The European Educational Researcher

Tacit Knowledge of Art Educators. A qualitative reconstruction of normative orientations of museum educators and insights on quality in art education

Fabian Hofmann 1 2 *
1 Fliedner University of Applied Sciences, Duesseldorf, Germany2 University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany* Corresponding Author
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The European Educational Researcher, Volume 9, Issue 3, October 2026, pp. 23-41
OPEN ACCESS VIEWS: 8 DOWNLOADS: 6 Publication date: 15 Oct 2026
ABSTRACT
What constitutes 'good' art education? This study focuses on the quality measures used by museum educators for their programmes. Following the sociology of knowledge (Mannheim, 1964), we hypothesise that implicit, conjunctive knowledge and explicit, communicative knowledge both serve as orientations. In a videographic survey at an art museum, we analyse the orientations of four museum educators. Using the Documentary Method (Bohnsack, 2010; Bohnsack & Nentwig-Gesemann, 2010), we examine the implicit, conjunctive knowledge that guides their actions, as captured in our recordings. The result is a typology of pedagogical orientations in the museum: (1) 'The museum is not an abstract, distant and unpleasant place', (2) 'The lifeworld of children', and (3) 'Children are artists, too – but not really'. The process of orientation involves balancing these concepts, which are sometimes contradictory. This understanding of professional orientations leads to a redefinition of the profession as the reconciliation of conflicting orientations. Therefore, professional learning should involve reflection on this process, which can be guided by research methods.
KEYWORDS
Art education, Documentary method, Museum education, Professionalism, Reflection, Theory-practice interaction
CITATION (APA)
Hofmann, F. (2026). Tacit Knowledge of Art Educators. A qualitative reconstruction of normative orientations of museum educators and insights on quality in art education. The European Educational Researcher, 9(3), 23-41. https://doi.org/10.31757/euer.932
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