Hands-on-humanities: an aspirational educational pathway for disadvantaged students in rural Victoria, Australia
(2020) The Museum Review — Vol. 5, n° 1, p. 1-17 (2020)
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- Authors
Van de Ven, Annelies 
- et. al.
- Abstract
- This paper presents the structure, challenges, and initial outcomes of the ongoing project “Engaging Antiquity in the Goulburn Valley,” a hands-on-humanities teaching and learning initiative focused on bridging the urban-rural opportunity and outcome gap evident on the Australian secondary education landscape. Research has confirmed that many students from Australian rural schools suffer multiple levels of disadvantage that affect their educational outcomes. Challenges faced by these students arise as a function of low socio-economic status, limited access to experienced teachers with the capacity to lead classes across a broad curriculum, depressed student and parental educational aspirations, and constraints inflicted by geographic isolation. Overcoming the educational division brought about by these difficulties is one that stands central to addressing wider issues of social cohesion. As this paper will argue, engagement with methods central to archaeology and museum learning can provide important opportunities for educational advancement as well as confidence and skills building. Initial evaluations of student surveys, and the observed reactions of student and teacher program participants, confirm not only the efficacy of this pedagogy but the thirst that exists in the sector for alternative means of knowledge transfer. Of particular note are the outcomes of this approach for students with additional education needs and those who struggle with text-based learning. The multi-layered text, visual and tactile oriented experiences, and the immersive environments of simulated archaeological fieldwork and museum visits, promote information retention and engagement
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Citations
Van de Ven, A., & et al. (2020). Hands-on-humanities: an aspirational educational pathway for disadvantaged students in rural Victoria, Australia. The Museum Review, 5(1), 1-17. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/213659 (Original work published 2020)