Apport des sciences de l’éducation au concept et aux pratiques de médiation culturelle

Abstract

This reflection leans on the report of a movement of the center of gravity of the museums from the collector’s items towards the visitors. This passage is both marked by the increase and the diversity of the forms of the participation of the publics within the institution. The concept of mediation suggests a holistic approach which welcomes under its dome a constellation of practices, considering all the museum functions and all the dimensions - physiological, emotional, playful and cognitive - of the real-life museum experience before, during and after the visit in the real or virtual space. However, the definitional fuzziness which characterizes cultural mediation in museum environment makes difficult its effectivness. For that reason, it requires a theoretical support allowing better framing of the strategies of intervention with the publics. So here’s the question: are theoretical approaches applied in education sciences, in particular constructivism and the socioconstructivism, facilitating the normalization of the practices of mediation in museum environment without corrupting its nature?