THE UTILIZATION OF THE FIRST CEMETERY OF ATHENS IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS: PRIMARY EDUCATION’S STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS

The educational use of ancient necropolises is widespread in the western world, examining them in the light of archaeological, historical, artistic and environmental interest. However, western culture does not encourage school visits to modern cemeteries, even though they are historically and artistically important monuments, such as the First Cemetery of Athens. It was founded in the 19th century on the basis of landscape architecture, adopting the aesthetics of Romanticism, as a product of a vision of an upgraded ideology for the realm of the dead and condense a wide field of learning. The educational world expresses strong doubts about the integration of the First Cemetery in the educational process, although it recognizes its multifaceted and multiple educational value. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of students in the 6th grade of Primary School about the Cemetery, to highlight the emotions that were developed and the results of the educational use of the visit to the Cemetery. The group semi-structured interview was used. The results showed the familiarity and the emotional connection that the 6th grade students developed with the First Cemetery, showing their strong desire to visit it again. Thus, the value of using cemeteries in the educational process was highlighted.  Article visualizations