Cultural Education Plans in Finland – Teaching Children & Youth to Appreciate Their Cultural Heritage

1. Cultural Education Plans in Finland –
Teaching Children & Youth to Appreciate
Their Cultural Heritage
Ira Vihreälehto
Senior advisor
Association of Cultural
Heritage Education in
Finland

2. • Participation in cultural activities is a
human right. QUESTION: Why does
one child participate while another
does not?
• STUDY: Children felt more positive
toward museums and had fewer
barriers the higher their socio-
economic status of their family was (af
Ursin, 2016)
• GOAL: The cultural education plan for
schools (in the area of the whole
municipality) ensures that all the
children and youth of the region get
equal chances to experience culture
Cultural Participation

3. Cultural education plan
Ensures systematic co-operation
between schools and culture agents
in the region:
• Focus on the whole curriculum,
not only in the art subjects
• Local culture, local cultural
heritage and local arts / artists
• Broad view on culture  children
as actors / diversity of heritage

4. Culture leap project 2015-2016

5. When the project ended..

6. How did we do it?
2015: practical and motivating
online tool with materials and
models for the municipalities
• how to create, operate and
initialize the plan
• 17 Local-scale projects to
enhance the results of the
project
2016: national workshop tour in
15 locations
www.culturaleducationplan.fi