Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi

Öz

The purpose of this study is to determine the 11th-grade high-school students’ perceptions of museums, one of the out-of-school learning environments. Qualitative research method was used in the study conducted for this purpose. The design of the research was determined as phenomenological pattern. The research was conducted in May of the 2022-2023 Academic Year. 11th-grade students of the Social Sciences High-School in Çankaya district of Ankara participated in the study on a voluntary basis. Composition writing technique was used as a data collection tool. Inductive content analysis technique was used to analyse the data obtained. The codes obtained from the data were tabulated and interpreted. According to the results of the research, it was determined that students mostly visited history museums. It was found out that the concept of "museum" is generally associated with the field of history. It was also concluded in this study that museum visits were made for the purpose of spending free time and doing performance homework, and that the visits were mostly unplanned. On the other hand, there were some students who emphasized the educational role of museums. While there were participants who pointed out the necessity of a museum guide for the efficiency of museum visits, the students who visited without a guide expressed this deficiency. In line with the results of the research, it is seen that the educational function of museums is not fulfilled. For a productive museum visit, it is recommended to make planned and purposeful museum visits. It is also recommended that there is a need for the encouragement of museum and historical field trips, which are among the issues to be considered in the curriculum prepared by the Ministry of National Education, and that importance should be attached to the discipline of history and interdisciplinary museum education in order to achieve the purpose of the visits.