ETHNIC AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS IN CULTURAL EDUCATION: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH RESULTS IN FORMAL EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

Abstract

Multinationalism is an important feature of Latvia’s society. This feature has emerged in the course of cultural and historical development of the country as a result of various demographic processes. Policy documents’ consideration of cultural identity takes place against emerging tensions between various ethnic groups. In this context, targeted cultural literacy education that provides dedicated activities in both formal and informal education settings for ethnic minority groups, have been introduced to reduce tensions and the likelihood of conflict. Modern Latvian politics does not focus on social differences, although they play an important role in the context of cultural education, especially when relations between the capital city and more economically passive regions are concerned. The present study aims to analyse the data obtained through qualitative interviews with students and teachers in formal educational settings in Latvia to examine how the national guidance on cultural literacy is reflected in classroom practices and how ethnic and social contexts influence the education process. The study was conducted in the framework of Horizon 2020’s project “Cultural Heritage and Identities of Europe’s Future” (CHIEF, Agreement No. 770464).Three public schools were selected for fieldwork: one in Riga, one in Daugavpils – the second largest city of Latvia, and one in Daugavpils district. The choice of schools was driven by the study aims and objectives: the geographical location, the settlement’s economic situation and infrastructure; population and ethnic composition were also taken into account. The interviews were coded by employing NVivo 12 software. A thematic analysis of the interviews was undertaken using an iterative, inductive approach to the generation of codes and themes. Latvian cultural education policy and practice are formed considering the ethnic context, as it is a relevant component of modern public consciousness. Students from ethnic minority schools, in addition to the compulsory programme, also study subjects which provide an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of ethnic culture. The social context, which is formed by the peculiarities of the peripheral cultural environment, distance from the capital city, poorer economic development of the region, etc., is not an important component of the cultural education policy and practice. The cultural knowledge of students from the capital city and students from remote and less- developed regions of Latvia differs. Therefore, it would be reasonable to develop special cultural education programmes with additional funding for schools in the less-developed regions.