Place-Based History Learning for Cultural Heritage Awareness
Keywords:
Cultural Heritage Awareness, Cultural Sustainability, Place-Based Learning, History Education, Historical Empathy, Experiential LearningAbstract
Place-based history learning has become an important pedagogical approach for
strengthening students’ historical understanding, cultural identity, and heritage awareness through
direct engagement with local environments and cultural landscapes. However, history learning in
schools is often still dominated by textbook-oriented instruction that limits students’ emotional
connection to local cultural heritage. This study aimed to analyze the implementation of place
based history learning through exploration of the Vatunonju Cultural Heritage Site in Central
Sulawesi, Indonesia. The study employed a qualitative case study design with contextual and
experiential learning approaches. Data were collected through observations, semi-structured
interviews, documentation studies, and students’ reflective journals involving 35 eleventh-grade
students, a history teacher, and a site caretaker. Data validity was ensured through source
triangulation, technique triangulation, and member checking, while data analysis followed the
interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, consisting of data condensation, data display,
and conclusion drawing. The findings revealed that place-based learning activities involving
historical field visits, artifact exploration, collaborative inquiry, and reflective reinterpretation
significantly enhanced students’ historical empathy, cultural heritage awareness, and emotional
engagement with local history. Students developed stronger appreciation toward the megalithic
heritage of Central Sulawesi and demonstrated greater responsibility for cultural preservation after
directly interacting with the Vatunonju site. The study further indicates that experiential and
contextual history learning contributes positively to transformative education, cultural
sustainability, and identity construction among students. These findings highlight the importance
of utilizing local cultural heritage sites as living educational spaces for developing meaningful,
reflective, and sustainability-oriented history learning in contemporary education.
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