TITLE:
Engaging the Local Community in the Exploration of Cultural Heritage in Primary Education
AUTHORS:
Polona Jančič Hegediš, Laura Anderlič, Vlasta Hus
KEYWORDS:
Culture, Heritage, Students, School, Didactics
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.14 No.10,
October
26,
2023
ABSTRACT: When addressing cultural heritage in early education, it is imperative to
closely examine the relationship between the content of cultural heritage
itself, human understanding, and perception of cultural heritage. Cultural
heritage must be introduced to students from a very early age. Kindergartens
and elementary schools are responsible for acquainting students with cultural
heritage and teaching them to appreciate the heritage of our ancestors through
various didactic approaches. The primary objective of the research presented in
this study was to investigate how the local environment
is integrated into the teaching of cultural heritage and determine the opinion
of the elderly about the teaching and learning of cultural heritage content in
primary schools and the level of their involvement in passing it on to younger
generations. The study involved 130 participants from the older generation, with an
average age of 73 years, ranging from the youngest participant at 62 to the
oldest at 96. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire. The
findings reveal that most older generation participants believe that teaching
cultural heritage content to students and integrating this content into the
teaching at elementary schools in Slovenia is insufficient. Members of the
older generation believe that elementary school students enjoy learning about
cultural heritage and that promoting children’s awareness of cultural heritage
is essential. The results also show that most older people in local communities
do not cooperate with schools and kindergartens. However, those who do
participate do so through workshops and various presentations.