Arts Colleges Research Articles

Mindfulness, Self-Efficacy, and Mental Health Among First-Year College Art and Design Students

ABSTRACT Mindfulness is a tool increasingly used to reduce stress and anxiety in the college student population. This study investigated the effects of mindfulness and self-efficacy on mental health outcomes (i.e. anxiety, depression, stress) among 186 first-year art and design students. Researchers examined whether state mindfulness and self-efficacy were predictive of measures of mental health, and if self-efficacy acted as a moderator between levels of mindfulness and mental health. Demographic variables were explored as covariates. Results showed that mindfulness was a statistically significant predictor of anxiety, stress, and depression, while controlling for potential covariates. Self-efficacy was not a significant predictor. Gender identity moderated the relationship between mindfulness and anxiety. Self-efficacy did not moderate the relationship between mindfulness and mental health outcomes. The current findings support the use of mindfulness practice among art and design students. Colleges are encouraged to provide offerings aimed at increasing mindfulness. Limitations and research directions are discussed.

A needs analysis of ESP courses in colleges of art and design: Consensus and divergence.

This study presents a comprehensive needs analysis of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses in colleges of art and design in China. By examining the perspectives of undergraduate students, graduate students, art teachers, and English teachers, the research identifies consensus and divergence in ESP needs and implementation challenges. The analysis reveals a strong demand among students for specialized English learning, with a particular emphasis on receptive and interactive skills. However, there is a widespread acknowledgement of students' difficulties across ESP skills, indicating a gap between student competencies and the professional demands, thus highlighting the need for targeted educational interventions to effectively address the difficulties. Notably, reading and writing abilities emerge as the most lacking skills. While there is unanimous recognition of the positive impact of ESP on students' professional abilities and international competitiveness, a significant disparity exists in the enthusiasm for implementing ESP courses, paticularly with resistence from English teachers. The study highlights the critical challenges in ESP teaching, with teacher qualifications identified as the most prominent issue. Interestingly, English teachers attribute difficulties primarily to teaching materials, indicating a potential lack of readiness for ESP course delivery. A gap is also observed between teachers' evaluations of student abilities and students' self-assessment, especially among undergraduate freshmen, suggesting an overestimation of their English proficiency in professional contexts. The paper concludes with the implication that for effective ESP course implementation in colleges of art and design in China, targeted faculty development programs and a collaborative approach involving English teachers, art teachers, and professionals are essential. The collaboration should aim to develop materials that integrate specific professional knowledge with linguistic expertise. Additionally, a balanced approach combining general English proficiency and specialized English training is recommended to address both foundational and specialized language skills. Overall, the study underscores the need for targeted ESP courses in art and design education, tailored to bridge the gap between current proficiency levels and professional language requirements.

Research on College English Teaching Mode in Art Colleges Under the Background of “Internet +”

Research on College English Teaching Mode in Art Colleges Under the Background of “Internet +”

An Investigation into Project-Based Learning in Higher Education: The Case of EFL in Moroccan Universities

Project-based learning has gained immense popularity as an innovative method that reinforces learners’ critical thinking, autonomous learning and collaboration. It is basically founded on constructivism and experiential theories wherein students learn by doing. The objective of using this method is to enable learners to construct knowledge through meaningful learning experiences using real-life themes. It is an expedition of discovery where learners are often required to choose, prepare and present a project about a given course-related topic. This study aimed to reveal Moroccan English majoring students’ perceptions towards the implementation of the Project-Based Method in learning English as a Foreign Language. 1857 B.A. students from various colleges of Arts and humanities were involved in responding to a questionnaire to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The descriptive statistics, after analysis, showed that project work develops several language and life skills, especially oral communication, vocabulary and creative-critical thinking. It also found out that using projects plays a focal role in enhancing learners’ sense of responsibility and confidence, motivation, and autonomous learning and provides a positive learning environment. However, the participants mentioned a variety of challenges to implementing projects at the university level, namely stage anxiety, scarcity of relevant information, and time constraints. Overall, the findings of the study suggest several pedagogical implications to better integrate project work at the university level taking advantage of the positive attitudes learners hold towards this learning approach.

Lexical Knowledge and Its Effects on Language Proficiency: A Synonymous Study

Previous studies have proved that there is a strong connection between a language learner's vocabulary knowledge and their linguistic ability. It is believed that knowing one sense of a word is not sufficient, especially for academic learners and it is considered to be some sort of lacking lexical knowledge since learners cannot express their ideas/ thoughts using different style. Thus, investigating the size and depth of known words that learners obtained during their study period in Iraqi universities is a significant issue to predict their abilities in using the target language. The aim is to investigate the “vocabulary knowledge” and its use of a group of EFL fourth-stage learners in the “Department of English language and Literature/ College of Arts/ Mustansiriyah University”. The used test that fulfills the study aims is based on Read’s (2000, p.2) Assessing Vocabulary. The type of the test that Read (ibid) stated is commonly used in the field of EFL teaching and learning, and learners have acquainted with it many times through their period of study. The main purpose of the test is to look into the recognition and production levels of learners' lexical knowledge (ibid). A total number of 30 learners went through the two-parted test since a higher number of participants makes findings more accurate. The results obtained were not as expected, in general. Participants suffer from deficiency in the knowledge of vocabularies in connection with its breadth and depth.

Encountering the image of thought in artmaking

Drawing from observations by contemporary art critic Jerry Saltz that recent art-school graduates are producing work that imitates the styles of successful and established artists and movements, this article explores how the ways in which artist-students are taught in university art programmes might potentially impact their postgraduate art practices. If art school-educated professional artists do indeed tend to adhere to prescriptive modes of artmaking, what are some ways in which university art educators might disrupt these habits at the outset for art students who are just starting out in a college art programme? To contemplate this question, this article engages Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s philosophical concept of the encounter as one approach that might trigger a new kind of thought in learning and artmaking, which informed a teaching experiment that I undertook with one of my introductory art courses. The implantation and reflection on this teaching experiment illustrates how teachers at all levels of art education might create their own adaptive forms of experimenting with Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the encounter to short circuit such emulative modes of thinking in students’ approaches to artmaking.

Investigating the Grammatical and Lexical Coherence in Essay Writing by Iraqi EFL College Students

As the system of Arabic language is totally different from English, writing in English is considered a problematic issue for the Arab students including the Iraqi students as well. However, this problem can extend to university levels. Writing essays include not only writing correct sentences, but entail coherence in writing related to lexis, grammar and joining ideas in a coherent way. So, this article investigates the use of the grammar and lexical coherence in writing essays by Iraqi students at university level. This study is a primary data analysis of the responses obtained by two questionnaires set for the students and teachers. The study involves fifty students selected randomly from the third grade of Department of English at the College of Arts of University of Thi-Qar in Iraq. The students' answers and writing in essays are analyzed thoroughly to give the main findings. The analysis of the other questionnaire given to twenty teachers of the Departments of English of University of Thi-Qar comes in accordance with the results of the first questionnaire which set for the students and confirms the findings of the paper. The study reveals that Iraqi students have a good theoretical knowledge about types of essays and essay writings as well as conjunctions and coherence devices, yet they are weak in applying these devices in writing.

Education challenges in developing digital competence and critical thinking skills in a post-information age / Desafíos educativos en el desarrollo de la competencia digital y el pensamiento crítico en la era de la posinformación

Today’s post-information world dictates the necessity of investigating the limits and objectives of compulsory teacher education. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of digital competency formation in teachers with different pedagogical experience through critical thinking skill assessment. The investigation relied on the TRACK-21 self-assessment tool and Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (W-GCTA). The tests were administered to fifth-year pedagogy students and teachers with various years of experience (five, 10 and 15 years). The survey was conducted in three higher education institutions in the People’s Republic of China: Sichuan University of Arts and Sciences (Dazhou, China), Sichuan University (SCU), and Chengdu University of Technology. Time frame: September 2021. The study group included 103 students and 302 faculty members (401 people). The analysis of respondents’ techno-pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK-21) showed the strong leading position of fifth-year students (Group A) in digital competence distribution among all the respondents. Teachers with 15 years of professional experience (Group D) generally demonstrated lower digital competence. This study can be useful for specialists and managers of higher pedagogical institutions, graduate students, teachers and centres of professional development. The paper describes the distribution of critical thinking skills between teachers with different years of experience by assessing their digital skills.

Future Anxiety (FA) among Students of Arts College - Sana'a University

Future Anxiety (FA) among Students of Arts College - Sana'a University

National culture symbols in murals of China: Chinese public art as a synthesis of aesthetics and politics of China / Símbolos de la cultura nacional en los murales de China: el arte público chino como síntesis de la estética y la política de China

The purpose of the study is to explore the social and psycho-emotional influence of traditional Chinese national symbols on the contemporary wall-paintings in Chinese public art as the synthesis of aesthetics and politics expressed in fine art. The scientific and practical significance of the study lies in the description of the influence of traditional wall-painting and Western art styles on modern Chinese public art. The group of respondents consisted of 96 students and teachers from Chinese art universities. The researchers used the method of expert assessments (semi-structured interview with the use of a special questionnaire), the ‘Health, Activity, Mood’ method and the D. V. Liusin method for determining the level of emotional intelligence. Having analysed the study results, the researchers proved the hypothesis that the use of traditional national symbols in contemporary Chinese public art is a factor that determines the artistic, psycho-emotional and ideological impact of this art form.

2023학년도 대학 교양 음악 교과의 운영 실태 분석

This study aims to assess music liberal arts education in South Korea and suggest future directions. To achieve this, 40 of 4-year universities across the country were selected, and the curriculum, class objectives, and course plans for the year 2023 were collected and analyzed. As a result of the analysis, in terms of operation, the music department accounted for 61.78%, while the college of Liberal Arts accounted for 23.11%. As for the types of subjects, there were general education courses (41.33%) and distribution requirement courses (47.56%), and names of areas related to art or humanities were used. Content and method of lectures were categorized as follows: music theory lectures (68.21%), music applied lessons (31.79%), music convergence theory lectures (30.39%), and music convergence applied lessons (9.62%). While music lectures emphasized history, singing, and instruments, convergence lectures emphasized humanities. The proposal suggests securing professional lecturers to enhance liberal arts music education autonomy and developing diverse, high-quality music and convergence subjects.

Library Professionology in Masters of Library and Information Science Training: Methodological Approaches to the Development of the Thematic Structure

The article deals with current issues of theory and methodology of library and information education. Its purpose is to substantiate the expediency of forming the thematic structure of the course “Library Professionology”, based on generalization of scientific ideas about the subject of library professionology as the library science discipline. The publication analyzes the methodological approaches of specialists from the leading universities of culture (Moscow State Institute of Culture, Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts, East-Siberian State Institute of Culture) to the construction of the content of one of the special academic disciplines – “Library Professionology”, – which is included in the curriculum for training Masters of Library and Information Activity.The author proposes one of the variants of the structural and logical model of the course “Library Professionology” – the complex theoretical and applied discipline that covers a wide range of problems related to the place and role of the library profession in the society. Mastering the essence and content of the library professionology by the Master students necessitates the acquisition of various professional competencies, with the general pedagogical competencies being the most significant among them. For this reason, the central place in the course should belong to the study of issues related to professional education – from history to current problems of organizing the library professionals training, content, methods and forms of training at the present stage.

Discovering art online: Digitising university art museum collections

Discovering art online: Digitising university art museum collections

The Effect of Comprehension on Omissions in English-Arabic Simultaneous Interpreting

This study aims to investigate the relationship between comprehension, based on the problem triggers as an indicator, and accuracy, based on the criterion of omission during English-Arabic simultaneous interpreting. In these cases, the less comprehension, the more omissions in the interpretation, the lower the accuracy. The performances of 5 MA students at the Department of Translation, College of Arts, University of Mosul, are transcribed and analyzed using the hybrid model of Larson’s (1984) “Translation Quality Assessment” and Gile’s (2009) “Effort” Models. Having analyzed the accuracy of the interpretations, a significant number of omissions were noticed due to inappropriate allocation of the processing capacity for comprehension. The study concludes that comprehension is the essential processing capacity effort and a vital determinant of the accuracy of the interpretation. The different levels of exercising the comprehension processing capacity measured by the SL problem triggers lead to different accuracy levels starting with high accuracy and ending with inaccuracy.

Intolerance of uncertainty and negative emotions among high school art students during COVID-19 pandemic: a moderated mediation analysis.

A number of high school art students experience negative emotions during their preparation for the art college entrance examination, characterized by worries and fear of uncertainty. Therefore, how individual difference factors, such as intolerance of uncertainty, affect the negative emotions of students needs to be examined. Inspired by the integrative model of uncertainty tolerance, the current study seeks to explain the association between intolerance of uncertainty and negative emotions by testing the potential mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating role of family functioning. A total of 919 Chinese high school art students (Mage = 18.50 years, range = 16-22) participated from November 2022 to December 2022. Convenience sampling strategies were used. The participants were asked to complete the measures of intolerance of uncertainty scale, psychological capital questionnaire, depression anxiety stress scale, and family adaptability and cohesion evaluation scale. The data were analyzed using Pearson's r correlations and moderated mediation analysis. Results showed that intolerance of uncertainty was positively associated with negative emotions but negatively associated with psychological capital, which in turn, was negatively associated with negative emotions. Psychological capital mediated the indirect link of intolerance of uncertainty with negative emotions. Family functioning buffered the impact of psychological capital on negative emotions. This study can enhance our understanding of the intolerance of uncertainty on negative emotions and provide insights on interventions for high school art students' negative emotions for educators. The interventions targeting intolerance of uncertainty, psychological capital and family functioning may be beneficial in reducing the effect of intolerance of uncertainty on negative emotions faced by high school art students.

The updated design of university libraries in the digital era

AbstractWith the rise of the digital era, digital reading and learning have become widespread. University libraries, as core locations for study and communication, face challenges in fully meeting the demands of modern teaching and learning. This paper takes the library at the Changqing campus of Shandong University of Arts as a case study to explore the environmental space design of constructed libraries in the digital era. By reviewing relevant concepts and theoretical frameworks, analyzing the existing environment, and researching intervention design methods, the paper discusses the positive role of adapting to the digital future in renovating established library spaces.

An ethnography of construction and characteristics of curriculum for inheritance of intangible cultural heritage martial arts in universities.

Inheriting excellent traditional Chinese culture is a prerequisite for ensuring the continuity of the cultural genes of the Chinese nation. However, with the historical mission of shaping the national character of the descendants of the Chinese nation, intangible cultural heritage martial arts face the problem of an unclear curriculum content construction mechanism in university inheritance and make it difficult for these martial arts to shoulder the responsibility of cultural inheritance in the era. Educational ethnography as a research method is conducive to the in-depth exploration of the mechanism of curriculum content construction in the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage martial arts in universities. Research suggests that the construction of curriculum content for the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage martial arts in universities relies on the form of cooperation between universities and inheritors, and form three models of curriculum content construction: off campus, on campus, and on-campus cooperation. The construction of curriculum content for off-campus inheritors belongs to the "attachment style" model, which is based on the actual needs of the inheritors and the selection of boxing types. The construction of curriculum content for inheritors on campus belongs to the "reshaping" model, which is the inheritor's "simplification and reorganization" based on traditional routines and subjective and objective conditions of inheritance. The construction of course content in school local cooperation belongs to the "integrated" model, which is the reintegration of course content by universities based on their own development characteristics and the characteristics of various martial arts. In the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage martial arts in universities, emphasis is placed on local knowledge, core skills, cultural traditions, and other characteristics, highlighting the excellence of its cultural inheritance. In the future, the focus of the inheritance of these martial arts in universities should be to cultivate innovative talents who are familiar with both traditional and modern martial arts.

Knowledge of Mobile Apps for Spoken English Among Arts and Science College Students

Knowledge of Mobile Apps for Spoken English Among Arts and Science College Students

The optimization of school-university resources in an effort to recruit teachers of mathematics

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to debut a novel initiative that could potentially optimize resources that are currently constrained but, if unleashed, could help ameliorate the science, technology, engineering and mathematics teacher shortage. The initiative involves the reconceptualization of the National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER) tripartite model, which evolved from the work of Goodlad (1994a) and promotes cooperation and partnerships between the three important players responsible for preparing succeeding generations of competent teachers: PK-12 schools, university colleges of education and university colleges of arts and sciences (Roselle, Hands, Marino, Kilgallen, & Howard, 2021; Goodlad, 1994a).Design/methodology/approachThe approach used in writing the article was narrative, offering a brief review of the various challenges that have had an impact on the national teacher shortage, particularly in the field of mathematics.FindingsThe study suggests that a reconceptualized NNER tripartite model can be implemented to assuage the devastating effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on learning, offer support to an overworked teacher workforce and provide a possible math teacher recruitment pipeline by forming a life-giving partnership between a college of education, a college of arts and sciences, a local elementary school and undergraduate math club members.Originality/valueThis is an original application of the NNER tripartite model, particularly with math teacher recruitment in mind, and it is hoped that the model will be considered transferable to a variety of school-university contexts. However, additional study is required to explore the validity and replicability of this model.

Assessment and Enhancement of College and University Art Programs

With the increasingly fierce competition for talents in society this year, the cultivation of comprehensive ability of students in colleges and universities has become particularly important, and the cultivation of art majors in colleges and universities, as one of the important components of college education, has an important role in promoting the enhancement of students' innovative ability and aesthetic ability. This paper will focus on the actual start of art education in five colleges and universities in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China, combined with the law of art education, analyze the current situation and problems in the development of art professional education in Chinese colleges and universities, sort out the experience gained and lost of art talents in colleges and universities, and explore the challenges, coping strategies, and enhancement plans that colleges and universities are facing during the process of implementation of the art profession.The last section is about the conclusion of the study, which is derived from the results of the survey that the surveyed schools have offered courses in art majors, an outcome that has become an important part of the school's development. Various aspects of the arts curriculum have been implemented, but additional effort activities should be actively pursued to help one's optimal development and achievement, and targeted strategies for improvement will help guide the implementers to achieve the desired facilitation in realizing the set goals of arts education in China in the new era.