Enhancing future educators’ skills through art museum volunteering: insights from Chinese higher education

Abstract

Purpose: The research explores how these volunteering experiences in Chinese art museums influence students’ future teaching careers and employability. Design/methodology/approach: Our study delves into the educational value of art museum volunteering for higher education students, focussing particularly on those majoring in elementary education. Utilising a triangulation methodology that includes questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and observations, we collected data from 30 art museums across 17 provinces in China. Our research aims to understand how these volunteering experiences influence students’ future teaching careers and employability. Findings: The study examines the types of educational activities offered, the art education experiences gained and the impact on students’ skills. The findings suggest that volunteering enhances students’ practical skills in art education, creativity, critical thinking, cultural understanding and employability, contributing positively to their future educator roles. The findings highlight the importance of partnerships between museums and higher education institutions to improve the quality of art education and the professional preparation of future educators. Research limitations/implications: We identified some limitations. Because the period of investigation for this study was limited to a recent year, the unique strategies and techniques for conducting educational practices varied from museum to museum, resulting in different barriers and opportunities for improvement for volunteers. This study did not conduct a detailed analysis of gender- and region-specific differences, nor did it include interviews with museum educators and educational program spokespersons or an analysis of their opinions. Originality/value: Our research fills a notable gap in the existing literature by focussing on the Asian context and underscores the importance of collaborative efforts between museums and higher education institutions. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Keywords

Author Keywords

employability Educational activities art education Higher education students Elementary education Art museum volunteering

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

School of Theatre, Communication University of China, Beijing, Beijing, China, School of Teacher Education, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Chongqing, China

School of Fine Arts, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

Funding & Acknowledgements

Chongqing Municipal Education Commission, CQMEC

Funding text 1: We are grateful to the chief editor and editorial board of the Asian Education and Development Studies Journal for their valuable cooperation in the article publication process. Moreover, we thank anonymous reviewers for constructive comments for enhancing the quality of the article. This work was supported by the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission and Chongqing Three Gorges College Scientific Research Foundation under Grant (Project No.20SKGH194).; Funding text 2: Funding: This work was supported by the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission and Chongqing Three Gorges College Scientific Research Foundation under Grant (Project No.20SKGH194).

Grant: 20SKGH194

Funding text 1: We are grateful to the chief editor and editorial board of the Asian Education and Development Studies Journal for their valuable cooperation in the article publication process. Moreover, we thank anonymous reviewers for constructive comments for enhancing the quality of the article. This work was supported by the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission and Chongqing Three Gorges College Scientific Research Foundation under Grant (Project No.20SKGH194).; Funding text 2: Funding: This work was supported by the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission and Chongqing Three Gorges College Scientific Research Foundation under Grant (Project No.20SKGH194).

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Enhancing future educators’ skills through art museum volunteering: insights from Chinese higher education

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