The Impact of Intangible Cultural Heritage Theatre Integration on University Students’ Learning Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Aesthetic Engagement
List of Authors
  • Nasser Salimi Aghbolagh, Xu Jianfei

Keyword
  • Intangible Cultural Heritage; Traditional Theatre; Aesthetic Education; SDG 4 (Quality Education)

Abstract
  • The integration of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) into higher education has been increasingly recognized as a means of enhancing educational quality and cultural sustainability. Traditional theatre, as a performative form of ICH, offers rich aesthetic resources for university aesthetic education. This study quantitatively examines the impact of integrating ICH theatre into university aesthetic education on students’ learning outcomes, with aesthetic engagement experience conceptualized as a mediating mechanism. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 400 undergraduate students from multiple universities in Henan Province, China, and the data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that ICH theatre integration has a significant positive effect on students’ learning outcomes, including cultural awareness, creative expression, learning engagement, and artistic perception, and that aesthetic engagement experience significantly mediates this relationship. Pedagogical factors exerted a stronger influence on aesthetic engagement than individual characteristics. These findings provide quantitative evidence that traditional theatre can function as an effective educational resource in higher education and offer practical implications for integrating cultural heritage into university teaching in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education).

Reference
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