Museum Education as an Innovative Pedagogical Approach for Student Stress Management

Student stress has become an increasingly critical concern in 21st century education, driven by academic pressures, high stakes assessment culture and the demand for higher-order thinking skills. Excessive stress not only disrupts emotional well-being but also undermines academic engagement and motivation. This article examines the potential of museum education as an innovative pedagogical approach for enhancing learning while supporting student stress reduction. Employing a qualitative document analysis of scholarly literature on pedagogy, museum-based learning and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory (1983), the study reveals that museum education strengthens holistic, student-centred learning through immersive visual, auditory and kinesthetic experiences. These experiences create meaningful, low-pressure learning environments that promote intrinsic motivation, emotional regulation and reflective engagement. The findings further highlight the therapeutic value of museum spaces, which function as restorative learning environments capable of alleviating academic stress. This study proposes a conceptual framework integrating museum education into school pedagogy as an alternative strategy for student well-being and stress management. The article argues that museum-based learning should be recognised as a complementary component of formal education, consistent with the aspirations of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2015–2025 and relevant to global educational reforms addressing student well-being in the 21st century.