Museums as a pedagogical tool in education: Factors influencing pre-service teachers’ intention to use it in teaching
Abstract
We spend most of our lives learning outside the formal education system, i.e. schools, in non-formal and even informal education environments by building on experience. Museums are a non-formal and highly communicative locus of education that appeals to all ages, in many cases even to children under 2 years old. Today’s museums are recognised as educational institutions and are constantly working to enhance this role. However, there are certain issues identified in the museum-school relationship and more specifically regarding the teachers’ role in using museums as a tool in their teaching to invite learning. This research paper examines the attitudes and perceptions of pre-service teachers towards museums and the museum experience as a pedagogical tool, attempting to shed light on the factors that influence their intention to use it in the classroom. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model was used as a research framework. Our population consisted of students in university departments of early childhood, preschool, and primary education, in their last year of studies and our sample was selected by random sampling. The data were analysed and processed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The results showed strong intentions by future educators to use museums and the museum experience as a pedagogical tool, while attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control explained 76.7% of the variance in intention. The findings offer a wealth of insights that can contribute significantly to the design of educational policy for each level of education. This policy could be aligned with current international trends for hands-on experiences in education through utilization of non-formal forms of learning, while focusing on pedagogy and culture.
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Dimitriadi, S., & Malafantis, K. (2022). Museums as a pedagogical tool in education: Factors influencing pre-service teachers’ intention to use it in teaching. Preschool and Primary Education, 10(2), 122–152. https://doi.org/10.12681/ppej.27843 (Original work published November 1, 2022)
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