Museums in Ghana: Visitor Education, Experiences and Satisfaction

Samuel Nortey; Kwasi Amoako-Hene; Edwin Kwesi Bodjawah

doi:10.24821/ijcas.v9i2.6170

Museums in Ghana: Visitor Education, Experiences and Satisfaction

Samuel Nortey, Kwasi Amoako-Hene, Edwin Kwesi Bodjawah

Abstract

This study looked at visitor experience and satisfaction on museum education in Ghana. Visiting and studying nine museums under the Ghana Museums and Monument Board (GMMB) and using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, the study revealed that visitor experiences, satisfaction, and education within museums under GMMB are unsatisfactory. There are issues with teaching methods, the state of exhibits and exhibition styles and a challenge of low possibility for visitor revisit. There is the need to commit resources to strengthen museums and the introduction of activities which would serve as grounds for museum learning. A strong engagement of visitor education in a positive, socio-cultural, and conducive learning atmosphere is very much expedient. The paper recommended a framework of diversity and inclusion that would support the creation of meaningful visitor experiences and enhance museum education in Ghana.

Museum di Ghana: Pendidikan, Pengalaman, dan Kepuasan Pengunjung

Abstrak

Studi ini melihat pengalaman dan kepuasan pengunjung terhadap pendidikan museum di Ghana. Mengunjungi dan mempelajari sembilan museum di bawah Dewan Museum dan Monumen Ghana (GMMB) dan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dan kuantitatif, studi ini mengungkapkan bahwa pengalaman pengunjung, kepuasan dan pendidikan di dalam museum di bawah GMMB tidak memuaskan. Ada masalah dengan metode pengajaran, keadaan pameran dan gaya pameran dan tantangan kemungkinan rendah untuk kunjungan kembali pengunjung. Ada kebutuhan untuk menyediakan sumber daya untuk memperkuat museum dan pengenalan kegiatan yang akan berfungsi sebagai landasan untuk pembelajaran museum. Keterlibatan yang kuat dari pendidikan pengunjung dalam suasana belajar yang positif, sosial budaya dan kondusif sangat diperlukan. Artikel ini merekomendasikan kerangka keragaman dan inklusi yang akan mendukung terciptanya pengalaman pengunjung yang bermakna dan meningkatkan edukasi museum di Ghana.

Keywords

museum education, Ghana, visitor experience, satisfaction | edukasi museum, Ghana, pengalaman pengunjung, kepuasan

Full Text:

PDF

References

Aalst Van, I., & Boogaarts, I. (2004). From museums to mass entertainment. The evolution of the role of museums in cities repeat visitation in mature sun and sand holiday destinations. European Urban and Regional Studies, 9(3), 195–209.

Agbor, J. M. (2011). The relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality: study of three service sectors in Umeå. Umeå School of Business, Umeå.

Anderson, D., Piscitelli, B., Weier, K., Everett, M., & Tayler, C. (2010). Children’s Museum Experiences: Identifying Powerful Mediators of Learning. Curator: The Museum Journal, 45(3), 213–231.

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2151-6952.2002.tb00057.x

Chan, J. K. (2009). The consumption of museum service experiences: benefits and value of museum experiences. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 18(3), 173–196.

Colbert, F. (2003). Entrepreneurship and Leadership in Marketing the Arts. International Journal of Arts Management, 6(1), 30–39.

Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2000). Learning from museums: visitor experiences and the making of meaning. AltaMira Press.

Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2013). The Museum Experience Revisited (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315417851

Gilmore, A., & Rentschler, R. (2002). Changes in Museum Management: A Custodial or Marketing Emphasis? Journal of Management Development, 21(10), 745–760. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710210448020

Giroux, H. A. (2010). Rethinking Education as the Practice of Freedom: Paulo Freire and the Promise of Critical Pedagogy. Policy Futures in Education, 8(6), 715. https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2010.8.6.715

Hashemi, M. R., & Babaii, E. (2013). Mixed methods research: Toward new research designs in applied linguistics. The Modern Language Journal, 97(4), 828–852. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.12049.x

Hein, G. E. (1998). Learning in the Museum (1st ed.). Routledge.

Hein, G. E. (1998). Museum Experience. Journal for Education in Museums, 4(16), 21–23.

Mujtaba, T., Sheldrake, R., Reiss, M. J., & Simon, S. (2018). Students’ science attitudes, beliefs, and context: associations with science and chemistry aspirations. International Journal of Science Education, 40(6), 644–667. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2018.1433896

Parasuraman, A. P., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple- Item Scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12–40.

Trofanenko, B. (2006). Interrupting the gaze: on reconsidering authority in the museum. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 38(1), 49–65. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270500038511

Yuan, Y., Stephenson, P., & Hickman, R. (2015). Museums as Alternative Settings for Initial Teacher Education: Implications of and Beyond the “Take One Picture” Program for Primary Art Education. Visual Arts Research, 41(1), 27–42. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.41.1.0027

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24821/ijcas.v9i2.6170