1. Introduction In the era of ongoing globalization process, the im- plementation of the assumptions of the regional education is a very important part of the curricu- lum in schools of various levels. During the learning process, students should acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the region in which they function on a daily basis and thus expand and develop its own regional identity. Issues relating to the regional edu- cation can be implemented in the content of differ- ent subjects, and the task of the leading teacher, is the selection of appropriate methods and forms in order to get the best possible learning outcomes in this area. Of course, the knowledge gained during a lesson is just one of the available sources of infor- mation about their region. Building teacher’s skills and tools for the regional education, the teacher can and should also benefit from cooperation with indi- viduals and institutions concerned with or related to regionalism in the area. The main purpose of this article is to present the statutory activities of the Pedestrian Tourist Club “Mikołajek” PTTK Słupsk (hereinafter referred to as Journal of Geography, Politics and Society 2015, 5(2), 19–24 DOI 10.4467/24512249JG.15.008.5164 The ImPlemenTaTIon of The concePT of reGIonal educaTIon In The lIGhT of The currIculum acTIvITIeS of The PedeSTrIan TourIST club “mIkołaJek” PTTk SłuPSk Łukasz Marszałek Institute of Geography and Regional Studies, Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Partyzantów 27, 76-200 Słupsk, Poland, e-mail: marszalmen@o2.pl citation Marszałek  Ł., 2015, The implementation of the concept of regional education in the light of the curriculum activities of the Pedestrian Tourist Club “Mikołajek” PTTK Słupsk, Journal of Geography, Politics and Society, 5(2), 19–24. abstract In the times of the omnipresent globalization, an important place in the education of children and adolescents takes the re- gional education and the associated with it deepening of the regional identity. The content related to this subject is woven into the issues of different subjects: history, Polish language, geography and civics. Currently available forms and methods of education are offering the teacher conducting classes, many opportunities to prepare the best workshop to achieve his or her goals in this area. One of them is the cooperation with external institutions dealing with regionalism. The curriculum activi- ties of the Pedestrian Tourist Club “Mikołajek” PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) Słupsk in cooperation with Słupsk schools is an excellent example of this. Years of experience, the regional knowledge and qualifications possessed by the staff of the Club provide a solid foundation that can be used and is used in the regional education of children and adolescents, thus implementing the main objectives of “Mikołajek”. key words regional education, the Pedestrian Tourist Club “Mikołajek” PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) Słupsk, Słupsk region. 20 Łukasz Marszałek KTP “Mikołajek”), in particular based on cooperation with schools in Słupsk and its surroundings in the implementation of the regional education. A sec- ondary objective is to provide, in this example, the possibilities of utilizing external institutions in the work of a teacher dealing with regionalism. 2. The regional education – concepts and objectives The concept of regional education in the curriculum is a problem well known in the history of geographi- cal sciences. It is also an issue of several studies and analysis, the results of which are presented in a num- ber of publications on this subject. As early as in the eighteenth century, an outstanding Czech educator J. A. N. Komensky rightly pointed out that teaching geography at school, should be initiated by getting to know the local area. He expressed this in “the Great Didactics”, “The material should be constantly devided in such a way to first give information about what is the nearest” (Komensky, 1956, by Hibszer, 2004, p. 10). Over time, the idea of regional educa- tion flourished which is evidenced by appearing in the literature various definitions of this concept. D. Jankowski (1990, p. 107) presents the regional ed- ucation as “the introduction of units and small social groups in the tradition and present socio-cultural life of the region and the local community (...).It in- volves the formation of a sense of identity of the lo- cal and regional as well as on strengthening the ties between an individual and the groups which consti- tute the necessary complement and concretization of ties with the entire national and state society”. On the other hand A. Awramiuk (2009, p. 11) explains this concept as “all activities of teaching and up- bringing, which are associated with the transmission of knowledge about the region, shaping positive at- titudes and behaviors, and strengthening regional awareness undertaken by both the teacher and stu- dents “. According to J. Nikitorowicz (2009, p. 502), however, the regional education constitute “all ac- tions forwarding the knowledge about the” private homeland “and forming ties with it, with the world of the original roots. He meets a man through the shaping the ability of coexistence, cooperation and continuing involvement “in the small homeland”, while ensuring the continuity of cultural groups by equipping with the knowledge, raising awareness of universal values based on local ties.” Among the previously developed concepts in this area of edu- cation, the idea of K. Kossak-Główczewski appeared (2003, p. 39–40) which says: “The essence of regional education is to return home to the sources of life of every human being, to the sources of his ethics and his language, and thus to the sources of domestic, local, regional, national and human culture.” Apart from the above definition, an attempt to explain the concept of regional education was also undertook by other authors in their publications (see: Kowolik, 1999; Petrykowski, 2003; Mistarz, 2011). Nevertheless, an important problem discussed in the scientific literature are issues related to the defi- nition of the objectives of regional education. A. Hib- szer stresses that clearly defined general objectives provide a basis for the creation of specific objectives, which in its content should include the category of knowledge, skills and attitudes. In his delibera- tions the author cites three main objectives of the regional education contained in the Programme of education in 1997, together with the ways of their implementation. These include: 1. “Equiping the student in the geographical knowl- edge about the “small homeland”, in close liaison with the knowledge of their home country, by: • supporting a large part of the learning on di- rect observations in the field (learning about the environment throuh using various senses); • creating conditions for comparing the book knowledge with the knowledge obtained in the field. 2. The shaping in students a sense of regional iden- tity, which is the basis for involvement in the life of the local community, by: • portraying student’s relationships with the nearest natural and social environment; • arousing the interest of the problems of the lo- cal environment; • perception of the value of the local geographi- cal environment. 3. Preparing the student to act responsibly in adult- hood, mainly in the local community, by: • acquiring the skills of evaluating, assessing and making choices needed for functioning in a multicultural society in our country, while preserving the cultural values of their own community” (Hibszer, 2004, p.15). Whereas, T. Nawrocki (2003, p. 226) formulates one primary goal of regional education that is “shaping students’ sense of their own regional identity as an attitude of commitment to the functioning of their environment and authentic openness towards oth- er communities and cultures.” In a similar form also P.  Petrykowski (1997) speaks. In addition, the au- thor explains that this objective can be achieved by developing and strengthening a sense of regional identity, which would increase the awareness of belonging to a certain place, area, community and culture. The implementation of the concept of regional education in the light of the curriculum activities… 21 K. Kopeć (2004) rightly draws attention to the need to implement the tasks of regional education at every stage of education, because only then it will be possible to achieve the final effect which is to develop in students a complete image and under- standing of their own region. Undoubtedly, this is possible by the objectives set for regional education in schools at all levels. In the core curriculum of general education, until recently in force (Rozporządzenie…, 2002), the im- plementation of educational paths was assumed. One of them was “The regional education – cultural heritage in the region”. For the best of its implemen- tation, in the regulation was prepared a set of goals, objectives, content and achievements appropriate for each type of school. According to the regulations, the main objectives for the mentioned path, valid in the primary school are: • “getting to know the nearest environment and the specifics of their region; • the development of family values related to the cultural values of the local community; • the development of patriotic attitudes related to regional culture.” In the next stage of education namely the education at junior high schools for “regional education – cul- tural heritage in the region”, there are the following purposes: • “the development of knowledge about the cul- ture of their region and its relations with national culture; • establishing contact with the local and regional level in order to form close relationships and un- derstanding of the diverse belonging for the hu- man; • strengthening the sense of national identity through the development of regional identity; • development of knowledge about the history of the region in conjunction with the traditions of his own family.” A. Religa refers to them in his publication (2003), that presents, among others, the link between the regional content with the geographical content in junior high school. In a joint publication of W. Srokosz and M. K. Szmi- giel (2002) was presented in accordance with the Regulation of the Ministry of Education dated 26 February 2002., the main objectives for the path “The regional education – cultural heritage in the region”, included in the core curriculum for general education at secondary schools, specialized second- ary schools and secondary technical schools. These include: • “learning about their region, including cultural heritage, as part of Poland and Europe; • deepening ties with their community, region, country; • shaping of regional identity in the context of na- tional and European values; • preparation for adult life in the regional, national, state and European structures; • developing respect for other regional communi- ties of ethnic and national.” Similar to the idea of A. Hibszer (2004) here as well, on the basis of the main objectives several spe- cific objectives on regional education in Malopolska were formulated. At this stage of education it is also worth of attention, to present the regional content, against the background of the whole country, the nation and Europe. A supporter of this type of con- cept is S. Bednarek (1999) who considers the need for exploring the student’s knowledge of their own region in comparison with the knowledge of the country and international subject matter. A similar solution was introduced in the project of geographi- cal blocks for secondary schools, which include the basic content of the curriculum and those contained in the educational paths. In line with the objectives presented above, one of the branches of the curricu- lum devoted to regional education was titled “My region on the background of Poland and the world” (Sołohubiak-Borchert, Michalski, 2002). In the accordance with currently applicable core curriculum, the curricular themes were abandoned from the further leading at schools, one of which was also “The regional education – cultural heritage in the region”. Transferring knowledge to students about their own region was not abandoned, how- ever. Currently, the main goals and objectives of re- gional education are woven into the curriculum of individual subjects. The task of the teacher conduct- ing classes is, however, the selection of appropriate forms and methods to achieve the expected learn- ing outcomes in this regard. 3. The regional education in the activities of kTP “mikołajek” One way of implementing the regional education in schools is the cooperation of the teacher conducting the subject with various institutions dealing with re- gionalism. These may be museums, memorial exhi- bition rooms, libraries, community centers, regional associations of culture, folklore groups, institutions dealing with tourism and touring. An example of this is the cooperation of schools from Słupsk and the surrounding area with the Pedestrian Tourist 22 Łukasz Marszałek Club “Mikołajek” PTTK Słupsk. The club was founded March 15, 1968 in Słupsk by a group of 39 hikers, at the same time members of PTTK. The club from the beginning of its existence is strongly linked with the Regional Division of PTTK in Słupsk, where it also has its headquarters. The area of its activity has become the area where the Department, that is the Słupsk region of PTTK operates. This is the name function- ing in the structures of PTTK and refers to the area of the former province of Słupsk (fig. 1). The region covers an area of 7347 square kilometers and is lo- cated in the north-western part of the Pomorskie Voivodeship and partly in the north-eastern part of Zachodniopomorskie Province. In its boundaries there is located 5 counties: Sławno (Sławno and Pos- tomino municipality), Słupsk, Lębork, Bytów and Człuchów and including 35 municipalities and 11 cit- ies (Grabowski, 2015). With the commencement of operations the club members wanted to emphasize their commitment to the nearest surroundings. The effect of this is giving the Club the name “Mikołajek”, which comes from the name of a plant – Mikołajek Nadmorski (Eryngium maritimum). In Poland the plant is under strict species protection, whose natural area of occurrence are coastal dunes. In Słupsk region mainly in the area of Rowy and in the Słowiński National Park. The first event organized by “Mikołajek” was “The rally on parts” which route led from Rowy to Ustka. It was attended by 12 people. In June 1968, the first in this part of the coast a pedes- trian rally in Słowiński National Park was organized. These are the two events that gave rise to ongoing for already 48 years activities closely related to tour- ism, touring and regional education. The objectives and targets contained in the regulations of the club refer to it. These are among others: • “getting to know the country, its sights, inter- esting towns, natural values, developing young people’s interest in touring and tourism; Fig. 1. Słupsk Region of PTTK Source: Own elaboration based on: pomorskie.eu/documents/39036/61458/powiaty_i_gminy_d.jpg The implementation of the concept of regional education in the light of the curriculum activities… 23 • organization of tourist events, rallies, tours, hikes, trips; • assisting in the organization of hiking events” (Regulamin Klubu Turystów Pieszych “Mikołajek” PTTK Słupsk). Although not included in the regulations, the aforementioned guidelines are implemented with a strong focus on regional education. This results mainly from the fact that since the beginning of the work the club community was created by the people associated with the culture and regionalism in the area. Although due to historical reasons their roots were scattered in different parts of Poland, yet thanks to their passion, courage and commitment they de- cided to build upon this earth, the Słupsk homeland, to which attached will be people born here: Poles, Kashubians and other słupsk residents (Zielonka, 2000). Among others those people deserve special attention: Kazimierz Świderski, Władysław Lachow- icz, Wojciech Wypiśniak, Stefania Jóźwik, Józef Cie- plik, Zenon Frąckiewicz. The high regional activity of club activists gave a solid foundation to establish a strong, long-term cooperation of the Club with schools from Słupsk, Słupsk district, and not only. Its origins date back to 1971, when the organization of hiking events, prepared specifically for the stu- dents was launched. That is when the first Rally of Primary Schools Youth of Słupsk Earth took place. It was organized within the period 9th–10th June. The route led from Słupsk to nearby Włynkówko where the camping under tents was organized, while the second day of the trek brought the participants back to Słupsk. During the youth rallies the organizers always put great emphasis on the regional educa- tion. Young tourists participating in hiking in the surroundings, were gaining the knowledge on his- tory, culture, geography, nature and historical sites associated with the region, where they exist on daily basis. They were held on the region’s designated hik- ing trails, which system enables to present the par- ticipants of hiking, the most valuable natural and anthropogenic of the area. Very often the support and assistance in organizing this series of events was given by the Board of Education in Słupsk and the Faculty of Education of the Municipal Office in Słupsk The rallies of Primary Schools Youth of Słupsk Earth were organized uninterruptedly till 1999. On 24th September 2005, the jubilee and last XXX Rally of Primary Schools Youth of Słupsk Earth was organ- ized. 215 young tourists arrived to two one-day long prepared hiking routes. This did not mean, however, completion of the ac- tivities related to the regional education. Moreover, they have been extended by further hiking rallies. Currently in the event calendar of KTP “Mikołajek” there are 6 generally accessible hiking events organ- ized in the region of Słupsk. In each of them a large part of the participants are students and teachers from Słupsk and surrounding primary schools, jun- ior high schools and high schools. Apart from this, the Club supports the activities of Słupsk PTTK Branch in preparing and conducting subsequent 2 events designed for children and teenagers. These are rallies: “Powitanie wiosny” – “Welcoming Spring” (March) and “Mikołajkowy” – “Santa Claus” (Decem- ber), which are held regularly in recreational areas of the Słupsk city. The participation of preschool chil- dren in these events is worth noting. In addition, ac- cording to the assumptions of the Club regulations, the activities of it recently significantly expanded to support schools and educational institutions in the preparation of thematic events concerning regional issues. The work on individual events is not limited to accompany the group through a certain section of the walking trail. The qualified club staff provide participants with a lot of interesting information re- lated to the area where they are currently are. For the rallies are often invited people, who in the course of short lectures, help to deepen previously acquired knowledge. These include employees of the national park, landscape park, forest district or people relat- ed to the culture of the region. During each hiking children and young people have the opportunity to participate in a pre-prepared contests of knowledge about the area in which the current event is taking place. All the above activities are planned, thinking about the students participating in club trips and awakening and deepening their knowledge and re- gional identity. In the idea of activities of KTP “Mikołajek” and described rallies, one cannot ignore the concept contained in the above-mentioned definitions of re- gional education by Komeński, Jankowski, Nikitoro- wicz, Kossak-Główczewski. The method of learning the immediate area, thanks to the organized hiking trips, gives schools and teachers involved, the pos- sibility of implementation, presented in the first part of the article, objectives used to achieve the best learning outcomes in terms of knowledge about their own region. Knowledge, thanks to pedestrian tours, about the cultural heritage and characteristics of the physical-geographical area, obviously requires further expansion of information on the social envi- ronment and the economy. Only in this perspective, it gives students a comprehensive regional knowl- edge. Properly conducted and organized by the school the regional education, therefore becomes a key tool for building students’ regional identity and awareness of the opportunities and developmental barriers of their region (Michalski, 2003). 24 Łukasz Marszałek 4. conclusions The activity of the Pedestrian Tourist Club “Mikołajek” PTTK Słupsk virtually from the beginning was asso- ciated with cooperation with schools from Słupsk and the surrounding area. Through 48 years of activ- ity within the Słupsk region, it permanently grown into a program of work and philosophy of the Club. Apart from the desire to instilling in youth the idea of hiking and sightseeing, the primary aim is also to provide participants with the greatest knowledge of their own region. Mainly it is based on a hiking organized in the form of rallies and tours, for which the available network of hiking trails in the region is used. The requirements and the progress of mod- ern education forced the organizers to introduce additional methods of achieving the objectives of regional education. The program events included: lectures, discussions, presentations, meetings with interesting personalities and knowledge competi- tions. Everything about the region in which the stu- dents are functioning on a daily basis. From the point of view of teachers, cooperation with “Mikołajek” gave the possibility of introducing interesting and varied training methods concerning natural, an- thropogenic and cultural values of the region. In conjunction with the analysis of the socio-economic area, schools tend to provide pupils with a compre- hensive knowledge of their own region. The coop- eration of KTP “Mikołajek”, schools from Słupsk and the surrounding area is an example of the good and the applicable practices in the transfer of knowledge in the field of the regional education. references Awramiuk A., 2009, Pogranicze kultur. 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