Are We on the Same Page? Family and Museum Staff Perceptions of Engagement and Learning

Abstract

Museums are designed to engage families with young children with a welcoming, safe and stimulating environment and museum staff are central to achieving this mission. What staff know about and how they interact with young children and their parents, however, is rarely investigated. This article presents research involving staff and families interacting in a large city museum. The research sought to document and compare a sample of family and staff views and experiences, with the findings showing a positive alignment of views in relation to goals, engagement and learning. Perceptions of if, when and how staff should interact with families are varied and contextualized, highlighting how staff have to be aware of and attuned to attuned to the interests and needs of families.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all the children, families and museum staff who were so supportive during this research and, in particular, to Dr. Liz Suda, Museums Victoria.

Notes

1 Family groups make up 42% of visitors to Museums Victoria, and a further 18% are education groups. 44% of children visiting the museum are under the age of 5 (Museums Victoria, 2015).

2 Children are accompanied to museums by a range of adults including parents, other family members and guardians. For ease of reference, we have used ‘parents’ to denote all these possible adults throughout this paper.

3 This research did not compare responses based on roles as there were not enough respondents in each category to generalise.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the McCoy Seed Funding Scheme granted to Neryl Jeanneret at The University of Melbourne for Interpreting and Enabling Child and Family Engagement in Museums.

Notes on contributors

Robert Brown

Robert Brown, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer of Arts Education in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne. His research focuses on early childhood professionals, teachers, artists and museum educators working with children and young people in formal and informal learning settings, including public arts programs, museums and galleries. He is member of Australia’s UNESCO Observatory of Arts Education. Email: [email protected].

Neryl Jeanneret

Neryl Jeanneret is an Associate Professor and Head of Music Education in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on artists working with children and young people, engagement in music classrooms, creativity and teacher education in the arts. She has been President of the Australian Society for Music Education, Chair of the International Society for Music Education’s Policy Commission and is a member of Australia’s UNESCO Observatory of Arts Education. She is a Fellow of the Australian Society of Music Education.

Jennifer Andersen

Jennifer Andersen, PhD, is an arts educator and researcher at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on out-of-school programs led by museum educators, artists and actors, and the impact of these programs on child and family engagement.