ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF HERITAGE AND TOURISM EDUCATION ON CITIZENSHIP - THE CASE OF ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Nermin Morsy & Amany N. Beshay

Tourism Studies Department, Faculty of Tourism & Hotels, Alexandria University, Egypt,

ABSTRACT

Heritage education becomes more and more important in educational and heritage contexts. Cultural heritage education holds great potential for encouraging better participation and involvement innovation in learning. Heritage education supports the broader aims of developing identities and citizenship and therefore, it becomes an essential component of citizenship. This paper draws the attention to the role that heritage education can play in communities and how it can be utilized in raising awareness among citizens in order to help develop and maintain caring and supportive societies. The paper investigates the impact of heritage& tourism education in reinforcing citizenship among Egyptian university students. A survey is carried out on a sample of Egyptian university students who study heritage, archaeology and tourism as their major specialization. Results from the field study revealed the nature of the association between heritage education and citizenship. Results also confirm the vital role of family and cultural and heritage awareness of students in accentuating students’ national identity.

Key Words: Heritage Education - Tourism Education - Citizenship - Identity - Alexandria University.

INTRODUCTION

At the core of citizenship concept is the fundamental human characteristic of identity (Copeland, 2009). Our vision of the past and the effects it has on identity at national, community and personal levels is very closely related to citizenship.

Cultural heritage, on the other hand, is a group of resources transmitted from the past as a reflection of values, beliefs, knowledge and transitions (Apostolopoulou et al, 2014). Heritage is realized as part of a nostalgic response that allows the modernization of what belongs to a community and assists the creation of a sense of belonging (Muriel, 2017). It is evident that cultural heritage education has the potential for stimulating citizenship, cultural belonging and the responsibility of students as a cultural mediator (Gomes et al., 2015).

As a result, the co-existing mutual link between identity, as a significant attribute of citizenship, and cultural heritage is an essential line of research in this sense. However, it is one of the very important yet under-researched areas. Therefore, this paper attempts to make principal contributions to the literature of heritage education and citizenship in Egypt.

This research aims to assess the effect of heritage and tourism education of Alexandria University students who study tourism and heritage as their major specialization and the effects of this education on reinforcing citizenship. The study also explores the various factors that intermediate this effect.. In this context, the research attempts to investigate the relationship existing between heritage education among University students and citizenship with its various components like identity, belonging, loyalty and national pride. This study consists of an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion and conclusion which aim to answer the following research questions; is there a significant relationship between heritage education among university students and citizenship; does tourism and heritage education emphasize citizenship components as identity, belonging, loyalty and national pride; which factors in tourism and heritage education are more influential in heritage awareness; does family or university professors play an influencing role in heritage awareness & citizenship reinforcement.

Literature review

It was common that the concept of citizenship relates directly to certain terms such as the democratic political orientation (Alexander, 2006). However, current thinking has accentuated the concept of a ‘‘civil society’’ which is concerned with the connections between citizens in terms of values and shared cultural meanings, social cohesion and the personal development of individuals, norms, and values (Oser & Veugelers, 2008). Consequently, citizenship is found to be the fundamental human characteristic of identity. In turn identity is a product of memory, both personal and collective, and this is based on experience with both tangible and intangible aspects of the past (Copeland, 2009) .In addition, Tarrant et al. (2014) specified that Citizenship refers to a national identity with special rights and duties prescribed by the respective government. Relating citizenship with the civil society provides more space for understanding young people’s actual citizenship practices (Geboers et al., 2013). Thus, the development of citizenship through education is current subjects of research.

The identity that can be presented to the world is the cultural heritage of any nation as well as its history which gives it great significance. Moreover, cultural heritage and natural history is accredited to establish the identity of a nation and simultaneously build the nation's character in an era precisely marked by risk, nostalgia, and the crisis of meaning (Muriel, 2017). It can also contribute to public understanding and appreciation of the past through heritage education programs and heritage tourism initiatives at a local, statewide, or regional level (Hasibuan et al., 2011). Therefore, living and being part of today’s knowledge society implies recognizing the importance of the past and imposes considering cultural heritage as a vital context of our identity (Ott and Pozzi, 2011). Educational environment includes subjects such as history which has crucial impact on students’ identity development (Gabdrakhmanova et al., 2016).

Heritage education becomes central in educational and heritage contexts. Boxtel et al. (2011, pp. 9–10) defined heritage education as “an approach to teaching and learning that uses material and immaterial heritage as primary instructional resources to increase pupils' understanding of history and culture”. Copeland (2009) proved that there is a reciprocal relationship between community and heritage education in that it provides a cultural dimension for citizenship education: enables an understanding of contemporary issues by drawing on experience and knowledge of relevant facts, ideas and processes from the past of cultures. Wu (2011) highlighted the significance of teaching culture and heritage to build up a student’s identity. Accordingly, it is empowering him academically, socially, and politically. Cultural heritage education holds great potential for encouraging better participation and involvement innovation in learning. Formal education addresses the aspect of public participation and involvement (Apostolopoulou et al, 2014). Heritage education is a means to boost the learning experience through onsite visitation and appreciation of archaeological resources and what they tell us (Van der Leeuw-Roord, 2005; Ahmed, 2017). Field trips are considered one of the best ways of enhancing learning experience as they help students to memorize the information which has been conveyed from just theoretical to realities (Ahmed, 2017).

Worldwide organizations such as UNESCO are backing both the protection of cultural and natural heritage as well as the use of heritage to improve learning processes of learners (Lakerveld & Gussen, 2009). Besides, heritage awareness is an essential part of any heritage preservation and management. It involves commitment and local support (Shankar & Swamy, 2013). Citizenship establishes the rights and responsibilities towards the archaeological heritage (Copeland, 2009). It has been argued that cultural heritage education could be used as a mean to promote the awareness of sustainable development and its importance (Ocampo & Delgado, 2014, p. 201). Within cultural heritage education, students realize the importance of the heritage and learn how to respect it (Boxtel, 2012). That is why it is required to support schools and universities to develop consciousness about the cultural heritage (European Commission Office de cooperation Europe Aid, 2007).

Through education, it is not only the subjects or curriculums; teachers have been found to play a major role in achieving all educational goals, contributing to shape the personality of their students and playing major role to appraise students’ knowledge and awareness (Srivastava, 2015).

Away from the official education; families are the cultural environment for educating people (Binh, 2012). The role of the family is very vital for individuals to help them communicate with the surrounding environment. However, there is a shortage in studies linking family role to awareness of cultural heritage (Ahmed, 2017).

From the literature review, it is evident that heritage education has been studied through many approaches and perspectives (see for ex. Ott and Pozzi, 2011; Apostolopoulou et al, 2014; Ahmed, 2017…etc.). However, the link between heritage education and citizenship reinforcement was not present directly in the body of literature reviewed about heritage education. Therefore, the empirical study attempts to contribute to the literature by investigating the relationship between tourism and heritage education and the concept of citizenship with its main principles of identity, belonging, loyalty and national pride.

Methodology

The objective of the empirical study was to evaluate the effects of tourism and heritage University Education on citizenship. The main research questions are; is there a significant relationship between heritage education among university students and citizenship; does tourism and heritage education emphasize citizenship components as identity, belonging, loyalty and national pride; which factors in tourism and heritage education are more influential in heritage awareness; does family or university professors play an influencing role in heritage awareness & citizenship reinforcement.

In order to fulfill the research objectives and answer the research questions, a quantitative approach was employed. A questionnaire was chosen as the survey instrument for collecting the data within the research case study. The research population was the students of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality in Alexandria University whose study specialization was tourism and heritage. These included students from both departments of Tourism Studies and Tourist Guidance. Students from second, third and fourth years of both departments were approached with the survey. In addition to that, recent graduates of both departments were also targeted with the survey. First year students were not included in the population due to the fact that at the time of questionnaire distribution they had only joined the Faculty for one month or less.

Before distributing the survey, and for the purpose of questionnaire validation, two professors from Tourism Studies Department and Tourist Guidance Department reviewed the questionnaire. Each one of them was asked to examine the relevance, clarity and wording of the various parts of the questionnaire. Based on their review, the questionnaire was revised and modified to its final version.

The questionnaire was divided into three sections; the first section included the respondents' profile. The second section comprised questions about tourism and heritage education at the University and their influencers. The third section consisted of questions about citizenship; including elements like identity, pride, loyalty and belonging.

The questionnaire was distributed during October and November 2017. 234 completed questionnaires were returned.

Results were tabulated and analyzed statistically. In this context, citizenship was recognized as the dependent variable, while a number of independent variables were identified, namely; gender, education level, family, increased heritage awareness, professors' influence, field trips, specific curriculums, seminars & cultural symposiums. In order to statistically test the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables, a multiple regression analysis was performed. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA Test) was also carried out in order to examine the appropriateness of the multiple regression model used. Other descriptive statistics were also utilized.

Results and discussion

Using descriptive statistics (frequency & percentage), the profile of the survey sample was tabulated and reported in table 1, which summarizes the profile of the survey respondents with respect to gender, department of specialization and the education stage.

Table 1: Profile of the Survey Sample

Frequency

Percentage %

Gender

Male

Female

Total

164

234

100

Department

Tourism Studies

Tourist Guidance

Total

171

234

100

Stage

Second Year

Third Year

Fourth Year

Recent Graduates

Total

234

100

Regarding the profile of the respondents, male students constituted 30% of the total respondents while female students represented 70% of the respondents. Concerning the academic specialization of the respondents, 73% of the respondents were from Tourism Studies Department while 27% were from Tourist Guidance Department. This percentage is proportionate to the actual numbers of students in both departments, in view of the fact that Tourism Studies Department has double the number of students of Tourist Guidance Department in reality. With regards to the education stage, second year students constituted 39% of total survey respondents. Third year students and fourth year students represented 23% and 21% of total respondents respectively. Finally, recent graduates amounted to 17%.

The second part of the questionnaire comprised questions about tourism and heritage education received by students during the course of their study in Alexandria University at the Faculty of Tourism & Hotels. The objective of this section was to compare the tourism and heritage awareness before and after joining the Faculty. Moreover, Tourism & Heritage awareness determinants and influencers were also evaluated. The questions in this section utilized a 5- point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1). Tables 2 & 3 below summarize the results of this section.

Table 2: Comparing Mean Scores & Standard Deviation of Tourism & Heritage Awareness Before and After Joining University

	Strongly Agree		Agree		Neutral		Disagree		Strongly Disagree		Mean	Mode	Std. Deviation
	F.	%	F.	%	F.	%	F.	%	F.	%	Mean	Mode	Std. Deviation
I didn't have enough T.& H. awareness before joining University	31	13	55	24	84	36	33	14	31	13	3.085	3	1.180
My T. & H. awareness increased vastly after my studies in University	115	49	65	28	35	15	13	5	6	3	4.154	5	1.037

The results indicated in table two demonstrate the magnitude of the change in tourism and heritage awareness before and after joining the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels. The mean score of tourism and heritage awareness before joining the Faculty was (3.085) with a standard deviation of (1.18), while the mean score of tourism and heritage awareness after studying in the Faculty was (4.154) with a standard deviation of (1.037). This difference in mean scores indicates the scale of change that occurred in tourism and heritage awareness among students during the course of their education in the Faculty of Tourism & Hotels.

In order to arrive to the main determinants that influence tourism & heritage awareness in the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, a number of questions were formulated to measure students' evaluation for the various influencing factors. The mean score and standard deviation of each factor were calculated and a ranking was derived to indicate the degree of influence that each factor exerts in the process of tourism and heritage awareness of students. These results are indicated in table three.

Table 3: Mean Scores & Standard Deviation of Tourism & Heritage Awareness Determinants and Influencers

Factor	Mean	Standard Deviation	Rank
Professors' Influence	4.07	1.11	1
Personal Passion and Interest of Students	3.90	1.08	2
Specific Curriculums	3.67	1.30	3
Field Trips	3.44	1.58	4
Seminars & Cultural Symposiums	3.25	1.22	5

The results in table three indicate that some factors have more influence than others in reinforcing heritage awareness among students. Professor's influence had the first rank with a mean score of (4.07), followed by the personal interest or the passion of students about heritage (3.9). Specific Curriculums with a mean score of (3.67) came in the third rank, while field trips (3.44) came in the fourth rank. The last factor was seminars and cultural symposiums with a mean score of (3.25).

The last section in the questionnaire included questions about citizenship which measured specific citizenship components as identity, belonging, pride and loyalty. In this study as indicated earlier, citizenship was formulated as the dependent variable. A number of independent variables were also developed from the literature review. Those independent variables as formulated from the literature review and from the course of the empirical study are gender, education level, family, increased heritage awareness, professors' influence, field trips, specific curriculums, seminars & cultural symposiums.

In order fulfill the research objectives and statistically test the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables, a multiple regression analysis was performed. Results of the multiple regression analysis are indicated in table 4.

Table 4: Multiple Regression Analysis of Results

	Coefficients	Std. Error	t Stat	P-value	Lower 95%	Upper 95%
Intercept	1.066	0.313	3.406	0.001	0.449	1.683
Gender	0.046	0.140	0.325	0.745	-0.231	0.322
Education Level	-0.055	0.059	-0.934	0.351	-0.170	0.061
Family	0.190	0.060	3.157	0.002	0.071	0.308
Increased Heritage Awareness	0.245	0.081	3.043	0.003	0.086	0.404
Professors' Influence	0.145	0.077	1.885	0.050	-0.006	0.301
Field Trips	0.057	0.050	1.157	0.249	-0.040	0.155
Specific Curriculums	0.066	0.062	1.067	0.287	-0.056	0.189
Seminars & Cultural Symposiums	0.130	0.059	2.195	0.029	0.013	0.247

In table four, the independent variables are shown with their standard errors and statistical significance. The p-values of family, increased heritage awareness, professors' influence, seminars & cultural symposiums (p-value less than 0.05) show that these four variables are statistically significant in relationship to the dependent variable which is citizenship.

Thus, the multiple regression analysis signifies that there is a statistically significant relationship between the dependent variable (citizenship) and four of the independent variables, namely; family, increased heritage awareness, professors' influence, seminars & cultural symposiums. These results are to a great extent in accordance with the literature review that highlighted the influence of family and increased heritage awareness (Binh, 2012, Ahmed 2017). Professors' influence as an influencing factor has been studied in relation to heritage (Srivastava, 2015), but hasn't been studied in the context of citizenship as in the case of this study.

The researchers carried out an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA Test) in order to examine the appropriateness of the multiple regression model used and to test whether the overall regression model is a good fit for the data or not. ANOVA Results are summarized in table five.

Table 5: ANOVA Results

	Df	Sum of Squares	Mean Square	F	Significance
Regression	8	97.810	12.226	12.935	0.000
Residual	225	212.673	0.945
Total	233	310.483

ANOVA results in table five indicate that the statistically significant independent variables predict the dependent variable as F= 12.935, p < 0.0005which confirms that the regression model is a good fit for the data.

Conclusion & Recommendations

Heritage education and awareness has become a popular field of study in recent years and has been investigated through many perspective and various viewpoints. However, the central contribution of this paper is that it is, to the knowledge of the researchers, one of the primary papers to link tourism and heritage education to the concept of citizenship and examine the relationship that exists between both.

Concerning the cultural heritage awareness of students, it was obvious that professors have the main role in raising students’ awareness in addition to students' personal interest, field trips and extracurricular activities.

The research revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship between citizenship as the dependent variable and four of the independent variables, namely; family, increased heritage awareness, professors' influence and seminars & cultural symposiums. This result indicates that reinforcing citizenship aspects like identity, belonging, loyalty and national pride can be augmented through proper tourism and heritage university education, backed up with familial interest and professors' positive influence. In addition to that, extra-curricular activities can prove to be beneficial in this context, like seminars and cultural symposiums.

The study has also shown that factors like gender, curriculums and field trips did not have a significant contribution in accentuating students' national identity in comparison to the previously mentioned factors.

The results of the study have several practical implications; university professors in the field of tourism and heritage, need to be aware of the effect they have on their students, not only in increasing their heritage awareness, but also in reinforcing citizenship principles and values whether directly through curriculum design and extracurricular activities, or indirectly through their expressed opinions, beliefs and attitudes.

In addition to that, curriculums and extracurricular activities should be designed bearing in mind the intended outcomes, not only on heritage awareness, but also on accentuating citizenship principles like identity, belonging and national pride. Consequently, these reinforced values of citizenship empower students and recent graduates who work in the fields of tourism and heritage to be more effective contributors to their society and more recognizing and enthusiastic about the significance of the role they do, especially how they reflect and present their country and its identity to the tourists they communicate with.

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