ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an overview of the methodology we have used for the past fifteen years to evaluate programmes and exhibits in museums. Our work has all been carried out within the framework of an educational theory that places major emphasis on the role of the learner. The first section of this chapter describes this constructivist educational theory to provide a background for our evaluation methodology. The second section outlines three examples of our evaluation work, emphasizing the methods we use and illustrating each with a single outcome from that work. The third section discusses the components of our evaluation approach which make them appropriate for the educational view to which we subscribe. Finally, our work is placed in a larger context of visitor research in museums.