The School Museum as a Catalyst for a Renewal of the Teaching of History of Education. Practices and experiences from the University of Macerata (Italy)

Abstract

The article presents the educational activities that, since its establishment, the Museum of the School of the University of Macerata has developed with particular attention to university and school students. As a result of a fruitful synthesis of the most recent trends in History of Education, Heritage Education and finally in History Teaching, education based on historical-educational heritage offers the opportunity to rethink the teaching of the history of education itself, from many viewpoints: by enriching in a more operational and participatory manner the ways of transmitting the theoretical (i.e. historical) and methodological contents of the discipline, on the one hand; on the other, by promoting the museum environment as a laboratory to develop cross-curricular teaching competences, crucial for educators of today; and finally, by making the history of the school «tangible» and closer to a wider audience, while strengthening the importance and role of education in society.

Key words: Museums of Schools, Teaching of the History of Education,
Historical-educational Heritage, Heritage Education.