ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of culture, and hence power, in contextualising human behaviour. It examines why museums operate the way they do and what the role and purpose of museum education is. At the heart of this discussion are the questions: What type of relationships do museums want to foster with their audiences? How are those relationships enacted in exhibitions, programmes and other learning provisions? How does the representation of particular groups through museum exhibitions impact on how visitors interact with and respond to the exhibition narratives? The chapter examines the educational function or role of the museum in relation to power structures. It discusses the social, political and cultural dimensions of education and, more specifically, the role that museums as cultural institutions with an educational and social value play or should play. The chapter draws on literature coming from education philosophy and theory, sociology of education and curriculum studies, as they have been applied in museums.
