Last year one of my friends sent me an SMS in the morning and wished me Happy

Independence Day. It was the 16th of December 2004.

Two years ago my thirteen-year-old cousin rang me and woke me up at midnight. She

wished me Happy New Year. It was the night before the first day of Bengali New Year,

Pahela Baisak.

These two incidents made me to think whether we really know about ourselves, our

history and culture the glorious history that we are so proud of. Does our children the

future generation of our nation knows about their nations past?

History and culture is like the root of a nation. Not knowing about the nations history and

culture is like cutting the nations own roots. In school level our children are taught about

the history of Bangladesh. So, I have chosen to do research on our childrens awareness

about our history and culture. The topic of my research paper is How Much are Our

Children Aware of History and Culture of Bangladesh.

Some may say why do we have to look back in our past? Why not looking ahead to the

future. But knowing history is very important. Without the knowledge of history we

cannot move forward. We shall be making the same mistake over and over again in the

future. On the other hand, our culture is our identity. Without it we are lost.

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My research will be centered on history and culture of Bangladesh. As I looked for

secondary sources I have found that many articles has been published in other countries

on how important it is for children to know about the history and culture. Franklin G.

Kane, Class teacher, Sacramento Waldorf School has published an article on a Journal for

the Waldorf Schools of North America. In this article he has highlighted on some

questions that he faces during his teaching experience. These are:

Why isn't there more teaching of American history in the elementary grades?

Why don't the children learn about their country?

Isn't that the most important thing for them to learn in this modern age?

He has mainly emphasized on the importance for children to know about the history of

their country. This is what Franklin G. Kane has said in the article:

It is at this age of 11 or 12 that the children begin to look upon the world in a

conscious, intellectual, almost adult way. Certainly they do not have the reactions of

adults, but their perceptions of the world are becoming accurate and questioning. In the

sixth grade there have been many discussions brought about by the children's questioning

and wondering about the world they see around them. Why is there war? Who is right?

Should there be civil rights? Disorders? What is wrong with society? What about

drinking, smoking and the use of drugs? These questions truly have penetrated the

children of our age. And although, in a certain sense, they are too young to deal with

them maturely, they have the sense of rightness and wrongness and are looking to adults

for answers and guidance. They want the truth. They want explanations that will give

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them an understanding of this world into which they are growing. They see themselves

still as children but with the realization that it will be not many years until they will be

taking their place as young adults. In fact, it is, from the 12th year on, only half again as

many years as they have already lived until they will be eligible to serve in the Armed

Forces. Then they will be undertaking the responsibility of serving their country with

their lives. The children look for models to emulate. Hopefully they can find great people

in the world to admire, to want to live up to. In the study of history they can find true-life

situations and witness events from which they may learn about today.(Source: Internet)

For the growth and development of children in our country it is very important to know

and learn about the history and culture of Bangladesh. Based on the area that I have

chosen I have carried out a survey on children aged from ten to thirteen. The children

were asked some questions relating to the areas to find out what they actually know and

what they have learned so far. In my survey I have concentrated on the following areas:

Areas of research:

How much children like to study the History of Bangladesh?

In my research I have focused on this area because I wanted to find how much children

like to study history of Bangladesh as a compulsory subject. I wanted to find out what

percentage of children enjoys studying it or at least like studying it. I have also tried to

locate the percentage of children who studies history because they have to or do not like

studying it at all.

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How confident are children about their knowledge of history and culture of

Bangladesh?

I wanted to find out whether the children are confident enough to answer simple history

and culture related questions. My purpose was to find out the percentage of children who

believes that they have learned enough to answer any question and also the percentage of

children who are not confident enough to answer questions.

To check their knowledge of history and culture, I have also asked them some questions

concerning history and culture of Bangladesh. Through the responses of these questions I

tried to figure out their knowledge regarding history and culture of Bangladesh.

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Hypothesis:
I assumed that the children can answer the questions appropriately regarding on history

and culture. They are taught the history and culture of Bangladesh at the primary level of

school. So at this level I believe that they do have some understanding concerning those

areas.

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Methodology:

To complete my research paper and to find necessary information I gathered primary data

only. I thoroughly checked for secondary data from Internet, books and articles from

newspaper but unable to find any information relating to the perspective of Bangladesh.

The primary data has been collected through direct survey by questionnaire and

interview. To prepare the survey questionnaire for children I had to go through the history

book that they are taught in school. It had helped me to prepare questionnaire suitable for

children and easy to understand.

Data Collection

Primary Data

Direct survey by
questionnaire.
Interview.

Page 6
 Direct Survey by Questionnaire: The data that I collected by direct survey is

shown on data presentation part.

Interview:

1 I took a formal interview of a Ms. Nadira Zaman, History teacher, Play

Pen School, which is located in road no. 7, house no 98/A, Block F,

Banani. I took the interview at her residence on the 2nd April 2005 at 5.00

P.M.

2 I also took informal interview of some parents and university students. All

the interviews are presented after the data analysis part.

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Limitations:

My survey was carried on 44 school going children from Dhaka city. If the survey could

have been carried on a larger sample size other then Dhaka city, then it could have

portrayed a better picture. My survey had to be completed on only seven days, which was

a very short time.

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In this part of my paper I am going to present the data that I have gathered through the

survey. I decided to do my survey on one target group that is the children aged from ten

to thirteen. I carried out the survey on 44 school going children.

The data I have collected is presented in a table below.

No. of a % b % c % d %

Question

s
1 5 11.36 13 29.55 25 56.82 1 2.27
2 5 11.36 25 56.82 9 20.45 5 11.36
3 24 54.55 . . 20 45.45 . .
4 19 43.18 15 34.09 7 15.91 3 6.82
5 16 36.36 10 22.73 9 20.45 9 20.45
6 1 2.27 36 81.81 7 15.91 . .
7 . . 44 100 . . . .
8 17 38.64 1 2.27 23 52.27 3 6.82
9 30 68.18 10 22.73 1 2.27 3 6.82
10 10 22.73 4 9.09 27 61.36 3 6.82

The topic of my research paper is How much are our children aware of history and

culture of Bangladesh. As the children are taught history as a compulsory subject in

school level, they will be able to answer questions regarding history and culture of

Page 9
Bangladesh. Through this research I wanted to prove that the children has some

understanding concerning to these area.

To prove this I carried out a survey on forty-four school going children aged from ten to

thirteen. In my questionnaire I have asked ten questions to the children. From the

responses I have found many important information, which I used in my paper. From the

next page I am going to present and analyze data using tables and graph.

Question No. 1 Do you like studying History of Bangladesh?

Options
Yes, I enjoy it Yes, I like No, I study it No, I do not
very much [a] studying it [b] because I have like it at all
to[c] [d]

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 Number of
5 13 25 1
respondents
Percentage 11.36 29.55 56.82 2.27

30

25

20

15

10

0
Yes, I enjoy it very much
Yes, I [a]
like studying
No, I study
it [b] it becauseNo,
I have
I do to[c]
not like it at all [d]

To see how many children actually like studying history of Bangladesh, I have found that

about 11.36% children enjoy studying history very much and about 29.55% children like

studying it. On the other hand, about 56.82% children said that they study history because

they have to and 2.27% children do not like studying it at all. It shows that more than half

of the children studies History as a subject because they have to.

Question No. 2 Do you think you have learned enough about the history of

Bangladesh and can answer question relating to it?

Options
Yes, I believe I Yes, but I am No, but I can No, I have not
have learned not sure answer some learned enough

Page 11
 enough to whether I can
to answer any
answer any answer any question [c]
question [d]
question [a] question [b]
Number of
5 25 9 5
respondents
Percentage 11.36 56.82 20.45 11.36

Yes , I believe I have learned enough to ans wer any ques tion [a]

11% 11%
Yes , but I am not sure whether I can answer any question [b]
20%

No, but I can ans wer som e ques tion [c] 57%

No, I have not learned enough to answer any question [d]

By asking this question I wanted to find out how confident the children are about their

knowledge of history and culture of Bangladesh. From the response I found out that

about 11.36% children believe that they have learned enough to answer any question and

about 56.82% said that they have learned enough but not sure whether they can answer

any question. On the contrary, 20.45% children believes that they have not learned

enough but can answer some questions and 11.36% children believes that they have not

learned enough to answer any question. It shows that more than half of the children are

not confident enough to answer any question relating to history.

Question No. 3 Which among the following is the Independence Day of

Bangladesh?

Options
The 16th The 25th The 26th I do not

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 December [a] March [b] March [c] know [d]
Number of
24 0 20 0
respondents
Percentage 54.55 0 45.45 0

30

25 55%

20 45%

15
Percentage Number of respondents
24
10 20

0 0%
0 0%
0
The 16th December [a]
The 25th March [b]The 26th March [c] I do not know [d]

To test their knowledge of history when I asked them this question about 54.55% said

that the answer is the 16th December and about 45.45% said that it is the 25 th March. It

explains that more than half of the children do not know the right answer.

Question No.4 Who among the following is the first Prime Minister of

Bangladesh?

Options

Page 13
 Sheikh Mujibur Tajuddin Ziaur Rahman I do not
Rahman [a] Ahmed [b] [c] know [d]
Number of
19 15 7 3
respondents
Percentage 43.18 34.09 15.91 6.82

7%

16%
3
7
43%
19
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman [a] Tajuddin Ahmed [b] Ziaur Rahman [c] I do not know [d]

15

34%

When I asked children this question about 43.18% answered that the first Prime Minister

of Bangladesh was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, about 34.09% responded that it was

Tajuddin Ahmed and about 15.91% said that it was Ziaur Rahman. About 6.82% children

have no clue about the answer. It gives an idea that most of the children do not know who

the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh was.

Question No. 5 When was Bengali Calendar introduced?

Options
After the During the During the I do not
independence of time of time of know [d]

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 British rule emperor Akbar
Bangladesh [a]
[b] [c]
Number of
16 10 9 9
respondents
Percentage 36.36 22.73 20.45 20.45

After the independence of Bangladesh [a] During the time of British rule [b]
20%
36%

20%
23%
During the time of emperor Akbar [c] I do not know [d]

By this question I wanted to find out whether the children know the history behind

introducing Bengali Calendar. From the response I found that only 20.45% children

knows that the Bengali Calendar was introduced during the time of Emperor Akbar.

About 36.36% children answered that it was introduced after the independence of

Bangladesh and 22.73% said that it was introduced during the time of British rule.

20.45% children said that they do not know the answer. It shows that only one-fifth of the

total children knows the history behind introducing Bengali calendar.

Question No.6 Why is the 21st February important?

Options
Victory Day Language A Martyrs Day
I do not
[a] Movement Day only [c]
know [d]
[b]

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 Number of
1 36 7 0
respondents
Percentage 2.27 81.81 15.91 0

Victory Day [a] Language Movement Day [b] A Martyrs Day only [c]
16% 2%

82%

I do not know [d]

When I asked children why the 21 st February is important, about 81.81% responded it as

Language Movement day. 15.91% answered it as a Martyrs Day only and the

remaining2.27% answered it as Victory Day. This response shows that most of the

children knows the importance of Language Movement Day.

Question No. 7 What is Pahela Baisak?

Options
A day celebrated The first day of A day to
I do not
only by business Bengali collect taxes
know [d]
community [a] calendar [b] [c]

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 Number of
0 44 0 0
respondents
Percentage 0 100 0 0

50
44
45
40
35
30
25
Num ber of respondents Percentage
20
15
10
5
100%
0
A day celebrated only 0by
The0%
business
first day community
of Bengali
A day
calendar 0 [b]
0%taxes
[a] to collect 0 know
I do[c]not 0% [d]

By asking this question I found out that all the children responded Pahela Baisak as the

first day of Bengali Calendar. This demonstrates that all the children know the right

answer.

Question No. 8 Which one among the following is the Victory Day of Bangladesh?

Options
th
The 16 The 7th March The 26th I do not
December [a] [b] March [c] know [d]
Number of
17 1 23 3
respondents

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 Percentage 38.64 2.27 52.27 6.82

7%

39%

The 16th Decem ber [a] The 7th March [b] The 26th March [c] I do not know [d]

52%

2%

When I asked children this question I found out that 52.27% children responded the 26 th

March as Victory Day. About 38.64% children answered the 16 th March and 2.27%

answered the 7th March. 6.82% children said that they do not know the answer. It explains

that about half of the children do not know the correct answer.

Question No.9 Which part of the Bengal is the Independent Bangladesh?

Options
East Bengal West Bengal North Bengal I do not know
[a] [b] [c] [d]
Number of 30 10 1 3

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 respondents
Percentage 68.18 22.73 2.27 6.82

Percentage Num ber of respondents

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

When I asked children which part of the Bengal is independent Bangladesh, I found that

most of the children (68.18%) answered East Bengal. On the other hand, 22.73% children

answered West Bengal and about 2.27% responded North Bengal. About 6.82% children

do not have any clue about the answer.

Question No.10 Bangladesh is a/an --------------------

Options
Islamic Socialist [b] Peoples I do not
Republic [a] Republic [c] know [d]
Number of 10 4 27 3

Page 19
 respondents
Percentage 22.73 9.09 61.36 6.82

Is lam ic Republic [a] Socialist [b] Peoples Republic [c] I do not know [d]

From the response of this question I found out that majority of the children (61.36%)

answered Bangladesh as Peoples Republic, about 22.73% children answered Islamic

Republic and 9.09% answered Bangladesh as Social Republic.

After doing the survey, I have found out that most of the information that I got does not

support my hypothesis completely. In our country, children are taught the history and

culture of Bangladesh at the primary school level. So at this level I assumed that the

children can answer the questions appropriately concerning history and culture of

Page 20
Bangladesh. I have found from my research is that most of the children study History of

Bangladesh because it is compulsory for them. They are also not confident enough to

answer history related questions. When I asked children some history related questions I

found out that most of their answers were divided. It shows they are not sure about their

answer.

After taking the interviews these are the recommendations that I came up with:

Teachers should change their teaching system and come up with new and

attractive one to make the children interested about their history and culture.

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 Materials other than books can be added to make the subject more interesting.

Materials should be explained and presented in an appealing way to create interest

among children.

Not only teachers but also the parents can play a crucial role to make their

children aware of the history and culture of the nation.

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