Social signification of heritage: An analysis of heritage perception in the Community of Madrid

Abstract

Heritage education has been established in our country as a scientific discipline in the last decades, confirming the concern in heritage and education matters by the State with the implementation of the Educational and Heritage National Plan. The Community of Madrid took the helm and is developing the Heritage Education Plan, designing actions and educational products adjusted to social needs. To know the starting point on which this plan may be developed, the present study is carried out to analyse the social perceptions about the heritage of the Community of Madrid. To achieve this, a semi-structured interview is designed including sociodemographic variables and variables related to perception such as heritage typology, motivation or accessibility to heritage. A sample of 122 individuals are interviewed within the XI Bienal Ibérica de Patrimonio Cultural (AR&PA) framework. Results obtained show that individuals greatly disagree with accessibility to heritage and own a tangible perception of heritage, being immaterial heritage secondary. This results imply a road map on which organizations responsible for heritage education should design more specific, precise and systematized actions that are suitable to the social needs of their population.