Cultural Heritage and Education: A Place-Based Educational Project in Jericho, Palestine

Abstract

Many efforts are under way around the world to make children aware of their cultural heritage, as stated in the 2018-2021 strategy of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 2017). One reason children should have awareness of their heritage is that it, in combination with a sense of place, can play an important role in their process of identity-building (Crocetti et al. 2024; Ashworth and Graham 2017; Spiridon, Kosic, and Tuci 2014). Education can be an important way to involve children in their local cultural heritage, but education systems in unstable and conflict-affected areas are repeatedly under pressure, due to the ongoing tension and violence that endanger cultural heritage (Gallagher et al. 2018; UNHCR 2016). In this field note, I argue that a place-based education project to increase children’s awareness of the significance of cultural heritage and of their sense of place may be a promising approach to take in conflict-affected areas. I demonstrate this thesis through the Cultural Heritage and Education-Jericho project, which was carried out in the West Bank, Palestine, in December 2021. In this field note, I describe the project’s intention, explain how the project team customized the place-based educational approach to the specific circumstances, and discuss the constraints that emerged from the pilot.