Unlocking student potential: how museum visits enhance learning and bridge social gaps

Museums have long been considered as cultural repositories that preserve and exhibit history, art and scientific discoveries. However, their role in education goes far beyond simply presenting artefacts. In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the educational value that museums offer, especially when integrated into formal school programmes. Museum visits can provide students with active, experiential learning that extends beyond the boundaries of traditional classroom education.

Yet, access to museum experiences is not equal for all students. While some children frequently visit museums with their families, others – especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds – may never have the opportunity to engage with these rich cultural resources. This disparity can create gaps in cultural knowledge, academic engagement and even self-confidence.

Professor Anik Meunier, Director of the Education and Museum Research Group (Groupe de Recherche sur l’Éducation et les Musées; GREM) at the Université du Québec à Montréal, studies how museum visits can enhance student engagement in the classroom and address social inequalities. She and her colleagues have established the ‘School at the Museum’ programme to integrate museum education into the school curriculum for elementary and secondary schools in Montreal.

School at the Museum

“Research indicates that peripheral and complementary resources at school actively contribute to students’ educational success,” explains Anik. “Moreover, it has been shown that actions aimed at improving educational success must be carried out regularly and at a pace that allows the acquisition of new attitudes, perceptions or behaviours among the target population.” To this end, School at the Museum organises regular, structured visits to museums throughout the year. This provides students with consistent opportunities to engage with cultural and educational resources outside the classroom. These repeated visits reinforce learning, stimulate curiosity and promote deeper academic engagement, particularly for students who may not have access to such experiences outside of school.

The challenges

Integrating museum education into school curricula comes with several challenges. For example, most teacher training programmes do not include museum education in the curriculum. This means many teachers are either unaware of the benefits of museum education or lack the confidence and skills to incorporate it effectively into their teaching. “For more than forty years, the GREM has been emphasising the importance of teachers’ involvement in the cultural education of their students,” says Anik. “Various studies point to the fact that teachers who do not have any cultural practice do not ensure effective cultural transmission to their students.”

However, even when teachers recognise the value of museum education, they often face practical challenges that impede their ability to organise museum visits. On a personal level, time constraints and a lack of interest in cultural activities can be significant barriers.

Professionally, teachers encounter logistical, financial and administrative barriers when planning field trips. To address these issues, the GREM provides practical support and solutions. The team works to simplify administrative procedures and offers resources and guidance to help teachers plan and conduct museum visits more efficiently.

The impact

Despite the challenges, when museum education is successfully integrated into schools the effects can be transformative. School at the Museum has demonstrated substantial benefits for both students and teachers by embedding museum visits within the school curriculum. Over several weeks, students engaged with a range of museums – spanning art, culture, history and science – which were carefully selected to complement their academic studies. These visits were strategically aligned with classroom content, providing a practical extension of their learning experiences. Teachers collaborated with museum staff to integrate exhibits and educational programmes into their lesson plans, ensuring a cohesive connection between classroom instruction and real-world contexts.

To investigate the impact of the programme, Anik and her colleagues measured the academic engagement of students who participated in museum visits through School at the Museum, before and after the programme. Their findings revealed that students who attended museums showed greater emotional, behavioural and cognitive engagement than before taking part in the programme. Importantly, after participating in School at the Museum, students who had had little prior exposure to museums displayed equal engagement to their peers who had visited museums with family or friends. This suggests that regular school-led museum visits can help reduce cultural inequalities and benefit all students, regardless of their background.

Students also experienced significant educational growth as a result of engaging with museums. Teachers observed that the visits created a stronger sense of connection to the museum environment and its resources, enriching students’ cultural knowledge and expanding their vocabulary. “At the beginning of the year, one teacher reported that some of their students only reproduced fight scenes and video game characters in their creative games, drawings and writing,” says Anik. “Following visits to the Montreal Insectarium, these same children began to include insects in their playing, pictures and stories. The knowledge acquired during the museum experience was transposed into their projects at school.”

The impact of the programme on teachers has also been notable. Participating in School at the Museum enhanced their competence and confidence in using museum resources. They reported an increased appreciation for the educational value of museums and a heightened interest in incorporating cultural experiences into their teaching practices. “For teachers who had a weaker relationship with culture, the programme allowed them to become familiar with cultural or artistic places, practices and vocabulary,” says Anik. “For others, School at the Museum acted as a professional development experience, offering them new tools and opportunities to experiment with diverse pedagogical approaches.”

Next steps

So far, School at the Museum has worked with elementary and secondary schools in Montreal. The project will now expand to elementary schools in rural Quebec. These include schools located in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, where the high school graduation rate is 52%, almost thirty points below the provincial average. “At the heart of this project is cultural and community vitality, which can impact educational success,” says Anik. “We hope this initiative will help address the challenges related to the revitalisation of the region by contributing to the sense of community and improving children’s self-esteem – one of the personal factors associated with educational success.” Through School at the Museum, Anik hopes that teachers will appreciate the importance of museum education, while students will benefit from engaging with museums.

Professor Anik Meunier
Director of the Education and Museum Research Group, Department of Didactics, Faculty of Education, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada

Field of research: Museum education

Funders: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Canadian Heritage, Fond de recherche du Québec (Société et culture), Ministère de l’Éducation, UQAM’s Faculty of Education, Concordia University’s Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowski Institute for Studies in Canadian Art

Incorporating museum education in your teaching

Bringing students to a museum can seem daunting for teachers who have never organised such a visit. It may feel overwhelming, especially if you are unfamiliar with museum education or unsure of how to manage a group outside the classroom. However, teachers who have taken the plunge consistently emphasise how rewarding the experience can be. “The experience was enriching in every way – for me and my students,” commented one School at the Museum teacher.

Museums offer a fresh environment that encourages curiosity and active learning. “Getting out of your usual context is very pleasant,” noted another teacher. “It’s a chance for us and the students to step out of our comfort zones.” Visiting a museum provides opportunities for both educators and students to view learning through new perspectives which enhances engagement. Teachers also appreciated how museums collaborated with them, providing support and resources tailored to school groups. These partnerships can make the process of visiting easier and more enriching.

Therefore, for those feeling hesitant, Anik’s key advice is simple: “Try it!” Museums often make the logistics smoother than you might expect, and the benefits outweigh the challenges. As one teacher commented, “School and the cultural environment should not be separated, as it is through education that we can ensure the democratisation of interest in culture.” This highlights how important it is for students from all backgrounds to have access to cultural experiences.

Maximising museum visits

One of the most important aspects of planning a museum trip is choosing the right museum and programme for your students’ needs. “Most museums offer age-specific educational programmes for school groups,” says Anik. You should start by selecting a museum that either piques your interest or relates closely to your current lesson plans. A visit to a museum can align seamlessly with curricula in many subjects, such as history, science and art, and foster interdisciplinary approaches.

For instance, many science museums offer practical exhibits that encourage students to experiment and explore topics in physics or biology in dynamic, interactive ways. Similarly, art museums often have programmes where students create their own artworks, allowing them to engage directly with the themes of the exhibitions. When selecting activities, it is vital to focus on what will interest and engage your students most while tying into your classroom objectives.

Making the most of virtual resources

Unfortunately, not all schools have the opportunity for physical visits, but museum education does not have to be limited by geography or funding. Many museums offer online resources that can bring the museum experience into your classroom. “Since the pandemic, many museums have taken the opportunity to stay in contact with visitors and schools by providing educational resources online,” says Anik. For example, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts hosts ÉducArt (www.educart.ca/en/about), an extensive range of free pedagogical tools, lesson plans and virtual exhibits created by teachers and museum professionals that you can integrate into your lessons. Initiatives such as this enable students to engage with museum-quality content from anywhere, bridging the gap for schools that cannot attend in person.

Key takeaways

Teachers can often feel overwhelmed by the prospect of organising a museum trip, but plenty of support is available. Most museums have dedicated sections for school visits under the ‘education’ tab on their website, providing information on how to book visits, access materials and what to expect. The GREM has created a repertoire of pedagogical activities (www.grem.uqam.ca/repertoire) to assist Quebec’s teachers in finding educational and cultural resources across various museums. This tool offers a place to discover activities and programmes that can support your teaching, whether for physical visits or online learning.

Anik’s key takeaway for teachers is not to let a lack of experience or personal interest in museums hold your students back. Even if you are not personally invested in museum culture, bringing your students to these cultural spaces can spark new passions and learning experiences for them – and for you. As one science teacher shared, “I didn’t feel that involved in the project at first because it was about the arts. But I experienced it a bit like the students and it allowed me to create pleasant bonds with the students on a more equal footing.”

Meet Anik

I consider museums to be windows into the world, offering knowledge and culture. Museums are places where we can discover and learn about many fascinating subjects, and where we can encounter passionate people. Museums can also help us discover and nourish fields of interest.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston is one of my favourite museums. It’s a Venetian palace entirely transported and rebuilt around a wonderful garden, bursting with a collection of masterpieces. The museum’s founder, Isabella Stewart Gardner, was an art collector who wanted her collection to be permanently exhibited ‘for the education and enjoyment of the public forever’. I find that deeply inspiring.

I hope every trainee teacher can access museums and learn how to explore them. This would equip them for visiting museums and organising cultural outings with their students. For some young people, this might provide their first and only museum experience, which could greatly enhance their learning journey.