An analysis of educational programmes for adults accompanying museum exhibitions: the typology of portals

Abstract

This paper discusses the many educational programmes offered to adults in parallel with museum exhibitions. These were systematically examined using programme analysis, a research method developed in adult education research in Germany, with the goal of determining and differentiating between learning/participation pathways to cultural education—the so-called portals to arts education. An analytical approach to cultural adult education developed in 2005 was used for the first time to identify these various portals in museum offerings. This approach defines portals as specific pathways to arts education. The process described in this paper resulted in a refined and relatively stable set of categories that differentiates between educational programmes accompanying museum exhibits; it also resulted in a better understanding of the range of cultural education offerings for adults in Germany today. Within this framework, the method of programme analysis, research results, limitations, implications, and possible implementation are discussed.