What is, after all, the heritage education?

analysis of the Basic Guide to Heritage Education

Abstract

It is paradigmatic in the history of Brazilian heritage education the publication of the Basic Guide to Heritage Education, in 1999. From the 1st Seminar on the Educational Use of Museums and Monuments, in 1983, this guide presents a specific educational methodology to be worked with the cultural heritage. In spite of its importance, the critical analysis about the concepts and conceptions adopted by the authors is incipient, resulting in the society's use of the guide without a clear awareness of what this means. Thus, this article contributes to the reflection on the definitions and proposals presented by it, seeking to identify the practical and epistemological implications of such positions. In this effort of understanding, the studies developed by specific researchers in the area of ​​heritage and heritage education are used, and the concepts and analyzes developed by Paulo Freire and Marilena Chaui, theorists of Brazilian education and culture, are frequently used. In this way, the article seeks to encourage the critical debate about the Guide in order to understand it.