The Diminishing School Field Trip: Creating Alternative Connections between History Museums and the Middle School Student
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Authors
Prenoveau, Julianne
Issue Date
2009
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
In the spirit of these words, my master's thesis project explores how history museum educators in the United States, with a focus on Ohio and Illinois, can build, engage and sustain the middle school student audience (grades six through eight) through technology that is increasing accessible to this audience. I focus on museums in Ohio and Illinois, although my research is applicable to history museums throughout the nation.
For this project, I researched how the mandates of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly referred to as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and which will be referred herein as NCLB, have affected the teaching of social studies (history) in the middle school classroom and how this mandate has in turn affected history museums. In 1992 the National Council for the Social Studies noted this definition for Social Studies, "it is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence" (NCSS, 1992). The NCSS further defines social studies as a multidisciplinary subject that generally always includes the study of history.