Institutionalization of school museums in the context of patriotic education development at the present stage

Abstract

The article examines the current stage of development of museums in educational organizations / school museums. The author draws on a historical and pedagogical analysis of the formation process of school museums and emphasizes the high potential of museum pedagogy in the patriotic education of children and youth from 2003 to the present, when the regulatory framework defining the requirements for educational organizations to obtain the official status of a school museum began to actively take shape. A definition of the concept of «institutionalization» is provided, and the stages of this process as applied to school museums in the early 21st century are identified, along with an analysis of criteria and approaches. Within the framework of the institutionalization of school museums, the author highlights the certification (registration) process, which acts as both a negative and a positive factor influencing the work of school museums. Based on the certification requirements (presence of: an order establishing the museum in the educational organization; an active group of students and teachers; an inventory book in which museum items are registered; premises and equipment for storing and exhibiting museum items; a completed museum exhibition; a museum charter and a development program approved by the educational organization), diagnostic tools have been developed. The results of a survey of school museum directors, teachers, and homeroom teachers on the requirements for school museum certification are presented. The author presents survey results showing that: the certification procedure is perceived by educators as excessively bureaucratic (61,4%); the idea of introducing self-assessment elements is considered optimal (73,7%); the number of items constituting the museum's collection should not be a rigid and sole criterion for granting museum status (56,4% against); the list of museum profiles is generally sufficient (82,4%) but requires updating; the regulations should minimize formal requirements, and the recertification period should be extended to 7 years to give directors more time for actual work with children. Based on the survey results, the author identifies problematic issues and directions for optimizing the process of a school museum obtaining official status (institutionalization).