RESEARCH ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CANTONESE GRAY SCULPTURE ARCHITECTURAL DECORATIVE SCULPTURES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM: BASED ON THE DUAL PERSPECTIVES OF CULTURAL INHERITANCE AND EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the feasibility, effectiveness, and conservation benefits of systematically integrating the national intangible cultural heritage of Cantonese gray-plastic architectural decorative sculpture (hereafter referred to as “gray sculpture”) into the primary school curriculum. The study employed a mixed-method approach, combining literature analysis, questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and classroom observations. A one-year follow-up study was conducted among 425 students, 35 teachers, and 12 intangible cultural heritage inheritors and cultural experts from three pilot primary schools in Guangzhou.

This study was analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and NVivo 12. Results showed that a model combining project-based learning (PBL) with “intangible cultural heritage inheritors in the classroom” was the most effective, significantly enhancing students’ understanding of gray sculpture, their cultural identity, and their willingness to inherit it. This study innovatively constructed a gray sculpture “ Double Helix • Four Dimensions” campus inheritance model, with “cultural inheritance” and “educational innovation” as the core of the double helix, and “course content, teaching practice, support system, and evaluation feedback”  as the four basic dimensions, providing a systematic, replicable and evaluable theoretical model and practical framework for the dynamic inheritance of intangible cultural heritage on campus.