Wellbeing and the arts in Irish primary teacher education: aligned or apart? A policy and self-study perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Teacher educators act as a conduit to student teachers of policy and this has an impact on practice. Changes in policy affect how subjects are viewed in terms of their importance. This research seeks to explore the apparent increase in emphasis on wellbeing development in policy which influences the work of arts teacher educators, alongside a declining focus on the arts, and a separation of wellbeing from the arts in policy lexicon. Adopting a self-study approach, this article explores if wellbeing features in our practice as arts teacher educators and how our arts education practice aligns with national policy and curriculum development in the Republic of Ireland. The results of the study outline ways in which arts teacher educators are shaped by policy. Recommendations are made for a broader view of wellbeing in policy, and an experience of wellbeing and arts which is embedded into learning processes in teacher education.