A dramatic increase in interest, world wide, in the educational role of galleries and museums has occurred in the past decade. This results in part from a rekindling of the debate about their purpose and effectiveness - whether as public institutions founded with educational intentions, or as private foundations with an educational interest. While diverse informal learning opportunities and more structured education programmes have multiplied as a consequence, and networks have been established for sharing ideas, the need for a more substantial and sustained approach to research-informed...