Football Makes History (FMH) bridges football and history, aiming to inspire learning, inclusion and social engagement through the power of sport. The project, led by Prof Dr Gijsbert Oonk (Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication), has developed two evaluation tools to ensure the quality and effectiveness of educational resources and exhibits developed under FMH.
The tools have been developed for different audiences:
Educators and Educational Institutions: Designed for teachers, schools, and academic organizations, this tool assesses the impact of FMH educational materials on learning outcomes, engagement, and relevance in classrooms and other learning environments.
Curators and Heritage Institutions: Developed for football club museums, city museums, and other heritage organizations, this tool evaluates exhibitions’ ability to communicate historical narratives -through football stories), foster visitor engagement, and promote social learning.
Collaborative Development
The evaluation tools were developed in collaboration with a network of academic and heritage experts, including scholars from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Utrecht University, and the University of Amsterdam. The Erasmus School of Social Sciences also provided insights into evaluating learning outcomes. Furthermore, partnerships with the Anne Frank House, Football Museums of Feyenoord and Ajax, and institutions in Italy (Florence and Milan) and the UK (Manchester United and the National Football Museum) enriched the development process. To refine the tools, FMH conducted interviews with six evaluation experts and organized seven site visits to museums and educational institutions across Europe, including NAC Breda, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Dutch and Polish high schools.
Design and Testing
Each evaluation tool starts with general questions about the participant, such as their affiliation, gender, age, and interest in football or history. This baseline information provides context for their responses. Participants then answer specific questions about the museum exhibition they visited or the educational program they participated in. For curators and museums, the questionnaire includes inquiries about visitor experience, thematic clarity, and historical interpretation. For educators, the focus is on curriculum alignment, student engagement, and the educational value of the materials.
FMH has piloted these tools at the Feyenoord Museum in Rotterdam and during the Minor Sport Sciences program at Erasmus University. Initial results highlight their utility in capturing meaningful feedback.
Next Steps
The evaluation tools will be compared with similar initiatives across Europe, especially in Germany, to ensure their applicability and effectiveness. All FMH partners have actively contributed to this development process through workshops and feedback sessions, ensuring a collaborative and well-rounded approach. The tools are now available online for educators and curators to assess and enhance FMH resources.
By using these tools, we invite you to contribute to the continuous improvement of FMH’s efforts to make history engaging and inclusive through football. Once the tools have been filled in you may contact us and we will send you the results and we can look -if you wish- with you on what way there are to improve the work you do.
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