Project ‘Culture in the Mirror’ completed

With the publication of the second handbook Cultuur². Cultuuronderwijs in het voortgezet onderwijs (2019) the project Culture in the Mirror: towards a continuous curriculum in cultural education has been completed. Project Culture in the Mirror was a ten-year research project conducted by the Culture and Cognition chair and the SLO (National Center for Curriculum Development), in collaboration with 14 pilot schools for primary and secondary education.

The project was funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Flemish Ministry of Education, the VSBFonds, Fonds21 (formerly SNS REAAL Fonds), and the Cultural Participation Fund.

It was the first time that a large-scale scientific study on the continuous curriculum for cultural education was conducted in the Netherlands. The aim was to develop and implement a theoretical framework for a continuing education curriculum - initially in the Netherlands (2009), later also in Flanders (2012).

In addition to four dissertations and many publications, the project has produced two handbooks that can serve as tools for teachers in primary and secondary education:

· Heusden, B. van, Rass, A., Tans, J. (2016). Cultuur². Basis voor cultuuronderwijs. Assen: Van Gorcum.

· Heusden, B. van, Rass, A., Tans, J. (2019). Cultuur². Cultuuronderwijs in het voortgezet onderwijs. Groningen: University of Groningen Press.

Cultural education is education in cultural awareness. This consciousness is the human capacity to reflect on culture: on what people experience, think, and do. Cultural awareness takes shape in the news and in historiography, in religion and politics, in art and in philosophy. It determines your self-image and identity and gives direction to your actions. A rich and multifaceted cultural awareness therefore offers a solid basis for committed and critical citizenship.