This doctoral investigation examines educational relationships between museums and schools, and more specifically between art museums and secondary art education. The author's analysis of literature pertaining to museum/school relationships and previous research conducted within Honours research establishes systematic contradictions as permeating the public role of museums and educational engagements with museums. In seeking explanation, a theoretical framework, derived from the social theories of Pierre Bourdieu is developed. The framework is used to interrogate the practices of school-based art education and art museums, and the agents involved, to examine how social relations operate to enable and constrain the representation and engagement of secondary school-based perspectives in the museum setting. Aspects that have previously remained unacknowledged are examined to reveal the interplay of factors that influence educational experiences in the art museum setting. Using the findings from the first stage of the analysis, in concert with the Bourdieuan framework, the author develops a model for learning in art museums that explores and articulates a new pedagogical terrain in the art educational use of art museums. A socio-cognitive framework is developed to reflect the strategic incorporation of museological knowledge, contemporary art education philosophies and practices and sociological theory. The aims of the model are to engage secondary art education and art museums using a sociological perspective, provide the tools for secondary art educators to be autonomous in the art museum setting, recognize that individuals relate to cultural materials and experiences in varying and multiple ways and develop educational encounters that predispose learners to engage in the cultural practice of art museum visiting. In intrinsically valuing art museum experiences as distinctive learning opportunities, the model provides teaching and learning strategies that allow for a multi-faceted, developmentally appropriate and cognitively based educational involvement. As the ultimate outcome of the research the model has significance for secondary art students, secondary art educators, teacher educators and art museum educators. It is unique in providing a secondary school-based art educational perspective on learning in art museums that is designed to establish a foundation for cultural practice, within and beyond the school years.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

In North America, art museums have rendered services to elementary schools since the early 1900s. Although the scope and number of these services have expanded in the past several decades, the nature of the art museum-elementary school collaborative relationship can be problematic, and even counterproductive to the enhancement of quality of art education. There are some crucial issues related to the nature of and factors underlying collaboration among elementary schools and art museums, that need to be carefully considered in order for these efforts to be successful and fruitful. Since the relationship between attitudes and behavior is reciprocal, the attitudes of art museum educators in regard to art museum-elementary school collaboration are crucial to the quality and effectiveness of any collaborative endeavors and directly impact art museums' contribution to elementary art education. Therefore, this study explores art museum educators' attitudes in regard to art museum-elementary school collaboration. The present investigation is the only study of its kind in Canada to date. From the fall of 1997 to the spring of 1998, I conducted a survey of art museum educators in the province of British Columbia, Canada as well as interviews involving nine informants working in two art museums. Moreover, in order to meaningfully interpret the interview data, I observed the informants' daily routines in these galleries and collected documents related to the two study sites. This mixed method design was used to study BC art museum educators' attitudes in regard to art museum-elementary school collaboration relative to six specific issues: 1) models of art museum/gallery-school collaboration; 2) pedagogy and methods of art museum/gallery programs for elementary schools; 3) art museum/gallery programs and resources for elementary school teachers; 4) elementary school teacher participation in school-oriented art museum education; 5) content of art museum/gallery programs for elementary schools; and 6) linkage of art museum/gallery school programs and elementary school curricula. The results of this study suggest important implications to the future of collaborative endeavors bringing together elementary schools and art museums by highlighting issues related to the dynamics of the art museum educator - elementary school teacher relationships, professional knowledge and expertise, and curriculum links that strongly impact on such partnerships. They also provide guidance for future related research.

In a perfect learning society, the whole community-from corporate institutions to family units-recognizes and acts upon its responsibility to nurture and create a total learning environment that should extend throughout the lifetime of each member (Senesh, 1991). In contrast, many efforts to reform education in America focus on only one locus of education, the pre/K- 12 school Fortunately, however, some current reforms are broadening their scope. One such example is found in Ball State University's Professional Development Schools Network, which has enlarged the focus of educational renewal by including a museum as one of its official network sites. This two-part museum, Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens, brings community partnership to the focus, incrementally enlarging educational environments and experiences beyond the school classroom and toward the ideals of a learning society.The purpose of this study was to describe and understand more fully the conception, planning, and initial implementation stages of this atypical Professional Development Schools (PDS) site, Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens. This case study drew from and contributes to the literature in three areas: (a) professional development schools, (b) community education and learning societies, and (c) program planning. Data collection consisted of 23 separate interviews with 12 participants, multiple observations, and extensive document review. Data were then processed through constant comparative analysis. Findings describe more fully this particular case, detailing the conception, planning, and initial implementation of the museum's partnership with the traditional schools (university and pre/K-12) in its community.Three conclusions were derived from the major findings. First, in the conception and planning phases, relationships among individuals were of great consequence in creating and developing Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens as a PDS site. Second, in the initial implementation phase of the museum's PDS program, the museum staff struggled to define and communicate the museum's role as a PDS site. Third, these insights, among others, have implications for PDS networks and potential non-traditional PDS sites, museums interested in their educational role, and those interested in nurturing a learning society. / Department of Educational Leadership

This research project, using a qualitative case study methodology, reports on the appropriateness and implications of using group work in promoting cooperative learning in science. In this study, group work is seen as providing a social support mechanism for learning through interactive "hands-on" activities, designed to give learners opportunities to discuss and share ideas so that they can grasp science concepts. The Science Olympiad Project class composed of approximately thirty-six (36) learners formed the case study for this unit. The Science Olympiad Project is a project concerned with the promotion of science in the primary schools in Grahamstown. From this group, twenty two (22) learners (12 girls and 10 boys) were interviewed and kept journals. The Science Olympiad facilitator (a science teacher from one of the schools involved in the project) and two teachers who attended the science classes and whose learners are part of the project were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews, journals kept by the learners and the researcher (who was a participant observer and a co-facilitator), observations and discussions constituted sources of data for the research project. The analysis of data indicated that the learners found science during the Science Olympiad Project classes interesting and challenging. There were many benefits reported by the learners including the use of group work, the effect of "hands-on" activities, their attitudes and perceptions towards science and the role of excursions. Teachers found the learner-centred approaches adopted helped to encourage the learners to be actively involved in their own learning. One concern raised by the teachers was what would happen to those learners who have been identified as enthusiastic in science when they go to secondary schools. The implications of the results to improve and sustain the project are discussed.

In North America, art museums have rendered services to elementary schools since the early 1900s. Although the scope and number of these services have expanded in the past several decades, the nature of the art museum-elementary school collaborative relationship can be problematic, and even counterproductive to the enhancement of quality of art education. There are some crucial issues related to the nature of and factors underlying collaboration among elementary schools and art museums, that need to be carefully considered in order for these efforts to be successful and fruitful. Since the relationship between attitudes and behavior is reciprocal, the attitudes of art museum educators in regard to art museum-elementary school collaboration are crucial to the quality and effectiveness of any collaborative endeavors and directly impact art museums' contribution to elementary art education. Therefore, this study explores art museum educators' attitudes in regard to art museum-elementary school collaboration. The present investigation is the only study of its kind in Canada to date. From the fall of 1997 to the spring of 1998, I conducted a survey of art museum educators in the province of British Columbia, Canada as well as interviews involving nine informants working in two art museums. Moreover, in order to meaningfully interpret the interview data, I observed the informants' daily routines in these galleries and collected documents related to the two study sites. This mixed method design was used to study BC art museum educators' attitudes in regard to art museum-elementary school collaboration relative to six specific issues: 1) models of art museum/gallery-school collaboration; 2) pedagogy and methods of art museum/gallery programs for elementary schools; 3) art museum/gallery programs and resources for elementary school teachers; 4) elementary school teacher participation in school-oriented art museum education; 5) content of art museum/gallery programs for elementary schools; and 6) linkage of art museum/gallery school programs and elementary school curricula. The results of this study suggest important implications to the future of collaborative endeavors bringing together elementary schools and art museums by highlighting issues related to the dynamics of the art museum educator - elementary school teacher relationships, professional knowledge and expertise, and curriculum links that strongly impact on such partnerships. They also provide guidance for future related research. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

I proposed that both Bruner's (1963) idea of the spiral curriculum and Yenawine's (1992) theories of teaching for visual literacy in the museum set the stage for significant learning for students when used together. If school teachers lay a foundation of knowledge about a museum object, especially through museum resources, then the student may transform and apply this 'prior knowledge' (explicit memories from the classroom) while on the museum visit tour. When docents utilize Yenawine's (1992) methods toward the goal of visual literacy, the semantic knowledge of the classroom is then fused with museum learning, building stronger memories and facilitating deeper understanding as students learn about museum objects. This research explored the correlation of these two theories in a qualitative manner based on observations of actual museum visit preparation in classrooms in Casper, Wyoming, and how it related to a museum tour at the Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center. The research revealed that conditions do exist within the community that would facilitate Bruner's (1963) idea of a learning spiral, yet not in the manner envisioned. The observed conditions toward a spiral was accomplished through the participant teachers relating the museum exhibit to their operational curriculum in a variety of curricular areas, such as language arts and science, when docents related the tour to classroom learning, and not through museum resources or Yenawine's (1992) methods toward increasing visual literacy, as was previously considered.

Currently South African museums are faced with the challenge of evaluating and transforming their roles and functions as a response to changing national educational needs. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether aspects of the integrated strategies approach to promoting scientific literacy can be successfully employed in a museum context. The approach was used as part of the education programmes at the Port Elizabeth Museum School (Bayworld) and mixed methods were used to gather qualitative and quantitative data on the teachers’ ability to adopt the strategy. Data were also generated on the teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning, possible activities which supported the approach, and aspects of the strategy which the learners adopted most readily. The findings suggest that active engagement in the process resulted in effective adoption of the strategy by the teachers, improved attitudes towards science learning by both the teachers and children who participated in the process, and improved scientific literacy in both.

Museums and schools evolved as the definition of the concept of education to describe a lifelong process of developing knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that take place not only in the classroom, but also in a variety of formal and informal contexts and settings. In order to fulfil and extend the potential of the partnership, museum educators and school teachers should be assisted to develop a comprehensive understanding of the nature of the museum-school collaboration. They should learn the difference between museums and classrooms. When the Botswana National Museum was established in 1968, the Botswana government aspired to avail information relating to Botswana customs, indigenous knowledge system and values to Botswana‘s future citizens, with the hope that the information and artefacts collected at the time would retell the story of Botswana to learners and the public alike. The Botswana National Museum, through its educational programmes, has the capability to help educate learners; make teaching and learning an exciting undertaking; and provide the opportunities for hands-on activities and interaction with real objects. In order to address the research question posed for this study, the researcher conducted open-ended interviews with a sample comprising 40 participants: 10 teachers, 10 learners, 10 museum employees and 10 curriculum developers. The data collected from the interviews were decoded and presented in narrative form. The responses were presented using three identified categories: the curriculum development process in Botswana; the typical learner activities in the classroom and in the Botswana National Museum; and collaboration between the Botswana National Museum and schools. The data analysis revealed that the curriculum development process in Botswana was exclusively done by curriculum developers. Learners, teachers and museum employees were not involved. The Botswana National Museum‘s education programmes are not familiar to all role-players. All role-players were positive regarding a possible collaboration with the Botswana National Museum. Generic and specific recommendations were put forward to this end. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

University of Macau / Faculty of Education