and knowledge that support the teaching and learning process, which mainly occur from the classroom. This means that activities that may involve the use and creation of on-line cultural heritage educational resources have to be supported by guidelines and social interaction.

A cultural institution should offer heritage education products and services that allow work not only on conceptual heritage content, but also on procedural and attitudinal contents, which means developing basic or key skills. These should fit students out with knowledge and skills that enable learners to continue to learn in their adult life, "lifelong learning". We have defined a guide to develop heritage education through learning networks and on-line cultural heritage educational resources where we have provided a taxonomy that include categories of the complexity of the Catalan curriculum (General Directorate of Basic Education and Secondary Education, 2009c), categories of the heritage education integral model (Fontal, 2003a) and categories of Bloom’s revised digital taxonomy (Churches, 2008). Moreover, we have identified some factors that limit the quality of heritage education; for instance, the absence of collaboration between schools and cultural institutions.