'Curator Quest'
A Decision-Based Framework for Agency and Critical Learning in Museum Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62161/revvisual.v18.6250Keywords:
Visual culture, Museum education, Curatorial decision-making, Epistemic agency, Decision-based learning, Exhibition narrativesAbstract
Museums are environments shaped by curatorial decisions that structure visual meaning. Yet these decisions often remain invisible to visitors, limiting critical engagement and educational agency. This article proposes ‘Curator Quest’, a conceptual framework for decision-based museum education that positions curatorial agency as a pedagogical strategy. Drawing on visual culture, museum education, and decision-based learning, the framework conceptualizes learning as engagement with curatorial dilemmas such as selection, narration, mediation, and accessibility. Decision trees function as epistemic devices that make curatorial reasoning explicit. Rather than offering empirical evaluation, the article presents a design-oriented contribution illustrated through a digital prototype.
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