lit review: Museums and Education: Purpose, Pedagogy, Performance

What does museum education mean?  How can it be applied or adapted?  Do museums have an educational responsibility?  If so, what does that look like?  What is learning?  Is museum learning considered "real" learning?  These are questions addressed by Eilean Hooper-Greenhill in her 2007 book, Museums and Education: Purpose, Pedagogy, Performance, published by Routledge.

This book is based on research done to obtain British government funding for museums and, hence, additional research.  I didn't read the entire work because I felt that it was not all relevant.  But, I did like what parts I read.  The book was focused on learning and understanding with respect to cultural institutions.  Archives and libraries are brought into the discussion at various points throughout the book.  The challenges of squeezing in formal learning outcomes for museum public programming are front and center.

I felt as though the author tried to explore how informal museum learning fit into the formal classroom learning.  Considering the audience, the author seemed to explain not only the differences between the two learning types, but the benefits of supporting both.  She goes into great detail about learning, understanding, and knowledge, clearly demonstrating the process by which the researchers attempted to measure each aspect.

Studies found that school teachers valued the enjoyment, inspiration, and creative thinking that was involved with their students after a museum visit.  They valued the ability to open the minds of students to explore new ideas.  Knowledge was absorbed by the visit.  Teachers discussed how the experience can shape attitudes and value for history, people, institutions, and themselves.  They did not see much worth in assessing the direct learning done by students in the museum, only the entertainment value.

Student comments mirrored the teachers', but with much less depth.

Overall, the book did not provide any clues about how to enhance learning.  It did, however, provide a theoretical framework for learning based on a solid research method.  The book supported my own research more than it gave me new ideas to explore and incorporate.