A educação patrimonial e o turismo: o caso da aula no Museu do Museu Municipal de Caxias do Sul - RS

Abstract

This research, characterized as an exploratory and qualitative study, aims to reach an study about the theory and the practice of heritage education in order to get associations between this process and the touristic phenomenon. In this sense, it rescues the theoretical conceptions of education as a process that constitutes the citizen, as well as the inherent aspects of the cultural tourism while a social practice supported by community's cultural heritage. The comparison between the theory and the practice of heritage education occurs throught the case study of the Heritage Education Program of the Museu Municipal de Caxias do Sul, specifically the Aula no Museu Project. Based on the etnographic, participative research methods, the Aula no Museu is closely followed and its development registered; professionals involved on the planning and execution of the project are interviewed and questionnaires are applied to students who have been throught Aula no Museu and others who haven't, in order to catch whether the experience at the Museum modifies significantly the perception of its participants about the cultural heritage represented by museum's collection. As results, it is observed the presence of the theory and metodology of heritage education at the experience of Caxias do Sul Municipal Museum, it is noticed that the subject of the italian immigration is experienced in formal education, so that the Aula no Museu would only suplement the knowledge achieved in school, as well as it is noticed that the proposal of the mentioned heritage education program uses as didactic resource only the cultural heritage of the italian immigrants, which contributes to fortify the italinity imagery used by tourism in Caxias do Sul.