Heritage education and active learning: Developing community and promoting diversity in Turkey

ABSTRACT Heritage education is part of the global response to destruction of archaeological sites in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries and will be important in achieving the secondary integration priorities of the Turkish state and NGOs working with Syrian migrants in Turkey. However, the effectiveness and pedagogy of heritage education interventions in diverse MENA communities is under-researched. We present here quantitative and qualitative evaluation data from a pilot project involving 169 teachers and c.2,800 children in Fethiye, SW Turkey. Educational games based on the pedagogic principle of Active Learning were well-received and raised participants' awareness of heritage but teacher confidence in delivering them remained low, even after training. Active Learning effectively engages both local and migrant groups with the shared space that they inhabit, even where its heritage has contested meanings, and heritage education and may have long-term social benefits for communities experiencing disruption and migration caused by conflict.