Sufficient Foundation: Theory in the Practice of Art Museum Education

Abstract

Abstract Three groups of museum educators were invited to list theories that inform their practice at annual conventions of the National Art Education Association and at a workshop sponsored by the Museum Educators of Southern California. Most educators cited psychological theories of learning, beginning with Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and Csikszentmihalyi’s flow or psychology of optimal experience, stage theories of development beginning with Piaget, and constructivist theories of learning and meaning making beginning with Dewey, Vygotsky, and Falk and Dierking’s contextual model of free choice learning. There was little evidence of interest in critical pedagogy or in other critical theories that problematize our understanding of art, art history, or the nature and function of museums. Museum educators have adopted theories to which they have been exposed through their education and professional networking, which facilitate their practical work as educators, and which are easy to implement, such as the questions to guide novice viewers in Housen and Yenawine’s Visual Thinking Strategies. Educators do not cite theories which might address their professionalstatus within their museums or the position of their institutions within a global economy.