What Unexpected Territories Emerge from a Critical Review of the UNESCO Framework for Cultural and Arts Education through an Intersectional Lens?
Leticia Balzi – Fagerhaug International School, Trøndelag, Norway
Abstract:
How is intersectionality addressed in the Zero Draft? What is the scope of the arts as education in dissimilar geopolitical contexts that do not necessarily align with the United Nations Sustainable Goals and the Zero Draft suggested by UNESCO? This paper examines and critiques the UNESCO framework for Arts and Culture to art education at schools. It compares curriculum design, program guidelines, and the International Baccalaureate schools’ mission statement intended to promote intercultural understanding in the spirit of the United Nations. Acknowledging that intercultural understanding is entangled to intersectionality, the article suggests that there is a lack of specificity in addressing intersectional discrimination, an oversimplification of cultural policies as well as an absence of intersectional leadership and representation since it does not consider multidimensional identity as a political space in arts and culture. While the UNESCO framework is essential, incorporating critical pedagogy through art is equally important. The findings reveal discrepancies between art as a subject, the framework, and the mission statement of these type of schools and the framework may fail to address current world issues through art and culture.
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