As a way of disseminating museum content to visitors, the educational dimension is, by definition, an important part of the museum and, of course, part of its management. The museum's educational dimension has always been a part of its operation, even if it has changed over time and in response to changing knowledge and learning demands. The framework of contemporary educational programs and activity design, as well as how it has been shaped in the COVID and post-COVID eras, will be discussed in this chapter.
TopIntroduction: The Educational Framework Of Museum Education
Museums can only be living organisms, a place of enjoyment and discovery, and a platform for the exchange of ideas and socializing, if they serve an educational purpose for a diverse range of visiting groups. According to modern educational theories, this is accomplished by the active engagement of museum visitors in processes aimed at approaching artifacts from various viewpoints and based on their interests and motivations. Indeed, Museum education is now inextricably linked to holistic learning. Its goal is to give everyone the opportunity to learn to “read”, that is, to interpret and creatively use cultural assets, images, and cultural spaces by connecting them to all areas of human knowledge and experience within an educational context that makes sense to them and promotes meaningful socialization as well as aesthetic, mental, and intellectual cultivation. However, if we are looking for the origins of holistic learning, we can find them in Plato's writings, where he states:
a free soul ought not to pursue any study slavishly; for while bodily labors performed under constraint do not harm the body, nothing that is learned under compulsion stays with the mind (Republic, 7.536e)
[…] and they will be required to gather the studies, which they disconnectedly pursued as children in their former education into a comprehensive survey of their affinities with one another and with the nature of things. That […] is the only instruction that abides with those who receive it (Republic, 7.537c).
After discussing the learning theories that are important in Museum education, we will explore whether and to what extent the phygital transformation of museums can be accomplished, particularly in terms of Museum education.
TopBackground
What are the primary theories that have had a significant impact on Museum education as a field? Contemporary Museum education does not seek dogmatic, unilateral disclosures of the value of cultural wealth. It is also interested in enabling and encouraging many alternative modes of approach, reading, and exploitation of museums and cultural assets in general, based on the diverse expectations and questions created by different groups of visitors, either as individuals or groups. More specifically, for the museum to be a living organism, it must perform an educational function by taking into account a variety of visitor groups, such as children, adults, families, seniors, people with disabilities, vulnerable social groups, and so on (Hooper-Greenhill, 1999), because observing, understanding, and interpreting reality is not an automatic process. According to relevant research (Merriman, 1991), one can have a sense of “failure” or “not belonging” in a museum when he/she lacks the corresponding cultural capital1, i.e. when one does not understand what he/she sees or when one feels that the museum's materials do not concern him/her. Its role is to assist learning by setting proper educational conditions and enabling various groups of individuals to express their thoughts and perspectives, to express themselves critically, to realize their boundaries, and to develop new knowledge and perceptions.