Acting Locally, Thinking Globally: How are World Heritage Values communicated within the onsite learning process? by James Gareth Davies A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Cover image: Source: Malgorzata Trelka. 2016. Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 2018 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract The number of World Heritage Sites designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has increased dramatically in recent decades, however the true extent of their wider role as an educational resource remains largely unknown given the paucity of work regarding how their Outstanding Universal Value is communicated through the educational process. Using the Ironbridge Gorge (UK) as a case study, this thesis examines the extent and ways by which World Heritage values are communicated to school children during the onsite learning experience. The research is based upon the observation of educational visits and interviews with staff and visiting teachers. This ‘on the ground’ perspective reveals the problems of communicating the values of World Heritage and how this is difficult to separate from wider educational frameworks and established learning programmes. The research posits that despite a popular learning programme and the communication of the designation through interpretative media, there is a low awareness and prioritisation given to World Heritage values. Such findings contrast with the explicit communication desired by UNESCO and therefore raise profound questions about who is responsible for communicating World Heritage and highlight the disparity between theory and practice in relation to World Heritage Education. i Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors (Professor Mike Robinson and Professor Adrian Blackledge) for their support and guidance, whilst I worked on the research during the AHRC scholarship, as a IIICH Teaching Fellow and subsequent career progression. AHRC for the initial research funding and IGMT for their patience and openness during the fieldwork, especially Maureen and Rose. Thank You to all the research participants and the staff at UK World Heritage Sites who have supported the research especially Ashleigh at Blaenavon, Georgina at Derwent Valley Mills and James Bridge from UNESCO UK. A special thanks to Mary and Chris from Durham University for their support and in guiding my enthusiasm during my undergraduate and postgraduate years and especially in facilitating my placement with English Heritage (Historic England) back in 2014 which provided my first steps into the world of World Heritage Education and UNESCO. Diolch yn fawr all my friends and family at home in Wales, the Ironbridge Institute and at the Umberslade Road ‘Ironbridge Institute’ house. Thanks to Arwa, Nigel, Loes and Mark for their useful comments and advice over the past four years. This is dedicated to all the staff at World Heritage Sites and especially the learning staff and volunteers who fight to keep their departments staffed, and to the passionate teachers who choose to take their students out of the classroom and is the practice amongst all the theory, rhetoric and policy. ii Table of Contents Abstract i Acknowledgements ii Table of Contents iii List of Illustrations ix List of Tables xii List of Appendices xiv List of Abbreviations xv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2- Significance of the Thesis: Research Context 5 1.3- Significance of the Thesis: Policy and Guidance Context 8 1.4 Significance of the Thesis: Socio- Political Context 14 1.5- Research Aim and Objectives 17 1.6- Chapter Framework 19 Chapter 2: Literature Review 21 2.1 Introduction 21 2.2- Heritage Education 25 2.2.1- Relationships between education and heritage 25 2.2.2- Learning environments and relationships 26 2.2.3- Relationship between learning and museums and heritage sites 29 2.2.4- World Heritage Sites as resources for learning 31 2.2.5- Relationships between the curriculum and visits to museums and heritage sites 37 2.2.6- Relationships between WHSs and the curriculum 40 2.2.7- Communicating the cross curricular opportunities for onsite learning at WHSs 45 iii 2.3- Heritage Sites and the onsite learning process 49 2.3.1- Heritage theory and the onsite learning process 49 2.3.2- Are there unique WHS pedagogies? 55 2.4- World Heritage Values 61 2.4.1- Defining World Heritage Values: Outstanding Universal Value 61 2.4.2- Defining World Heritage Values: Values and Heritage Values 64 2.4.3- Ascribed World Heritage Values 67 2.4.4- Human World Heritage Values 70 2.4.5- Communicating World Heritage Values 75 2.4.6- Communicating OUV through World Heritage Education pedagogy 78 2.5- Public understanding of World Heritage Values 87 2.6 Chapter Conclusions 90 Chapter 3: Context 94 3.1- Introduction 94 3.2- World Heritage Education in the UK 95 3.3- Ironbridge Gorge WHS 98 3.3.1- The Outstanding Universal Value of the Ironbridge Gorge WHS 98 3.3.2 Attributes of the Ironbridge Gorge WHS 104 3.3.3 The ‘Heritagisation’ of the Ironbridge Gorge 107 3.3.4- The 21st Century Ironbridge Gorge WHS 111 3.4- Communicating World Heritage at the Ironbridge Gorge WHS 117 3.4.1- World Heritage Interpretative media at the Ironbridge Gorge WHS 117 3.4.2- Ironbridge Gorge WHS Interpretation Plan 124 3.4.3 Visitors and World Heritage Interpretative media 125 3.5- IGMT learning programme 127 iv 3.5.1- Ironbridge Gorge WHS as a learning resource 127 3.5.2- Learning through Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust 128 3.5.3- The development of IGMT’s onsite learning programme 129 3.5.4- IGMT’s learning programme 133 3.6- Overview of the educational visitors to the IGMT museums 139 3.6- WHS and School Relationships 150 3.7- World Heritage Education at the Ironbridge Gorge WHS 154 3.8- Chapter Conclusions 158 Chapter 4: Methodology 161 4.1- Introduction 161 4.2- Methodological Approach 162 4.3- Research Question and Objectives 166 4.4- Research Case Study Characteristics 168 4.5- Stage One: Institutional access and research 169 4.6- Stage Two: Educational Observation 173 4.7- Stage Three: Post visit interview 183 4.8- Research Ethics 185 4.9- Fieldwork Dataset Analysis 187 4.10- Reflective Limitations 190 4.11- Chapter Conclusions 194 Chapter 5: Analysis Chapter: The use of Ironbridge Gorge WHS as a learning 195 resource 5.1- Introduction 195 5.2- World Heritage and visit motivation 195 v 5.3- The WHS as a cross curricular learning resource 198 5.4- STEAM focussed learning and Industrial World Heritage 204 5.5- Curriculum links and the Victorian dominance 207 5.6- The disparity between the geography of site visits and the designation 211 attributes 5.7- Understanding the WHS as a narrative environment for learning 223 5.8- Parallel learning experiences 223 5.9- Onsite learning within the Ironbridge Gorge WHS. 225 5.10- The importance of Pre- and Post-visit learning activities 234 5.11- Residential visits as mechanisms for a holistic engagement with 238 the WHS 5.12- Onsite learning variables within the Ironbridge Gorge WHS 239 5.13- Chapter Conclusions 241 Chapter 6: Analysis Chapter: World Heritage Education 243 6.1- Introduction 243 6.2- Communicating the UNESCO designation within the Ironbridge Gorge WHS 243 6.3- Awareness amongst educational users 245 6.4- Communicating the concept of World Heritage through the ‘Network Effect’ 246 6.5- Understanding World Heritage Values: Ascribed Values 248 6.6- Understanding World Heritage Values: Human Values 251 6.7- Who should communicate World Heritage Values? 254 6.8- Factors in communicating World Heritage Values 262 6.9- Implicitly fostering World Heritage Values 266 6.10- Chapter Conclusions 273 Chapter 7: Conclusions 275 vi 7.1 Introduction 275 7.2- Acting Locally, Thinking Globally at the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site 278 7.2.1- World Heritage Education at the Ironbridge Gorge WHS 278 7.2.2- World Heritage designation is not a learning priority for educational users 281 7.2.3- World Heritage Education is not a distinct curriculum theme 284 7.2.4- The ambiguity of designation impact on learning programmes 286 7.2.5 The disparity between visiting the Ironbridge Gorge and visiting the 288 Ironbridge Gorge WHS 7.2.6 World Heritage Values are not explicit within the onsite learning process 289 7.3- World Heritage Education and States Parties 293 7.4- The limits of World Heritage Education 296 7.4.1 The ambiguity of ‘World Heritage Values’ 297 7.4.2 The disparity between UNESCO’s rhetoric and expectations and the reality 301 of site practice and delivery 7.4.3 Unsustainable initiatives, programmes and capacity building at WHSs 303 7.4.4 The impossibility of universal engagement with World Heritage Sites 306 7.5- Where next for World Heritage Education? 310 7.6- Management Recommendations 321 7.7 Recommendations for Future Research 324 7.8 Concluding remarks