What Did You Learn at the Museum Today? Second Study

What did you learn at the museum today? Second study Evaluation of the outcomes and impact of learning through the implementation of the Education Programme Delivery Plan across nine Regional Hubs (2005)

February 2006

Eilean Hooper-Greenhill Jocelyn Dodd Lisanne Gibson Martin Phillips Ceri Jones Emma Sullivan

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) Victoria House Southampton Row London WC1B 4AE Tel. +44 (0) 20 7273 1444 www.mla.gov.uk

The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is a strategic agency working for and on behalf of museums, archives and libraries and advising the Government on policy and priorities for the sector. Our mission is to enable the collections and services of museums, archives and libraries to touch the lives of everyone. MLA is a Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

MLA is not responsible for views expressed by consultants or those cited from other sources

ISBN 1-903743-92-3

Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG) Department of Museum Studies University of Leicester 105 Princess Road East Leicester LE1 7LG tel. + 44 (0)116 252 3995 www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/

CONTENTS:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i

SECTION ONE: CONTEXT AND AIMS OF THE RESEARCH 1

SECTION TWO: RESEARCH METHODS 13

SECTION THREE: SCHOOL VISITS TO MUSEUMS 49

SECTION FOUR: TEACHERS’ USE OF MUSEUMS 85

SECTION FIVE: THE VALUE OF MUSEUMS TO TEACHERS 117

SECTION SIX: TEACHERS’ VIEWS OF THE IMPACT OF THE 163 MUSEUM VISIT ON THEIR PUPILS

SECTION SEVEN: PUPILS’ VIEWS ON THE IMPACT OF THE 195 MUSEUM VISIT ON THEIR LEARNING

SECTION EIGHT: THE IMPACT OF RENAISSANCE FUNDING IN 269 REGIONAL MUSEUMS

SECTION NINE: THE RESEARCH FINDINGS 291

APPENDICES

CONTENTS IN DETAIL

KEY FINDINGS i

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vi

SECTION ONE: CONTEXT AND AIMS OF THE RESEARCH 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Government policies and museum education 1 1.2 Renaissance in the Regions 5 1.3 Researching the impact of Renaissance funding in the Phase 1 6 Hub museums. What did you learn at the museum today?, 2003 1.4 Building on the first study: a second study and its aims 8 1.5 Specific objectives of the second study 8 1.6 Research planning 9 1.7 Research team 9 1.8 Timetable for the research 10 1.9 Research ethics 11 1.10 Conclusion 12

SECTION TWO: RESEARCH METHODS 2.0 Introduction 13 2.1 Collecting and generating evidence for the second study 14 2.1.1 The museums in this study 14 2.1.2 Using multiple methods 17 2.1.3 Reviewing and modifying the methods from the first 20 study 2.1.4 The relationship between the research objectives 22 and the research methods 2.1.5 A range of types of evidence 24 2.1.6 Analysis and interpretation 24 2.2 Research processes 26 2.2.1 Managing the timetable 26 2.2.2 The forms and the museums 27 2.2.3 Forms A and B: the Teachers‟ and the Pupils‟ 30 Questionnaires – the Evaluation Packs 2.2.4 Form C: Numerical data collection of the use of 35 museums by school-aged children September and October 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 2.2.5 Form D: The impact of Renaissance funding on 36 museums and education 2.2.6 Three focus groups 36 2.2.7 Three case-studies 40 2.2.8 Seminars with museums 45 2.3 Conclusion 47

SECTION THREE: SCHOOL VISITS TO MUSEUMS 3.0 Introduction 49 3.1 Volume of school-aged children visiting or using museums in 50 September and October 2005 3.1.1 Increase in contacts with school-aged children for 53 Phase 1 and 2 museums 3.1.2 Using Form C to estimate the number of teachers 56 3.2 Numbers of teachers completing Form A, the Teachers‟ 57 Questionnaire 3.2.1 The teachers completing Form A in each of the 58 Hubs 3.3 The schools using the 69 museums – the number of „single visits‟ 60 3.4 The schools using the 69 museums – the types of school 62 3.5 Matching the proportion of school types in this study with the 66 national breakdown of schools by type 3.6 Where did the schools come from? What do t