Beginnings in art museums of the United States

At the turn of the twentieth century, art museums were very new institutions to the average visitor, who was seen wandering with no clear direction through the galleries, and with no clear idea on how to appreciate and study the exhibitions. In 1906, architect J. Randolph Coolidge Jr. was appointed the temporary director of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He experimented with a guiding system in the galleries, to help visitors orient themselves throughout their walk across the exhibitions.^[5]

Art Museum Volunteers as Museum Educators

An article published in the June bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1906 features one of the first uses of the term docent and the description of its functions. It said,

"It has been proposed to the Trustees to consider the permanent appointment of one or more persons of intelligence and education who could act as intermediaries between Curators and the many who would be glad to avail themselves of trained instruction in our galleries. Through these docents, as it has been proposed to call them, the heads of departments could instruct many more persons than it would be possible for them to accompany through the galleries; and illustrated lectures upon the collections prepared in the departments might be regularly given by these specially qualified aids both in the Museum and in the classrooms of neighboring schools and colleges."^[6]

After the conclusion of WWII, art museums' priorities shifted once again to an increased focus on education. Schools across the country began making field trips to museums for educational programs, and at the same time a greater emphasis was being placed on collecting and volunteerism. This emphasis on volunteerism, combined with the increase in student attendance, led to a greater level of importance given to museum education and museum educators. By 1946, museum leaders like Otto Wittmann, the then associate director at the Toledo Museum of Art, were advocating for the use of volunteers (docents), and the development of museum educator training, for expanding education programs.^[5] Speaking on his conceptualization of the perfect museum volunteer educator candidate, Wittmann said,

“She is a married woman, thirty to thirty-five years old, with one or two children in school, and a husband in an executive position. She has attended exhibitions quite regularly for several years and has for some time brought her children to your classes and special events. She has some years of college education but is not always a graduate. She seldom has formal training related to her volunteer job but may have developed useful skills in other activities. She works well with her hands, likes people (especially children), and is at ease and talks easily with them. Most important — she has a curiosity, imagination, and enthusiasm, and she believes in the importance of your organization to the community”^[5]

WWII impacts on informal education

In 1968, in his first report as the first Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture, Philip H. Coombs emphasized the increment of the educative needs of the world's population after World War II. In it, he mentions the diversity of informal education activities that constitute, or should constitute, an important complement to formal education to the total educational efforts of any country.^[3] To Coombs, informal education had the potential to satisfy the learning demands of individuals and collectivities because unlike the more rigid traditional education, informal education is flexible and takes into consideration local culture, economy and society, which counteracts the tendency of developing countries to imitate education models of developed countries.^[7]

Throughout his career, Coombs encouraged and impulsed the professional development of people responsible of non-formal education, which will be determining for the development and professionalization of the educative areas in institutions devoted to non-formal education.

Museum education workers

A 2019 demographic study demonstrated a long-standing homogeneity among art museum educators, who tend to be White, heterosexual, cisgender women between the ages of 26-40 with spouses but without care-taking responsibilities.^[8] These demographics point to historical conditions of low pay and pervasiveness of unpaid internships, which limit participation to those with access to other sources of income.^[9] Unpaid internships have become prerequisites to securing future employment in the field, as they offer opportunities for networking and demonstrating one's employability, creating a “cruel paradox” in the field in which paid employment is restricted to those with the economic resources to contribute unpaid labor.^[10]

The titles of museum educators are important for two reasons. One reason is that they evidence the field's struggle for vocabulary to define what it is museum educators do. The second reason is that these job titles may reflect differences in the positions themselves, and growing differences in the roles of education departments across museums.^[11] Including Director/Chair of Education, Director of Education and Public Programs, Curator of Education, Education and Interpretation Supervisor, Head of Interpretation and Participatory Experiences, Director of Education and Curator of Public Practices, etc.

There is a growing number of graduate programs in museum education, including: a Master's and PhD in Arts Administration, Education, & Policy^[12] from Ohio State University; a Master's from Bank Street College of Education;^[13] and a Master's from Tufts University in Museum Studies;^[14] and others.

Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic

The American Alliance of Museum and Wilkening Consulting released a survey snap shot of COVID-19 Impact on United States Museums ^[15][16]

The survey includes information on museum closures, visitation numbers, furloughs and lost revenue. The staff positions most affected by layoffs and furloughs due to COVID19 at the surveyed institutions were Guest Services/Admissions/Front of House/Retail (68%) followed by Education (40%). 67% of surveyed museums reported needing to cut back on education, programming, and other public service due to budget shortfalls and/or staff reductions.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost 95% of museums worldwide had to close their doors for at least part of 2020.^[17] The widespread impact of COVID-19 is further illustrated by the fact that 99% of arts organizations of all kinds in the U.S. had to cancel events in 2020.^[18] Due to these forced closures and out of the interest of abiding by pandemic safety guidelines, museums began turning to the digital realm for programming and educational efforts. Many museums created or added onto virtual education programs, including; Zoom or video-conferenced events, new social media channels and groups, take-home art activities, virtual tours, and more.