Education In Museums And Heritage (Erasmus Mundus Scholarship)

The programme includes placements, language learning and a minimum of three mobility periods in Europe. The EMJM Education in Museums and Heritage Programme (EDUMaH) offers rich opportunities to consider central themes, writings and policies associated with the field of museum education. Students on the programme will explore a range of theoretical perspectives that underpin past, present and evolving practices in museum and heritage education. To support and extend your thinking, you will also explore museum and heritage sites in-situ and learn from practitioners in the field.

You will research and consider the types of educational experiences people have in/through museums and heritage organisations, debating core themes and how they should be experienced so that learning in and through the museum is perceived as a meaningful, authentic and vital pursuit for all. The programme includes an educational research core that equips students with the knowledge and skills to conduct research projects and to work towards a dissertation in the field of museum education. As part of the Programme you will also undertake a placement in a museum suited to your experience and interests.

The specific aims of the programme are:  

• offer an integrated, international and coherent programme of study that explores the social, historical, culturaland physical contexts of museums and heritage as sites and sources for learning as well as critical methodologies through which to evaluate and critique the corpus of M&H literature, research and policy. 

• examine the political challenges that museums face when cultivating its resources for knowledge development/exchange and identity formation based on the meeting between regional/national, European and International values. 
• examine the practical and ethical implications of new business models for museums through hands on experiences in museums dedicated to visitor attraction, business partnership and investment management. 
  
  
• examine the practical and political implications and challenges which surfaces when a museum exploits its potential for social cohesion, intercultural dialogue and social change and the impact on public engagement and learning. 
  
  
• contribute to the student’s reflection on commonalities and differences in preconditions, traditions and the potential in different museum categories in Europe and internationally, such as archaeological museums, cultural history museums, technical museums, art museums, natural history museums and open-air museums. 
  
  
• broaden and deepen students’ critical understanding of the implications when using different collections and spaces for exhibition work and the relation to access, lifelong learning and participatory governance. 

• broaden and deepen students’ critical understanding of the implications of making collections accessible through digital means and the impact of technologies on accessibility to learning and the engagement of learners. 
  
  
• offer an opportunity for the students to experience how post-modern museums work through using and engaging a vast variety of professional and personal competences, which may include both academic and non-academic background in a variety of fields as well as lifetime competences from volunteers, focus groups etc. 

Knowledge and Understanding: 

By the end of this programme students will be able to: 

• assess critically, discuss and debate the ideas of leading EMH theorists and develop an awareness of enquiry methodologies and research literacies in order to apply their thinking and undertake their own enquiries in relation to analysis, empirical research and professional practice in the EU and globally. 
  
  
• draw on their field placement experience to think critically about challenging issues regarding theory, policy and practice in ways that enable new and alternative approaches to their professional practice. In so doing, students will have interrogated their own values and attitudes, drawing on key employability skills developed through one or more work placements. 
  
  
• identify and critically analyse examples of theory and practice in different contexts in a way that increases responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity. 

Subject-specific/practical skills 

By the end of this programme students will be able to: 

• synthesise learning styles theory to design and apply creative approaches to facilitate and enrich learning, social and cultural experiences using a wide range of museum and heritage texts within different contexts in Europe and globally. 
  
  
• deconstruct, analyse and validate current trends and developments across the range and diversity of contexts for EMH, both in the EU and international contexts, in order to contribute to planning, implementing, evaluating and forming policy around EMH projects in Europe and globally. 
  
  
• articulate critical arguments that demonstrate an understanding of, and concern for the potential of the museum and the heritage site to address social and cultural issues impacting 21st century life in a transitional perspective. 

• develop and apply technological skills to build online digital museum and heritage education sites and effectively utilise technologies to promote and engage learners from pre-5 to adults. 

CONSORTIUM

We are an international consortium composed of four higher education partner institutions. EDUMaH draws on the global expertise, experience and networks of several Associate Partners from the EU and beyond, who will offer work-based learning placements, master classes and guest lectures from some of the world’s leading scholars in these fields.