Young people and contemporary art museums

Project realised by Martina De Luca as part of a PhD in Experimental Pedagogy, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, , in collaboration with the Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna Young people and contemporary art museums

Phase 1: Context analysis Survey of school presences in the Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna Questionnaire for teachers: “The museum as an educational resource”

Young people and contemporary art museums Presences within the Gallery: a)Mainly secondary schools b)Choice of tours guided by teachers c)Choice of tours visiting the whole museum

Young people and contemporary art museums Questionnaire for teachers: a)Teachers actively visit the museum b)Difficulty in realizing long-term and complex activities in co-operation with the museum c)Difficulty in linking the visit with school curricula

Young people and contemporary art museums The research problem: How can a museum visit be structured in order to foster a learning process and a spontaneous use of its collection? Which kind of tools can museums offer to facilitate teachers in their work?

Young people and contemporary art museums Phase 2: Realization of visit itineraries What is a museum Artistic techniques Preparation and realization of a report addressed to teachers

Questionnaire for pupils (to be delivered in the classroom) Orientation activities (carried out by teachers at school) Guided tour led by Giulia in the Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna Young people and contemporary art museums Phase 3: The activities

Young people and contemporary art museums Questionnaire for pupils after the guided tour, to be answered to at the museum Follow up at school carried out by teachers Final questionnaire to be answered to in the classroom Interviews to teachers Phase 3: The activities

The sample 452 high school students Young people and contemporary art museums

Selection criteria: School location (centre, suburban area, etc.) Type of curricula Students’ age (16 or 18) Young people and contemporary art museums

The guided tour Young people and contemporary art museums What is a museum?

Length of the visit: one hour and a half Itinerary (chosen with teachers): the entrance hall and no more than two rooms Young people and contemporary art museums

Differences between 19th and 20th centuries art

STRATEGY Informal tour, based on the dialogue and on a co-learning approach Young people and contemporary art museums

A double experience of learning I was a student of the Master Class in “Museum educational services” of Cattolica University, Milan I’m 26 years old, therefore pupils see me almost as one of them Young people and contemporary art museums

The results- some remarks A new idea of young people cultural consumptions Enjoyment of the tour by teachers and pupils Wish to come back to the museum Improvement of pupils’ interaction ability in comparison with the school context Change of perception of what a museum is Increased knowledge of the issues/themes they dealt with Young people and contemporary art museums

Pupils had difficulty to interpret collections and works of art because of their bad historical knowledge. Link with school curricula Difficulty in building a fruitful relationship between teachers and museum staff. Difficulty in trying to make school timetable coincide with museum activities Critical points