Validation of a scale of cultural mediations in the context of community sociocultural projects

Abstract

The presence of community sociocultural projects that have art as their driving force has diversified dissimilar urban and rural contexts. This research is aimed at the creation and validation of a scale that could allow us to analyze and understand the forms of action and manifestation of cultural mediations in communities. The instrument, composed of five dimensions - aesthetic, artistic, participatory, axiological and territorial anchorage -, responds to a concept of cultural mediations manifested in the construction, reproduction and symbolic exchange produced between cultural factors, artistic devices, territory and the participating public of a community sociocultural project. A mixed approach was used in the research, where the results of several focus groups, expert rounds and statistical tests that demonstrate the validity and reliability of the instrument were triangulated. The items proposed for each dimension resulted from the analysis of literature, different focus groups with specialists in the subject and the validation by experts through the Delphi method. The internal consistency index showed a coefficient of .845, while in the exploratory factor analysis, the dimensions created were confirmed through the communalities that emerged. The exploratory factor analysis showed the correlation between all these dimensions. In the subscales the Cronbach's Alpha were satisfactory, as well as the correlation between items.

Keywords:
Cultural mediations; Scale; Sociocultural projects; Art