Perceptions of educational agents regarding the use of school visits to museums for the teaching of history

Abstract

(1) The use of heritage in fieldwork, enabling the analysis of historical sources in museums via school trips, contributes towards the development of historical thinking and the formation of active, participative and critical citizens within the field of formal education (2) The general objective of the present study is to estimate the value which teachers and museum educators confer upon museums and school visits in the stages of early years, primary and secondary education. The research method employed is quantitative, based on the study of a descriptive comparative crosssectional survey. The participants are 442 teachers, who visited two archaeological museums with their class groups in order to carry out an activity relating to the subject of history, and 18 museum educators. The data collection tool was the MUSELA © questionnaire. (3) The main results indicate that both teachers and educators agree that it is the responsibility of the educator to connect the visit with the interests of the group. 70% of the museum educators are totally in agreement with the academic perspective provided by museums, and more than 75% of the teachers and museum educators are totally in agreement with the fact that the objective of museum visits is to increase knowledge and cultural experience. (4) Educational agents’ understanding of the use of visits to archaeological museums as field trips for history work is a challenge that must be confronted over the coming decade. It is necessary to promote a model of collaboration that develops interaction by generating common educational projects.