Heritage Education, Sustainability and Community Resilience: The HISTOESE Project-Based Learning Model

This study presents the HISTOESE (History Education for Sustainable Environments) Model, an empirically grounded and practice-based framework for cultural heritage education and sustainability. Developed through a qualitative, design-based research approach, it analyzes a longitudinal corpus of 50 master’s dissertations and supervised teaching reports (2008–2025) from the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. Although the empirical basis derives from teacher education, the HISTOESE model fosters school–community partnerships that indirectly support cultural tourism and sustainable, place-based recovery. Using inductive thematic analysis, the study traced how project-based learning (PBL) activities mobilised local heritage, community collaboration, and sustainable pedagogical practices. Three key findings emerged: (1) local-context pedagogies strengthened children’s historical consciousness and heritage literacy; (2) inclusive, low-cost and upcycling strategies fostered community participation; and (3) partnerships with museums, tourism offices, and cultural associations generated visible cultural events that reinforced post-COVID resilience. The HISTOESE framework synthesises these insights into four interrelated pillars—Proximity and Contextualization, Inclusive and Sustainable Practices, Recognition and Valorisation and Active Citizenship and Collaboration—providing a transferable model for teacher education and community-based cultural sustainability. Practical implications concern curriculum design, heritage–tourism interfaces, and collaborative strategies for sustainable development.