Advertisement

International Review of Education

, Volume 62, Issue 3, pp 355–374 | Cite as

The impact of a museum travelling exhibition on middle school teachers and students from rural, low-income homes

  • James Badger
  • Richard J. W. Harker
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Schools may be places of learning, but a great deal of learning occurs outside of school. A growing body of literature investigates how school field trips allow rural students to make real-life connections with their school curriculum. This paper contributes to that area of research by describing how students from five middle schools in the United States responded to a travelling museum exhibition hosted at a non-museum site. The authors explore the impact of the exhibition on students from poor, rural backgrounds, discussing how it helped them to engage with themes such as freedom of expression, democracy, citizenship and Holocaust education. The results show that, by connecting curricular content with real-life situations, field trips such as this have the potential to change not only students’ understanding of the curriculum, but also their teachers’ estimation of their abilities.

Keywords

Museums Field trip Travelling exhibition Cultural capital Human rights 

Résumé

Dépasser la conception déficitaire culturelle des enseignants ? Impact d’une exposition itinérante sur des enseignants et des collégiens issus de foyers ruraux modestes – Les écoles peuvent être des lieux d’apprentissage, mais une grande partie de l’apprentissage s’accomplit à l’extérieur de l’école. Une documentation de plus en plus abondante examine comment les sorties scolaires permettent aux élèves habitant les régions rurales d’établir des liens entre vie réelle et programme scolaire. Cet article contribue à ce domaine de recherche en décrivant les réactions des élèves de cinq collèges des États-Unis à une exposition itinérante présentée autre part que dans un musée. Les auteurs explorent l’impact de l’exposition sur les élèves issus de foyers ruraux défavorisés, en analysant comment elle les a aidés à aborder des thèmes tels que la liberté d’expression, la démocratie, la citoyenneté et l’enseignement de l’Holocauste. Les résultats montrent que, en établissant un lien entre contenu du programme et situations de la vie réelle, les sorties scolaires telles que celle-ci ont le potentiel de modifier non seulement l’appréhension du programme par les élèves, mais aussi l’appréciation de leurs capacités par les enseignants.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive and thoughtful comments on an earlier version of this paper.

References

  1. Abram, R. J. (2007). Kitchen conversations: Democracy in action at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The Public Historian, 29(1), 59–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Abu-Shumays, M., & Leinhardt, G. (2002). Two docents in three museums: Central and peripheral participation. In G. Leinhardt, K. Crowley, & K. Knutson (Eds.), Learning conversations in museums (pp. 45–80). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
  3. Adedokun, O., Parker, L. C., Loizzo, J., Burgess, W., & Robinson, J. P. (2011). A field trip without buses. Science Scope, 34(9), 52–57.Google Scholar
  4. American Alliance with Museums. (2013). Museum facts. Retrieved 14 November 2014 from http://www.aam-us.org/about-museums/museum-facts.
  5. Anderson, D., Kisiel, J., & Storksdieck, M. (2006). Understanding teachers’ perspectives on field trips: Discovering common ground in three countries. Curator, 49(3), 365–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Anderson, D., Lucas, K. B., & Ginns, I. S. (2003). Theoretical perspectives on learning in an informal setting. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(2), 177–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Andrews, K. (2010). Finding a place for the victim: Building a rationale for educational visits to Holocaust-related sites. Teaching History, 141, 42–49.Google Scholar
  8. Ash, D., & Wells, G. (2007). Dialogic inquiry in the classroom and museum. In Z. Bekerman, N. C. Burbules, & D. Silberman-Keller (Eds.), Learning in places: The informal education reader (pp. 35–54). New York: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
  9. Bamberger, Y., & Tal, T. (2009). The learning environment of natural history museums: Multiple ways to capture students’ views. Learning Environment Research, 12(2), 115–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Banks, J., Au, K. H., Ball, A. F., Bell, P., Gordon, E. W., Gutierrez, K. D., Heath, S. B., Lee, C. D., Lee, Y., Mahiri, J., Nasir, N. S., Valdes, G., & Zhou, M., Learning in and out of school in diverse environments: Life-long, life-wide, life-deep. Seattle, WA: The LIFE Center, University of Washington. Retrieved 30 March 2016 from http://life-slc.org/docs/Banks_etal-LIFE-Diversity-Report.pdf.
  11. Bonderup Dohn, N. (2010). Situational interest of high school students who visit an aquarium. Science Education, 95(2), 337–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). New York: Greenwood.Google Scholar
  13. Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (2000). Reproduction in education, society and culture (2nd ed., R. Nice, Trans.). London: Sage.Google Scholar
  14. Burchenal, M. K., & Lasser, S. (2007). Beyond the field trip. In P. Villeneuve (Ed.), From periphery to center: Art museum education in the 21st century (pp. 103–109). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.Google Scholar
  15. Cameron, D. F. (2004). The museum, a temple or the forum. In G. Anderson (Ed.), Reinventing the museum: Historical and contemporary perspectives on the paradigm shift (pp. 61–73). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.Google Scholar
  16. Dewey, J. (1963 [1938]). Experience and education. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
  17. Eaglestone, R., & Langsford, B. (2008). Introduction. In R. Eaglestone & B. Langsford (Eds.), Teaching Holocaust literature and film (pp. 1–14). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Ellenbogen, K. M. (2002). Museums in family life: An ethnographic case study. In G. Leinhardt, K. Crowley, & K. Knutson (Eds.), Learning conversations in museums (pp. 81–101). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
  19. Eshach, H. (2006). Bridging in-school and out-of-school learning: Formal, non-formal, and informal education. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(2), 171–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. EU-FRA (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights). (2011). Discover the past for the future: The role of historical sites and museums in Holocaust education and human rights education in the EU. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Google Scholar
  21. Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2013). The museum experience revisited. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press Inc.Google Scholar
  22. Falk, J. H., & Sheppard, B. K. (2006). Thriving in the knowledge age: New business models for museums and other cultural institutions. Plymouth: AltaMira Press.Google Scholar
  23. Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind: How children think and how schools should teach. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
  24. Greene, J. P., Hitt, C., Kraybill, A., & Bogulski, C. A. (2015). Learning from live theater: Students realize gains in knowledge, tolerance, and more. EducationNext, 15(1), 54–61.Google Scholar
  25. Greene, J. P., Kisida, B., & Bowen, D. H. (2014). The educational value of field trips. EducationNext, 14(1), 78–86.Google Scholar
  26. Harker, R. J. W., & Badger, J. (2015). Traveling exhibitions as sites for informal learning: Assessing different strategies with field trips to traveling exhibitions at non-museum sites. Journal of Museum Education, 40(3), 268–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Hein, G. E. (1998). Learning in the museum. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  28. Irizarry, J. G., & Antrop-González, R. (2007). RicanStructing the discourse and promoting school success: Extending a theory of culturally responsive pedagogy to DiaspoRicans. Centro Journal, 19(2), 37–59.Google Scholar
  29. Kisida, B., Greene, J. P., & Bowen, D. H. (2014). Creating cultural consumers: The dynamics of cultural capital acquisition. Sociological of Education, 87(4), 281–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Knutson, K., Crowley, K., Russell, J. L., & Steiner, M. A. (2011). Approaching art education as an ecology: Exploring the role of museums. Studies in Art Education., 52(4), 310–322.Google Scholar
  31. Kydd, G. S. (2007). Moving beyond the classroom: Learning and the world of the art museum. In P. Villeneuve (Ed.), From periphery to center: Art museum education in the 21st century (pp. 117–121). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.Google Scholar
  32. Ladson-Billings, G. J. (1995). Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Ladson-Billings, G. J. (2001). Crossing over to Canaan: The journey of new teachers in diverse classrooms. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
  34. Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
  35. Lee, M. (2014). Bringing the best of two worlds together for social capital research in education: Social network analysis and symbolic interactionism. Educational Researcher, 43(9), 454–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Levi, N., & Rothberg, M. (2003). General introduction: Theory and the Holocaust. In N. Levi & M. Rothberg (Eds.), The Holocaust: Theoretical readings (pp. 1–22). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
  37. MacGregor, N. (2010). A history of the world in 100 objects. New York: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
  38. Martell, S. (2007). Informal (and unpaid) educators: How museum volunteer educators teach and learn. International Journal of Learning, 13(11), 149–153.Google Scholar
  39. Mayger, L. (2007). Making the most of field trips. Educational Leadership, 64(9) [online only]. Retrieved 15 July 2014 from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/summer07/vol64/num09/Making-the-Most-of-Field-Trips.aspx.
  40. McLean, K. (2011). Whose questions, whose conversations? In B. Adair, B. Filene, & L. Koloski (Eds.), Letting go: Sharing historical authority in a user-generated world (pp. 70–79). Philadelphia, PA: Pew Center for the Arts and Heritage.Google Scholar
  41. Melber, L. M. (2006). Learning in unexpected places: Empowering Latino parents. Multicultural Education, 13(4), 36–40.Google Scholar
  42. Melber, L. M. (2007). Informal learning and field trips: Engaging students in standards-based experiences across the K–5 curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.Google Scholar
  43. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, M. A. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). London: Sage.Google Scholar
  44. Milner, H. R. (2013). Analyzing poverty, learning, and teaching through a critical race theory lens. Review of Research in Education, 37(1), 1–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Moisan, S., Hirsch, S., & Audet, G. (2015). Holocaust education in Quebec: Teachers’ positioning and practices. McGill Journal of Education, 50(2/3), 247–268.Google Scholar
  46. Rennie, L. J., & Johnston, D. J. (2004). The nature of learning and its implications for research on learning from museums. Science Education, 88(Suppl. 1), s4–s16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2005). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.Google Scholar
  48. Russell-Ciardi, M. (2008). Building institution: Reflection on the Shared Journeys Program at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The Public Historian, 30(1), 39–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. Saldana, J. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
  50. Sandell, R. (2002). Museums and the combating of social inequality: Roles, responsibilities, resistance. In R. Sandell (Ed.), Museums, society, inequality (pp. 3–23). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  51. Scherrer, J. (2014). The role of the intellectual in eliminating the effects of poverty: A response to Tierney. Educational Researcher, 43(4), 201–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Simon, N. (2011). Participatory design and the future of museums. In B. Adair, B. Filene, & L. Koloski (Eds.), Letting go? Sharing historical authority in a user-generated world (pp. 18–33). Philadelphia, PA: The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.Google Scholar
  53. Tin-yau Lo, J. (2008). Learning in the museum: A case study. Pacific Asian Education, 20(2), 17–28.Google Scholar
  54. UN (United Nations). (1948). Universal declaration of human rights. General Assembly resolution 217 A. Paris: United Nations General Assembly. Retrieved 27 April 2016 from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/eng.pdf.
  55. United States Census Bureau (2016). Poverty thresholds [online database]. Suitland, MD: United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 4 February 2016 from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/index.html.
  56. USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). (n.d.). Guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust [online resource]. Washington, DC: USHMM. Retrieved 27 April 2016 from https://www.ushmm.org/educators/teaching-about-the-holocaust/general-teaching-guidelines.
  57. USHMM (2013). Fighting the fires of hate: America and the Nazi book burnings. Retrieved 4 May 2013 from http://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/traveling-exhibitions/fighting-the-fires-of-hate.
  58. Vascellaro, S. (2012). Out of the classroom and into the world. New York: The New Press.Google Scholar
  59. Vice, S., & Bodger, G. (2008). Issues arising from teaching Holocaust film and literature. In R. Eaglestone & B. Langsford (Eds.), Teaching Holocaust literature and film (pp. 15–27). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Watermeyer, R. (2015). Science engagement at the museum school: Teacher perspectives on the contribution of museum pedagogy to science teaching. British Educational Research Journal, 41(5), 886–905.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  61. Weinstein, C., Curran, M., & Tomlinson-Clarke, S. (2004). Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(1), 25–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  62. Wertsch, J. V. (1997). Narrative tools of history and identity. Culture and Psychology, 3(1), 5–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  63. Wolcott, H. F. (1994). The art of fieldwork. London: Altamira Press.Google Scholar
  64. Yan, W. (1999). Successful African American students: The role of parental involvement. The Journal of Negro Education, 68(1), 5–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  65. Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
  66. Yosso, T. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.College of EducationUniversity of North GeorgiaDahlonegaUSA
  2. 2.Museum of History & Holocaust EducationKennesaw State UniversityKennesawUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options