Vol. 24 No. 2
ADULT LEARNING
Refereed
Articles
FEATURES
John Dewey and Adult Learning in Museums
David F. Monk, MA1
Abstract: The objective of this article is to investigate
Dewey’s educational philosophy and its implications
for museum learning theory, I can illustrate the
relevance of museums as alternative sites of learning
for adult educators.
learning in museums through the lens of John
Dewey’s philosophy of education and experiential
learning. The influence of
Dewey’s philosophy of education
Keywords: Dewey, museum
is widespread and resounding.
Museums have a learning, adult education,
In this article, I examine the
long history of educational philosophy
experiential qualities of Dewey’s
philosophy and compare it with
educating the public Education in order to
the objectives of the museum
accomplish its ends both for
through informal
educational experience, explaining
the individual learner and for
the relevance to adult education.
and nonformal
society must be based upon
There can be no doubt that
experience—which is always
learning, and the
museums are unique arenas
the actual life-experience of
for learning, made rich by the
some individual.
power to confront
experiential nature of their
John Dewey on education
individuals’ schemata
environment. They have a long
(1938, p. 89)
history of educating the public
and transform the
through informal and nonformal
It is Satisfying to think that
way people view the
learning. Through their interactive
our knowledge—the history
nature, museums have the
we feel passionate about, the
world.”
aesthetics we espouse, or the
power to confront individuals’
science we have learned as
schemata and transform the
universal
truths—can
be taught (and learned) by
way people view the world. Recent museum
allowing visitors to explore and use their minds.
educational theory focuses on the social, personal,
and physical interactions that combine to create
George E. Hein on museum learning
meaningful learning experiences. Museums are
(1998, p. 31)
often not given the consideration they deserve as
he objective of this article is to investigate learnmeaningful centers for learning, especially in adult
ing in museums through the lens of John Dewey’s
education. It is my hope that through a discussion of
philosophy of education and experiential
“
T
DOI: 10.1177/1045159513477842. From 1University of Victoria, Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Address correspondence to: David F.
Monk, 10-821 Tyee Road Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V9A 7R2; email: capelton15@gmail.com
For reprints and permissions queries, please visit SAGE’s Web site at http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermission.nav.
Copyright © 2013 The Author(s)
63
ADULT LEARNING
learning. The influence of Dewey’s philosophy of education is widespread and resounding. Two fundamental questions guide this article: What are the links
between adult education and museum learning? Why
is there not more integration between museums and
adult education? In this article, I examine the experiential qualities of Dewey’s philosophy and compare it
with the objectives of the museum educational experience, explaining the relevance to adult education.
When I was in Vietnam, I had the opportunity to
visit the Cucci tunnels museum. This outdoor museum
portrayed a view of history I had not considered—the
Vietcong as victors in the Vietnam War. The museum
included parts of hidden tunnels stretching some
250 kilometers, reaching all the way to Cambodia.
They were three-levels deep, complete with kitchens,
rooms, and secret entrances. I was able to see and
touch a variety of weapons, and their effects through
pictures, including homemade grenades and pits with
spikes inside. With the aid of guides, visitors can crawl
through the tiny, pitch black tunnels if they dare,
stand in gigantic bomb craters, eat in an underground
dining room, and try to find the entrances from above.
I could barely fit in the tunnels, and could feel the
terror big American soldiers must have experienced
going through them blind. The 100 meters I crawled
through were certainly enough for me. Not only did my
preconceived notions of the Vietnam War shift, but so
did my interpretation of the world.
The learning experience I just described was an
experiential process that involved a guide who
facilitated my physical interaction with the environment
and social surroundings to help me form a unique
and memorable learning experience. The experience
enabled me to interact with my previous experience
of learning about the Vietnam War, challenging
my preconceived notions of history, and provided
continuity of experience as I developed a new and
more critical way of interpreting both historical and
current events.
Museums have a long history of educating the public
through informal and nonformal learning. Through
their interactive nature, they have the power to
confront individuals’ schemata and transform the way
people view the world. Recent museum educational
theory focuses on the social, personal, and physical
interactions that combine to create learning experiences
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May 2013
for adults such as the one described above. Museums
are often not given the consideration they deserve as
meaningful centers for learning, especially in adult
education. It is my hope that through a discussion
of Dewey’s (1966) educational philosophy and its
implications for museum learning theory, I can
illustrate the relevance of museums to adult education.
Museums are a vast resource that adult educators
should be cognizant of, promote, and make greater
use of through field trips. Findings from this review
suggest there is room for greater coordination of adult
educational theory in museums, and Dewey’s theory of
experiential learning could be a good place to start.
I would like to emphasize, that although museums
are inherently experiential in nature, many museums
do not engage the learner to provide a continuity and
interaction of experience which, according to Dewey
(1963), is a vital part of learning. Learners should be
given the space to reflect on their past experiences
to challenge the status quo and think critically
about new experiences in the future. The role of the
museum curator in facilitating such thought is much
like that of a teacher in a classroom and is extremely
important. Similarly, adult education theory teaches
critical thought, reflection, and action (Freire, 1968).
Museums are an often overlooked educational tool for
adult educators, and increased interaction between the
two fields would prove beneficial to both. Although
Dewey’s (1963) focus is primarily on how children
learn, the experiential nature can also be interpreted as
relevant to adult learning.
Theoretical Foundations: John Dewey and
Experiential Learning
John Dewey’s educational theory was extremely
influential in the 20th century and remains significant
today. John Dewey (1966) claimed his philosophy of
education is based on a social need and is defined
as “an explicit formulation of the problems of the
formation of right mental and moral habitudes in
respect to the difficulties of contemporary social life”
(p. 331). He considers philosophy of education to be
the theory of life. This is not to say that philosophy
and education are coterminous, but as Noddings
(2007) pointed out, for Dewey it was the most
important branch of philosophy because all others
depend on it in some manner. Therefore, for Dewey
Vol. 24 No. 2
(1966), education becomes intertwined with moral
and social goods. He highlights the importance of
education, including social aspects such as occupations
of the household, agriculture, manufacturing,
transportation, and intercourse “so as to enable the
coming generation to acquire a comprehension
now too generally lacking” (Dewey, 1966, p. 275).
Education is about providing tools for individuals to
grow, live, and contribute to society.
In Democracy and Education, Dewey (1966) criticized
traditional educational practice as “teaching by pouring
in, learning by a passive absorption” (p. 36). He
interpreted learning as a social process through which
the mature should impart knowledge and skills to
make the young successful in life. He claims learning
is a process that depends on students establishing
meaning in what they learn. Dewey suggested schools
should encourage greater opportunity for the active
participation of the students, so they can achieve
a social sense of their own powers. He warns the
tendency of the teacher risked being one of enforcer
rather than a guide or facilitator in traditional schools.
Dewey (1963) cautioned that because of the traditional
method of teaching and the lack of student input in
lessons, students are less able to relate, become passive,
and thus learning is sacrificed. He claims that in such
cases, the gap between adult experiences and those
of the young is “so wide that the very situation forbids
much active participation by pupils in the development
of what is being taught” (Dewey, 1963, p. 17). Through
greater student involvement, this assumed gap can
be removed. Similarly, in Pedagogy of the Oppressed,
adult educator, Paulo Freire (1968), suggested too often
teachers view students’ minds as empty vessels to be
filled in the same manner that money is deposited in a
bank account.
Dewey (1963) reinforced that learning depends
on the quality of an experience. He explained the
activity can either be initiated by the environment or
individual. He noted learning does not necessarily
involve only the subject matter but can take place
on several levels. For Dewey (1966), the concept of
prior knowledge and experience of the individual
and the society is very important. He highlights
continuity and interaction as being prime aspects of
experiential learning and explains experience is
ADULT LEARNING
no longer a mere summarizing of what has been
done in a more or less chance way in the past; it
is a deliberate control of what is done with reference to making what happens to us and what we
do to things as fertile as possible of suggestions
(of suggested meanings) and a means for trying
out the validity of the suggestions. (Dewey, 1966,
p. 273)
This means experience is experimental and involves
the interaction of past experiences with the present
situation as well as between people and their natural
and social environment. For Dewey (1966), learning is
a process whereby the individual reacts to, learns from,
and builds on experiences. He posited experiences
are continuous in that they build on each other, each
one affecting future experiences. Continuity signifies
that each experience influences a person whether it
is for better or for worse. Therefore, the educator is
responsible to see where the experience is heading
and to guide the learner appropriately (Dewey, 1963).
To accomplish this, Dewey believed the educator
must have knowledge of the individual and social
environment and considered all experiences to be
essentially social involving interaction, contact, and
communication with the environment (Dewey, 1966).
Dewey (1966) attested the learning experience is
essentially a mental one so, while active or even
physical involvement is important, learning will not
take place unless there is understanding of what
it consists of, why one is performing the action,
and how it interacts with past experiences. Dewey
explained this meaning can be made by thinking
about what is done, for what purpose, and with what
consequences. Therefore, reflection is an important
aspect of a learning experience, especially when
considering continuity of experience. Dewey was clear
that learning is formed through the continuity and
interaction of experiences.
Dewey (1966) emphasized the social nature of
learning and explained the importance of the
educator’s role. As a facilitator of learning experiences,
the educator enables the learner to reflect on the
outcomes of a current situation based on past
experience, and form new knowledge and skills
as instruments of understanding to effectively deal
with situations in the future. Dewey was critical of
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ADULT LEARNING
traditional schools because they deposit information
in the minds of passive learners. In this situation,
educators risk becoming enforcers rather than
facilitating experiences that are relevant to the
learner, which challenge them to think and construct
knowledge for themselves.
Similarly, while museums are experiential in nature,
the manner in which traditional museums convey
information is often static, simply depositing facts
to the passive learner. To create a meaningful and
engaging learning experience, museums stand to
learn from Dewey’s theory of education. Curators
and docents assume the role of educators and have
the responsibility to facilitate significant learning
experiences that encourage reflection and interaction of
experiences and foster continuity through growth.
Linking Dewey, Adult Learning, and
Museum Education
As previously mentioned, Dewey’s experiential
learning theory is primarily focused on children, but
his theory of experiential learning also embodies adult
learning principles. In this section, I outline some of
the theory behind learning in museums. To clarify the
importance of museums as alternative learning sites for
adult educators, I make links to adult learning theory in
museums.
Museums are an important resource often overlooked
by adult educators. Dewey believed museums are
important learning spaces. Hein (2004) outlined some
of the direct references that Dewey made to education
in museums. He explained, “Dewey consistently
described the ideal school as an institution that
includes libraries and museums in an organic whole
in which life-experiences and specialized-experiences
such as reading and museum visits are unified” (p.
418). Hein also pointed out the Laboratory Schools
set-up by Dewey made substantial use of museums in
education. Dewey was critical of traditional museums
to the same degree he was critical of traditional
schools. Museums that simply convey facts do not
engage visitors to make meaning of the learning
experience or challenge them to think. In addition,
they risk imposing the facts from the point of view of
hegemonic social forces. Hein notes, that for Dewey,
the ideal museum would reflect life experiences
outside of the school or museum and suggested that
therein lay the challenge for museums today.
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Ansbacher (1998) emphasized the quality of
experience, as discussed by Dewey, is important for
learning to take place in museums. Similarly, Hein
(1998) established learning in museums should be
an interactive process between the visitor and the
exhibition and, therefore, must consider the experience
and prior knowledge of the individual. “We see a
combination of meaning making based on the interests
and background the visitors bring with them and visitor
reaction to the topics and objects provided by the
museum (Hein, 1998, p. 147).
E. W. Taylor (2010), an adult education theorist,
discussed informal learning in museums. He defines
informal learning for adults in museums as “the
incidental unplanned and unconscious learning that is
most prevalent as visitors wander around” (p. 6). E. W.
Taylor (2010) referred to informal learning in a museum
as incidental, unplanned, and unconscious in terms
of no guide or set tour, rather visitors approach and
engage with exhibits on their own. The learner does
not rely on another to explain a meaning, but interprets
meaning for self. The process involves numerous
factors, including motivation for visiting the museum,
prior knowledge, and exhibit arrangement. Therefore,
the layout and method by which the museum’s
exhibition captures attention and communicates with
the visitor is vital to the informal learning experience.
For example, Bradburne (2001) provided an excellent
example of how exhibit labeling can make a difference.
In a display case containing glasses, one label read
“glasses throughout the century” (p. 79) and another
read “one of these glasses is fake” (p. 80). The
second label elicited more learner concentration and
engagement with the exhibit.
Based on extensive research on adult learning in
museums, Sachatello-Sawyer et al. (2002) concluded,
“the extent to which museum programs are successful
can indeed be measured by their ability to affect,
inform, empower and change people and, in doing so,
help them improve themselves” (p. 19). Therefore, the
curator has the responsibility to create an experience
that will engage visitors to think critically and make
new meaning and knowledge they can use in future
situations. E. W. Taylor (2010) cautioned curators
need to consider whose story they tell through the
exhibition. To engage the visitor and promote new
thinking and interaction, museums must carefully
select the material they use and how it is displayed.
Vol. 24 No. 2
In presenting new and perhaps shocking information,
museums hold the responsibility of doing so in an
accurate fashion. Histories have a tendency to side with
hegemonic power portraying the dominant forces in
history. E. W. Taylor (2010) clarified the need for an
exhibition to include careful consideration of history, so
that it includes multiple perspectives.
Drawing on Freire’s critical theory, the adult education
theorists Mayo and Borg (2010) referred to museums
as arenas of critical pedagogy for adults whereby the
visitors’ assumptions of power relations and dominant
cultures are challenged and their perspectives changed.
“These exhibits can serve as instruments to arouse
epistemological curiosity, as Paulo Freire would argue
. . . The process would therefore be one that is not
static but dynamic, in the classic Freirean and critical
pedagogical sense” (p. 41). Similarly, Ansbacher
(1998) explained the job of the exhibit developer,
much like teachers for Dewey, involves understanding
the community and the learners to facilitate the
best learning experience for the visitor. Dewey (in
Archambault, 1964) would most certainly agree as he
is critical of traditional schools for not reflecting social
norms and imposing “adult standards, subject matter
and methods upon those who are only growing slowly
toward maturity.” (p. 19). He suggests schools should
represent real life and education should be a process
rather than a preparation for future living.
The teacher is not in the school to impose certain
ideas or to form certain habits . . . but is there as
a member of a community to select the influences
which shall affect the child and to assist him in
properly responding to these influences. (Dewey,
1897, p. 78)
Another important similarity between Dewey’s
philosophy and museum learning is the combination
of physical interaction and mental processing. Dewey
(1966) wrote educational experience is active, but the
value of an experience is derived from the mental
process of interpretation and development of meaning
in the experience. Ansbacher (1998) correspondingly
pointed out that learning in museums cannot occur
strictly through interaction, but also requires reflection
on the experience. Hein (1998) suggested “social
interaction allows learners to go beyond their individual
experience, to extend their own knowledge and even
ADULT LEARNING
their ability to learn” (p. 172). Similarly, adult educator
Grenier (2010) referred to the interaction between
visitors and the museum exhibit as play, explaining the
potential of such interaction in museums “lies in the
possibility of engaging adult visitors in learning and
reflection on museum content and context” (p. 83).
Heimlich (1993) defined nonformal learning as “any
organized intentional and explicit effort to promote
learning to enhance the quality of life through nonschool settings” (p. 2). E. W. Taylor and Neill’s (2008)
research on nonformal adult learning in museums
established that museums are unique learning
environments for several reasons. For example, people
who attend museum events or take tours have the
option to come and go as they please and the time
allotted for instruction is shorter. Therefore, a method
of teaching different from the traditional classroom is
needed. E. W. Taylor and Neill suggest docents and
lecturers need to be aware of visitors’ interests and
ensure they provide an entertaining and meaningful
experience. This involves a dialogical learning
process, whereby the visitor is an active participant.
Furthermore, E. W. Taylor and Neill (2008) contended
learning that takes place in situ augments the
experience by “bringing to life the inherent connection
between the site/objects and the setting or natural
environment” (p. 27). The role of the educator is to
interpret the context for the visitor. This is not unlike
Dewey’s observation that the individual who is to be
educated is linked to the society from which he or she
learns (Archambault, 1964). For Dewey, education is a
social process and the school
is simply that form of community life in which
all those agencies are concentrated that will be
most effective in bringing the child to share in
the inherited resources of the race, and to use his
own powers for social ends. (Archambault, 1964,
p. 430)
Falk and Dierking’s (1992) Interactive Experience
Model demonstrates how interactive learning takes
place in museums. The model depicts three intersecting
ovals—personal, social, and physical contexts—
with interactive experience at the intersection. They
use the term interactive to define how the different
factors affect each other. The personal context involves
motivation and expectations, prior knowledge, interests
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and beliefs, and choice and control (Falk & Dierking,
2000). The social context includes group sociocultural
mediation and facilitated mediation by others. The
physical context involves advance organizers and
orientation, design and reinforcing events, and
experiences outside the museum. The personal, social,
and physical factors affect each other and contribute
to the overall learning experience. To the extent
possible, the curator should consider the variables
when designing exhibits and the layout of the museum.
Dewey also emphasizes the significance of these
factors in the design of a learning experience. How
these factors interact with each other will be different
for each museum and audience; however, they need
to be considered to facilitate a meaningful learning
experience.
To consider how Dewey would view adult learning in
museums, let us revisit the museum experience at the
Gucci tunnels through the lens of Dewey’s theory of
education. First, Dewey would most likely agree with
the nature of this particular museum because of the
engaging nature of the exhibit. I was able to physically
experience and actively learn by touching armaments,
crawling through tunnels, and trying to find the hidden
entrances. This physical experience was combined with
the guide’s narrative explaining the nature of the war,
length of the tunnels, use of the weapons, and other
relevant information about living styles. Throughout
the experience, the guide asked stimulating questions,
checking to see what we knew and our impressions.
Our guide encouraged us to take time to reflect. For
example, we stood in a 30-foot-wide bomb crater
and imagined the resulting damage. We climbed into
a camouflaged pit full of spikes and contemplated
the terror one would feel of falling into one. Thus,
the experience was a mental and physical process,
involving a high degree of participation by the visitor in
the learning experience.
Dewey would applaud the planning involved in
this experience. The museum was clearly intended
for an audience familiar with a Western portrayal of
the Vietnam War. It took into account preconceived
notions of history and challenged the visitor to rethink
this history from the point of view of the Vietcong.
It considered previous experiences of visitors and
facilitated new knowledge-making through active
mental and physical engagement.
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In terms of continuity of learning, it is difficult to
evaluate as we were not explicitly encouraged to
think about other wars or hegemonic tales of history.
However, it is not such a large step to take and the
experience provided the tools to rethink different
histories and critically evaluate current and future
events, for example the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, in a
different light.
While this was an invaluable personal experience,
Dewey’s theory of education offers two possible
improvements to the learning experience. The first
improvement is to include a space for visitors to
reflect on their experience and explicitly consider the
implications for understanding other situations. This
could be accomplished through a discussion facilitated
by the guide at the end of the tour or a questionnaire
or pamphlet with questions given to the visitor, and
would provide greater continuity to the experience.
Second, some form of feedback from the visitors would
include the learner to a greater degree in the learning
environment. Dewey contends the educator should be
aware of the social environment and background of
the learner and suggests learner participation in the
experience is important. While the experience was
geared toward Western tourists, it is not apparent how
the target audience was discovered and if Westerners
are really the only visitors. I wonder if the same
meaning is made by Vietnamese or visitors of other
non-Western backgrounds. A brief questionnaire
asking who people are, where they are from, and what
they liked and did not like about the museum would
accomplish both these tasks. At the same time, a few
questions about what was learned would give the
visitor an opportunity to reflect.
Historical Changes in Perspective on and
Practice of Adult Education in Museums
Museums are institutions of knowledge, representing
the freedom to learn for all. Anderson (1995)
explained Henry Cole was a pioneer in adult
education because of his development of adult
learning programs in museums in England in the
1850s. Museums were “a massive experiment in public
education, of which adult education was the principal
part” (p. 15). Anderson documented how Cole opened
museums to the public for the first time and integrated
them with the national network of schools of public
Vol. 24 No. 2
art. Students in these schools were “from Japanners to
governesses among females, and from shoe-makers
to surgeons among males” (p. 17). According to
Anderson, Cole also introduced extension activities
in the form of public lectures and demonstrations
with mandatory contributions from professors. Cole’s
program was used as a model for adult learning until
it lost popularity due to a shift toward the formal
education sector around the beginning of the 20th
century. “The administrators . . . placed their hopes
instead on the rapidly developing formal education
sector as a better means to achieve their social and
industrial goals” (p. 20). Hooper-Greenhill (1991)
confirmed that during the 19th century, education was
the prime function of the museum, but by the 1920s,
a new generation of curators was less interested in
the public use of museums and more interested in the
accumulation of collections.
Once again, adult educators are directing their
attention to the potential learning experiences that
museums can offer. Hein (1998) explained “for a
variety of reasons, ranging from changing definitions
of learning and pressures on museums to justify their
existence to expanding socio-political roles of museums
in increasingly self-conscious societies, museum
education is increasing in significance” (p. 9). Mark
Taylor (1995) suggested museums offer adult education
a critical opportunity to convey their message using
exciting concepts and imaginative approaches to objects
within museum collections. Likewise, Sachatello-Sawyer
et al. (2002) stated “the nature of museum learning is
indeed broad, rich and multifaceted” (p. xviii). HooperGreenhill (1995) described the range of activities
offered as “extensive, varying from short one-off drop
in sessions for families to year-long accredited courses
for serious students” (p. 35).
Some practical examples are outlined here to serve as
models for adult practitioners to recognize the richness
of museums as alternative spaces of learning and
incorporate museum trips in the curriculum. SachatelloSawyer et al. (2002) identified the most common types
of museum programs as docent training, lectures,
and guided tours. Activities at science museums
might include field trips, gallery demonstrations,
and workshops, while art or history museums offer
performing arts events, symposia, and film series.
These examples are typified as bread and butter
ADULT LEARNING
programs. Sachatello-Sawyer et al. explain most adult
programs rely largely on programs that bring in money;
however, there are other less frequent programs equally
opportune for learning. The latter are often offered in
collaboration with other community groups, businesses,
libraries, or government agencies. They include
outreach programs, workshops ranging on anything
from HIV to horticultural therapy, festivals, field
schools, certificate programs, book signings, and more.
For example, Hemming (1995) identified language
courses at the Geffrye Museum as an important
outreach program. Akbar (1995) discussed the Mughal
tent project at the Victoria and Albert Museum in
which members of the community were involved in
the creation of Mughal tent hangings for the exhibit as
another successful community project.
While there tends to be a common understanding
among adult educators that more research is needed
on museums as areas of learning, there is little
available research and theory on which to base future
considerations. Anderson (1995) explained although
curators seem to have a good idea of what they are
doing, they are unable to explain why they are doing
it. I have identified some adult education theorists
who have contributed to the application of nonformal
and informal learning in museums, but the literature
base remains small. The Sachatello-Sawyer et al.
(2002) study of adult programs in American museums
revealed many museums have little cooperation with
adult educators, suggesting much is left to chance.
As Hein (1998) claimed, we can either use theory
to make a method of learning or we can rely on
chance and risk sending confusing messages, which
are unproductive in learning. This is where Dewey’s
theory can guide museum educators, much in the way
it can guide teachers.
There are a growing number of programs aimed at
adults; however, opportunities for them remain largely
untapped. Dudzinska-Przesmitzki and Grenier (2008)
also found a general lack of theory to guide practice
when it comes to adult education in museums:
Considering that museum education and learning
has distinguished itself in the literature as a
contextually-based experiential alternative to
traditional expert-centered teaching, the absence
of adult education theory in museum education
research is all the more peculiar. (p. 19)
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A study conducted by Hooper-Greenhill (1995) on
museums in Britain revealed that most museums spent
less than one third of their educational work time on
adult education. Similarly, Sachatello-Sawyer et al. (2002)
reported “adult oriented museums made up only 16
percent of the population . . . and . . . only 27 percent of
their programs were intended for adults” (p. xix).
Conclusion
Given the revelations of recent studies concerning
the importance of museums for adult education, there
is a clear need to further integrate adult education
and museums. There are three ways in which this
can be done. First, adult educators need to continue
to exert efforts in the field of museum learning to
further the understanding of how learning takes place.
Second, museums need to appreciate the need for
adult educators within their domain to better cater
to the needs of the adult population who, according
to Sachatello-Sawyer et al. (2002), demand to learn
at the museum. Finally, adult educators and museum
professionals need to work together to actively promote
the image of museums as interesting and provocative,
to encourage a greater number of adults to take part
in the learning experience. This can be done through
class trips, advertising in classes, and homework
assignments on the part of adult educators. Museums
can take their work to the people either through
promotional activities for exhibits or by making public
presentations.
Sachatello-Sawyer et al. (2002) pointed out, “museums
offer access to unique objects, unique people, and
unique places, and it is through this access that
museums can offer unusual and valuable learning
opportunities” (p. xxv). The example of my experience
in Vietnam embodies Dewey’s philosophy of education
and principles of adult education and museum learning
theory, illustrating how they are intertwined and how
important museums are as spaces for adult learning.
The potential influence of Dewey’s philosophy of
education on museums is widespread and resounding
and there can be no doubt that the implications for
learning in museums especially for adults are unlimited.
Dewey’s concepts of interaction and continuity of
experience based on experimentation with the social
and natural environment are significant for learning in
museums especially given their experiential nature. Not
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all museums offer stimulating learning experiences and,
therefore, much is to be gained from Dewey’s theory
of experiential learning. Further analysis of individual
museum projects through a Dewian lens could
provide more insight into how exactly learning can be
expanded. It would be useful to experiment setting
up exhibitions based entirely on Dewey’s theory. With
greater integration of museum education theory and
adult education theory, a vast learning source can
become more useful in a quest to provide quality
lifewide learning experiences for all.
Conflict of Interest
The author(s) declare no potential conflicts of interest
with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the
research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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Author Biography
David F. Monk is currently a doctoral student in
curriculum and instruction at the University of
Victoria. He completed a master of arts in general
educational studies with a specialization in adult
education at Concordia University in Montreal,
Quebec, in 2012. He developed an interest in adult
education while teaching English as a second language
to adults in South Korea. His current interest is in how
global awareness is created through informal and
nonformal learning in the public sphere.
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