NATIONAL PHD IN HERITAGE SCIENCE

Thesis title: The participatory museum for intercultural development: innovative enjoyment of South-Asian Art collections in Italy.

This doctoral research lies at the intersection of museum education, digital technologies, and participatory practices. Its main objective is to investigate how co-design processes and virtual engagement with cultural heritage can foster participants’ digital competences and perceived well-being. Following ethical concerns that emerged during preliminary fieldwork, the study was reframed to explore participatory digital environments within an educational context, maintaining the original methodological framework and emphasis on participation as a driver for inclusion and meaningful learning. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data, and was designed as a quasi-experimental study. The participants are high-school students (over 400 in total), divided into experimental and control groups. The activities developed along two main lines: the creation and user testing of a virtual museum room featuring 3D-digitized objects from the Embassy of India in Rome, and a series of co-design workshops in which students learned 3D digitization techniques and curated their own online collections. Data were collected through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires measuring perceived well-being and digital competences, alongside an open-ended qualitative questionnaire on the co-design experience. Statistical analyses revealed an improvement in the digital competences of the experimental group compared with the control group, while the increase in perceived well-being was moderate but indicative of enhanced self-awareness and confidence derived from participatory engagement. Thematic analysis of qualitative data highlighted several key dimensions of participation, including sense of belonging, collaboration, creativity, and critical reflection. Students perceived the co-design process as a meaningful opportunity to express their perspectives and to experience cultural heritage as a shared, living learning space. The conclusions emphasize four major contributions: empirical, by demonstrating the educational and inclusive potential of co-designed virtual museum environments; methodological, through the proposal of a replicable model of participatory research in educational and museum settings; theoretical, by linking participation, well-being, and situated learning; practical, by outlining guidelines for integrating participatory digital experiences into school and museum practices.