George E. Hein: Democracy and Museums

Join us to learn more about the educational mission of museums in our democratic society, past and present, in this lecture by George E. Hein, a world-renowned scholar on museums and progressive education.

Following John Dewey's lead, progressive educators have emphasized for a century that public education for all is necessary for sustaining a democratic republic. As educational institutions, museums can also advocate progressive practices. Many United States museums have recognized the significance of their educational mission for promoting democracy, beginning with that founded by Charles Willson Peale in the 18th century. Today we’ll hear thoughts from George E. Hein, author of the seminal book Learning in the Museum, on the crucial topic of Democracy and Museums.

George E. Hein is a professor emeritus in the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences and senior research associate with the Program Evaluation and Research Group (PERG) at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. From 2006 to 2007 he was president of TERC (Technical Education Research Centers), a nonprofit educational research and development organization. He has been the Howard Hughes Medical Institute visiting scholar at the California Institute of Technology, visiting faculty in the museum studies program at Leicester University in England, Fulbright research fellow at King's College, London, and research associate at the Museum of Science in Boston. Hein has been awarded a fellowship in museum practice at the Smithsonian’s Center for Education and Museum Studies for 2009 to 2010.

Hein received a BA from Cornell University (1954) and MS (1957) and PhD (1959) degrees in chemistry from the University of Michigan. He has carried out biochemical research at CalTech, Boston University, and Harvard Medical School as well as additional educational work at both the Education Development Center (EDC) and Boston University before coming to Lesley University.

He founded PERG in 1976 with Brenda Engel, initially to evaluate the educational work of 25 museums and arts organizations in the Boston area. He has been active in museum education and evaluation ever since, specializing in qualitative in-depth evaluations of programs, as well as visitor research in museums. During his time as director, PERG served as the evaluator for major national programs, such as the Algebra Project, assisted curriculum and professional development efforts by the National Science Resources Center and several other National Science Foundation (NSF) supported projects, and began major evaluation work for NASA education programs.

Cosponsored by the Columbus Museum of Art and Ohio State’s School of Teaching and Learning and Department of Art Education.

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Follow the links below to find out more about Hein and browse his writing.