Necessity of Cultural Historical Heritage Education in Social Studies Teaching

Abstract

This is accumulated on regions where the geography is suitable; cultures are rare heritages that are passed on from generation to generation. People have created and shaped these and preserved them as material and nonmaterial cultural accumulations through generations. Our ancestors have entrusted this heritage to pass on to the future generations. Reflecting the people and their activities vividly, cultural historical heritages are also the cultural changes people establish on earth. These cultural changes prepared by geography form cultural historical heritages over time. Government institutions and civil organizations have been working to pass on these cultural historical heritages to the future generations. However, their work is not sufficient and these heritages are getting destroyed. For the protection of these heritages and passing them on to the future generations, great responsibilities fall to universities and especially to the teacher candidates studying in education faculties. In particular, more responsibility fall to the teacher candidates attending social studies education departments of education faculties because subjects about cultural historical heritage are found in middle school social studies curricula and the social studies standards emphasize this subject. However, there is no course solely about cultural historical heritage in universities’ social studies education departments. The history and archeology courses are taught as compulsory or elective courses in social studies education departments. Turkey, with a very old history and innumerable cultures, should be more aware about the importance of this issue. In this study, all the courses provided in Turkey’s social studies education departments are examined and found that they are insufficient. Therefore, cultural historical heritage courses should be provided as compulsory courses to the teacher candidates and these courses’ content should be organized to include Turkey’s cultural historical because social education teachers play a big role in educating the future generations.