National Science Museum, Thailand; University of the West of England, UK
National Science Museum, Thailand.
Public Underst Sci. 2015 Jan;24(1):69-85. doi: 10.1177/0963662514525560. Epub 2014 Apr 21.
In Western literature, there is evidence that museum explainers offer significant potential for enhancing visitors' learning through influencing their knowledge, content, action, behaviour and attitudes. However, little research has focused on the role of explainers in other cultural contexts. This study explored interactions between visitors and museum explainers within the setting of Thailand. Two questionnaires were distributed to 600 visitors and 41 museum explainers. The results demonstrated both potential similarities and differences with Western contexts. Explainers appeared to prefer didactic approaches, focussing on factual knowledge rather than encouraging deep learning. Two-way communication, however, appeared to be enhanced by the use of a 'pseudo-sibling relationship' by explainers. Traditional Thai social reserve was reduced through such approaches, with visitors taking on active learning roles. These findings have implications for training museum explainers in non-Western cultures, as well as museum communication practice more generally.
在西方文献中，有证据表明，讲解员通过影响游客的知识、内容、行动、行为和态度，为增强游客的学习提供了巨大的潜力。然而，很少有研究关注讲解员在其他文化背景下的作用。本研究探讨了泰国背景下游客与讲解员之间的互动。向 600 名游客和 41 名讲解员分发了两份问卷。结果表明，讲解员在西方语境中既有潜在的相似之处，也有潜在的差异。讲解员似乎更喜欢说教式的方法，注重事实知识，而不是鼓励深度学习。然而，通过讲解员使用“假兄弟姐妹关系”，双向交流似乎得到了加强。通过这种方法，泰国传统的社会矜持有所减少，游客也扮演了积极学习的角色。这些发现对非西方文化中讲解员的培训以及更广泛的博物馆传播实践都具有重要意义。
