Multicultural Education Direction of the Modern Historical Museum

Abstract

Historical Museums of Elabuga Institute of Kazan Federal University implemented educational and cultural activities. When implementing the latter the museum staff resorted to innovations, which allowed for an expansion in the range of visitors, and a profound interest in the historical past of the university, city and region. The museum employees developed a conceptual model of a museum-pedagogic programmes, called “Museum-Clio” for school children. The introduced model “Museum-Clio” includes the following museum pedagogy programmes: a role-playing game “Russian and Tatar merchants at the Spasskaya Fair”, a research project “Letter from the Front”, and a creative work “History all around me”. In its practical implementation the model “Museum Clio” provides excursion arrangements, so as to promote and intensify the mental powers of secondary school students, in the conditions of learning about divers cultures. Excursions are conducted in the form of games; active forms of cognition, free exchange of ideas, role and creative tasks are widely practiced. Studies through games for secondary school students organized in the Museum of Elabuga merchants as part of an innovative project, play an important role in education and upbringing. On the basis of household items, secondary school students get acquainted with the daily lives of the inhabitants of Elabuga. The study draws a conclusion that furthers the development of historical museums, through expanding their video-didactic and interactive areas of work, and the use of techniques for organizing individual creativity of school children.

Keywords: Intercultural education, intercultural communication, the space of the historical museum, museum education, museum-pedagogical process, conceptual model of the “Museum Clio”

Introduction

Education in school involves the acquisition of humanitarian and social knowledge, as well as the

formation of the abilities, through the efforts and activities of all school participants, including parent.

In order to recreate humanitarian education in Russian schools, the issue of personal development

and thinking must be addressed. The implementation of these tasks in reality is seen as a higher level of

achievement, since it entails the formation (through the rising generation) of the new Russian nation

with a cultural matrix corresponding to its constitutional vector of historical development. The kernel

of this matrix is a person, ready to live in the multicultural community of Russian people. Thus, the

task is imperative for the fulfillment of the national destiny.

The museum as a public institution in accordance with the interpretation of its mission collects,

preserves, and interprets the evidence of the past and present. In terms of global information,

knowledge about the past and the present in disseminated by means of digital audio and video media

carriers. At the same time, interest to social and cultural institutions like museums is noticeably fading.

The new focus of the museum in determining the features of implementation of education and

training is are achieved by means of museum pedagogy. The use of innovative forms of activity by the

museum is connected with the obligatory conditions for the application of specific museum funds.

Firstly, the attention focuses on the exhibitions, and then it moves to the expansion of cultural and

educational activities from the museum such as; clubs, museum events, theatrical performances, etc.

The organization of the museum and the pedagogical process

At the turn of XIX - XX centuries, the basic ideas of museum pedagogy were laid. A. Lihtvark first

formulated the idea of educational appointment of the museum and offered a new approach to visitors

as dialogue participants. Implementing the method of "the museum dialogues," he was the first to

substantiate the role of a mediator (museum educator), which helps the visitor to communicate with art,

developing the ability to see and enjoy the works of art. As a special field of knowledge and research,

museum education began to take shape in the 1960s, aided by the processes of increasing the social role

of museums in the society, and its democratization; making the work with the audience no longer

regarded as a secondary (Museums, 1973).

The Russian concept of museum pedagogy is associated with the name A. M. Razgon, a museum

theorist. This trend began to develop in the early 1970s and is gradually gaining grounds.

The modern museum pedagogy is developing in line with the museum's communication problems,

and it is aimed primarily at solving problems by activating the creative abilities of individuals in a

multicultural environment. To this end, a variety of new methods of working with visitors; changing

their role and position in the museum and the pedagogical process, is developing. Despite the approval

of the ideas of a differentiated approaches to different categories of visitors, the main focus of museum

pedagogy is still focused on the child and adolescent audiences. The leading trend of museum

pedagogy becomes in this context, the transition from the individual and episodic contacts with a

visitor to the creation of a multi-stage system of museum education and initiation of cultures

(Klyukina, 2010).

Global changes of the XXI century seriously affected the understanding of cultures. Firstly,

visualization of culture significantly increased, which manifested itself in a significant increase in the

volume of visual information. A modern pupil ceases to notice something that could impress his

parents, he prefers to see vivid images, often to the detriment of his own creative thinking. The vivid

confirmation of this is in the widespread usage of comic books. Museum pedagogy tries to answer the

question of how the nature of visual museum communications can be modified in connection with

these changes.

Secondly, it changed the notion of the museum culture. In abroad sense, the museum culture is the

presence of museum's relations to reality in humans, which is reflected in respect to the history and the

ability to evaluate real-life objects of museum value.

In these circumstances, there is a change in the old monological type of museum culture, where the

guide who introduces visitors to the exposition, serves as a lecturer. M.M. Bakhtin`s theory of

dialogism has had a great influence on the development of museum pedagogy, which postulates the

replacement of the old monological cultures by dialogical cultures. In this sociocultural situation, the

museum was intended to become a centre for cultural and historical values. The functions of working

with visitors and implementing the socio-psychological research of the audience in modern museums

are assigned to the museum educator (Medvedev, 1999).

During the organization of the pedagogical process of museums, the following areas of activity of

museum educators were highlighted:

- activities aimed at the formation of valuable relationships between cultural and historical heritages

so as to correlate the ideas of museum values;

- formation of abilities aimed at perceiving and understanding the language of the museum

exhibition;

- education of patriotism and love for the Motherland, through the study of the past;

- the creation of the museum conditions, that would create an efficient flow when working with an

audience. With this purpose, the usage and popularization of the new museum education technologies

in the form of individual projects, at different stages, with the involvement of various partners was

carried out.

Pedagogical conditions for the organization of museum work in historical museums with

poly- and multi-cultural groups of students

The historical museums of Yelabuga Institute of Kazan Federal University, implement upbringing,

and culturally educational activities. When implementing the latest one, museum staff members

resorted to innovations, which allowed for the increase in visitors, and interest in the historical past of

the university, city, and region.

The conceptual model of museum pedagogical programmes for school children "Museum-Clio" was

developed.

To master the model, we need to be familiar with 5 operations:

Operation, is seen as the most important parameter of the model. Cognition, memory, divergent

productive thinking, convergent thinking, and the estimated productive thinking are referred to as

operations.

Cognition is realized at the first stage of museum exposition, it includes the processes of perception

and understanding of the general information. Memory is the mechanism for information storage and

playback. At the museum school children are taught with the notion of historical memory and are

instilled with the skills of historical data playback, both in the short and long-term operation. Divergent

thinking is based on productive imaginations, and it admits that, for one question, several correct

answers can be given. For example, starting with the introduction of the XVIII century furniture; with a

trunk, we offer the students the opportunity to express their own opinion in determining its purpose.

The first view is general - storage of clothes at home, but some may notice that with a chest, it is more

convenient to travel.

Convergent productive thinking is aimed at obtaining new knowledge, but considering the fact that

converged tasks have a brutal structure, the answer must be separated from the information provided.

Continuing in the same example, convergent productive thinking brings students to the idea that the

trunk is the prototype of the modern wardrobe, in the past, when people were nomadic, it was easier to

keep the clothes it in it.

Estimated thinking is a comparison tool with an established standards, which provides for the

imposition of judgments in respect to aspects such as the suitability or fitness of moral norms and

traditions. At this stage, it is possible to use the techniques for working with poly and multi-cultural

groups. For example, children from Russian families, as a rule, remember that their grandmothers in

the village have a trunk where the heirlooms are stored. Tatar national children can remember the

proverb, "A girl in the cradle – treasure in the chest".

The "Museum-Clio" model has four types of thought processes. In other words, each of the five

steps described above can be applied to the visual, symbolic, semantic, and behavioral information.

Visual content includes visual information, which is represented in museums in the largest amount.

Symbolic information deals with the representation of objects through signs (for example, letters,

numbers). The semantic content embraces verbal ideas and concepts. The focus of attention here is the

content transmitted through words or images. Under the behavioral content, the feelings, thoughts, and

communicative relationships of humans are conventionally understood.

The practical use of the "Museum-Clio"model, envisages the organization of excursions so as to

activate the various mental abilities of schoolboys. Tours are conducted in the form of games,which

motivates younger students to participate in the process.

In the work with students, historical museums of Elabuga Institute are focusing on the growth in

children`s awareness of cultural diversities and history. Active forms of knowledge acquisition, the free

exchange of ideas, and role and creative tasks is widely practiced. Training students in the Museum of

Elabuga merchants as part of an innovative project “InteLLeto” plays an important role in the

implementation of education and training functions.

The project organizes summer camps for children at Elabuga Institute for gifted children.

Educational classes (computer science, robotics, entertaining mathematics, Russian language, physics,

local history, etc.) are conducted in an entertaining form by experienced teachers in the first half of the

day., while creative workshops; games, contests, and competitions are organized for children in the

afternoon.

During the history lessons, students are familiarized with the cultural and historical diversity of the

people who lived in the Yelabuga region in the XIX century. Under the supervision of teachers with

students of historical faculty, scenarios of thematic sessions focused on different age groups are

developed. For example, for high school students, a scenario of the role-playing game "On Spasskaya

Fair" is developed, in which children having received a role (a merchant and the merchant's wife) must

comply with a number of tasks. For example, students are invited to participate in the Theatre Forum

and put on a mini spectacle on the theme "Traditions of merchant tea." The technique of the Theatre

Forum is very useful in working with multicultural groups since it is based on the social experiences

and traditions of participants. The main purpose of the theater forum is to change the position of

passive spectators, in the traditional theatrical representation to active participants of theatrical activity,

and the role of actors functions directly to influence the turnout of events. The essence of this technique

lies in the fact that students are encouraged to act out a scene associated with the traditions of tea.

When the performance ends, the audience can express their opinion on the events; children from

Muslim families recount that tea is used to entertain guests alongside traditional Tatar cuisine (chak-

chak, Gubadja). Afterward, the scene is played out again, but now everyone in the audience can take

part in the presentation and develop their own events. The main actors must be prepared to improvise

during the emergence of new storylines. Theater Forum helps students from different cultures develop

effectively and overcome difficulties in a multicultural environment.

Students rely on the skills of co-authorship, emotionality, ability to listen and analyze so as to carry

out social and cultural educational activities with other students, focusing on the regional component of

the material. The challenge was not only in the need to demonstrate fascinating museum material but

also to attract students to carry out various forms of gaming activities.

The development of scenarios, preparation, and conduct of gaming activities allowed us to:

Firstly, attract students and historians to research finding and working with museums;

Secondly, inform students about the features and traditions of their native cities and regions, as well

as other regions, to help them understand the general historical information specific to other regions of

Russia.

The competition of the creative works of children is conducted annually by the museum staff, which

aims to attract the attention of children and youth to history and culture, to enhance the creative activity

of pupils and students. As a result of the competition, a thematic exhibition in the university history

museum is made.

Conclusions

As a fundamental goal of multicultural education, time should be allocated to the training of

students for the adjustment to life in a multicultural society. Achieving this goal is possible through

deep and thorough mastery of culture as a prerequisite for integration into other cultures, which is

achieved by means of museum pedagogy.

The museum exhibition offers a unique opportunity to recreate the cultural traditions of several

ethnic groups and religions on the same site, by exposing museum objects, bearing series of

multicultural information , united by a common semantic or thematic line.

In the current socio-cultural situation the museum becomes a place of cultural and historical

dialogue between visitors and cultural values, the role of which museum objects appear.

The experience of museums shows that the further development of museums can be carried out

through the expansion of video-didactic areas of work, the search for the optimum between the

educational task of museums, and entertainment possibilities of this specific cultural institution.

References

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• Morozov, S.M. (2011). "Dialogism Bakhtin in the context of the natural science psychology", Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy, 2, 34-51.

• Museums Imagination and Education (1973). Museums and monument, XY UNESCO.

• Klyukina, A. (2010). The financial crisis is not conducive to the museum boom, but attendance of museums will grow. Museum, 2010, 5, 82-83.