THE PLACE OF TANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN SECONDARY SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULA SINCE 1968

Tangible cultural heritage includes historical places, archaeological sites, monuments, building groups, artistic and architectural works and other material ruins that have been formed based on human labor and effort from past to present and exist physically in time and space. Tangible cultural heritage reflects the history, character, identity, traditions, values and lifestyles of societies. Thus, by bearing witness to the past, tangible cultural heritage contributes to the preservation of the cultural characteristics of a society and their transfer to future generations, as well as to the development of individuals' national identity perceptions. Due to this importance, it is necessary to introduce tangible cultural heritage to new generations. The responsibility of transferring cultural heritage to individuals largely falls on education and training programs. In the Turkish education system, social studies course and social studies course curricula have an important place in providing individuals with the awareness of the preservation and development of culture and the perception of national identity. This study aimed to determine the inclusion of tangible cultural heritage elements in secondary school social studies curricula implemented in Türkiye from past to present. The research adopted a qualitative research approach and used the document analysis method. The data consisted of the 1969 Social Studies Curriculum for Secondary Schools, the 1998 Social Studies Curriculum, the 2005 Social Studies Curriculum (for grades 6, and 7), and the 2018 Social Studies Curriculum (for grades 5, 6, and 7), all developed for the secondary school social studies field in Türkiye. The findings highlighted that among the curricula examined, the 1969 Social Studies Curriculum for Secondary Schools included the highest number of tangible cultural heritage elements, while the 2018 Social Studies Curriculum contained the fewest. Overall, the study found that tangible cultural heritage elements were incorporated into social studies curricula from past to present. Based on the findings, the study recommends increasing the representation of tangible cultural heritage elements within social studies curricula and ensuring an equitable distribution across different learning areas.