The use of museums by Hong Kong preschools

Recognising that young children benefit from learning beyond classroom, education authorities in Hong Kong increasingly encourage schools to make use of community resources for life-wide learning. Museums have great potential to support schools to widen the learning space, generate rich learning experiences, provoke thoughts, and stimulate learners to explore further on matters of interest. Until recently, there was no systematic understanding of young children's visits in Hong Kong museums. To overcome the paucity of knowledge, a survey was conducted to investigate the scope of preschool children's participation in these cultural institutions. The findings indicate that there is extensive use of museums by the early childhood education sector, especially for 5 to 6-year-olds, and these visits are mainly curriculum-related. While preschools generally appreciate the wealth of knowledge of museum guides, they are also concerned about their lack of understanding of the interests, needs and abilities of young children. The findings offer insights into the next possible direction.
有見校園以外的學習對幼兒有所裨益，香港教育官員鼓勵學校利用社區資源進行全方位學習。對於支援學校以擴展學習空間，博物館可以發揮的潛力是不容忽視。博物館既能豐富學習經驗和刺激思維，又能延續學習者的探索興趣。鑑於本地對幼兒參觀博物館的情況沒有具系統性的了解，我們就幼兒教育機構安排幼兒參觀博物館的情況進行了一項問卷調查。調查結果顯示幼兒教育機構均廣泛地以參觀博物館作為配合課程的活動，當中以五至六歲幼兒的參與率最高。幼兒教育機構雖然欣賞館方導賞員所提供的豐富知識，但對他們未能了解幼兒的興趣、需要和能力而表示關注。是次調查結果為日後有關方面的發展方向帶來啟示。 Copyright © 2008 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.