Heritage as curriculum: Intangible cultural heritage examined through a comparative study of visual art education across Japan, Australia and Finland

Abstract

UNESCO mandates have spurred global interest in Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) as a response to global tensions and as a tool for peacebuilding, identity, reconciliation and resilience. The question arises as to how these living traditions might survive the transition into formal education curricula, especially Visual Art Education (VAE), which remains under‐theorised. This article moves beyond viewing heritage as mere ‘content’ to be added to a syllabus, framing the curriculum instead as a site of negotiation where knowledge must be systematically endorsed and stabilised. A comparative analysis of peer‐reviewed articles and national curriculum policies from Japan, Australia and Finland (2015–2025) was carried out using Actor‐Network Theory (ANT) as an analytical lens. The findings disrupt the idea of a universal model for VAE curriculum and point to the inscription‐practice gap. In Japan, the network is characterised by systemic nationalisation, where curricular frameworks and standardised material function as the primary agents for stabilising traditional culture. In contrast, the Australian National Curriculum embeds ICH through a negotiated relational network where knowledge is endorsed. The ethical responsibilities associated with First Nations heritage remain central to policy within the curriculum. Finland provides an example of curriculum integration where ICH is performed through material‐driven practice and the embodied transmission of craft within the local lifeworld. This article demonstrates that heritage‐as‐curriculum is not a neutral reflection of the past, but an assembled outcome: a network effect produced as specific national contexts align heterogeneous actors and mediate their curriculum material practices.