Leisure-learning : revitalising the role of museums : a survey of Cape Town parents' attitudes towards museums

Mathers, Kathryn

Leisure-learning : revitalising the role of museums : a survey of Cape Town parents' attitudes towards museums

Master Thesis

1993

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Archaeology

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Abstract

The aim of this project was to assess the image of museums in Cape Town society in the context of the changing needs of South African people. A questionnaire examining museum-visiting habits and perceptions of the role of museums was distributed to parents via nine schools in Cape Town. Each school represented a different socioeconomic package so that the sample included parents with varying educational status and incomes. Parents of school-going children were sampled because they may be predisposed towards museums as institutions that offer their children educational and recreational opportunities and, therefore, represent a best-case scenario. The majority of the sample had visited a museum. A relationship exists between museum-visiting and higher socioeconomic status. Museum- visiting, though, was not limited to people with a higher level of education. Parents who were actively involved in a broad range of leisure activities were most likely to have visited museums. Although socioeconomic status and participation in leisure activities are related, museum-visitors appear to have leisure-lifestyles and not level of education in common. The results showed a contradiction in parents' attitudes towards museums; the image of museums was good but the image of the museum experience was often bad. This was particularly the case for infrequent museum-visitors. This group also experienced a feeling that 'museums are for a different type of person', which may explain why they do not visit despite believing that museums are worthwhile institutions. Museums appear to be perceived as institutions that offer children opportunities for learning and recreation. This could be the reason why young adults or seniors do not participate in museum programmes. This survey also showed that museums were associated with research on and preservation of the past. Black parents, though, were least likely to make this association and it is possible that the emphasis of most museums on the post-colonial past of South Africa is one reason why Black South Africans do not visit museums. There does, though, exist a generally positive image of the role of museums. The emphasis placed on leisure-learning or semi-leisure by young and old people in the townships does indicate that museums could meet an important need for constructive leisure opportunities.