Strengthening local cultural identity through arts education in lower secondary school: a qualitative case study

Abstract

Schools are key settings for the development of local cultural identity, particularly through Arts Education, given its potential to shape students’ aesthetic sensitivity, values and ways of acting. However, in lower secondary education there are still limitations in the recognition of local identity elements and in the systematic articulation between schools and community cultural institutions and actors. This study aims to design and implement a methodology to strengthen local cultural identity within the teaching–learning process of Arts Education, based on the integrated work of the school with agents and agencies of the sociocultural context. A qualitative descriptive–interpretive case study was conducted in a lower secondary school, using theoretical methods (historical–logical, analysis–synthesis, induction–deduction) and empirical methods (observation, interviews, surveys and analysis of pedagogical products). The proposed methodology is structured in stages and in a system of activities that connect school, family and community spaces. The findings show improvements in teachers’ theoretical–methodological preparation, greater student appropriation of artistic knowledge and local heritage, and an increase in students’ active participation in cultural activities in the community. The implications of the proposal for Arts Education in lower secondary school are discussed, as well as its potential adaptability to other educational contexts.