Evaluative research of school visits: towards professionalization of museum educators

Abstract

In the last decade in Spain, a major boost in the Heritage Education has been developed in the evaluative research applied to educational programs of museums and other heritage institutions. Nevertheless, one of the fields that are not yet fully developed is related to the professionalization of museum educators. In this respect, this study aims to inquire into the guided visits and the interaction between educator-school public. The objective of the study is to identify factors involved in its development to contribute towards the definition of a group that, even though it is key, is not fully recognized at a professional level. Therefore, and with 3 non-participating observers, 40 guided visits have been monitored in 7 Asturian museums of History. The participants who took part in the study were students from 1st year of Primary School to 2nd year of Higher Secondary Education (843 students) and 18 educators. The results highlight the importance of a) the initial training of educators and its consistency with the museum; b) the professional experience in the museum and the employment stability; c) the school year of students and the relationship with the classwork and the museum theme. These findings can help to create new lines of research that may delve into the professionalization of educators and improve the educational quality in non-formal contexts.