Perceptions of cultural and natural heritage among Geography students

OpenAlex · English

Currently 13 cultural and natural assets in Turkey are included into the World Heritage List by UNESCO. There is a need to increase individual consciousness for the protection of this heritage in national, international, and global scales. The aim of the current study is to determine student perceptions regarding the concepts of “cultural and natural heritage”. The participants of this qualitative phenomenographic study consist of 139 third grade students at the Department of Geography at Karabuk University, Turkey. Common definitions provided by the students have been categorized into 5 cultural and 5 natural heritage descriptions. Study findings related to the assets that have been emphasized in terms of visual, historical, scientific, artistic, and educational aspects by the students have been interpreted in the context of citizenship education and environmental consciousness.