Cultural and artistic education as a tool for critical thinking

Cultural and artistic education played a fundamental role in the integral development of students, fostering critical and creative skills essential to their education; however, at the “Ocho de Enero” Public School in Jipijapa, these disciplines were poorly integrated into the curriculum. This limitation affected the students' ability to develop divergent thinking, solve complex problems and explore their creativity; moreover, the absence of effective strategies for artistic self-evaluation reduced interest in and performance in the arts. Despite having teachers trained in various cultural areas, the lack of motivation and technical resources hindered the identification and enhancement of student talents; as a result, students lacked adequate tools to strengthen their higher cognitive skills. In response to this problem, the implementation of creative workshops was proposed as a strategy to encourage artistic exploration and critical reflection on one's own work; through an initial diagnosis and continuous evaluation, the aim was to measure the impact of these workshops on education. The study showed that the integration of cultural and artistic education enriched the academic experience, promoting skills such as the analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information; it also improved the quality of learning and prepared students to face the educational challenges of the 21st century.