Heritage in Education Charter

Our Place in Time: Heritage Council Strategic Plan 2023-2028 states The Heritage Council will:

• “Support and enable heritage-based education and civic engagement that is inclusive and accessible to all”; and that
• “We will develop a Heritage in Education Policy in collaboration with the Department of Education and… the teaching professions”.

To deliver on these commitments, The Heritage Council established the Multistakeholder Advisory and Information Group for Heritage in Education (MAIGHNE) in August 2024. This stakeholder working group was tasked with guiding the development of a new Heritage in Education Charter.

Composition of MAIGHNE

MAIGHNE is made up of representatives of different stakeholder groups across the education sector. It includes teachers and school leaders, teacher educators, educators from underrepresented groups, and representatives for:

• Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
• Department of Education and Youth
• Irish Secondary Students’ Union (ISSU)
• Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO)
• Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) & Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI)
• National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD)
• teacher subject groups e.g. History Teachers’ Association of Ireland (HTAI) & TechnoTeachers
• National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)
• National Parents’ Council (NPC)
• Gaeloideachas
• The Heritage Council

Research and consultations

During the course of its work, MAIGHNE has conducted research via its four sub-committees. Their themes of investigation relating to heritage in education were:

1. Curricular links and development
2. Inclusive heritage in education
3. International models and best practice
4. Student voice & youth participation

MAIGHNE also advised The Heritage Council on its teacher and student consultations. These have directly informed MAIGHNE’s work in developing the Heritage in Education Charter. Our teacher consultations, which engaged with teachers and school leaders at primary and post-primary levels, involved mixed methods research comprising qualitative interviews with teachers from underrepresented groups, as well as a broader quantitative questionnaire. Our student consultations were conducted by researchers from DCU’s Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education and were aligned with the Lundy model of participation.

Read more about the findings from the student consultations here: What can young people's unique views on heritage teach us?

The Heritage in Education Charter

The Heritage Council plans to launch the Heritage in Education Charter in 2027. This policy document represents the shared vision of MAIGHNE, and is supported by The Department of Education and Youth. The Charter aims to promote heritage in education by highlighting heritage’s significant links to education, and by presenting action-guiding principles which will underpin and support the work of The Heritage Council and other stakeholders across the heritage and education sectors.