Cultural Heritage Education Program for Secondary School Students

Abstract

This study assumes that education with age-and level-appropriate methods and materials at an early age plays a strategic role in passing cultural heritage on to future generations. The study aimed to analyze the data derived from the project titled TUBITAK 4004: Nature Education and Science Schools Support Program: We Protect Our Cultural Heritage in Trabzon. Thirty secondary school students (fifth -eighth graders) from Trabzon participated in the project with the following objectives: explaining the concept of cultural heritage, raising students' awareness of Trabzon's cultural heritage and teaching them how to promote and preserve Trabzon's cultural heritage. The project consisted of four stages. First, a review of literature review on cultural heritage was conducted. Second, pretests were administered to participants to assess their knowledge and awareness of cultural heritage. Third, participants attended seminars, drama events, workshops and trips to experience Trabzon's cultural heritage. Fourth, participants solved the posttests in order to assess their knowledge and awareness of cultural heritage. The main goal was to determine whether the project affected their knowledge and awareness of cultural heritage, and the results showed that the CHEP improved participants' knowledge level. Before the programmes' implementation they did not know much about Trabzon's cultural heritage, but after the CHEP's implementation, they had more knowledge and awareness of the topic. The results show that children should be provided with cultural heritage education via different methods.