CULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAMMES AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Cultural education renders a significant contribution to the transfer to knowledge, competencies and values among individuals. Within the course of pursuance of cultural education, the individuals generate awareness in terms of morality and ethics. These are regarded indispensable for the development of one’s personality, adequate sustenance of living conditions, achieving one’s goals and objectives and enrichment of the overall quality of life. Cultural education facilitates in the development of skills and abilities, as these are necessary for the individuals to carry out various tasks and activities.
Cultural education promotes historical awareness, contributes to the formation of the individual’s identity and encourages creative and inquisitive attitudes that benefits the individuals throughout their lives (Basis for Cultural Education, 2017). Cultural resources vary from region to region. Due to this, inequalities are formed and individuals do not obtain opportunities to acquire same cultural experience. Acquiring cultural education generates the feeling of pleasure and contentment and promotes well-being of the individuals and communities.
CULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAMMES AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Individuals are introduced to culture in their primary and secondary education. Within the course of acquisition of this education, individuals are able to acquire the opportunity to pursue cultural interests (Basis for Cultural Education, 2017). The various teaching-learning processes and instructional strategies that are implemented to promote cultural education among students are through arts and crafts, music, singing, dancing, and other creative activities. Apart from these, in academic lesson plans also, individuals are provided knowledge and information regarding cultural values.
When the individuals are able to acquire an efficient understanding of cultural traits, they are able to bring about improvements in their livelihoods opportunities and maintain good terms and relationships with others. In order to render an effective contribution towards promoting well-being of the community and nation as a whole, apart from acquisition of educational qualifications and development of competencies and proficiencies, it is essential for the individuals to acquire cultural education.
The existence of education is inseparable from the educational objectives of UNESCO namely learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together. With these four pillars explained that in the process education goes according to human needs in their lives. Not in the framework of completing education that leads to diplomas which in fact often cause the emergence of problems in the form of discrepancies between diplomas and fields of work that are in accordance with human talent and needs themselves.
According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2017 (Mustikoaji, 2017), the high unemployment rate at undergraduate education level (606,639 people) compared to education under primary school (546,897 people) critically shows that there is a difference that is not too far between undergraduate education and their who did not even complete elementary school education. So in this, UNESCO’s view to be able to build education with the learning objectives of to be and to live together is a necessity in the midst of various challenges in today’s society. Education cannot only build a path of education, but all education pathways, because the dichotomy only makes education run each other without being able to answer the challenges of life in a global context, so that local potential is forgotten and left behind globally.
Cultural education helps the individuals to acknowledge their identity. Within the household, educational institutions, employment settings and communities, the individuals have certain roles to perform. It is apparent that all individuals aspire to achieve their goals and objectives, which are personal and professional. Apart from focusing upon the achievement of one’s goals and promoting better livelihoods opportunities, the individuals need to work towards promoting well-being of the communities. For example, educators employed in educational institutions are not only engaged in employment opportunities to generate income to sustain their living conditions, but they are also making use of their educational qualifications, competencies and aptitudes to promote well-being of the community.
One can promote well-being of the community by not just imparting to them information in terms of academic concepts, but it is essential for the educators to encourage cultural education as well. Cultural education can be encouraged by generating awareness among individuals in terms of morality, ethics, values, norms, principles, and standards.
Making culture a part of the school curriculum would help the students in understanding the significance of education and learning (Culture and Heritage Education under RMSA, n.d.). Research has indicated that in some cases, students do not depict interest and enthusiasm in academic learning. The major causes of this are, inability to understand academic concepts, and problems and challenges experienced. But when there is introduction of culture within the school curriculum, then students develop motivation towards learning of academic concepts.
The curriculum and the teaching-learning methods need to acknowledge other cultures, values, norms, principles and the overall lifestyles of the individuals. When they are generating awareness in terms of significance and meaning of cultural education, then it is vital for them to identify other cultures as well. This study aims to examined cultural education programmes as a tool for community development.
CULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAMMES AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The education problem that has been symptomatic so far is the issue of relevance, quality and even distribution of education. The relevance of education is constrained because the output produced is not in accordance with the demands of the community, other than that, the quality of education also still invites various questions, especially related to various products produced from the world of education itself that have not demonstrated its ability to answer the problems and problems that exist in the community and, finally, education equality which leads to the availability of educational services for the entire community. Therefore, this study intends to examined cultural education programmes as a tool for community development.
