Dealing with heritage as curricular content in Spain’s Primary Education

Abstract

Within the educational system, heritage-related curriculum design and contents constitute a key factor in the sustainable preservation of heritage since only what is known and valued can be protected and preserved. Whether heritage education involves the inclusion of new materials in the curriculum, or the use of innovative approaches in handling heritage-related contents that are already present in the several curricular areas in order to facilitate their teaching and promote heritage awareness, the fact remains that the curriculum itself becomes an important player. Our research aims at analysing the way heritage is approached in the 17 Decrees regulating the Primary Education curriculum in the Spanish territory. The results show that the methodological criterion used in the teaching-learning of heritage is the sensitisation sequence: Knowing, Understanding, Respecting, Valuing, Sensitising, Taking Care, Transmitting, Heritagising and Identising. On the other hand, there are major differences across Spain’s regions regarding heritage awareness and curricular coverage: an issue that should be borne in mind in curriculum revision processes and in the design of academic programmes targeted at future teachers in order to secure the quality of heritage education.