The Effectiveness of Cultural Property and Conservation Learning in Elementary Education and Evaluation of the Contribution of Non-Governmental Organizations

A definition of cultural heritage, with its tangible and intangible meanings, encompasses places that are a part of daily life, and brings them into the realm of conservation efforts. In this context, conservation becomes a concern of daily life and means that users of these places must shoulder more responsibility for them. With this in mind, people need to be aware of the values and importance of cultural heritage and their individual role in its conservation. To develop public awareness of conservation of cultural heritage, awareness studies need to begin in childhood education, and in recognition of this, cultural heritage concepts have been included in Turkish primary school education programs. Additionally, a number of awareness studies have been carried out by non-governmental organizations to date. This paper aims to evaluate the concept of cultural heritage in social science programs in elementary education, and discuss the potential contributions to the education system of awareness studies carried out by non-governmental organizations. The first part of the paper deals with the place of the individual in conservation studies, and is followed by cultural heritage learning areas in social science programs in elementary education. The third section examines the results of a survey held to evaluate students' degrees of learning. The fourth part evaluates some awareness-raising studies carried out by national and international non-governmental organizations. The final part proposes a number of criteria to be considered when attempting to raise cultural heritage education among children.