Value of Museums

Here is a useful article from a study about the "Value of Museums". It comes from a conference in the UK.



Below are some excerpts from their publication in 2007:


"Value of Museums"

I particularly like these points:

There was very strong evidence of powerful
learning outcomes for pupils:
• The vast majority of pupils of all ages (over 90%)
enjoy their museum visits and think they have
learnt something
• Older boys are uncharacteristically enthusiastic
• Teachers continue to value the inspirational quality
of museum work because it enables their pupils
to better understand their subject
• 99% of teachers think their pupils enjoyed the
museum experience
• 97% of teachers think their pupils are likely to
have been inspired to learn more
• 94% of teachers think their pupils will have
gained subject-related facts
• 82% of teachers think the museum experience is
likely to influence classroom teaching
• 94% of teachers think their pupils are likely to
have developed thinking skills and 89%
communication skills
• 94% of teachers think museums will enable their
pupils to feel more positive about learning
The significance of learning in museums
Museums are remarkable sites for learning, capable
of inspiring teachers and pupils alike and able to
respond flexibly to the interests of children and
young people. The experiences that museums can
offer can touch pupils deeply, generating curiosity,
motivating learning, and inspiring self-confidence.
The evaluation research shows clearly how
museums can contribute in powerful ways to a
number of important government agendas,
especially:
• Community cohesion and social inclusion
• Every Child Matters
• The review of the KS3 curriculum
• The implementation of Excellence and Enjoyment
in primary schools
• The professional development of teachers
• The development of schools and the curriculum




Background
Since 2003 the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Education
and Skills (DfES), now Department for Children,
Schools and Families (DCSF), have jointly
sponsored a partnership between national and
regional museums in England that is designed to
increase and deepen relationships between
museums and schools and to strengthen
relationships between museums and communities.
An evaluation of the programme was carried out
during 2006 and 2007. Twelve national museums
with over 50 regional museum partners were
together involved in seventeen discrete projects
across England. The findings from this research
study have been considered in relation to the
findings from three earlier evaluations of the
outcomes and impacts of learning in museums.1
A successful programme
The programme has been highly successful with:
• A strong emphasis on working towards social
inclusion
• Effective and deepening partnerships between
the educational sector and the museum sector
• Powerful learning outcomes for pupils, including
evidence of increased attainment
• The potential for strong partnerships between
museums and communities
A strong emphasis was found in the museums
on working towards social inclusion:
• There were clear socially inclusive targets for the
education and community work
• About one third (30.3%) of the schools that
museums worked with in the programme are
schools with the highest percentages of pupils
eligible for free school meals
• Museum staff demonstrated a thoughtful
approach to social inclusion
• Most projects were actively working towards
community cohesion
• Museum staff were addressing multiple barriers to
the use of museums
• The impact of engagement with museums on
vulnerable individuals can be powerfully illustrated
1 The term ‘museum’ includes all art museums and galleries.
02 INSPIRATION, IDENTITY, LEARNING: THE VALUE OF MUSEUMS SECOND STUDY
Effective and deepening partnerships between
the educational sector and the museum sector
were observed:
• Increased contacts between schools and
museums, especially those that involved a number
of sessions over a period of time, which could be
called ‘serial’ contacts
• An increased number of secondary schools
• Museums playing a powerful role in curriculum
development and delivery
• An appreciation by teachers of the learner-
centred methods used in museums
• A considerable increase in cross-curricular work
(from 3% in 2004 to 35%)
• Ambitions in some of the projects to influence
curriculum development and delivery at a national
level
• Teachers’ perceptions of the positive value of
museums for their own learning and professional
development
• The vast bulk (96%) of teachers who are satisfied
or very satisfied with their museum experience
There was very strong evidence of powerful
learning outcomes for pupils:
• The vast majority of pupils of all ages (over 90%)
enjoy their museum visits and think they have
learnt something
• Older boys are uncharacteristically enthusiastic
• Teachers continue to value the inspirational quality
of museum work because it enables their pupils
to better understand their subject
• 99% of teachers think their pupils enjoyed the
museum experience
• 97% of teachers think their pupils are likely to
have been inspired to learn more
• 94% of teachers think their pupils will have
gained subject-related facts
• 82% of teachers think the museum experience is
likely to influence classroom teaching
• 94% of teachers think their pupils are likely to
have developed thinking skills and 89%
communication skills
• 94% of teachers think museums will enable their
pupils to feel more positive about learning
There are excellent opportunities for museums
to work with the community but this still needs
considerable development:
• Community work is relatively new in many of the
museums in this study
• Some museums were using sophisticated ways of
engaging with communities, but some failed to
grasp what was needed
• Community groups use museums for different
purposes from schools, with more emphasis on
Skills and less on Enjoyment, Inspiration, Creativity
• Most community group leaders were satisfied with
their experiences
• All learning outcomes for community participants
were very positive and often stronger than those
of pupils of the same age. This was particularly
marked with the boys
• Museums have the potential to respond to
learning needs over a broad spectrum
• Not all museums seemed ready to work through
the internal cultural changes necessary to embed
community-based learning into museum culture
The significance of learning in museums
Museums are remarkable sites for learning, capable
of inspiring teachers and pupils alike and able to
respond flexibly to the interests of children and
young people. The experiences that museums can
offer can touch pupils deeply, generating curiosity,
motivating learning, and inspiring self-confidence.
The evaluation research shows clearly how
museums can contribute in powerful ways to a
number of important government agendas,
especially:
• Community cohesion and social inclusion
• Every Child Matters
• The review of the KS3 curriculum
• The implementation of Excellence and Enjoyment
in primary schools
• The professional development of teachers
• The development of schools and the curriculum