Dit hoofdstuk is als artikel gepubliceerd in het International Yearbook for Research in Arts

Education 2014 (Konings & Van Heusden, 2014).

Het is gebaseerd op de door het Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie uitgegeven publicatie

Culturele instellingen en de doorlopende leerlijn cultuuronderwijs. Een analyse-instrument

(Konings, 2011). hoofdstuk

4

evaluate the ways in which an institution con- tributes to an (integrated) culture education curriculum of one or more schools, and can we draw any conclusions about the added value of the cultural education program offered?

This article consists of three parts: First, we explain from a theoretical perspective how the contribution of a cultural institution can be analyzed. In order to do so we focus

upon the contents of the cultural education programs and upon the tuning process taking place between schools and cultural institutions about these contents.

Secondly, the theoretical framework is used to analyze the two aspects, the contents and the tuning respectively, in educational programs of cultural institutions. This will be illustrated with an analysis of a film project about fairytales developed by a youth-theatre for, and in consultation with a school for primary education in the Netherlands.

Thirdly and finally, we conclude by answering the research question. In this section we will also discuss the potential of the instrument and its practical value for the evaluation of cultural educational programs and activities.

Key words: Cultural education, cultural institutions, cultural education programs, integra- ted cultural education.

4.1 Introduction

In this article we will provide an – affirmative – answer to the question: Can the ways in which an institution contributes to an (integrated) culture education curriculum of one or more schools be systematically described and evaluated, and can any conclusions be drawn about the added value of the cultural education program offered?

In order to analyze what the contribution of a cultural education program to an inte- grated curriculum for cultural education could be, we will have to explain what we mean by the concepts cultural institution, cultural education program and integrated curriculum for culture education.

We take the concept of cultural institution in a broad sense as encompassing all sorts of institutions, from a youth theatre or art museum to a heritage institution, a music school, or a center for the arts that has the task to develop cultural education programs for schools.

A cultural education program is a program developed for schools. Such a program can last a couple of weeks or be confined to a single activity. It can take place in school or in the institution. It can be (mainly) productive, receptive or a combination of the two.

Our view of an integrated curriculum for cultural education is based on the theore- tical framework developed by Barend van Heusden in the research project Culture in the Mirror (CIM) (cf. Van Heusden, 2010a). This framework will be explained in the next section (Contents).

It will be argued that a cultural education program can be analyzed with respect to two main aspects, namely the contents of the program, and the tuning that takes place between school(s) and a cultural institution. The theory of contents is based on the ‘Culture in the Mirror’ (CIM) theoretical framework for an integrated curriculum for culture education (Van Heusden, 2010a). The theory of tuning is based on an extensive review of the litera- ture related to this topic.

4.2 Contents

A cultural education program is analysed on the basis of the CIM theoretical framework. CIM is a theory of culture and culture education (Van Heusden, 2009a, 2009b, 2010a). According to the theory, the main goal of culture education is to help children in developing their cultural (self)-consciousness, i.e. their ability to reflect on culture in the broadest sense. The following section is based on several publications by Van Heusden (1997, 1999, 2003, 2007b, 2008, 2009a, 2009b, 2010a, 2010c, 2011a). We will explain what is meant by culture, cultural (self)-consciousness and an integrated curriculum for culture education.

4.2.1 Culture

Van Heusden uses a broad and a narrow definition of culture. Culture is our intentional behaviour (the broad definition), which is what distinguishes us from other animals. This means that we are aware of our memories and use them to interpret an ever-changing actuality. This intentional behaviour has three characteristics: (1) Humans experience a difference between the situation they are in (the ‘here and now’) and their memories. (2) They can cope with this difference and adjust to the new situation and (3) lastly, they can reflect upon their memories and upon the process of adjustment. This capacity for self-reflexivity underlies the narrow definition of culture. Culture in the narrow sense, or cultural (self)-consciousness, is our ability to reflect on memories and behaviour (i.e. on culture in the broad sense).

Culture – in the broad sense - is conceived as the continuous process of adaptation of our memories to the situation we are in. We use our memory to recognize a continuously changing reality – to give meaning to it, and we adapt our memories to ‘fit’ the new situation.

We adapt to our environment using four basic thinking skills, namely: perception, imagi- nation, conceptualization and analysis. For example, when we arrive at a holiday destination, let’s say a tropical island, we perceive and take in the environment. For instance, we notice the weather, the location of our room, and a variety other sights, sounds and smells. When it is very hot, we can imagine how it would be if we had chosen an Alpine holiday destina- tion. We can imagine how cold it would be and enjoy the warmth of the current location. We can also go over other possible holiday destinations in our mind and by comparing and contrasting, emphasize the conditions at our current location.

Culture as adaptation is a continuous process. We continually perceive, imagine, concep- tualize and analyse, and organize our behaviour on the basis to the outcome of this process. These basis skills are expressed through four types of media. These are:

► The body (e.g., the mind, in gestures, or in a dance) ► Objects (e.g., a chair or an art object)

► Language (e.g., spoken words, a poem)

4.2.2 Cultural (self)-consciousness

One aspect of culture is cultural (self)-consciousness (or culture in the narrow sense). Humans have the ability to reflect on themselves, on others and on culture in general. When we reflect upon our own adaptations, we use the same four basic cognitive skills, namely (self)-perception, (self)-imagination, (self)-conceptualization, and (self)-analysis, and the same media types (body, object, language and graphics). Meditation, for instance, would be an example of reflective perception. Another example of self-perception would be watching the news, where we look at the actions of our culture daily. An important form of expressing self-imagination is art. In theatre, we give meaning to ourselves, others and culture in general through language, body and objects. In film, we make use of the graphic medium and in dance, we use the body. We conceptualize ourselves in the field of history. We interpret our past and label what we find worthwhile to remember. When we reflect

upon and analyse our world, as we do in science, we search for underlying structures. 4.2.3 An integrated curriculum for culture education

We can now, in the light of this theory of culture, define the focus of cultural education in school as cultural (self)-consciousness. Cultural education should be about culture. This sounds rather obvious, but what about school projects, for instance, which ask children to reflect on ‘trees’, or ‘water’? Such projects only become cultural education when children are asked to reflect upon what the trees, or the water, mean to us (for instance, where do we plant trees, and why? What does it mean to live in a city nearby the sea?). Or, to refer to Mondriaan (Dutch spelling), why did he paint the trees the way he did?

The main goal of cultural education thus becomes the development of the cultural con- sciousness of pupils. To achieve this goal, we have to be knowledgeable about how children of a certain age perceive, imagine, conceptualize and analyse the world. We have to know what children of a certain age are able to do with their body, with objects, language and graphical notation. In the Culture in the Mirror research project the research literature on the development of the basic cognitive and medial skills of children ranging from 4 to over 18 years old is reviewed.66

So, when we strive to implement an integrated curriculum for culture education, we try to reach and develop the cultural self-consciousness of pupils of a certain age. But what makes the curriculum ‘integrated’ is the taking into consideration of different aspects of a pupil’s background, education and development, and structuring the curriculum accord- ingly. In order to do this, we take into account the culture of the pupil (his or her memories and lived actuality). We also need to know about the educational program of the school is, about what has gone before and what will come after. Moreover, we want to know what

66 Theisje van Dorsten (4-10 years), Welmoed