REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION Vol. 14, Spec. Issue, pp. 41–58, August 2022 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' VIEWS ON THE EFFICACY OF A MUSEUM’S HISTORICAL SCHOOL LESSONS– THE CASE OF ANCIENT EMONA Potrjeno/Accepted 8. 7. 2022 Objavljeno/Published 28. 8. 2022 MONIKA GOVEKAR OKOLIŠ University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia CORRESPONDING AUTHOR/KORESPONDENČNI AVTOR monika.govekarokolis@ff.uni-lj.si Keywords: museum education, museum's school lessons, Slovenian School Museum, university students, Ancient Emona Ključne besede: muzejsko izobraževanje, muzejske učne ure, Slovenski šolski muzej, visokošolski študenti, ''Antična Emona'' UDK/UDC [37.011.33:069]:378 Abstract/Izvleček Museums today engage in a range of educational activities, including simulated museum's historical school lessons. The article uses the Slovenian School Museum as an example and describes the education it offers, especially concerning museum's historical school lessons. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the views and reactions of un i v e rs i ty s tude n ts (n = 1 9 ) f ro m th e F ac ul ty o f Arts at th e Un i v e rs i ty o f Ljubljana, concerning what they learned from the enactment of a historical school lesson. An open-ended type of questionnaire was given to participants in the study year 2019/20 and used to evaluate the “Ancient Emona” school lesson. The study's findings show the historical school lesson conducted in the museum to be an effective, living, and active means of education on the history of teaching for university students. Pogledi visokošolskih študentov na učinkovitost muzejske učne ure iz preteklosti – primer ''Antična Emona'' Muzeji se danes ukvarjajo z različnimi izobraževalnimi dejavnostmi, med njimi so tudi simulirane muzejske učne ure iz preteklosti. Članek uporablja kot primer Slovenski šolski muzej in opisuje izobraževanje, ki ga ponuja, posebno pa muzejske učne ure iz preteklosti. Namen kvalitativne raziskave je raziskati poglede in odzive visokošolskih študentov (n = 19) s Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, glede tega, kaj so se učili na izbrani učni uri iz preteklosti. Vprašalnik odprtega tipa, ki so ga dobili udeleženci v študijskem letu 2019/20, je bil uporabljen za evalvacijo učne ure “Antična Emona”. Ugotovitve raziskave kažejo, da je učna ura iz preteklosti v muzeju učinkovit, živ in aktiven način izobraževanja o zgodovini poučevanja za visokošolske študente. DOI https://doi.org/10.18690/rei.15.Spec.Iss.41-58.2022 Besedilo / Text © 2022 Avtor(ji) / The Author(s) To delo je objavljeno pod licenco Creative Commons CC BY Priznanje avtorstva 4.0 Mednarodna. Uporabnikom je dovoljeno tako nekomercialno kot tudi komercialno reproduciranje, distribuiranje, dajanje v najem, javna priobčitev in predelava avtorskega dela, pod pogojem, da navedejo avtorja izvirnega dela. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 42 REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE/POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION/SPECIAL ISSUE Introduction Museums are institutions that include history, science, nature, art, and beliefs, in various ways and in varied forms. Today museums fulfil multiple functions, including collecting, documenting, protecting, displaying, and interpreting collections. These are the environments of specialized and complex learning, which are of great importance for both education and the dissemination of knowledge. It is important to emphasize that active education and learning are the basic connecting elements of all museum activities (Leftwich, 2016; Prottas, 2017). Supporters of the educational role of museums see education as the main goal of museums: i.e., providing educational and aesthetic enrichment. Museums are important educational and cultural institutions (Moussa, 2013; Magnier, 2015), since they engage in distinct forms of education. This includes lifelong learning, which gives visitors an opportunity for further, in-depth learning in museums (Anderson, Gray and Chadwick, 2003; Kristinsdóttir, 2017), intergenerational learning, which often takes place in a museum among visitors of different ages (Bračun Sova et al. 2015; Moldavanova, 2016; Smiraglia, 2016), and non-formal education. Researchers (e.g., Clover et al., 2016; Taylor and Neill 2008) say that non-formal education frequently occurs in museums; namely, planned, targeted education that gives visitors of mixed ages new knowledge about and experience of the past and typically does not lead to certification, unlike the school experience. It is important that education in museums stimulate the visitors’ emotions and senses, creating a climate conducive to the recollection of the past and of common roots, and in general offering visitors a good learning experience. It thus follows that museum have numerous ways to offer those involved through various types of education as much new knowledge about and experiences of the past as possible to make them efficient in their educational role. With this goal in mind, museums use passive forms of education (permanent and temporary exhibitions) and active forms of education (museum workshops, simulating school lessons from the past etc.) (Govekar-Okoliš, 2018). In museums, the active role of visitors is very important, one that creates an impression and encourages them to explore the past and integrate the past with the present. Education is one of the key activities of museums, together with keeping, researching, and presenting museum objects (Role of Museums and Education and Cultural Tourism Development, 2012). This is especially true of school or student museums, which host a range of educational activities and programmes. M. Govekar Okoliš: University Students' Views on the Efficacy of a Museum’s Historical School Lessons– the Case of Ancient Emona 43 For example, in the USA, a survey of various museum programmes for students (college museums, campus museums and student museums) reveals they are both a teaching instrument and a foundation for research. One example of a student museum is the Orton Geological Museum at Ohio University, which maintains a rich collection of historical artefacts and fossils. The museum has adapted to the needs of students with a variety of innovative methods and research that help students deepen their knowledge covering many centuries. The museum has become a learning centre offering a special educational experience (Bradley, 2009). Many educators and researchers have also expanded knowledge of students’ learning in museums through practice and/or research. Educational programmes are considerably more learning- and student- oriented and less object-driven (Griffin, 2011). We find similar museum educational programmes with examples of historical school lessons, where students learn about the history of schooling. These programmes with school lessons are held in various places, for example in Croatia, at the Croatian School Museum in Zagreb (2021), in England in the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley (2021) and the Ragged School Museum in London (2021), in the USA in the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum in California (2021) and in Australia at Sydney Living Museums in Sydney (2021). In Slovenia, several school lessons are also performed at the Slovenian School Museum in Ljubljana (2021). In what follows, we will describe how university students experience active learning about teaching and the teacher's role in the past at the Slovenian School Museum. The main aim of this study was to research their views and reactions concerning what they learned from the Ancient Emona school lesson and identify their views on the efficacy of this lesson. These will be explored on the basis of analysis the views of university students - future teachers: educators, adult educators and historians from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, who attended the Ancient Emona school lesson in the study year 2019/20. Educational activities at the Slovenian School Museum The Slovenian School Museum in Ljubljana has focused on the educational role since its beginnings in 1898. This role is further developed in the promotion of school learning through the history of education in Slovenia. By collecting teaching aids and presenting their use, the Museum activities initially aimed at the additional training of teachers. 44 REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE/POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION/SPECIAL ISSUE Later, the Museum started focussing on collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and studying museum objects and other non-material, school-related cultural heritage. In recent times, the Museum has become best known for its educational activities through its historical school lessons (Okoliš, 2012). The base for educational activities in the Slovenian School Museum comprises objects relating to the history of education on Slovenian ethnic territories and are divided into collections. The Museum’s fundamental collection is the exhibition collection. This keeps objects grouped by their function (e. g., teaching aids and materials, school equipment and school documentation). The second is the archival collection, which includes mainly private archival material donated to the Museum by former teachers, students and pupils or their descendants. The third is the documentation collection, which includes statistical and other important data concerning the history of Slovenian schools (registers of schools, annual reports, school folders, while there is also an index of biographical teacher data, a collection of newspaper articles, brochures etc. (Okoliš, 2012). An important part of the Museum is the pedagogical library, which collects and supplements school and pedagogical materials in Slovenia (the literature, textbooks, journals on the history of schools and pedagogy). The Museum maintains a photograph library (including postcards, stereoscopic images, and various films) and a restoration workshop. In addition, the Museum has a museum shop where it sells replicas of museum objects (school slates, fountain pens, inkwells, pencil cases, notebooks and other school requisites and aids (Okoliš, 2012). The shop also sells literature on the history of schools in Slovenia, such as Šolska kronika – School Chronicle, Slovenia’s journal dealing with the history of schooling and education in Slovenia (Slovenian School Museum – About the Museum, 2021). The Museum organises various educational activities. The most characteristic are exhibitions, which used to be the mainstay of the Museum. However, the idea of permanent exhibitions is today increasingly being replaced by temporary ones to revive visitor interest in the Museum. Both permanent and temporary exhibitions are important vehicles for educating visitors. Of particular importance is the permanent exhibition titled “School in Slovenia through the Centuries”. Besides the permanent exhibition, the Museum stages various temporary exhibitions intended for presenting a certain period and complementing the permanent exhibition (Okoliš, 2012). M. Govekar Okoliš: University Students' Views on the Efficacy of a Museum’s Historical School Lessons– the Case of Ancient Emona 45 Another important educational activity is the museum workshops. These vary according to the field of activity. For example, in the 2019/2020 school year the following eight workshops were held: “Making School Bells”, “Workshop for Making Bird Houses”, “Sumerian Workshop”, “Roman Workshop”, “Strip workshop - The ninth art is not the ninth concern”, a workshop on “Handwriting”, “The Council of Antiquity” and a “Herbal memory” workshop. The workshops are designed for children and young people, adults, and older adults – anyone wishing to learn writing and manual skills from the past (Pedagoški programi v šolskem letu 2019/2020 [Educational Programmes in School Year 2019/2020], 2019, 22-25). Another interesting activity relating to the history of the school and Museum is the museum school lessons as carried out in the past, which have been an important form of education at the Slovenian School Museum for years. These are educational activities in which visitors of different ages, children through to adults, directly encounter the past in an engaged way. These lessons provide non-formal education, lifelong learning, and intergenerational education; at the same time, this is planned education concerning the typical form of a specific school lesson at a particular time in Slovenia. The Museum’s educational goal is for visitors to know what school was like in the past, the role of the teacher and pupils in the classroom, school discipline in days gone by, and materials used in teaching that no longer exist or are now interpreted in a completely different way. In the 2019/2020 school year, the following museum school lessons (13) were held: Ancient Emona from the 1st century AD (“Emona” is the Roman name given to the settlement located where Ljubljana stands today, which will be described later), Vodnik’s School (1811), Sunday School (1865), Old school lesson for the youngest pupils, Physics (1900), Arithmetic (1905), School lesson for foreigners (1906), Good Manners (1907), Natural Sciences (1907), Handwork (1926), Handwriting (1930), Gymnastics (1932) and Hygiene (1932) (Pedagoški programi v šolskem letu 2019/2020 [Educational Programmes in School Year 2019/2020], 2019, 8-21). Ancient Emona school lesson The Museum’s Ancient Emona (1st century AD) school lesson is designed as a holistic presentation of an ancient Roman lesson that took place at three levels: (1) Ludus, the pupils learned to write, read and compute; (2) Grammaticus, where pupils mainly learned language, including Greek, and literature; (3) Rhetor, where they 46 REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE/POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION/SPECIAL ISSUE learned the art of performing, arguing, and other auxiliary knowledge such as mythology. This school lesson is mainly the work of Matej Prevc and his fellow curators at the Museum (Govekar-Okoliš, 2018; Okoliš, 2015). In elaborating the script, they mostly relied on what is known today about Roman schooling. Some literary sources were also involved. There were no lesson plans, as are used today, in Ancient Emona, but there was a tendency to use prominent titles from literature, including Greek, in schools. A more direct source for producing the script is an excerpt from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, also the teacher Orbilius mentioned by the poet Horace. For simulating the school atmosphere, the sources of inspiration were testimonies by Horace, Juvenal, Quintilian and other Roman authors who mention school reality in the Roman world (Govekar-Okoliš, 2018). The lessons from Ancient Emona (1 st century AD) are interesting, as all the teachers and pupils wear Roman clothes and use wax tablets for writing. Picture 1. Wax tablet for writing in the “Ancient Emona” school lesson (Slovenian School Museum, photo library). The venue for the ‘school’ is a specially equipped room in the Museum where the installed Roman pillars add authenticity to this sample school from Roman times in Ljubljana (Emona). In summer, the school lesson is held outdoors on a site where a Roman school probably once stood. M. Govekar Okoliš: University Students' Views on the Efficacy of a Museum’s Historical School Lessons– the Case of Ancient Emona 47 Picture 2. The “Ancient Emona” school lesson is held outdoors on a site where a Roman school probably once stood in Ljubljana (Slovenian School Museum, photo library). Under the guidance of a teacher-master, participants in this school lesson learn about the style of teaching and education in the era of Ancient Emona. The learning goals are that visitors (as pupils) learn Latin by counting to ten; they learn the Latin names for the months, write with a stylus on a wax tablet, listen to the story of Venus and Mars, and discuss the Roman gods. This school lesson is suitable for participants of all ages (Pedagoški programi v Slovenskem šolskem muzeju 2019/2020 [Educational Programmes in the Slovenian School Museum 2019/2020] 2019, 8-9). Participants in these lessons find out what the Roman school atmosphere was like and learn how in the past absolute silence was required in the schoolroom, along with order and discipline; they also see how important it was to learn by repeating after the teacher, using the polite form of language to address the teacher and replying in complete sentences to the teachers questions, and how pupils communicated with the teacher only after their name had been called. This Roman school lesson is a good example of how a museum can connect visitors with the past in an o riginal, intere sting, an d coo perativ e way for them to have a pleasant experience and obtain new knowledge. Many visitors from different institutions come to the Slovenian School Museum for this activity every year, often on their own initiative. One of these groups was the group of university students – future teachers: educators, adult educators and historians from Department of Educational Sciences and Department of History from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. 48 REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE/POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION/SPECIAL ISSUE In the bachelor’s study programme (second year), students have an elective subject called History of Adult Education. Within this subjec, where they learn educational skills and knowledge, they also learn about the history of Roman education, what school was like in the past (topics on education and discipline, teaching tools, teaching didactics, the role of teachers, the relationship between the teacher and the pupils, etc.). They like to visit the Slovenian School Museum, where they can experience the history of teaching. Methodology Purpose of the research This section of the article presents the qualitative research that aimed to establish university students’ views of and reactions to a school lesson from the past (Ancient Emona, 1 st century AD) in the Slovenian School Museum in December 2019. The method applied was an inquiry using an open-type questionnaire. Following the school lesson, the participants completed a short questionnaire. The purpose of the analysis was to determine the effectiveness of the Ancient Emona school lesson, how the participants experienced and were influenced by the experience, how they saw the teacher-pupil relationship and role of the teacher in the past, and what they had learned. Another aim was to see whether, after their experience, the participants would return to the Museum for a different school lesson. The following research questions were posed: 1. Did the participants enjoy the school lesson, and why? 2. Which new things did the participants learn during the school lesson? 3. What was the relationship between the teacher and the pupils? 4. What was the teacher’s role in the school lesson? 5. Do the participants wish to attend another school lesson, and why? Method and measurement instrument The descriptive method of research was used, based on a questionnaire. The data was provided by university students at the end of the lesson in the Museum. The questionnaire had open questions, and the data was analysed qualitatively. The answers (f) obtained from the questionnaire were presented in descriptive form. M. Govekar Okoliš: University Students' Views on the Efficacy of a Museum’s Historical School Lessons– the Case of Ancient Emona 49 The five open-ended questions were as follows. Question 1: ‘Did you enjoy the school lesson, and why?’, which was asked to obtain the participants’ views on the school lesson. Question 2: ‘Which new things did you learn during the school lesson?’, focused on participants’ views on new things learnt and knowledge obtained about history. Question 3: ‘What was the relationship between the teacher and the pupils?’, referred to the participants’ views on their relationship with the teacher and their glimpse into such a relationship in the past, thereby connecting the present with the past. Question 4: ‘What was the role of the teacher at the Roman school lesson?’, was designed to obtain the participants’ views on the teacher’s role in the school lesson. Question 5: ‘Would you wish to attend another school lesson and why?’, was asked to give insight into the participants’ views on the lesson’s attractiveness and, perhaps, to gather new ideas for school lessons. Sample The sample consisted of a group of participants – 19 university students (n = 19) from the Department of Educational Sciences (16 students of pedagogy and andragogy) and the Department of History (3 students of history) from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, who attended the Ancient Emona, 1 st century AD lesson. These were students in the second year of the bachelor’s study program who attend an elective subject called History of Adult Education. They are future teachers: educators, adult educators and historians. This group arrived at the Museum with the specific intention of experiencing the historical school lesson on Ancient Emona. All participants who attended the school lesson completed the anonymous open-ended questionnaire. There were 18 female participants and 1 male participant. Data Analysis The data gathered from the university student group were analysed qualitatively (Marshall and Rossman, 2006) with a view to answering the research questions. The university student group was analysed and all answers (f) to the questionnaire were transcribed. In the description of group, there is a short summary of the main findings. In this way, the answers were analysed with a view to determining the effectiveness of the Ancient Emona school lesson. Based on the university students’ responses, five categories were formed, as presented below. 50 REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE/POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION/SPECIAL ISSUE Results 1. The study collecting student views on the Ancient Emona school lesson first analysed whether they enjoyed the lesson, and why. They liked the Ancient Emona school lesson, from the 1 st century AD in Roman times (all 19 participants replied). Participants’ answers show that all students enjoyed the lesson. They supported this position by noting that participants (as pupils) had fun, since the teacher was a good actor and the lesson was i nteresting (f = 19). They liked the way the teacher spoke and behaved just as teachers used to (f = 17). They indicated the lesson was lively, interesting, and very well planned (f = 15), and the teacher really stepped into the role from the past (f = 12). They saw and experienced what school lessons were like in the past (strict discipline and an authoritarian role for the teacher) (f = 12). They also indicated a very good learning experience: throughout the lesson, participants were stimulated and full of expectations (f = 13). It was a great script and allowed inclusion of participants (f = 9). They said that this school lesson had been a new, positive experience from the past (f = 14). They found the lesson interesting and liked the way it was conducted (f = 12). The participants liked the Roman clothes they put on to take part in the lesson (f= 11). The teacher effectively demonstrated what teaching and learning was like in Ancient Emona during Roman times (f = 10). After analysing the questionnaires, we can conclude that the university students enjoyed the lesson. The reasons for this were the opportunity to experience the past, and the disciplinary and authoritarian role of the Roman teacher. The students expected such a lesson because they had already learned at the Faculty about education in Roman times. Therefore, they paid more attention to the teacher’s role, his working method, communication, discipline etc. They liked these because the experience enabled them to familiarise themselves with the Roman school and experience it. 2. The second question, which new things did the participants learn during the school lesson, produced the following results. In the Ancient Emona lesson, the participants realised just how strict Roman school used to be (f= 16). They emphasised that in the past pupils had to respect the teacher and show it, otherwise they would be punished (f = 13). They noticed the teacher’s authoritarian attitude to the pupils (f = 11). Having to address the teacher as teacher - master was new to them (f = 10). They also mentioned the teacher speaking in Latin (f = 15). M. Govekar Okoliš: University Students' Views on the Efficacy of a Museum’s Historical School Lessons– the Case of Ancient Emona 51 They reported learning a few basic words in Latin (how to introduce themselves, the names of the months, the numbers, and the names of gods) (f = 11) and that the motto “repetition is the mother of learning” continues to be important to this day (f = 9). The participants also enjoyed the opportunity to learn something new (especially writing with a stylus on a wax tablet) (f = 14). Another aspect mentioned was the strict discipline (f = 15). They mentioned they had learned how to behave in school and how to be submissive to the teacher (f = 10). They had to keep their arms behind their backs (f = 9). They learned how pupils used to sit properly in school, thus emphasising the importance of the right posture, stillness, and order in lessons (f = 8). The answers show that the university students learned new things from the past (how to write with a stylus on a wax tablet, a few Latin words, how to behave towards the teacher and respectfully address them, etc.). We found that participants were prepared to pay attention to the Roman course of instruction, the content, and to reflect on the new things they had learned. 3. The following describes the university students’ views on the relationship between the teacher and the pupils. In the Ancient Emona lesson, the participants emphasised that in the past teachers were authoritarian, while the pupils were in a subordinate position (f = 12). The teacher had complete authority (f = 18). Participants said the teacher–pupil relationship was good and specifically mentioned the importance of direct communication (f = 12). The teacher’s attitude to the pupils was authentic; the participants said they had the feeling they really were in the town of Emona (f = 11). The atmosphere was tense (f = 9), and they appreciated the fact that the teacher led the lessons very realistically (f = 7) and that it was now easier to imagine how strict Roman schooling once was (f = 14). The participants also observed that the teacher behaved in a superior and strict way, while the pupils had to be obedient and good (f = 11). The teacher was authoritative, strict, respectful, and demanded knowledge, order, and discipline (f = 17). Comments about the relationship between the teacher and the pupils show that the participants experienced a strict, authoritarian teacher attitude, differing from what they experienced at their school. For participants, the school lesson was a new, positive experience. 52 REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE/POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION/SPECIAL ISSUE They learned about the strict Roman upbringing, since while in the role of pupils, they were only permitted to speak when asked something by the teacher, and at all other times strict discipline and complete silence during the lessons was required. 4. Next, university students’ views are described, on the teacher’s role in the school lesson. The participants responded that the role of teacher in the Ancient Emona lesson was to supervise the pupils (f = 8), discipline them (f = 6) and prepare them for learning (f = 12). The teacher’s role was to convey knowledge and to help affirm this knowledge through strictness and discipline (f = 18). As the authority, he spoke the most and had the final say, which is why the participants did not feel good in the role of pupils (f = 9). There was very little two -way communication between the teacher and the pupils, as the latter were only allowed to speak when asked by the teacher (f = 15). The teacher’s role was educational, as he was trying to give the pupils new knowledge and teach them general skills and good behaviour, sitting quietly and still, patience and order during class (f = 11). At the same time, the teacher taught the pupils abo ut Roman values and morals, indirectly raising them through knowledge (f = 14). The participants emphasised two roles the teacher played: educating the pupils and bringing them up, with the second of these being much more important than it is in today’s school (f = 7). The teacher’s role was to teach pupils how to be model citizens (knowing Latin, being familiar with all the gods and Greek and Roman art, etc.) (f = 12). He taught reading and writing in Latin (f = 18). We saw that participants recognised the importance of the Roman teacher’s role. They described the role of the teacher in greater detail when they were examining theoretical knowledge in practice; in the case of instruction in the Roman school, they recognised the teacher's strict discipline. The teacher was a strict authority. The teacher was successful and their teaching was interesting, as they taught the participants new things. 5. It was expected that answers to the question whether the participants would attend another school lesson, and why would vary, since the participants’ experiences were completely new. The answers show that most participants would like to attend other school lessons. The reasons for this are listed below. The experience of the Ancient Emona lesson filled the university students with enthusiasm for history, as their answers were all positive – 19 participants replied with a ‘yes’. M. Govekar Okoliš: University Students' Views on the Efficacy of a Museum’s Historical School Lessons– the Case of Ancient Emona 53 They gave the following justifications for this: because they learned which teaching aids were used and could experience them (e.g. writing on wax tablets in Roman times in Ljubljana) (f = 19), ‒ museum school lessons from the past are very interesting and informative (f = 16), ‒ good experience, attitude and atmosphere in the classroom brings strict discipline (f = 15), ‒ because a great deal of knowledge and new information was gained in these lessons (f = 13), ‒ because it is good to experience the role of teachers in the past (f = 9), ‒ experience some other teaching methods from the past (f = 7), ‒ because I am interested in the relationship between teacher and pupils in other lessons (f = 6). These answers imply the participants’ enthusiasm about the Ancient Emona school lesson and willingness to attend again. They learned what kind of relationship there was between teacher and pupils, how discipline was strict and how the teacher was a strict authority in Roman schools. This was a new teaching experience for the students. They found the school lesson in the Museum interesting with regard to both content and the experience of relationships from the past. University students would like to attend other school lessons in the Museum, because it was good for them to experience the role of teachers in the past. Discussion The study findings show that the Ancient Emona school lesson is an effective living form of non-formal education for university students, because they gain new, additional, information about and personal experience of the Roman history of teaching. This form of education is illustrated in the article using the Slovenian School Museum in Ljubljana as an example, where this type of study of the effectiveness of the school lessons is unprecedented. From the main results of the research described above, we can summarize the essential university students’ views on the efficiency on the Ancient Emona lesson. The participants in the Slovenian School Museum were future teachers: educators, adult educators and historians from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. Analysis of their answers to the questionnaire showed the participants liked the school lesson very much. 54 REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE/POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION/SPECIAL ISSUE Among the reasons for this, most mentioned the new experience of a school lesson, the strict discipline, and the authoritarian teacher. We must emphasise that students from the Faculty had already received theoretical knowledge about the museum school lesson from the 1 st century AD and had sought to experience such a school in the Museum. Therefore, they were much more attentive to the course of instruction, the communication, and the role of the teacher etc., as we have seen in their answers. The Ancient Emona school lesson was effective, because the participants’ answers indicated that they had learned something new. They mentioned they acquired new knowledge in the history of schooling in Roman Emona in Ljubljana, directly experiencing what learning in school was like in the past and the characteristics of the lessons. In the school lesson, they learned the basics of Latin, used wax tablets for writing like those used in the past, practiced behaving towards the teacher and respectfully addressing them, learned to sit upright and to be submissive to the teacher. The effect of the school lesson on the participants was also shown by their answer regarding how they had experienced their relationship with the teacher. In the Ancient Emona lesson, they mentioned the teacher’s strict, authoritarian attitude to the pupils and the pupils’ inferior position. They felt this when they were permitted to speak only when called on by the teacher, whereas at all other times they had to be silent and listen; they had to sit still. This was an important experience for participants. The lesson on Ancient Emona had different educational goals and a different time in which the school imposed strict discipline. These university students --future teachers-- recognised in greater detail the Roman teacher's role as they examined theoretical knowledge in practice. They especially learned new things about strict discipline. In the Roman school lessons, they emphasised the important role of the teacher. He was a strict authority but with considerable knowledge. Participants felt the educational role of the teacher consisted of his dominant role, and the control exercised over the pupils. Participants were educated through strictness and gained new knowledge via their active role as pupils in the Ancient Emona lesson. Through the education provided, students acquired experience of and knowledge about a historical Roman school. This supplemented the knowledge they already possessed and made it easier for them to understand the characteristics of R oman education of yesteryear. The school lesson was effective because it filled the participants with enthusiasm. M. Govekar Okoliš: University Students' Views on the Efficacy of a Museum’s Historical School Lessons– the Case of Ancient Emona 55 Most participants indicated they would like to attend other museum school lessons with the intention of gaining more interesting historical experiences and knowledge. The main views of university students on the efficacy of the museum school lesson Ancient Emona are shown in Diagram 1: Diagram 1. University students' views on the efficacy of the Ancient Emona school lesson (own illustration) 56 REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE/POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION/SPECIAL ISSUE Conclusion This analysis seeks to highlight the important educational role of and activities in the Slovenian School Museum, especially school lessons from the past. The museum has become a non-formal and lifelong learning centre offering a special educational living experience, such as this museum school lesson on Ancient Emona. In the museum, the active role of visitors - university students-- is vital, since a visit can leave a lasting impression while encouraging them to explore the past, seek their own identity and integrate the past with the present. The Ancient Emona school lesson left a strong impression on participants. They so much better understood the importance of the discipline in the school and the related role of the teacher. Such a school lesson in a museum is an effective living form of non-formal education, offering university students an active experience and a unique impression of the past by connecting with the present in an interesting, participatory, even playful way, while also imparting new knowledge, better understanding, and an incentive to research the history of schooling. Since the results of this study are limited to Slovenia, further comparative research could be done in the wider European area (for example in Croatia, at the Croatian School Museum in Zagreb (2021) or in England in the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley (2021), etc.) and the global area (in Australia at the Sydney Living Museums in Sydney (2021) and in the USA at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum in California (2021). 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Museum education: A non-formal education perspective. Journal of Museum Education, 33(1), 23–32. 58 REVIJA ZA ELEMENTARNO IZOBRAŽEVANJE/POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA JOURNAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION/SPECIAL ISSUE Author Dr. Monika Govekar Okoliš, PhD Redna profesorica, Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta, Aškerčeva cesta 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e.pošta: monika.govekarokolis@ff.uni-lj.si Full Professor, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Aškerčeva cesta 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e- mail: monika.govekarokolis@ff.uni-lj.si