These standards attempt to address the diverse areas of responsibility covered by education and interpretation at National Trust Historic Sites, including scholarship, curriculum development, visitor research, and staff training, as well as the broad range of public programs presented by historic sites, from tours and exhibits to publications and the Internet. The Site Directors of NTHS agreed that these standards should meet the following goals:
1. To reinforce best practices at National Trust Historic Sites.
2. To ensure a consistent quality of experience for visitors to National Trust Historic Sites.
3. To assist National Trust Historic Sites in developing individual goals and objectives.
4. To provide a cooperative strategy for developing and improving the educational programs and historical interpretation at all National Trust Historic Sites.
5. To evaluate historic sites for future inclusion as National Trust Historic Sites.
During this same time, many related professional organizations adopted codes of ethics, practices, and guidelines, decreasing the need for the National Trust for Historic Preservation to develop its own standards and to instead adopt the practices of other organizations by reference. At this time, the Director of Interpretation and Education of the National Trust has adopted the following professional standards and best practices for historical interpretation and public education.
Standards
1. For developing, implementing, and evaluating educational programs, activities, and methods, use:
• “Principles of Best Practice for Education in Museums” in the American Association of Museum Education Committee’s Excellence in Practice: Museum Education Principles and Standards (2005) available at www.edcom.org/pdf/edcom_booklet.pdf
• “Teaching” and “History in the Public Realm” in the American Historical Association’s Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct (2005) available at www.historians.org/pubs/Free/ProfessionalStandards.cfm
• “Audience” and “Interpretation” sections of the Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations (American Association for State and Local History, 2009)
2. For recruiting, supervising, and evaluating staff, contractors, or vendors responsible for interpretation and education, use:
• “Professional Standards for Museum Educators” in the American Association of Museum Education Committee’s Excellence in Practice: Museum Education Principles and Standards (2005) available at www.edcom.org/pdf/edcom_booklet.pdf
• American Historical Association’s Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct (2005) available at www.historians.org/pubs/Free/ProfessionalStandards.cfm
• National Council on Public History’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (2007) available at www.ncph.org/AbouttheCouncil/BylawsandEthics/tabid/291/Default.aspx.
3. For research on people and animals (e.g., oral histories, visitor studies, landscape research, living history farms), use:
• Code of Ethics (1998) of the American Anthropological Association available at www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ethicscode.pdf
• Oral History Evaluation Guidelines (2000) of the Oral History Association available at alpha.dickinson.edu/organizations/oha/pub_eg.html#Principles%20and%20Standards
4. For the preparation of books, articles, bibliographies, documents, and other text in print or electronic versions, use:
• Chicago Manual of Style (latest edition) for all works except as noted below
• Associated Press Stylebook (latest edition) for communications with the press (e.g., journalists, newspapers, magazines)
• American Heritage Dictionary (latest edition) for word usage and spelling
References
These standards and best practices are based on generally accepted principles and selected from the codes of ethics of the American Association of Museums, the American Association for State and Local History, the American Historical Association, and the National Council for Public History; the Standards for Accreditation of the American Association of Museums; Standards and Practices for Historic Site Administration by the Tri-State Coalition for Historic Places; and the Museum Education Standards and Principles of the American Association of Museum Education Committee. It is also influenced by the work of leaders in the field of historical interpretation and educational practice, including Charlotte Danielson, Lynn Dierking, John Falk, Howard Gardner, Sam Ham, George Hein, Randi Korn, and Freeman Tilden. Furthermore, it is influenced by the practice of interpretation at historic sites (especially those who are National Trust Historic Sites) and current related trends, including consumer marketing, tourism, academic history, and public education.
