AESTHETIC EDUCATION AND ITS ROLE IN REVIVING FOLKLORE AND STRENGTHENING ITS IDENTITY

Abstract

Aesthetic education is an essential tool for developing awareness of folklore and strengthening its identity. Aesthetic education is an educational process that aims to develop individuals' aesthetic sensibilities and enhance their ability to enjoy beauty and distinguish between what is beautiful and what is not by developing their aesthetic taste and artistic awareness, as well as developing creative artistic skills and various aesthetic values, encouraging creativity through interaction with folklore and teaching individuals how to use its elements in new and innovative artistic works that reveal the inherent beauty in its details, help highlight the traditional values and aesthetics associated with it, and reinforce the social values embodied in this folklore, thereby ensuring its continuity and development across generations. This research reviewed the contribution of aesthetic education to the revival of folklore and its pivotal role as a tool for its protection. Its results concluded that aesthetic education works to develop individuals' aesthetic taste by enhancing their ability to perceive and appreciate the aesthetic values inherent in various forms of folklore, and providing a practical context for understanding history, vocabulary and traditions. It also promotes communication between generations through interaction between individuals at folk events, transferring knowledge and skills related of folklore to new generations. In addition, it builds a bridge between heritage and modernity, as creators benefit from the techniques and aesthetic values of the past, and reinterpret them in ways that suit the current era, giving the heritage renewed vitality and ensuring its continuity and development across generations.