The Museum as an Educational Space in Initial Teacher Training. An Educational Experience at the Bilbao Museum of Artistic Reproductions

Abstract

This article examines the role of museums as educational spaces, highlighting the importance of collaboration with museum institutions in initial teacher education. It emphasizes their potential to foster active learning, critical thinking, aesthetic sensitivity, and creativity by offering meaningful learning experiences to student teachers. The study presents a qualitative investigation based on an interpretive case study approach, centered on an educational experience carried out with students enrolled in the Primary Education Degree program. The research emerged from a collaboration between the Bilbao Museum of Artistic Reproductions, the artist José Pablo Arriaga, and Faculty of Education of Bilbao (EHU). Data were collected through interviews with the museum’s education officer, a pre-experience questionnaire administered to the students, and direct observation during the educational experience, in which students participated through observation, dialogue, and creative practice. The findings show that this type of experience contributes to high-quality arts education, strengthening the link between art and education. They also point to the need to integrate initiatives of this kind into initial teacher education, as they allow student teachers to engage, through practice, with methodologies and content that will be valuable for their future professional careers.