Museums and Education: Purpose, Pedagogy, Performance

Museum Meanings

by Eilean Hooper-Greenhill

At the beginning of the 21st century museums are challenged on a number of fronts. The prioritisation of learning in museums in the context of demands for social justice and cultural democracy combined with cultural policy based on economic rationalism forces museums to review their educational purposes, redesign their pedagogies and account for their performance.The need to theorise learning and culture for a cultural theory of learning is very pressing. If culture acts as a process of signification, a means of producing meaning that shapes worldviews, learning in museums and other cultural organisations is potentially dynamic and profound, producing self-identities. How is this complexity to be measured ? What can this measurement reveal about the character of museum-based learning? The calibration of culture is an international phenomenon, and the measurement of the outcomes and impact of learning in museums in England has provided a detailed case study. Three national evaluation studies were carried out between 2003 and 2006 based on the conceptual framework of Generic Learning Outcomes. Using this revealing data Museums and Education reveals the power of museum pedagogy and as it does, questions are raised about traditional museum culture and the potential and challenge for museum futures is suggested.

Genres: Museums

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 2007

Reviews

[Jennifer Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly-written and findings are backed up with studies from both teachers and pupils.

[Candy Wood]

Hooper-Greenhill draws on major research studies in Britain to show how museums and galleries can enhance children’s learning, especially on school visits. The studies were based more in regional museums than in national, London ones, and it’s clear that many of those offer more opportunities for physical activity: for example, one museum in a former workhouse involved actors presenting different viewpoints and activities that would encourage pupils to think about what the experience of the Victorian workhouse would have been. The absence of negative comment from the questionnaires and interviews creates an overwhelmingly positive tone: only one child is reported to have found his museum visit “boaring.” Still, it’s a bit depressing to find the language of assessment and learning outcomes in a book about museum education. The last chapter reviews some history and suggests that postmodern museums need to become more interactive and more culturally inclusive if they are to continue to promote learning for all.