Learners’ Knowledge of Local History and Culture

Received: 08 October 2021 Accepted: 14 November 2021 Published: 23 November 2021 DOI: 10.32996/ijahs.2021.1.1.9 This descriptive study determined the learners' knowledge of local history and culture. The participants were Grade 10 students enrolled for the school year 2018-2019, categorized according to sex, type of school, and family income. The data were tabulated and analyzed using SPSS (Software Package for the Social Sciences Software) with Frequency, Mean, Standard Deviation, t-Test, and One-way ANOVA. The findings demonstrated that when learners were categorized by sex, type of school, and family income, their knowledge of local history was partly knowledgeable. When taken as a whole, the learners' knowledge of local culture was also partly knowledgeable. Both males and females were partly knowledgeable when it came to sex. In terms of the type of school, public schools were knowledgeable, whereas private schools were only partly knowledgeable. Finally, when it came to family income, learners with low and average family income were partly knowledgeable, whereas learners with high family income were knowledgeable. With this study, learners' knowledge gained knowledge of local history and culture. KEYWORDS

The purpose of this study was to determine students' knowledge of local history and culture during the 2018-2019 school year. This research looked into the learners' levels of knowledge on local history and culture when they were classified by sex, type of school, and family income. No significant differences were likewise hypothesized. Hence, this study was conducted.

Methodology
This descriptive quantitative research study utilized a duly-validated researcher-made questionnaire. The learner's sex, school type, and family income were independent variables, whereas knowledge of local history and culture were the dependent variables. Multi-stage sampling was employed, with cluster sampling, stratified proportionate random sampling, and basic stratified sample all being used. The participants were Grade 10 students from two private and two public schools in the city. A stratified proportionate random sample of 449 individuals was obtained from a total population of 1,361 students. The sample size was calculated using Slovin's formula with a margin of error of 0.05 percent among the 449 learners in the sample.
The results were submitted for computer processing using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software after the questionnaire was administered. The test results of the participants were tabulated and computed using the following statistical treatments: descriptive statistical procedures such as frequency, mean, and standard deviation were used to assess learners' knowledge of history and culture. The t-test for Independent Samples and One-way Analysis of Variance (One-way ANOVA) were employed for inferential analysis. With a significance level of.05., all statistical computations were done on a computer.  Table 2 demonstrates that learners were "partly knowledgeable" about local culture when taken as a whole and when grouped by sex. Public school students were "knowledgeable" (M=2.52, sd=.63), whereas private school students were "partly knowledgeable" (M=2.35, sd =.65). Learners with low and average family incomes were "partly knowledgeable" (M=2.47, sd=.63) and "knowledgeable" (M=2.43, sd=.66), respectively, but those with high family income were "knowledgeable" (M=2.54, sd=.63).   Table 4 shows that there is a significant difference in learners' knowledge of local history when grouped according to family income (F=3.199, p=.042).    Table 7 reveals that learners' knowledge of local history and culture has a significantly high positive correlation (r=.685**, p=.000).

Discussion
The value of local history education in increasing cultural awareness among the younger generation cannot be overstated (Pedroso, 2020). Aktekin (2010) believes that including local history in the school curriculum is beneficial and that it has advocated since the beginning of the twentieth century that it "should not displace other aspects of history teaching in the school, but rather should add to and enrich the teaching of the subject as a whole." Thus, having a component on local history encourages learners to expand their knowledge, as (Bhar 2018) asserted that teaching local history astonished them by providing them with the history of the local community, thus serving as an information service. Based on the significant findings, Cowgill and Waring (2017) backed up their statements, claiming that there was a lack of involvement among activities related to historical inquiry and the use of primary sources in learning about the past. Thus, these learnings were thought to have been brought about by the manner of instruction that had been offered to them, which sought for possibilities to learn but had not been acquired better. Meanwhile, Uztemur et al. (2018) .'s research found that implementing the developed activities resulted in positive outcomes in terms of gaining historical knowledge and local awareness, which was backed up by Oguzhan (2015), who concluded that using the model increases students' awareness of local history in a positive way.
Furthermore, when these students were classified by their type of school and monthly family income, they had considerably varied levels of knowledge in local history. Learners in public schools had learned differently from those in private schools. Learners from low and middle-income families obtained the same degree of information as improbable learners from high-income families who learned local history in a different way. These results corresponded to Drajea and O'Sullivan's (2014) findings, which found a link between parents' income, reading levels, and the quality of their children's education support. Gobena's (2018) findings, on the other hand, suggested that family income had no effect on students' academic achievement and had a statistically significant negative association with their sex. From a gender viewpoint, this sheds light on history teaching aimed at developing historical and social thinking abilities (Ortega-Sanchez, 2019).
Learners were also partly knowledgeable about the local culture of their community. However, learners from public schools and learners with high family incomes showed that they were knowledgeable. These learners had reflected on the culture that they were living in. Nevertheless, this kind of set-up has exposed a limited range of learning local culture to some learners. Moreover, these learners had expressed interest in participating in their communities as they had an insufficient background to their culture. In light of the findings of this study, Heusden's (2016) advice that learners must appreciate the existing culture may help to improve the current situation and it was then supported by Khan's (2016) findings on local culture in terms of pushing students to learn more. The major variances in learners' awareness of local culture among school types reflect the deployment of diverse school programs to instill the value of local culture that moulded one's identity. Furthermore, Ahmed and Unlu (2016) revealed a statistically significant relationship between heritage as part of local culture awareness and heritage knowledge as part of local culture. Cox (2018) also highlights the best scaffolding strategies for middle-school students' interaction in order to build a deep interest in learning about the culture in their community. Then, according to Kanoksilapatham (2015), integrated local culture education has a beneficial impact on students, who have significantly higher gain scores in terms of local culture knowledge and a positive attitude toward the integrated instruction and activities. It indicates that when students have a great extent of knowledge of history, they will also have a great extent of knowledge of culture. Learners' knowledge of local history and culture is contextualized, resulting in a sufficient information flow.
In terms of contextualization, these claims agreed with Ma'unah et al. (2018) findings, which found that a learning package of local history was appealing and practical to use, and Miller and Abdou (2018) believed that the task of creating a positive engagement system of cultures that embrace growing cultural diversity was a difficult one. Hugjen et al. (2018) proposed implementing contextualization tasks and instructions in order to develop and test a pedagogy promoting students' knowledge beyond the role of educating students across all academic domains, as there appears to be an inverse relationship between students' reluctance to study history and their level in historical culture (Obeidat et al., 2011).

Conclusion
Learning can be aided by incorporating local history and culture into the current curriculum. Providing learning tools increases learners' knowledge and makes it easier for them to understand each concept, which is then determined as a practice, and a way of life. Sufficient learning increased learners' knowledge and made them more historically and culturally sensitive to some initiatives, allowing them to become more vital to the formation of local identity.
It is beneficial to assist more learners in becoming motivated by demonstrating interest, providing opportunities, and enriching learning environments, such as exposure to historic locations, educational trips, and classroom activities, as well as merging technology to increase knowledge. Regardless of sex, type of school, or family income, history, and culture-based lessons can be a good approach to increase learners' knowledge and be socially aware citizens to participate in any associated activity that geared them to be more responsible, engaged, and educated.
Funding: This research received no external funding Acknowledgments: The researcher wishes to thank his mentor, panel members, participating schools, and students from the bottom of his heart. Also, the researcher's inexhaustibly adored and ever-supportive family, who displayed unfathomable sacrifices, eternal consolation, and limitless affection. Especially to the Almighty God, who has showered him with benefits and detailed guidance by supporting him in making judgments, valuing faith, keeping him safe and healthy, and preparing the route for the researcher to reach the peak of his accomplishment.

Conflicts of Interest:
The author declares no conflict of interest.