The Visual Arts offer students opportunities for rich and deep experiences within a progressive, scaffolded curriculum framework, the making of art becomes the embodiment of the search for a deeper understanding of Self – a process, that in the first instance engages the physical, but carries a great deal more in its potential. In the end, artmaking provides access to myriad levels of realisation if you chose to engage fully with the opportunities.
Art, like science and play, engages the whole being and through connection, leads to a rich and creative sense of Self within Place.
V S. Ramachandran MD, PhD, who, in the 2003 BBC Reith Lectures, explored the ‘Science of Art’ is involved in ongoing studies in neurology to explore how the brain creates and responds to art. His findings suggest what art educators already know – Visual Art; artmaking and art gazing, is a timeless, whole Being experience that allows full concepts to be grasped in an instant.
Visual and Media Literacies are essential building blocks in education and citizenry for the 21st Century
“….personal development is based on what happens to us in the two worlds in which we live. One is the external physical world of things and events; the other is the inner world of senses, feelings and meanings. Art activities are important because they form a bridge of communication and interaction between these two worlds. (Czurles 1977, p.5).
Creating is the most sophisticated expression of cognitive, aesthetic and experiential skills. The Visual Art subject encourages and teaches the creative process and invites the development of an authentic personal aesthetic. In our world of increasing visual communication, a knowledge and understanding of how meanings are constructed and ‘read’ is fundamental to becoming a knowledgeable citizen and a critical consumer of information.
‘… artists create a language of symbols for things for which there are yet to be words … radical innovations of art embody the preverbal stages of new concepts that will eventually change a civilisation. Whether for an infant or a society on the verge of change, a new way to think about reality begins with the assimilation of unfamiliar images. This collation leads to abstract ideas that only later give rise to a descriptive language.’
(L. Shlain, www.artandphysics.com/chapters.html )
We use an inquiry-learning model, enabling individual responses to concept-based tasks. Through making and appraising, resolution and display, students:
• Define and solve visual problems by using visual language and expression
• Study a diverse range of artworks and philosophies from various social, cultural and historical contexts
• Translate and interpret ideas through media manipulation to invent images and objects
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of artworks in contexts that relate to concepts, focuses, contexts and media
Resources
Arts in Education http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/arts/front_arts.htm
Arts, Neuroscience, and Learning (http://www.newhorizons.org/neuro/zull_2.htm )
by James E. Zull
What can education learn from the arts about the practice of education?
http://www.infed.org/biblio/eisner_arts_and_the_practice_of_education.htm
Elliot Eisner
Learning in a Visual Age
10 Lessons the Arts Teach
1. The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships.
Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it
is judgment rather than rules that prevail.
2. The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution
and that questions can have more than one answer.
3. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives.
One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.
4. The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.
5. The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.
6. The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects.
The arts traffic in subtleties.
7. The arts teach students to think through and within a material.
All art forms employ some means through which images become real.
8. The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said.
When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.
9. The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source
and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.
10. The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young
what adults believe is important.
SOURCE: Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows. (pp. 70-92). Yale University Press. Available from NAEA Publications. NAEA grants reprint permission for this excerpt from Ten Lessons with proper acknowledgment of its source and NAEA.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Arts Advocacy Links
Ideas for Advocacy
"The arts are not so much a result of inspiration and innate talent as they are a person's capacity for creative thinking and imagining, problem solving, creative judgement and a host of other mental processes. The arts represent forms of cognition every bit as potent as the verbal and logical/mathematical forms of cognition that have been the traditional focus of public education (Cooper-Solomon, 1995 The arts are essential. School Arts, 94, (6), p. 29.).
Teachers have known for many years that young children often understand more than they are able to verbalise and their understanding can be observed in behaviour other than verbal. The arts use their own unique symbol system of visual, aural, verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. When children participate in activities in the arts, they are involved in using both non-verbal and verbal forms of communication.
..."Humans invented each of the arts as a fundamental way to represent aspects of reality; to try to make sense out of the world, manage life better, and share these perceptions with others" (Fowler, 1994) because a single form of representation is simply not enough.
While the arts have been grouped together in a single key learning area, it must be remembered that each art form is unique and what is experiences and learned in one art form cannot be duplicated by another. Children should have access to all the arts and experience dance, drama, music, visual arts and literary arts programs that present a developmental sequence in line with the particular discipline’s knowledge base. To merely "dabble" in one or two of the arts is akin to "dabbling" in language or numeracy.
Arts education must be a strong force which fosters a widespread and general creative life as a counterbalance to the forces of mass production and mass consumption in a specialist materialistic society. The voracious demands of the latter will progressively displace the former unless the importance of the arts in education is strongly and widely asserted (Commonwealth of Australia, 1995, p.7 Arts Education. Report by the Senate Environment, Recreation, Communications and the Arts References Committee.)."
THIS MAY ALSO BE USEFUL: LOTS OF LINKS:
http://artsmmadd.com/advocacy/
"The arts are not so much a result of inspiration and innate talent as they are a person's capacity for creative thinking and imagining, problem solving, creative judgement and a host of other mental processes. The arts represent forms of cognition every bit as potent as the verbal and logical/mathematical forms of cognition that have been the traditional focus of public education (Cooper-Solomon, 1995 The arts are essential. School Arts, 94, (6), p. 29.).
Teachers have known for many years that young children often understand more than they are able to verbalise and their understanding can be observed in behaviour other than verbal. The arts use their own unique symbol system of visual, aural, verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. When children participate in activities in the arts, they are involved in using both non-verbal and verbal forms of communication.
..."Humans invented each of the arts as a fundamental way to represent aspects of reality; to try to make sense out of the world, manage life better, and share these perceptions with others" (Fowler, 1994) because a single form of representation is simply not enough.
While the arts have been grouped together in a single key learning area, it must be remembered that each art form is unique and what is experiences and learned in one art form cannot be duplicated by another. Children should have access to all the arts and experience dance, drama, music, visual arts and literary arts programs that present a developmental sequence in line with the particular discipline’s knowledge base. To merely "dabble" in one or two of the arts is akin to "dabbling" in language or numeracy.
Arts education must be a strong force which fosters a widespread and general creative life as a counterbalance to the forces of mass production and mass consumption in a specialist materialistic society. The voracious demands of the latter will progressively displace the former unless the importance of the arts in education is strongly and widely asserted (Commonwealth of Australia, 1995, p.7 Arts Education. Report by the Senate Environment, Recreation, Communications and the Arts References Committee.)."
From: Developing children's full potential: Why the arts are important
Dr Neryl Jeanneret, Faculty of Education, Univeristy of Newcastle
http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/k_6/arts/kids_potential.php References
- Commonwealth of Australia, (1995). Arts Education. Report by the Senate Environment, Recreation, Communications and the Arts References Committee.
- Cooper-Solomon, D. (1995). The arts are essential. School Arts, 94, (6), p. 29.
- Dreyfuss, R. (1996) Speech at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards February 29, 1996.
- Eisner, E. (1982). Cognition and Curriculum: a basis for deciding what to teach. Now York: Longman.
- Fowler, C. (1994). Strong Arts , Strong Schools. Educational Leadership, 52, (3), p.4.
- Gardner, H. (1985). Frames of Mind: the theory of multiple intelligences, New York: Basic Books.
- Jeanneret, N. (1995). Developing preservice primary (elementary) teachers' confidence to teach music through a music fundamentals course. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Sydney.
- Perrin, S. (1994). Education in the arts is an education for life. Phi Delta Kappan, 75 (6), p. 452
- Reid, L.A. (1986). "Art and the arts", Assessment in the arts, Ross, M. (Ed.), Oxford: Permagon Press.
- Reimer, B. (1989). A Philosophy of Music Education, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. (second edition.)
THIS MAY ALSO BE USEFUL: LOTS OF LINKS:
http://artsmmadd.com/advocacy/
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
From the Jung Centre
Asheville Jung Center personality styles, types, theories and psychometrics models, http://bit.ly/bohjvi
personality types, behavioural styles theories, personality and testing systems - for self-awareness, self-development, motivation, management, and recruitment. Motivation, management, communications, relationships - focused on yourself or others - are a lot more effective when you understand yourself, and the people you seek to motivate or manage or develop or help.
Understanding personality is also the key to unlocking elusive human qualities, for example leadership, motivation, and empathy, whether your purpose is self-development, helping others, or any other field relating to people and how we behave.The personality theories that underpin personality tests and personality quizzes are surprisingly easy to understand at a basic level. This section seeks to explain many of these personality theories and ideas. This knowledge helps to develop self-awareness and also to help others to achieve greater self-awareness and development too.
Developing understanding of personality typology, personality traits, thinking styles and learning styles theories is also a very useful way to improve your knowledge of motivation and behaviour of self and others, in the workplace and beyond.
Understanding personality types is helpful for appreciating that while people are different, everyone has a value, and special strengths and qualities, and that everyone should be treated with care and respect. The relevance of love and spirituality - especially at work - is easier to see and explain when we understand that differences in people are usually personality-based. People very rarely set out to cause upset - they just behave differently because they are different.
Personality theory and tests are useful also for management, recruitment, selection, training and teaching, on which point see also the learning styles theories on other pages such as Kolb's learning styles, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, and the VAK learning styles model.
Completing personality tests with no knowledge of the supporting theories can be a frustrating and misleading experience - especially if the results from personality testing are not properly explained, or worse still not given at all to the person being tested. Hopefully the explanations and theories below will help dispel much of the mistique surrounding modern personality testing.
There are many different personality and motivational models and theories, and each one offers a different perspective.
http://www.businessballs.com/personalitystylesmodels.htm
Friday, July 30, 2010
CCI
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
This conference aims to gather postgraduate students and early career researchers from Australia, New Zealand and Asia to explore both what it means when we call ourselves cultural researchers and how people coming from different academic backgrounds see the nature and challenges of conducting cultural research in the 21st century. We encourage participants from all cultural-focused perspectives, including (but not limited to) cultural sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, film studies, media studies, museum studies, heritage studies and art history.
Papers are invited on individuals’ projects, and presenters will be asked to reflect on how their research contributes to strengthening the agenda of cultural research. As a starting point for participants, it is suggested that in a world that is increasingly globalised, diverse and technologically mediated, new knowledge practices are required to address the cultural challenges and contradictions that exist in the 21st century. In particular, focus for this conference will be on generating genuine solutions to social and cultural problems through forging accessible, transparent and practicable forms of cultural understanding.
Topics, for example, may include:
• intercultural dialogue and interaction;
• community collaborations;
• innovative methodologies for cultural research;
• virtual, digital and new media communications;
• new knowledge production and scholarly work;
• problematising nature vs. culture;
• practising social and cultural inclusion;
• cultural research beyond national borders;
• knowledge exchange between scholarly and policy arenas;
• the empirical turn in cultural research; cultural flows;
• the critique of identity;
• processes of critique and their relationship to cultural change;
• interdisciplinarity and cultural research;
• globalization and cultural research;
• professionalization of cultural research;
http://cci.edu.au/presentations/cci-20-symposium-5-6-july-2010-vodpodcasts-available
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Gardner + Cognitive Ed Journal link
Howard Gardner - Future Minds
http://www.teachers.tv/videos/howard-gardner-future-minds
School Matters - Generation Y: Young School Leaders
Professor David Hargreaves looks at how digital media is working in schools, for both pupils and staff, and argues that Generation Y, those born in the digital age, should become school leaders.
http://www.teachers.tv/videos/generation-y-young-school-leaders
Saturday, April 10, 2010
NAVA + National Curriculum Vis Art
Notes on the History of Art Ed ~ (mostly American)
http://www.noteaccess.com/APPROACHES/ArtEd/History/index.htm
Background to the involvement of the NAAE in the development of a National Curriculum in the Arts
In 2008 the Australian Government embarked on the development of a National Curriculum. Initially, announcements were made about the development of learning areas in Phase 1 (English, mathematics, science and history) and subsequently Phase 2 (geography and languages) were released. Beyond this, there was no guarantee of any further phases of development and certainly no guarantee of the inclusion of the arts.
In 2007, in a joint statement made by the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) and Cultural Ministers Council (CMC) it was stated that:
The National Affiliation of Arts Educators (NAAE) Inc was established in 1989 with the support of the Joint Council of Cultural and Education Ministers. It has a long history of working with government, being instrumental in ensuring that the Arts were established as one of the eight key learning areas in the Australian curriculum. This group had significant carriage of the consultation and writing of the 1992 The arts – a statement on the arts for Australian schools and the companion document The arts – a curriculum profile for Australian schools.
NAAE was subsequently provided with funding from the Department of Education & Training to employ a full-time researcher for three years (until 1996), and maintained its activity after funding ceased, holding its AGM, making submissions to federal inquiries, publishing papers and advocating for Australian arts education research. A teleconference occurred in August 2008 in response to the announcement of the disciplines targeted for inclusion in the national curriculum.
The first meeting of NAAE concerning the National Curriculum occurred in October 2008. It was decided to change the name from the National Affiliation of Arts Educators to the National Advocates for Arts Education to better reflect the group’s work in getting the arts recognised as a vital part of any national curriculum. It was confirmed that the artforms and their representation would be: Dance (Ausdance); Drama (Drama Australia); Music (Australian Society for Music Education and the Music Council of Australia) and; Visual Arts (Art Education Australia and the National Association for the Visual Arts). The Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) were original members of NAAE, and rejoined in December 2008.
At this time a strategy was developed for an advocacy plan that targeted significant members of both political parties whose portfolios were concerned with education and the arts. Letters were prepared introducing NAAE and requesting meetings with the NAAE when Parliament was sitting in Canberra. In November 2008, the NAAE was able to meet with Minister Peter Garrett, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s education advisor, Minister Kim Carr’s education advisor and representatives from the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. NAAE provided a two-page executive summary position which called for the inclusion of the arts as a learning area in Phase 2 of the development of the National Curriculum.
At the same time, NAAE made strong representations to the government for the inclusion of the arts in the Early Years Learning Framework which deals with the education of children from birth to 8.
Approximately a week after the Canberra meetings, MCEETYA released the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Goals are described that include arts-rich aspects such as the cultural, creative abilities and the aesthetic. Importantly, however, the declaration lists a range of learning areas including the arts (performing and visual).
In December 2008, following the Canberra meetings, NAAE issued a media release outlining its position. This was taken up by the ABC AM program in January 2009, with subsequent articles and letters to the editor in The Age newspaper in support of this position.
The NAAE subsequently wrote to Professor Barry McGaw, Chair of the Interim National Curriculum Board (NCB), requesting the arts be included in the National Curriculum. Professor McGaw informed NAAE that MCEETYA determines the scope of the National Curriculum. When questioned for further clarification, it was noted that additional subject areas would be presented to MCEETYA for approval at their mid-year meeting. Letters were also sent to all MCEETYA Ministers by NAAE member associations, the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS), the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Australian Council for University Art and Design Schools.
Prior to Minister Garrett’s announcement on 17 April 2009 that the arts would be included in Phase 2 of the National Curriculum, the NAAE had met with Mr Rob Randall – Acting General Manager, Curriculum for the National Curriculum Board. Mr Randall suggested that NAAE discuss and prepare a position that could be presented for the provision of arts education in Australia, specifically targeting questions that related to how many artforms students must study and for how long this study should be. Mr Randall also suggested to NAAE that it undertakes an environmental scan or audit of arts curriculum from around the country and develop a position that summarised what would be considered essential content for each of the artforms.
This work has resulted in literally hours of discussion among NAAE members and has produced a set of recommendations from NAAE to the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA – formerly the interim National Curriculum Board) together with overviews of each of the artforms. The NAAE has made the strongest representations to ACARA staff that each artform must be considered separately and that its own histories, traditions, content and pedagogies be acknowledged with separate curriculum. The NAAE supports the development of content in each artform and does not support a generic “arts” curriculum.
NAAE has maintained a healthy relationship with ACARA through two further meetings with Rob Randall in June and in August of 2009. At the August meeting the Project Manager for the Arts, Ms Josephine Wise, was also in attendance.
Consultation with peak bodies
Each member of the NAAE has consulted with their constituents in a range of ways on the development of overviews and the recommendations. A summary of strategies for consultation is listed in Appendix A.
In addition, consultation has occurred with the Australian Primary Principals’ Association (APPA) through meetings with its president, correspondence and a successful teleconference. As a result, APPA has informed NAAE of its support of the work undertaken so far and its in-principle support of the recommendations that NAAE is providing to ACARA. It is important to note that the NAAE undertakes to continue providing ACARA with strategic advice when ACARA’s process of curriculum development and consultation commences.
How might the Arts (Performing and Visual) be implemented in the National Curriculum from 2012?
NAAE’s long-term aspiration is for all young Australians to have access to sequential and continuous learning in each artform. However, in order to offer flexibility and a realistic approach, and recognising the challenges of the crowded curriculum and implications of teacher expertise, the NAAE recommends the following for this next important phase of curriculum development in arts education:
1 NAAE’s views with regard to Visual Arts and Design are still under consideration
2 NAAE was advised to follow the terminology of the 2008 Melbourne Declaration as an 'enabling' document, but NAAE's views on the Melbourne Declaration's division of the arts into 'performing and visual' remain under consideration.
Discussion
The NAAE recognises the importance for all students in Australia to have access to sequential, developmental and continuous learning in each of the artforms. NAAE also recognises that existing school structures, competing priorities, existing resources and expertise limits this goal. The recommendations listed above provide for what would be considered to be the minimum acceptable standard for the implementation of the national curriculum in the arts. A statement such as this strengthens the provisions that currently exist in many states and territories around the country.
The NAAE would also acknowledge the importance of the Arts in early childhood education and recommends that any curriculum that is to be developed should build upon the Early Years Learning Framework and allow for an arts-rich learning environment that reflects good practice and pedagogy with children of this age group. This position also intends to promote and enhance the provision of arts learning in the secondary curriculum and supports a notion that a continuum of learning be developed that allows for increasing degrees of specialisation as students progress through to the senior years.
In addition to this, the NAAE advocates for a review of pre-service teacher education. It notes through a number of studies the inadequate provisions and training provided by tertiary institutions are clearly not preparing teachers for the demands of the existing curriculum, let alone a new National Curriculum.
http://www.noteaccess.com/APPROACHES/ArtEd/History/index.htm
Background to the involvement of the NAAE in the development of a National Curriculum in the Arts
In 2008 the Australian Government embarked on the development of a National Curriculum. Initially, announcements were made about the development of learning areas in Phase 1 (English, mathematics, science and history) and subsequently Phase 2 (geography and languages) were released. Beyond this, there was no guarantee of any further phases of development and certainly no guarantee of the inclusion of the arts.
In 2007, in a joint statement made by the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) and Cultural Ministers Council (CMC) it was stated that:
Establishment of NAAEAll children and young people should have a high quality arts education in every phase of learning. (Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs and Cultural Ministers Council, 2007, 5).1
The National Affiliation of Arts Educators (NAAE) Inc was established in 1989 with the support of the Joint Council of Cultural and Education Ministers. It has a long history of working with government, being instrumental in ensuring that the Arts were established as one of the eight key learning areas in the Australian curriculum. This group had significant carriage of the consultation and writing of the 1992 The arts – a statement on the arts for Australian schools and the companion document The arts – a curriculum profile for Australian schools.
NAAE was subsequently provided with funding from the Department of Education & Training to employ a full-time researcher for three years (until 1996), and maintained its activity after funding ceased, holding its AGM, making submissions to federal inquiries, publishing papers and advocating for Australian arts education research. A teleconference occurred in August 2008 in response to the announcement of the disciplines targeted for inclusion in the national curriculum.
The first meeting of NAAE concerning the National Curriculum occurred in October 2008. It was decided to change the name from the National Affiliation of Arts Educators to the National Advocates for Arts Education to better reflect the group’s work in getting the arts recognised as a vital part of any national curriculum. It was confirmed that the artforms and their representation would be: Dance (Ausdance); Drama (Drama Australia); Music (Australian Society for Music Education and the Music Council of Australia) and; Visual Arts (Art Education Australia and the National Association for the Visual Arts). The Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) were original members of NAAE, and rejoined in December 2008.
At this time a strategy was developed for an advocacy plan that targeted significant members of both political parties whose portfolios were concerned with education and the arts. Letters were prepared introducing NAAE and requesting meetings with the NAAE when Parliament was sitting in Canberra. In November 2008, the NAAE was able to meet with Minister Peter Garrett, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s education advisor, Minister Kim Carr’s education advisor and representatives from the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. NAAE provided a two-page executive summary position which called for the inclusion of the arts as a learning area in Phase 2 of the development of the National Curriculum.
At the same time, NAAE made strong representations to the government for the inclusion of the arts in the Early Years Learning Framework which deals with the education of children from birth to 8.
Approximately a week after the Canberra meetings, MCEETYA released the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Goals are described that include arts-rich aspects such as the cultural, creative abilities and the aesthetic. Importantly, however, the declaration lists a range of learning areas including the arts (performing and visual).
In December 2008, following the Canberra meetings, NAAE issued a media release outlining its position. This was taken up by the ABC AM program in January 2009, with subsequent articles and letters to the editor in The Age newspaper in support of this position.
The NAAE subsequently wrote to Professor Barry McGaw, Chair of the Interim National Curriculum Board (NCB), requesting the arts be included in the National Curriculum. Professor McGaw informed NAAE that MCEETYA determines the scope of the National Curriculum. When questioned for further clarification, it was noted that additional subject areas would be presented to MCEETYA for approval at their mid-year meeting. Letters were also sent to all MCEETYA Ministers by NAAE member associations, the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS), the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Australian Council for University Art and Design Schools.
Prior to Minister Garrett’s announcement on 17 April 2009 that the arts would be included in Phase 2 of the National Curriculum, the NAAE had met with Mr Rob Randall – Acting General Manager, Curriculum for the National Curriculum Board. Mr Randall suggested that NAAE discuss and prepare a position that could be presented for the provision of arts education in Australia, specifically targeting questions that related to how many artforms students must study and for how long this study should be. Mr Randall also suggested to NAAE that it undertakes an environmental scan or audit of arts curriculum from around the country and develop a position that summarised what would be considered essential content for each of the artforms.
This work has resulted in literally hours of discussion among NAAE members and has produced a set of recommendations from NAAE to the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA – formerly the interim National Curriculum Board) together with overviews of each of the artforms. The NAAE has made the strongest representations to ACARA staff that each artform must be considered separately and that its own histories, traditions, content and pedagogies be acknowledged with separate curriculum. The NAAE supports the development of content in each artform and does not support a generic “arts” curriculum.
NAAE has maintained a healthy relationship with ACARA through two further meetings with Rob Randall in June and in August of 2009. At the August meeting the Project Manager for the Arts, Ms Josephine Wise, was also in attendance.
Consultation with peak bodies
Each member of the NAAE has consulted with their constituents in a range of ways on the development of overviews and the recommendations. A summary of strategies for consultation is listed in Appendix A.
In addition, consultation has occurred with the Australian Primary Principals’ Association (APPA) through meetings with its president, correspondence and a successful teleconference. As a result, APPA has informed NAAE of its support of the work undertaken so far and its in-principle support of the recommendations that NAAE is providing to ACARA. It is important to note that the NAAE undertakes to continue providing ACARA with strategic advice when ACARA’s process of curriculum development and consultation commences.
NATIONAL ADVOCATES FOR ARTS EDUCATION (NAAE)
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ARTS LEARNING IN THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM
The Arts (Performing and Visual) are identified in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (December 2008) as a learning area with a specific discipline base. These are included as part of the Declaration’s goals to achieve a world-class curriculum. How might the Arts (Performing and Visual) be implemented in the National Curriculum from 2012?
NAAE’s long-term aspiration is for all young Australians to have access to sequential and continuous learning in each artform. However, in order to offer flexibility and a realistic approach, and recognising the challenges of the crowded curriculum and implications of teacher expertise, the NAAE recommends the following for this next important phase of curriculum development in arts education:
- Primary and secondary students should have sequential and continuous learning provisions in at least one artform from the field of Performing Arts (Dance, Drama, Music) and one artform from the field of the Visual Arts (Visual Arts1, Media), selected by the school, i.e. at least two art forms will be chosen for continuous and sequential learning as a minimum for arts learning.2
- This will enable students to demonstrate achievement, progression and development in content (skills, knowledge, understanding) identified for at least two artforms. Teachers should report on student achievement within the school’s chosen two artforms.
- This approach will facilitate choice for schools, taking account of staffing, resources, community interests and provision. It will also support a ‘whole school’ approach to build strengths, expertise and the capacity to implement arts curriculum.
- The first years of schooling should build on the Early Years Learning Framework to provide a broad and interrelated approach to the arts that acknowledges the richness this can bring to young learners.
- Throughout the primary years, in addition to the two selected artforms, students should also have rich learning experiences in the remaining three artforms, with schools reporting achievement in these artforms in less formal ways.
- In the secondary years, at least two artforms, one from the Performing Arts and one from the Visual Arts, should be offered in sequential and continuous courses. Provision should also be made for the remaining three artforms, enabling students to exercise choice.
- In the senior years, it is desirable that schools offer courses in all five artforms and for students to be able to specialise in the artforms of their choice.
1 NAAE’s views with regard to Visual Arts and Design are still under consideration
2 NAAE was advised to follow the terminology of the 2008 Melbourne Declaration as an 'enabling' document, but NAAE's views on the Melbourne Declaration's division of the arts into 'performing and visual' remain under consideration.
Discussion
The NAAE recognises the importance for all students in Australia to have access to sequential, developmental and continuous learning in each of the artforms. NAAE also recognises that existing school structures, competing priorities, existing resources and expertise limits this goal. The recommendations listed above provide for what would be considered to be the minimum acceptable standard for the implementation of the national curriculum in the arts. A statement such as this strengthens the provisions that currently exist in many states and territories around the country.
The NAAE would also acknowledge the importance of the Arts in early childhood education and recommends that any curriculum that is to be developed should build upon the Early Years Learning Framework and allow for an arts-rich learning environment that reflects good practice and pedagogy with children of this age group. This position also intends to promote and enhance the provision of arts learning in the secondary curriculum and supports a notion that a continuum of learning be developed that allows for increasing degrees of specialisation as students progress through to the senior years.
In addition to this, the NAAE advocates for a review of pre-service teacher education. It notes through a number of studies the inadequate provisions and training provided by tertiary institutions are clearly not preparing teachers for the demands of the existing curriculum, let alone a new National Curriculum.
APPENDIX A
Consultation with peak bodies
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