Pedagogika
CONCEPTUAL context of VISUAL
arts education
of comprehensive school students
in france
in 21st century
Ludmila Volynets
Institute
of Pedagogy of the NAES of Ukraine
Ànnotation: In the article, the author outlines
and analyzes four components of the conceptual context of general art education
in modern societies, in particular teaching of visual arts in French
comprehensive schools. These components concern relevant ideas in such areas as
cultural policy, development of information and communication technologies,
economy and ecology, and education.
Key words: conceptual
context; general art education; visual arts
teaching; Road Map, fundamental component.
Introduction.In the 21st century, teaching of visual arts in French comprehensive schools takes
place in the context of actualization of general arts education in the EU and
the world on the whole. Actualization is evidenced by numerous projects and
initiatives launched by such international organizations as UNESCO, EU,
European Council, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
and others. This actualization is connected with understanding of the crucial
role of arts education for societies in globalized world and in the context of
a whole range of modern challenges. Such situation fosters intensive and
dynamic development of the concept of general arts education. This development
creates a conceptual context of visual arts teaching in French comprehensive schools
in the 21st century.
Apart from global theoretical and practical
developments, the calls of UNESCO Directors-General Federico Mayor and
Kōichirō Matsuura (at the edge of the 20th and 21st centuries) to
enhance arts education and creativity at school became the basis for the
development of the global concept of general arts education. Strategic goal of
this improvement is to approve the Culture of Peace and development of
harmonious young generations as the latter will determine the fate of humanity
in future [4], [5].
In 2007-2009, within preparation to the Second
World Confernce on Arts Education, a number of national and regional
symphosiums, conferneces, and other events were held in different countries. In
particular, they included a symphosium in Wildbad-Kreuth (Germany, 2008)
dedicated to the Road Map’s impact on arts education development in Europe; a
conference and a symphosium in Pittsburg (the USA, 2009); Summits of World Alliance for Arts Education (WAAE) in Newcastle
(Great Britain, 2009), and others.
In May 2010, the Second World Conference on Arts Education
was held in Seoul. It resulted in the development of the Seoul Agenda: Goals for the Development of Arts Education.
The three broad goals included:
·
Ensure that arts education is accessible as a fundamental and sustainable component of a high quality renewal of education.
·
Assure that arts education activities and programmes are of a high quality in conception and delivery.
·
Apply arts education principles and practices to contribute to resolving the social and cultural challenges facing today’s world [14].
The purpose of the article. Therefore, the
aim of this article is to understand the
components of the conceptual context of arts education teaching in French
comprehensive schools while considering such contextual peculiarity as European
and global scale in the 21st century.
The main
part. As a result of our analysis of modern French and
world researches (arts teachers, economists, political analysts, philosophers,
sociologists, neuropsychologists, and neuroscientists), we determined four
major components of the conceptual context of general arts education in modern
societies, including teaching of visual arts in France. This concerns relevant
ideas in such areas as cultural policy, development of information and
communication technologies, economics, ecology, and education.
The system of views in the area of cultural policy of modern societies is
determined by the fact that globalization, dynamic development of information
and communication technologies, and intense integration and migration processes
foster revival of international contacts and revelation of cultural wealth and
diversity of humanity. At the same time, these processes make cultural heritage
of certain nations vulnerable. The reason is that these processes also
strengthen domination of certain cultures and unification of human culture.
Understanding of the risk of cultural and artistic depletion of human society encourages
UNESCO, European Council, and the EU to implement policies aimed at
preservation and development of cultural heritage and identity of all nations [16, p.4].The idea of multiculturalism, unity of cultural diversity, and the need of preservation of the whole human culture became the core basis for international relations within globalization and integration processes.
Actualization
of visual arts teaching, as well as arts education on the whole, is connected
to this cultural and political context as “when we talk about culture, we
usually mean art.” UNESCO Director-General Matsuura stressed this idea when
opening the First World Conference on Arts Education. In a world where multiple
cultures require co-existence, arts are of special importance “as they express
culture” and represent the quintessence of culture [6].
The above mentioned Road Map states that many countries
lose certain elements of culture because they are not valued within education
systems and are not transmitted to next generations. Therefore, knowledge about
culture and its forms of expression should be integrated in school programs.
This can be achieved via the use of arts education tools, both formal and
informal [12, p. 6]. Thus, comprehensive schools become the major way of realization of
modern cultural policies in all countries.
Students’ worldview openness to the culture of their own
nation, as well as European and world cultures, is one of the preconditions for
achievement of unity of cultural diversity. However, as a famous French
philosopher and sociologist E. Morin states, today all cultures are dominated by an ethno- or socio-centered
mentality, namely a mentality closed to other cultures. E. Morin emphasizes that artists are the most receptive to other
cultures [7, p. 57]. Therefore, we can say that worldview and cross-cultural
openness is possible in artistic environment. Hence, general arts education can be an ideal tool of development of youth’s
openness to other cultures.
Communicational benefits of artistic images are connected
with their appellation directly to humanistic values irrespective of cultural belonging. Herewith, while
communicative functions of such arts as theatre, cinema, and literature face
language barriers, visual arts present a language which does not require
translation.
In the situation of intensive and
dynamic mutual enrichment of different cultures, understanding of students’ own
cultural identity should become an important aspect of their worldview.
Artistic activities and knowledge of history of arts (including national,
regional, and world arts) could foster this. In time of globalization, everyone
should develop his or her own multiple and complex identity which enables a
combination of family, regional, ethnic, national, religious or philosophical,
continental, and planetary identity [7, p. 42].
Openness to cultural heritage of other nations is needed to learn
tolerance and susceptibility to other visions and worldview. Ignorance of other
cultures can result in fear of and hatred to “difference,” as well as denial of
something or somebody “different.” Visual arts is a way to manage biased,
stereotyped, and sometimes hostile attitudes to something ethnically,
culturally, religiously, socially, or otherwise “different.” Introduction of
“difference” within the environment of artistic and cultural education enables
overcoming of ignorance leading to intolerance and denial of “difference.”
Thus,
general arts education (and teaching of visual arts) becomes an important tool
of solution of not only cultural, but also political issues of the 21st
century.
A worldview
established as a result of arts education enables development of a constructive
approach to life. This approach is featured not by the principle of objection
and opposition, but the principle of complementarity. This should
foster mutual understanding, partnership, and hence, development of the culture
of peace and sustainable development.
One of the
important components of the conceptual context of visual arts education in the
21st century is the ideas connected with dynamic development of information and communication technologies
(ICT). Modern researches can get information from various sources including
printed sources, television, radio, ÑD, DVD, the
Internet, and others. This information is mostly transmitted via images.
Image-based products are dominant in children’s and youth’s everyday
environment. As a Canadian neuropsychologist Michael Peters stated already in
1995, images displace printed information in the modern world. While relying on
printed information sources, the hierarchy of values of Western education faces
radical transformations [10, pp. 95,
122]. Therefore, it is vital that general education teach
students to understand these images, perceive them correctly, and “read” visual
images as they read texts. This means broadening of literacy types. While
education used to be limited to such literacy types as reading, writing, and
arithmetic, today, visual and imaginative (image-based) literacy becomes of
great importance.
Means of
expression of modern visual media images (such as graphics, color images, and
animation) mostly coincide with visual arts’ language: lines, colors,
composition, and others. Therefore, it is obvious that it is such educational
discipline as Visual Arts that should be responsible for teaching visual and
imaginative (image-based) literacy. Visual Arts are aimed at providing children
and adolescents with basic arts competence, developing a certain level of
perception culture of visual images, and strictness to image-based production.
This can ensure critical attitude of “screenagers” to media space and
manipulations and reduce the risks of negative influence of modern media
products within a society of information hyper-consumption and communication [3,
p. 167]. Arts education is aimed at teaching students (as
cultural industry consumers) to distinguish arts-based products from commercial
products and understand the potential of an image as a means of transmission of
truth, seduction, manipulation, etc.
Another
aspect of actualization of visual arts education in the context of ICT
development is the need to help children and youth to find a foothold in the
virtual world, not to get lost in it, and not to lose their human nature, as
well as ability to joy, love, amaze, and admire.
Thus, modern ICT require compulsory artistic and
visual literacy, as well as imaginative competency as a vital part of
informational, mass media, and virtual literacy and competency. Teaching of
visual arts should become a basis for visual image-based literacy of students.
Conceptual context
of visual arts teaching in French comprehensive schools
in the 21st century in the area of economy
and ecology is connected with dynamic changes in production processes. The
21st century economy oftener requires innovativeness and creativity in the
areas of all social, technical, and professional activities [12, p.5], [1
p. 4]. Today, economists, sociologists, and political
analytics of different post-industrial countries stress the importance of
creativity as a part of professional competence in any sphere. A US expert in
international communication policy and global knowledge society Sh. Venturelli
believes that ability to generate new ideas and new information forms become
capital, a crucial resource base – just like minerals, agriculture, or industry
[17, p. 12,
22]. Creativity is viewed as a source of national wealth
and an important factor of economic competitiveness [2,
p.15].
An Australian economist D. Trosby also stresses
the need to review traditional economic views, cultural values, and ideas of
human and cultural capital [6].
Modern economy requires a complex, integral, and a more creative vision with
regard to solving economic issues which are tightly connected to the whole
range of human activities. Creativity is needed for economic transformation. E.
Morin states that while being a social science, economics is mathematically
developed. However, it is barely developed in social and humanistic terms as it
separates itself from social, historical, political, psychological, and
environmental conditions to which it is strongly connected [7,
p. 19].
Global
thinkers, scientists, politicians, and public activists (K. Robinson, F. Mayor,
K. Matsuura, H. Hardner, A. Ishaq, K. Fridman, and others) are unanimous about
artistic practices (compulsory component of general education) as the best way
of creativity development. In particular, visual arts practices are mostly a
synthesis. They enable development of children’s creative ability which is by
nature also a synthesis [2 ], [12].
Harvey Seitter
and Tim Stockil,
British experts in arts-business connections, note a new tendency in the
development of these connections. Traditionally, arts and business partnership
involved a transfer of corporate resources to arts organizations in the form of
philanthropy and sponsorship. However, recently, companies have been inviting
poets, actors, painters, and artists of other genres to teach their employees.
The new relationship model is based on possibility of transfer of artistic
creativity, knowledge, insight, and ingenuity potential to the process of
creative and constructive business problem-solving. H. Seitter
and T. Stockil
believe that creative revolution in business involves understanding of the
nature of artists’ creativity. H. Seitter
views creativity as the driving force of the modern global economy, as the oil
of the 21st century [13, p. 6-13].
Ashfaq Ishaq, a famous American (Pakistan
born) economist, teacher, expert in conflict solution, and a public activist
who established an International Child Art Foundation (ICAF)
in 1997, claims that artistic practices can foster business success and
prosperity of society on the whole [2].
In France, understanding of economic feasibility
of distributing artistic culture among school youth came in the 1960s. While
understanding that culture is a factor facilitating socialization and economic
development, leaders of local communities (regions, department) began
supporting projects concerning artistic creativity at school [3,
p. 256]. After 1981, an idea of a culture’s ability to respond
to a crisis became dominant in attitudes to arts education in French schools.
Creativity was viewed as a driving force and a factor of economic revival. In
the 1990s, French Arts Education policy aimed at human capital development [3,
p. 160]. Cultural heritage of France attracting both French
citizens and foreigner was viewed as economic capital [15, p. 322], [3,
p. 257].
Second
economic factor of actualization of general arts education, in particular
teaching visual arts, is an in the
modern economy, both French (European), and world economy. A range of cultural
industries connected with visual arts is especially wide, from plastic to folk
arts (films, television, architecture, commixes, computer games,
advertisements, crafts, toys, etc.). Therefore, there is a growing number of
specialties requiring art education.
The need of eco-ethical economy is vital today.
In the 20th century, civilization’s impact on the Earth ecosphere reached the
level when not only further progress, but also human survival is impossible
without understanding of human unity with natural environment. In the context
of exacerbation of planetary ecological crisis, ethical aspect of progressive
economic development and youth’ understanding of the threat of individualism
and unremitting utilitarism are important.
Thus, today the idea of comprehensive school as
an institute aimed at forming ethically conscious generation able to lead
humanity out of crisis and consolidate its efforts to solve multicontextual
problems is relevant. Hence, schools act not only as social institutes
preparing children for life viewed as solving of material, economic, and
professional difficulties [6].
Economic feasibility of development of youth’
creativity via arts, including visual arts, is also connected to healthy and
harmonizing effect of arts on psychological and physical state, increase in
educational process effectiveness, successful youth socialization, and
therefore, self-realization and impact on society. In addition, reduction in
antisocial behavior, alcoholism, and drug abuse have a positive economic
potential not to mention the possibility not to spend economic and natural
resources on wars and military solution of conflicts.
Thus, as
culture becomes an economic category, namely a cultural capital, visual arts
teaching, as well as arts and culture education on the whole, becomes a key to
successful economy and a precondition for establishment of creative and
innovative society able to solve environmental problems.
Issues which
arose at the beginning of the third millennium in the area of cultural policy,
information technologies, economy, and ecology became a strong and complex
challenge to the social institute of
education. Education faced challenges which many researchers believe
possible to solve only in case of arts education integration, including visual
arts teaching, into general education contents (as a fundamental component). In
addition, changes in attitudes to the artistic component of general education
are connected with the need of essential changes in educational systems of
modern societies. Arts are viewed as a key to solution of a range of
pedagogical issues and tasks.
In
particular, this concerns arts education potential, including visual arts
teaching, with regard to an increase in general education effectiveness and
quality. Research in psychology of cognition and brain function conducted in
the last few decades in France and other countries (Switzerland, Belgium,
Canada, the US, and others) clearly demonstrates the importance of the way
knowledge are transmitted. Many French researches (J.-M. Lauret, D. Lockwood,
J.-M. Bichat, J. Lang, and others) stress the importance of consideration of a
child’s body and sensual feelings helping to cognize the world through
different dimensions – color, sound, and other ones. Initiation into the art
mobilizes body as a sensual cognition instrument unlimited to rational and
logical cognition. Art education appeals not only to
verbal and logical intelligence, but also other intelligence types, namely
emotional, kinesthetic, spatial, etc. (by. H. Gardner). In the context of
increasing education effectiveness, pedagogical involvement of various
intelligence types and their complementarity, namely combination of different
ways of learning, is vital.
Numerous
research studies reveal that students involved in various artistic activities
become more successful in education on the whole. For example, teaching visual
arts fosters development of general educational competencies. In particular,
this concerns development of attention, speech, graphic depiction, space
orientation, mathematical skills, and preparation to reading [9, c.46].
Apart
from general educational competencies, arts can enhance development of
students’ personal qualities, namely imagination, creativity, emotional
culture, self-respect, openness, responsibility, ethical values and moral
behavior, initiative, self-cognition abilities, self-identification,
self-expression, cooperation, problem-solving, critical reflection,
independence, and freedom of thought and action [12, p. 4], [11, p.18], [18,
p.36 ].
Art
education, via fostering emotional development, can significantly enhance
general cognitive development [12, p. 5].
Art, as an emotional component of educational process, is a knowledge
“energy-carrier.” The presence of aesthetic information, namely harmonious
sounds, colors, lines, and forms, involves emotional and imaginative perception
(right hemisphere of brain), facilitates
entry of mental activity in a particular comfort state, frees cognitive
energy and learning vigor, and thus, makes the process of information
perception fuller and more effective. The emotional component makes the process
of remembering easier and sciences more accessible in comprehension. This is
especially important with regard to children who have learning difficulties.
Today, H.
Gardner, S. Zeki, A. Ishaq, and many other researchers recognize the cognitive
potential of art education. According to cognitive neurobiologist S. Zeki,
acquisition of knowledge via recording of permanent and essential features of
various things is the primary function of “the brain that can see,” as well as
art’s primary function [2].
The above-mentioned Road Map also stresses the idea that education “in art” and
“via artistic tools” facilitates cognitive development. Art, as a way of
cognition, enables understanding of various aspects of life and co-living with
others [12, pp. 4–5].
Solution of
modern global issues requires multidisciplinary, transversal, multidimensional,
and multinational approach. Hence, pedagogical task of identification of
multidisciplinary ties in school educational context is vital. Today, European
educational public claims that current education system which is based on
division of school educational content on disciplines (since the 19th century)
provides only fragmented knowledge, instead of a holistic worldview. In his
book “Uniting Knowledge: 21st Century Challenge,” E. Morin states that at the
modern stage of social and educational development, it is important that social
sciences, literature, and arts create a holistic information and education
space and train young minds to “contextualize and generalize.” Integration of
school disciplines should enhance understanding of such basic philosophical
concepts as space, life, humanity, etc. [8].
Ecological
crisis encourages people to review their views concerning life and its laws, as
well as orientation of human activities. Therefore, people should review their
knowledge about human nature and, in particular, its spiritual component as
spirituality is a sense of connection and unity with the whole environment,
both natural, and social. Ethical principles should become compulsory in all
areas of human activities.
According to
a famous Portuguese (but working in the US) neurobiologist A. Damasio, the
reason for a moral decrease in the modern world is domination of cognitive
skills over emotional culture development.
Emotions are an integral part of the solving and making processes. They
direct activities, ides, thoughts, and judgments. A healthy moral behavior
requires emotions’ involvement [12, p.5].
Thus, artistic and cultural aspect of a society’s life and hence, general
education context, is a fruitful area of development of a society’s
spirituality.
Conclusions. In
this publication, we have only outlined the most important components of the
conceptual context of the modern general arts education and thus, visual arts
teaching in the system of general education in France. Today, the issue of
general arts education is viewed at a new level, namely as a fundamental,
instead of minor or marginal, component of general education contents. This
means true accessibility of artistic life to all, democratization of arts
education. This is a modern imperative caused by powerful and overwhelming
changes in the life of human society and therefore, every country. This issue
requires development of innovative vector of integrational scientific research,
both theoretic and practical, aimed at integration of artistic component as a
fundamental one into general educational contents. Today, countries’
governments should adequately respond to the challenges of the 21st century, in
particular, educational ones. Fate, including economic status of every country,
and humanity fate depends on these challenges’ solution.
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