Educators are critical to science museum operations, both inside the museum and in the community. © Florida Museum of Natural History / Jeff Gage
Every visitor’s experience at a science center or museum is enhanced by their engagement with museum staff. When visitors interact with members of museum teams, it can increase their sense of belonging, the time they spend visiting, and their positive perception of the value of museums. In particular, when visitors engage with educators, they develop more positive attitudes about science, their understanding of it grows, and they have greater awareness of how science is connected to everyday life. Highly skilled educators can improve visitors’ satisfaction with the museum experience and make them more likely to return. Memorable interactions with staff and educators in particular can turn a one-time guest into a member.
The educators in informal science institutions are highly educated, highly skilled, and essential members of their organizations but they are often expected to cover many roles while promotions and raises do not keep up with their skills or responsibilities. Due to this, the field sees high levels of turnover and the loss of highly skilled staff.
As educators play a key role in visitors’ experiences, it is important to consider how leaders can support the retention of these team members.
Community: Why belonging matters for informal educators
There are many factors that influence workplace happiness and a willingness to stay. Salary and opportunities for growth are two key factors. However, there are other aspects to a job that play an important role, such as a sense of community and access to professional development. A sense of community impacts museum educators’ feelings of belonging, value, and beliefs that their needs will be met because they are part of a community.
According to MacMillan and Chavis, a person’s sense of community is made up of four parts:
- Membership - feeling confident that you belong and are accepted by the group
- Reinforcement of needs - recognizing that the point of a community is to support its members’ resources and needs
- Influence - influencing and being influenced by the members and the community
- Shared emotional connection - developing a shared history and trust through quality engagement that leads to an emotional connection
©Florida Museum of Natural History / Kristen Grace
Having a strong sense of community is important for informal science educators for many reasons. It can reduce a sense of isolation for those in positions that are solo, seasonal, or poorly defined. Having a sense of belonging in the community can lead to greater retention—especially for early-career or underrepresented educators. It can also lead to increased professional identity in the museum education field where there is no single “right way” to become an educator. People come to work on museum education teams from all types of backgrounds: scientists, classroom teachers, artists, and hobbyists. While this variety is one of the field’s greatest strengths, it also presents some unique challenges for teams. By engaging in community, educators can experience meaningful professional learning through peer exchange, shared practices, and increased collective capacity. The benefits of a strong sense of community can lead to improved visitor experiences as educators grow in their confidence and practice. So, what do we know about informal science educators’ sense of community?
I recently completed a study of 369 museum educators from across the country to assess their sense of community and how it relates to their organizational commitment, or willingness to continue working for their museum. Relevant to ASTC, I examined the experiences of 197 educators who worked in science centers and museums. Participants reported feeling connected to their science museum community and positively committed to their organizations. Their commitment was driven more by personal connection and the value they see in their work than by a sense of obligation, suggesting a workforce that is engaged because they want to be, not because they feel they have to be. When I looked at each of the four components associated with sense of community (membership, reinforcement of needs, influence, and emotional connection), I found all four were significantly correlated with educators’ desire to stay at their organization.
So, how can leaders help support this sense of community and enhance retention of the educators who bring so much value to informal science institutions?
©Florida Museum of Natural History / Jivana Wilhoit
Connection: Building belonging through educator professional development
Educators in informal science learning environments often experience feelings of isolation with a lack of opportunity to talk about their practice with their colleagues. Professional development opportunities may be one avenue for helping to build informal educators’ sense of community. Engaging in professional learning helps to signify who “belongs” in a community because it can shape access, shared language, and entry points into the field. It can also support informal science educators’ sense of identity in the field by highlighting lived experiences, expertise, and practice. Importantly, professional development can help build relationships and trust among educators through dialogue, collaboration, and repeated interaction. This leads to a greater network among informal science educators and a stronger sense of community.
Professional learning also helps grow educators’ skills and indicates they are valued by their organization. In addition to my research on educators’ sense of community, I have recently completed a study on informal educators’ professional development experiences. Of the 259 informal educators who participated in this study, more than 85% said they had participated in a professional development opportunity in the last year. When asked to describe the most valuable part of that professional development opportunity, the most common theme was community (see Figure 1).
What do educators value in professional development opportunities?
Figure 1. Top five themes, in response to “What do you find most valuable about your current professional development opportunities?”
I was also curious how important access to professional development was for my participants. Of the educators, 85% said having opportunities to engage in professional development was moderately to extremely important in their decision to stay at their current institution. When I asked participants to consider the value of professional development alongside other job factors, like salary, benefits, or work environment, 80% still said professional development was an a moderately to extremely important benefit.
Notably, when asked what areas of professional development were most important to them, educators most commonly selected “Leadership and Management Skills” (see Figure 2). Other priority topics included program evaluation, cultural competence and equity, and various topics related to learning and facilitation.
What areas of professional development do educators see as important?
Figure 2. Top selections (all selected by 25% or more of respondents), in response to, “What areas of professional development are most important to you right now? Select your top three options.”
I also asked what challenges educators faced when trying to access professional development. Not surprisingly, the top two responses were lack of time and cost. More than half of the educators shared that travel requirements made professional development difficult, along with a lack of awareness of what opportunities exist. More than 30% of the educators cited a lack of institutional support.
While the majority (85%) of educators surveyed said they were able to participate in professional development, this high rate is likely related to the recruitment methods for this study, which relied primarily on professional museum listservs. The educators I was able to recruit through these channels had worked in the field for an average of 10 years, more than half of them were in a supervisory role, and almost 90% were full time. They are also members of professional societies and organizations. While these numbers are positive, it’s important to keep in mind that many early-career, seasonal, or part-time educators do not have the same access to these opportunities that can help grow their skills and keep them in museums for the long term.
Growth: The payoff for educators and institutions
Supporting staff to engage in professional development also has benefits for the organization beyond just increased teaching skills. Showing educators they are valued through museum-supported professional development can lead to higher morale, job satisfaction, and confidence in their role within their organization. It can also reduce burnout. All of this can lead to educator retention. According to Gallup, organizations that invest in their employees are twice as likely to retain them.
When museums strategically invest in their staff, educators can feel more engaged, valued, and loyal to their organization. And in turn, happier educators who stay longer are more likely to turn visitors into members and support the mission of their museum.
Due to the challenges of limited time and funding, supporting professional development for all staff must be intentional on the part of administration. Many organizations are already committed to supporting their staff through professional development. However, if your organization does not currently have a professional development plan for museum educators, it will be useful to develop one that aligns with your mission and goals—as well as budget and staffing. It may also be helpful to have staff complete a self-assessment so you can prioritize limited time and funding to areas of greatest need.
While organizations like ASTC offer a wide range of valuable resources to support the science museum workforce broadly (see sidebar), I also saw a need for resources focused on the needs and priorities of museum educators specifically.
Professional learning resources
ASTC offers a wide range of resources to strengthen the science museum workforce, including:
- Professional Pathways in Informal STEM Learning - a set of tools to help you understand, plan, and advance your skills, knowledge, and capabilities.
- Science Centers & Museums 101 - a virtual workshop to help professionals of all levels develop a deeper understanding of the people, organizations, and ideas that shape the global science museum community.
- New Leaders Fellowship - a nine-month, cohort-based leadership development program designed for mid-career science museum professionals.
- Communities of Practice - groups for connecting and supporting professionals around a shared identity, job role, or area of interest.
A new professional learning community for educators
In 2026, the Community of Aquarium, Museum, Zoo, and Informal Educators (CAMZIE) was launched as a welcoming space for informal educators of all kinds to connect, share, and grow together. As discussed above, informal educators often have limited access to professional development, few opportunities to connect with peers in similar roles, and little time to search for resources or keep up with the latest research. CAMZIE’s goal is to make it easier for informal educators to do the work they care about. Through CAMZIE educators will find:
- A supportive professional community
- A curated resource library to save them time searching for tools and materials
- Accessible, high-quality professional development
- Research summaries that translate current scholarship into practical insights for educators
Educators who are interested in learning more about CAMZIE should visit camzie.org for more information and sign up.
Cultivating a strong sense of community and providing robust professional development opportunities are essential for museums seeking to retain their best educators (and all their staff). When leaders prioritize staff growth through dedicated time and funding, museums can see amazing effects: empowered educators deliver exceptional visitor experiences which ultimately strengthens the long-term health and mission of their museums.
