Museum education

An article published in the June bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1906 features one of the first uses of the term docent and the description of its functions.

It said, "It has been proposed to the Trustees to consider the permanent appointment of one or more persons of intelligence and education who could act as intermediaries between Curators and the many who would be glad to avail themselves of trained instruction in our galleries.

Schools across the country began making field trips to museums for educational programs, and at the same time a greater emphasis was being placed on collecting and volunteerism.

[5] Speaking on his conceptualization of the perfect museum volunteer educator candidate, Wittmann said, “She is a married woman, thirty to thirty-five years old, with one or two children in school, and a husband in an executive position.

Most important — she has a curiosity, imagination, and enthusiasm, and she believes in the importance of your organization to the community”[5]In 1968, in his first report as the first Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture, Philip H. Coombs emphasized the increment of the educative needs of the world's population after World War II.

A 2019 demographic study demonstrated a long-standing homogeneity among art museum educators, who tend to be White, heterosexual, cisgender women between the ages of 26-40 with spouses but without care-taking responsibilities.

[8] These demographics point to historical conditions of low pay and pervasiveness of unpaid internships, which limit participation to those with access to other sources of income.

67% of surveyed museums reported needing to cut back on education, programming, and other public service due to budget shortfalls and/or staff reductions.

[18] Due to these forced closures and out of the interest of abiding by pandemic safety guidelines, museums began turning to the digital realm for programming and educational efforts.

[22] Other pedagogical strategies include Feldman's Model of Art Criticism,[23] aesthetic scanning,[24] and FTC Palette [25][26] The Museum Education Division of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) has over 620 members across North America, working through regional representatives and task forces.