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Engaging Children Online: Is there Room for the Grittiness of Social Reality?

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 00:20 authored by Johnston, RM
Museums are venturing into the worlds of social networking as they aspire to be more participatory and inclusive of children and young people. However, there are challenges in presenting the grittiness of social reality in online exhibition spaces. On the one hand, museums face political pressures about what are deemed to be accepted narratives for public education; on the other hand, they appear to be constrained by preconceptions about what is appropriate material for children. This paper discusses such tensions with reference to museum websites, particularly those focussing on one of the iconic topics of the Australian school curriculum, the gold rushes of the nineteenth century. The paper reports initial and ongoing research of museum websites for children. The findings and associated discussion are significant in the current climate of debate about the teaching of history in Australia and what these debates mean for the inclusive museum.

History

Publication title

The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum

Pagination

83-88

ISSN

1835-2014

Department/School

Faculty of Education

Publisher

Common Ground Publishing

Place of publication

Australia

Rights statement

© Common Ground, Robin Johnston, All Rights Reserved

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Teacher and instructor development

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    University Of Tasmania

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