Object-based childhood history from museums to university: the Latvian project.

The project "Representation of Childhood at the Museums of Latvia, Integrated in the E-Learning Environment of Higher Education" was a response to the need for sources in the history of education that would accommodate the interests of students in educational sciences. The article aims at sharing th...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Paedagogica Historica Vol. 60; no. 5; pp. 927 - 942
Autores principales: Kestere, Iveta, Strazdins, Arnis, Rezgorina, Inese, Vejins, Reinis
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Oct2024
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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Sumario:The project "Representation of Childhood at the Museums of Latvia, Integrated in the E-Learning Environment of Higher Education" was a response to the need for sources in the history of education that would accommodate the interests of students in educational sciences. The article aims at sharing the project experience in (1) mapping the history of childhood in museums, (2) building the digitised museum objects database, (3) integrating the database in learning environment, and (4) reflecting on the lessons learned through the project. The mapping was done in 30 museums, digitising 1190 artefacts and creating a "draft" database, which in 2021 was used by 74 master's students in educational sciences at the University of Latvia. We concluded that object-based childhood interpretation entails subjectivism in both the creation of museum collections and the choice of objects for the database. The objects selected by students revealed that educational science students are interested in less attractive sources for exhibitions as educational documentation and statistics. The project findings draw attention to the gaps in childhood history, for example, children with special needs are still "invisible", the material culture created by children themselves is poorly exhibited and the question about the 1990s as the "end" of childhood history in Latvia is open. The students' work with the database revealed challenges in history didactics; for example, how to prepare students for the "translation" of modern educational concepts into the language of history. Further development of the education history database depends on technical solutions, as well as on engaging students in systematic feeding of the database.