Visual Arts Curriculum Research Articles

USING “CANVA FOR EDUCATION” APPLICATION WITH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN VISUAL ARTS LESSON: SAMPLE ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHERS

The proliferation of Web 2.0 tools in visual arts education has ushered in multifaceted learning environments that cater to diverse sensory experiences. Among these tools, Canva for Education stands out, offering an array of visual assets, content, and templates for diverse design endeavors. This tool not only augments learning experiences but also enhances creativity by piquing students' engagement through its myriad features. Nonetheless, the efficacy of such a tool is augmented when intertwined with active learning methodologies in pedagogical settings. Specifically, when Canva for Education is embedded within a collaborative learning framework, it fosters a distinct learning milieu, promoting peer-to-peer interactions. In this paper, activities that can be implemented in collaborative groups with Canva for Education application in middle school visual arts class were introduced. These activities were prepared within the framework of the objectives related to the use of technology in visual arts curriculum in Turkey. Within the scope of this study, products developed with different design types are presented to guide teachers. It is thought that these activities will provide insights for practitioners and students on the use of Canva for Education.

Chasing shadows: The tacit requirements of visual culture studies in the school curriculum

This paper addresses the negative impact of a generic skills discourse on a curriculum that is drawn from disciplinary expertise. The findings are directed towards the Department of Basic Education's curriculum strengthening process that is underway for 2025 and, in particular, their expressed intention to infuse 21st-century or generic skills and emotional competencies into the curriculum. The visual art curriculum and assessment policy statement for Grades 10-12 is used as a case study, with a focus on the generic skills of visual literacy and critical thinking. I argue that although generic skills statements point to noble objectives, they obscure requirements for learners, teachers, and examination setters. The paper makes an argument for explicit specification drawn from a disciplinary base in visual art, and highlights particular areas of concern regarding specification and specialisation that can be taken up by subject specialists in other subject areas.

MULTICULTURALISM OF VISUAL ART EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN SECONDARY SCHOOL TOWARDS ART TEACHERS

This purpose of this research is to explore multiculturalism in the teaching of secondary school visual art in the district of Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia. Multiculturalism is integral, as a foundation to promote national intergrity. This research adopted the qualitative case study approach. The methods used in this research were document analysis and interview. A total of three document policies were collected and analysed. The interview was conducted using a semi-structured interview towards six visual art teachers in secondary schools and a Head Unit of the Visual Art Education from the Ministry of Education Curriculum Development Division. The research indicated that the visual art teaching has the elements of multiculturalism. The government policy also urged that the aspect of multiculturalism is integrated in the education. Nevertheless, the integration did not happen consciously. The data obtained showed that there were positive values among the school citizens. Teachers' attitudes, especially the beliefs and values were encouraging even though the knowledge to the integration of multiculturalism is still low. In order to attain a higher level of understanding, visual art teachers have to be exposed to workshop, courses and seminars that are appropriate. The Visual Art curriculum needs to be reviewed to reflect multiculturalism a clearer manner.

Evaluation of The Outcomes in The 2018 Primary School Visual Arts Curriculum in terms of Creativity

Visual arts course in basic education provides children with the opportunity to acquire skills with different tools, but also serves to gain an artistic perspective at an early age, develop aesthetic perception and advance creativity.One of the environments that foster creativity in children is undoubtedly the learning environments where basic education takes place.The main purpose of this study is 2018 revised visual arts curriculum (1-4) is the examination of classroom outcomes in terms of creativity. The research is a qualitative study and carried out using the document review. The data source consists of the primary school visual lesson (1-4th grade) curriculum selected through purposeful sampling from the visual arts course (1-8th grade) curriculum revised in 2018. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the data.The results obtained from the research determined that the primary school visual art curriculum is related to the creativity divergent thinking sub-dimension from the total (n=65) outcome (n=25).However, it found that the outcomes related to creativity gathered in the field of "Visual Communication and Formation learning, and the outcomes of the "cultural heritage and art criticism and aesthetics" learning fields are limited.Based on the results, it suggested to increase the number of achievements related to creativity in primary school visual arts course outcomes and distribute them homogeneously in learning areas.

Art-Based Kindergarten Practices and Their Coherence with Art Curriculum Objectives

Kindergarten teachers use art-based activities and practices because they are useful and functional in learning processes and they help learning in other subject areas. While teachers allocate great deal of classroom time for art practices, an art curriculum is not required or enforced at kindergarten level. The objective of this study was to examine kindergarten curriculum, and to clarify at what extent curriculum objectives and learning outcomes met art education learning outcomes specified for elementary level art education state standards. Document content analysis and descriptive survey questionnaire were used to collect information. Content analysis method was also employed to examine classroom applications and practices. Kindergarten curriculum and visual arts curriculum were also compared and analyzed in relation to teacher responses. The study clarified a need for an art integrated approach to kindergarten. Kindergarten activities majorly consist of art-based practices, therefore kindergarten curricula should be designed based on an art-based comprehensive understanding of educational interventions.

Israeli art education imagined cartographies

Our paper addresses the stated need for art educators to develop inquiries into the history of non-Western, non-Anglophone art education systems. In response, we look at data taken from the history of Israeli art education and the development of Israeli art curricula in order to offer a historical sketch of the development of school art curricula in Israel. We frame our sketch using the perspectives of multiculturalism and critical theory. In the course of our discussion we reference scholarship from North America and Europe. However, our focus is primarily on shifts in Israeli policy in the direction of acknowledging greater diversity and multiculturalism. We trace these themes, starting with pre-state Israel and concluding with contemporary Israeli concerns with equity and social justice. We note parallel concerns with the same social issues in scholarship from North America and Europe. The main purpose of this comparison is to bring attention to the “blind spots” and “black holes” in Israeli visual arts syllabi where both Arab and Jewish Eastern culture and esthetics have been overlooked. We note parallels between these omissions in the Israeli visual arts curricula and attempts to correct similar lacunae in North American visual arts education.

The construction of knowledge through visual perceptual training in visual arts

Background: Visual perception and observational skills are an essential part of Visual Arts education, through which young learners, in the primary school, acquire important and necessary skills to create artworks during their creative projects. These skills provide learners in the primary school the opportunity to overcome their self-imposed criticism to their own works of art. Similar research projects highlight the inability of learners in the middle childhood to creatively express what they visually perceive. Aim: The study sought to assist learners in the middle childhood to overcome the slump in their creative attempts through a series of visual sharpening exercises, in the form of an Art intervention. Setting: A qualitative case study with elements of action research was conducted at a single site at a primary school in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town. Methods: The participants of the study comprised of four grade 5 classes divided into a test group and control group. The intervention was administered to the test group in the form of visual sharpening exercises. The practical projects of four grade 5 classes were assessed, analysed, compared, and the findings were discussed according to the themes identified during the study. Results: The results indicate factors that might influence the visual perceptual skills of learners in middle childhood, while completing Visual Art projects. Analysis of the research data revealed an increase in the test group’s score compared to the control group. There was a marked effect on the test group participants’ ability to record what they visually perceived. Conclusion: This study investigated and highlights shortcomings in the CAPS Visual Art curriculum for Grade 5. Bridging the gap between practice and curriculum shortfalls is important. The study suggests that the Department of Education (DoE) should supplement the Visual Arts curriculum with visual perceptual training for middle childhood learners.

A Plan for Restructuring the Content System of National Art Curriculum Focusing on the Analysis of the Design Model of the Visual Arts Curriculum in B.C.,Canada

A Plan for Restructuring the Content System of National Art Curriculum Focusing on the Analysis of the Design Model of the Visual Arts Curriculum in B.C.,Canada

A Comparative Study of Primary School Visual Arts Curriculum in Australia, Canada, Iran and Ireland

The purpose of this study was a comparative investigation of visual arts education curricula in Australia, Canada, Iran and Ireland. The research method is qualitative comparative; the unit of observation and analysis is at macro level. The study population includes all countries of the world and country selection strategies are systems, similar outputs (Australia, Canada, Ireland) and systems, different outputs (Iran) using purposeful sampling method. The findings were presented based on Bereday’s approach. Findings showed that teaching visual arts in Iran is less important than other school subjects compared to other countries. Also, there are limitation of time for teaching and lack of special space for visual arts curriculum. With respect to the goal component, the findings show that selected countries have jointly addressed issues of aesthetics, familiarity with history and culture, understanding of creativity and nature. Relating to the content component, all countries have pointed out importance of creativity and aesthetics. Also, Australia and Canada, compared to Iran and Ireland, have been more successful in recognizing and using Indigenous art in visual arts education. As for teaching strategies component, all selected countries refer to role of teacher facilitation in art education. Canada differs from Australia, Iran and Ireland in use of art professionals alongside teachers. In terms of educational materials and resources, all four countries have designated educational resources based on national curriculum and teacher guide. Regarding teaching and learning activities, Canada and Australia have a special focus on teaching visual arts based on art of indigenous peoples and are more flexible in implementing art program compared to Iran and Ireland. In terms of educational space, Iran is at a lower level compared to other three countries, while Ireland is a leader. From time aspect, Iran has allocated fewer hours to art curriculum compared to other countries. Referring assessment component, the findings show that use of formative-descriptive and portfolio methods are common in all selected countries, although in Iran there is no formal plan for assessment. According to findings and in order to develop the position of visual arts curriculum in formal education of Iran, it is recommended that art education and its components be seriously and properly considered by educational policy makers.

Ahead of its time? Reassessing what is core content in Visual Arts in the New South Wales Curriculum

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the extent to which Visual Arts syllabus content currently known as the ‘Conceptual Framework’ represents core concepts and principles for learning in Visual Arts K-12 in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Set within the context of the NSW Curriculum Review, Nurturing wonder and igniting passion: designs for a new school curriculum (NESA, 2020), and in the absence of regular cyclic curriculum evaluation or reform of the Visual Arts syllabuses for over 21 years, this investigation evaluates the fit between existing curriculum content and requirements for new syllabuses in the revised curriculum. Drawing on theoretical and empirical research in Visual Arts education, this article examines how the conceptual framework and the principles underlying its function provide the conceptual foundations of understanding in art making and art interpretation as primary forms of practice in K-12. Discussion then examines how the framework meets the requirements for new syllabuses in the NSW Curriculum Review. It is argued that the conceptual framework (1) represents core concepts and principles for learning, (2) supports the development of praxis-oriented learning, and (3) sustains stable content over years of schooling which supports students to develop deep understandings of practice in art. The article concludes that the conceptual framework should be retained in the revised Visual Arts curriculum as it represents a conceptual core and principles for learning that are essential to teaching and learning in Visual Arts K-12 in NSW.

Aesthetic Intelligence and Aesthetic Experience in Children

How do children experience music, art, emotions, and beauty? Is aesthetic potential in children innate or acquired? Do children understand the world around aesthetically? Is aesthetic experience a developmental process? How can teachers provide students with opportunities to experience aesthetics for cognitive, social, cultural, and psychological development? These are some of the fascinating questions in the field of contemporary aesthetic education. This paper presents what is aesthetic experience and how it enriches the lives of children. Children should be exposed to fine arts and support from teachers will help them to find meaning in fine arts. Visual arts curriculum will help children in cognitive development by continuously constructing new knowledge and integrating it into existing knowledge. Curriculum designed to teach aesthetic experience should incorporate both art viewing and art making. Aesthetic experience integrates mind, body, and emotion. It can induce personal growth in children, and it is intrinsically satisfying.

Visual arts pedagogy in early childhood contexts: The baggage of self-efficacy beliefs, pedagogical knowledge and limited pre-service training

Visual arts provisions are central to children’s holistic, play-based learning, yet the visual arts self-efficacy beliefs and subject content knowledge of early childhood educators influence pedagogical choices. When early childhood educators lack the visual arts confidence, skills, and knowledge required to effectively support children’s visual arts learning and engagement, children’s learning in the visual arts domain may be restricted; resulting in a negative cycle of influence whereby the next generation are denied their right to access visual languages. Qualitative case study research explored the visual arts beliefs and pedagogy of 12 degree qualified and vocationally trained early childhood educators. The conceptual framework, designed to to interpret and analyse the research data, aligns Dewey’s philosophies of democracy, education and art with the philosophy and visual arts praxis of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. The research findings suggest educator’s low visual arts self-efficacy beliefs develop during childhood and are not improved by pre-service training, resulting in limited visual arts skills and knowledge. The research participants’ visual arts pedagogy appeared to be strongly influenced by the experiential ‘baggage’ they carried into their pre-service training and practice contexts, by the participants’ theoretical beliefs about children’s development and by a range of divergent beliefs about the purposes of visual art in the early childhood context. Although training has the potential to broadly inform knowledge and practice, this study suggests that unless limiting visual arts self-efficacy beliefs are disrupted by constructivist theoretical knowledge and combined with practical skills and knowledge, the visual arts curriculum offered to children may be significantly compromised.

Between a Formalist Rock and a Contextually Hard Place: The Gaps and Tensions Challenging Visual Arts Curricula in South African Higher Education

ABSTRACT This article explores approaches to visual arts curricula within the institutional setting of a South African university and considers the characteristics and experiences of undergraduate students. The notion of cultural literacies provides a useful entrance to a discussion of the paradoxes affecting this field. Criteria for academic achievement in visual arts are idiosyncratic and difficult to articulate, while the discourses of contemporary art practice sometimes contradict institutional assessment requirements. The implicit tensions between contextual, relativist practices and formalist outcomes are manifest in institutions globally but exacerbated locally. The disjuncture between students’ and lecturers’ knowledge, skills and expectations are layered with the contextual realities of higher education and the nature of the “artworld” in South Africa. Recent literature on the drive to decolonise curricula is discussed in relation to social realist conceptions of knowledge and knowers, drawing on Bourdieu, Bernstein and Maton. This lens has promise for understanding how visual arts programmes can become more epistemologically diverse, while identifying and retaining “powerful” knowledge. This frames empirical evidence and reflections on challenges facing an undergraduate curriculum in visual arts. The article draws conclusions about the often-tacit nature of visual culture and art practice. Dialectical, research-based approaches suggest the possibility of more responsive and effective curricula.

Of the Akan people: Colour and design education in Ghana

This article digests some of the general ideas that constitute the concept of colour among the Akan people of Ghana and how their proper understanding and desirable consideration will enhance effective visual communication in the Ghanaian visual arts curriculum. The investigation, which involved a number of conversations with knowledgeable personalities in the teaching and speaking of the Akan language, sought to bring out the perceptions, beliefs and functions of colour among the people. The outcome of the study pointed to how colour resides deeply within the traditional lives of the Akan people, not only as aesthetical experience but also as an ‘object’ of cultural and spiritual signification. The study therefore recommends a proper understanding of and conscious respect to the perceptions and meanings of colour among contemporary Akan designers and design educators to improve the design experience of teachers, learners and practitioners.

Teachers’ belief-and-practice gap in implementing early visual arts curriculum in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Hong Kong, as a capitalist society, has an achievement-driven education system. Visual arts have become a marginalized learning area, especially in early childhood education. Although ‘art and creativity’ is one of the six learning domains for early childhood education in the kindergarten curriculum guide in Hong Kong, product-oriented and craft-based art activities are commonly practiced in kindergarten classrooms. This study observed 33 classrooms and interviewed 29 teachers for a total of 409 minutes to discuss issues surrounding the early childhood art curriculum in Hong Kong and the difficulties teachers face responding within the context. Through the triangulation of observations, interviews, and documentation analysis, the teachers indicated that they are facing a dilemma regarding teacher-directed and child-centred orientations towards teaching children visual arts. To sustain the ‘third space’ of early childhood visual arts education, three main areas are considered: (a) introducing visual arts as an alternative narrative in early childhood curriculum, (b) considering that children’s creative behaviours are performative, and (c) positioning teacher education in relation to the visual arts.

Pedagogical Strategies of Visual Art in Colleges of Education

This paper examines the implementation of the visual art curriculum at Wiawso College of Education (WATICO) in Ghana. The discussion touches on the pedagogical strategies and methods used in the teaching of the visual art programme at the WATICO and also to examine it implications on the trained teacher expected to teach Visual Art aspect of Basic Design and Technology (BDT) at the Basic Education level. Purposive sampling technique was used. Three main methods viz. interview, personal observations, and documentary review were employed. Teacher performance evaluation and Inductive analysis strategy were used as reference materials for the analysis. The study revealed that the art teachers at WATICO demonstrated high level of competency of knowledge in the subject matter. However, the teaching and learning of art component BDT at WATICO was more theoretical than practical and in spite of the tutors’ mastery in the preparation of lesson notes, the research revealed that the visual art at WATICO does not equip the teacher-trainee with teaching and learning skills in all the three areas of BDT (Visual Arts, Home Economics, and Technical Skills). The findings of the study cannot be generalized for colleges of education in Ghana since it was limited to only WATICO in the Western Region of Ghana. It was concluded that, the pedagogical strategies and methods adopted for the teaching and learning of visual art at WATICO were diverse, yet appropriate for the visual art. However, teaching and learning of visual art at the basic level were observed to be more theoretical than practical demonstration and application. It is recommended that the use of learner centred approach to teaching coupled with diverse teaching methods as practiced in WATICO should be consolidated. Keywords: pedagogy, art, education and implementation DOI : 10.7176/ADS/77-01 Publication date :October 31 st 2019

English

Turkey’s Ministry of National Education aims to identify and develop valuable characteristics to prepare the nation’s young for their professional life as adults. The Ministry has been conducting an extensive and comprehensive review of the educational system since the beginning of 2000. Educational system was implemented in time for the 2012/2013 academic year. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clarity; the developmental, ethical, and intellectual appropriateness of Turkey’s 2013 Arts Education policy to improve the Visual Arts curriculum. The evaluation shows that the curriculum contains significant erroneous information, creating misunderstandings regarding explanations of art and design in Visual Arts. The results of this study can be used as a reference for future academic and ministerial research. Key words: Visual arts and design education, curriculum, evaluation, Turkish educational policy, visual arts curriculum.

The development of a student engagement instrument for the responding strand in visual arts

The ‘responding’ strand of the Australian visual arts curriculum promotes twenty-first century learning skills through students’ analytical engagement with artworks and artists. Assessing students’ experiences and engagement is one strategy to improve teaching and learning in responding. However, there are no validated, subject-specific student engagement instruments for teachers to use. This study sought to develop a student self-report diagnostic instrument that provides information on past experiences with visual arts and factors affecting both cognitive and psychological engagement, with implications for improving teaching and learning. The instrument was piloted with 266 Year 10 to 12 students, as responding has an approximate 50% assessment weighting in the Australian visual arts course for senior school students. This paper reports on the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses conducted in the development of the instrument. It adds to the body of knowledge on developing engagement instruments, recognising that student engagement in secondary education is context-dependent.

Drama-based instruction in the visual arts: A teacher’s action research journey

Author(s): Dawson, Kathryn M; Cawthon, Stephanie W; Ihorn, Shasta; Judd-Glossy, Laura | Abstract: This article tells the story of Jenny Harrison, a visual arts middle school teacher who became an Action Research Teacher (ART) fellow in Drama for Schools, a professional development program in drama-based instruction. Through an action research model of teacher training and her own line of inquiry, Jenny investigated how drama-based instruction impacted her teaching and her students’ articulation of visual arts concepts. Artifacts from this project include interview transcripts, teacher reflections, student work-products, and lesson plans. The integration of drama-based instruction into Jenny’s visual arts curriculum paved the way for in-depth, intentional learning for students, for herself, and for the Drama for Schools program.

‘Exploring the “Construction” strand in the Irish Primary School Visual Arts Curriculum through the Forest School approach’

ABSTRACTForest School is a concept, or intervention to traditional educational settings, backed up by research and built upon long-standing theories that children engage with nature naturally and that learning becomes more relevant to the student when they can relate it to real life scenarios. This research documents the implementation of the Irish Primary School Visual Arts Curriculum through Forest School, specifically, the ‘Construction’ Strand. The research was a qualitative inquiry that was supported by an action research methodology. It was conducted over six weekly sessions. Key findings show the development of a sense of responsibility, resilience, independence, happiness in a sense of achievement and an awakened awareness of the child’s own surroundings. The findings advocate the benefits of implementing this approach to enhance the Primary School Visual Arts Curriculum, as well as promoting happiness and contentment in the remainder of the day at school in other curricular subjects. .