AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

The development and evaluation of pedagogy that is responsive to our changing environmental and social context is essential to providing the next generation of conservators with the skills and insights to preserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage for an uncertain future. The UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage is engaged in multi-phased research to develop methods for embedding sustainability in conservation education. In the first phase of our research, we learned that barriers exist to integrating sustainability not only in teaching curricula, but in all forms of conservation practice. Although in hindsight this finding could have been anticipated, it came up so often in our interviews that we decided to add a second phase to more clearly understand the barriers that conservators face in practice and in educational settings. In this presentation we present the results of our research on these barriers as well as the measures people in the field take to address them. We reviewed the literature in conservation and adjacent disciplines, conducted a survey of the field, interviewed key educators and practitioners on the barriers they encounter in their work, and met with two focus groups comprised of geographically dispersed professionals at different stages of their careers and working in different types and sizes of institutions, including private practice. We also worked with a sustainability coach, educational evaluators, peer reviewers, and other advisors who assisted with our research to better understand these barriers and how to mitigate them. During this research we identified and formulated responses to root causes, including resistance, time constraints, and financial barriers to sustainable practices. We will present strategies for breaking down these barriers in both practice and teaching that prevent our sector from fully embracing a more thoughtful, balanced, safe, and ultimately carbon-neutral approach to conserving cultural heritage collections. In the next phase of our research, we will build on this understanding of barriers to integrating sustainable strategies in practice and education. Our ultimate aim is to develop and disseminate pedagogical models representing activities that embed environmental, social,
cultural, and economic sustainability in all its forms. These pedagogical models will be presented at a later date.The development and evaluation of pedagogy that is responsive to our changing environmental and social context is essential to providing the next generation of conservators with the skills and insights to preserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage for an uncertain future. The UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage is engaged in multi-phased research to develop methods for embedding sustainability in conservation education. In the first phase of our research, we learned that barriers exist to integrating sustainability not only in teaching curricula, but in all forms of conservation practice. Although in hindsight this finding could have been anticipated, it came up so often in our interviews that we decided to add a second phase to more clearly understand the barriers that conservators face in practice and in educational settings. In this presentation we present the results of our research on these barriers as well as the measures people in the field take to address them. We reviewed the literature in conservation and adjacent disciplines, conducted a survey of the field, interviewed key educators and practitioners on the barriers they encounter in their work, and met with two focus groups comprised of geographically dispersed professionals at different stages of their careers and working in different types and sizes of institutions, including private practice. We also worked with a sustainability coach, educational evaluators, peer reviewers, and other advisors who assisted with our research to better understand these barriers and how to mitigate them. During this research we identified and formulated responses to root causes, including resistance, time constraints, and financial barriers to sustainable practices. We will present strategies for breaking down these barriers in both practice and teaching that prevent our sector from fully embracing a more thoughtful, balanced, safe, and ultimately carbon-neutral approach to conserving cultural heritage collections. In the next phase of our research, we will build on this understanding of barriers to integrating sustainable strategies in practice and education. Our ultimate aim is to develop and disseminate pedagogical models representing activities that embed environmental, social, cultural, and economic sustainability in all its forms. These pedagogical models will be presented at a later date.