THE EFFECT OF THE ANNUAL EDUCATIONAL TRIPS TOWARDS THE ATTITUDE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NORTH WESTERN PROVINCE.

Abstract

The development of a country from every section such as politically, socially, culturally, and economically depends on the attitudes of citizens. The development of attitudes of the younger generation for cultural heritage management is essential. In Sri Lanka, one of the principal methods to develop a positive attitude towards cultural heritage is the annual educational trip. The unique purpose of my study is to observe the credibility of annual educational trips toward the improvement of attitudes about cultural heritage management in primary school students’ minds. The method utilized during my research is mixed research. The sources that were referred to during the study are ideas of 20-year-old students of secondary schools representing Kurunegala and Puttlam districts in North Western province about their primary school period educational trips. According to those data, the main reason for visiting historically and culturally important sites is the Grade 5 Scholarship exam. The second reason revealed during my research is the limited period allowed by the Ministry of Education for the annual educational trip of primary school students. Due to that fact, students don’t have enough time to visit and observe, and the most important thing; is to appreciate a single monument. According to my opinion, this is the most critical factor for the blockage of developing positive attitudes about the country’s cultural heritage, in these students’ minds. Furthermore, parents encourage schools to visit a maximum number of places during a single educational trip due to financial difficulties. In conclusion, my research has revealed that government schools’ educational trips were less organized and have malfunctioned in the development of positive attitudes about cultural heritage in Sri Lankan primary students’ minds.