Practicing What We Preach

Abstract

Today, environmental, cultural, and historical sites are emphasizing educational and interactive visitor experiences. An institution's educational philosophy should form the core of volunteer training and in turn be reflected in public programs. This comparative case study examined two training programs at a history and art museum. Data were collected through interviews, training/ promotional materials, and observations. Analysis revealed that the learning theory touted to volunteers for use with the public is not applied by educators during training. Findings suggest a need for aligning an institution's educational philosophy with its training practices and assessing the impact of such alignment on volunteer training and program delivery.