Questioning the Entrance Narrative

Doering, Zahava D.; Pekarik, Andrew J.

doi:10.4324/9781315416496-33

Cited by 18 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Although issues like education and income no doubt played a role in these patterns, findings suggest that other factors were likely at play; perhaps things like the desire to facilitate the learning of children and/or issues related to identity (cf. Doering & Pekarik, ; Falk, ; Moussouri, ; Packer & Ballantyne, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlating Science Center Use With Adult Science Literacy: An International, Cross-Institutional Study

et al. 2016

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This international investigation was designed to determine if, and under what circumstances experiences at science centers, significantly correlated with a range of adult general public science and technology literacy measures. Given the complex and cumulative nature of science and technology learning, and the highly variable and free‐choice nature of science center experiences, an epidemiological research approach was used. Quantitative surveys were administered to 6,089 adults living in 17 communities located in 13 countries; all with active science centers. Data collection and analysis protocols ensured a representative sampling based on age, education, and income from each of the 17 participating communities. Results showed that individuals who used science centers had significantly higher understanding, interest and curiosity, participation in free‐choice leisure activities, and identity relative to science and technology than did individuals who did not visit; even when potential self‐selection biases such as income, education level, and prior interest were taken into consideration. These findings significantly strengthen the argument that the presence of one or more healthy and active science centers within a community, region, or country represents a vital investment for fostering and maintaining a scientifically and technologically informed, engaged, and literate public.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlating Science Center Use With Adult Science Literacy: An International, Cross-Institutional Study

et al. 2016

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“…Clearly, the particular register of engagement that these strategies connect with during a museum visit depends to a great extent on the visitors' entrance narratives, the 'internal story' that they bring with them into the museum (Doering and Pekarik 1996;Falk and Dierking 2013). To ensure true engagement with the museum narrative, the design of an exhibition and objects on display must connect to visitors' stories (Schorch 2015).…”

Section: Distance and Engagement While Learning About History In Museumsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical empathy in a museum: uniting contextualisation and emotional engagement

Savenije

Bruijn

2017

International Journal of Heritage Studies

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Museums, memorial centres and other heritage institutions use various strategies to evoke an emotional response that serves to elicit empathy with the historical events and actors that are portrayed in exhibitions. To increase historical understanding, however, both emotional engagement with and contextual understanding of these historical figures are needed. Using the concept of historical empathy, this paper examines the continuous interplay between cognitive and affective dimensions of history learning in museums. We conducted a case study at Museon in The Hague, the Netherlands. We studied a learning session on children living through the Second World War, the museum's strategies employed in the exhibition, the entrance narratives of secondary school students participating in the session and their engagement with the exhibition and with the educational activities. While most of the students did not feel related to WWII prior to their museum visit, the museum managed to engage many of them with personal stories and artefacts and by offering multiple and new perspectives. Our findings underscore the interplay between cognitive and affective dimensions of historical empathy and show that museums can serve as powerful contexts for developing this skill among school students.

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“…Ideally, museum visitors gain new understandings that enhance their pre‐existing knowledge base, but the literature on museum education indicates this is an on‐going challenge. A 1996 essay by Doering and Pekarik identifies the powerful tendency for museum visitors to simply confirm their “entrance narrative,” stating, “They may not want to learn much more specific detail than they already know, and they certainly do not intend to have their narratives radically revised ( https://www.jstor.org/stable/40479072). ”…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspective‐Taking Can Lead to Increased Bias: A Call for ‘Less Certain’ Positions in American Indian Contexts

Mithlo¹,

Sherman²

2020

Curator The Museum Journal

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This paper presents findings from research conducted by two U.S. scholars from divergent disciplinary fields (Indigenous studies, cognitive science) and backgrounds (Chiricahua Apache, first‐generation U.S. immigrant) under a National Endowment for the Arts grant (2015‐2018). Our goal was to assess perceptions of American Indian peoples reflected in verbal responses (and in the lab settings, eye gaze) to historic photographs with the aim of enhancing visual competencies and deepening cultural interpretation in museum settings. Data was drawn from museum visitors at the Autry Museum of the American West and undergraduate students in a lab setting at Occidental College, both in Los Angeles, CA. Our findings indicate that perspective‐taking methods employed across both field sites do not alter enmeshed and persistent bias for interpreting American Indian lives. Participants who took the perspective of the subject and even adequately visually described the photograph still tended to engage in conventional narratives (i.e. stereotypes) unrooted in comprehension of living Native communities. These findings starkly expose the distance that largely non‐Native institutions must travel to fully reach the equity and inclusion efforts museums aspire to. Generalized diversity efforts in museum education based on empathy or simple description (as found in Visual Thinking Strategies) are not effective means of comprehending difference as viewers are not equipped to adequately draw independent conclusions free of bias. We argue that, especially in museum settings, where emotions are heightened, educators may productively consider methods of encouraging visitors to forestall conclusion‐making and to embrace uncertainty.

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Questioning the Entrance Narrative

Cited by 18 publications

References 1 publication

Correlating Science Center Use With Adult Science Literacy: An International, Cross-Institutional Study

Correlating Science Center Use With Adult Science Literacy: An International, Cross-Institutional Study

Historical empathy in a museum: uniting contextualisation and emotional engagement

Perspective‐Taking Can Lead to Increased Bias: A Call for ‘Less Certain’ Positions in American Indian Contexts

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