Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemArt and art schools(Melbourne State College, 1975)
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ItemArt and community schools in Victoria : a focus on the Artists and Architects in Schools Programs as models in evaluating negotiation and participatory decision making as a basis for developing arts curricula( 1990)This study has argued that the learning context should be linked not only with the student's growing knowledge and skill within the curriculum but it should also allow for an understanding of how that curriculum connects and relates with the democratic society of work and leisure. It is further argued, that as, a consequence of arriving at that understanding; students acquire a sense of empowerment and control over their lives. In Chapter 1, the study establishes the historical background to the Artists and Architects in Schools Programs, and the role of the art teacher and the artists and architects within those programs. As an introduction, Chapter 1 also briefly explains the following Chapters. Chapter 2 discusses the history and development of the state community school movement, its-establishment in Victoria, and the radical nature of its underpinnings. Reference is also made to the private alternative school movement. In Chapter 3, the process. of decision making in Croydon Community School and Sherbrooke Community School in respect to their Artists in Schools Programs is examined. In Chapter 4, the issues discussed are: three orientations to the curriculum, the American Discipline Based Art Education, and the recent curriculum guidelines of the Victorian. Ministry of Education. A comparison is made of the approaches to learning and negotiating the curriculum between Swinburne Community School and Croydon Community School. Finally a summary is presented of negotiation and the arts integration of the curriculum during the Artists and Architects in Schools Programs at Croydon Community School in 1982. In Chapter 5 some of the movements towards participatory democracy throughout the 20th century in industry and in social, political and business institutions by workers, residents and other concerned groups through control by that means of the workplace, the means of production, and the neighbourhood are examined. Reference is made to their philosophic basis and the parallel movement of the community schools in Victoria. In Chapter 6 the history of the development of the Artists and Architects in Schools Programs is examined. Comparison with and evaluation of the criticism of the British and American Programs is also included to illuminate the role of the art teacher and the artists and architects. In Chapter 7, the arts integration of the timetable for both the Artists and Architects in Schools Programs at Croydon Community School in 1982 and 1983 is evaluated: Note is also taken of the consistent philosophic approach. A brief comparison is made with other Artists and Architects in Schools Programs to elucidate the theme of whole school community involvement. In Chapter 8, Community Arts, have been defined and discussed in relation to the ideologies that motivate the management of community schools. Note has also been taken of community arts practice in Britain and America as a comparison with the Australian context. The potential for the relationship of the community artist with the community school is also evaluated. In Chapter 9, a Creative Arts Curriculum Model for Community Schools has been designed to provide a comprehensive arts curriculum with a contextual basis for the growth of the whole person. The design allows for decision making through participation to be practised to provide the framework for the development of an arts curriculum relevant to contemporary society in the 1990's. In concluding, Chapter 10 has examined, evaluated and clarified a number of key themes which are the central elements to the writer's thoughts. These are: the role of negotiation and participatory decision making in developing a democratic curriculum, and the role of art within that context. Observation is also made on the way the themes relate to the events of the 'real world'. A brief note is made of possible areas for further research. Finally, a comment is made on the relevance of the community school in the reorganised system of the Victorian Ministry of Education forward into the 1990's.
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ItemMy place Tempatku : a search for meaning, a cross cultural study that investigates the ways in which children in Australia and Indonesia reveal their ideas and feelings about places of significance in their lives( 2000)The study aimed to investigate ways in which groups of primary aged children in Australia and Indonesia responded to the metaphor My Place Tempatku, developed their ideas, and presented these using a range of visual art media and written stories. It grew out of the researcher's experiences and reflections as an art teacher, an artist in schools and a teacher educator. The study was designed with a travelling exhibition in mind and this intention was clearly communicated to all participants. It encouraged dialogue between the participants and the researcher with a particular focus on the art work and written stories as vehicles for communication within a cultural context. The researcher sought, at all times, to exclude from the study notions of racism or superiority. As such, the basis of the My Place Tempatku study was never intended to be a comparison of the techniques of drawings, the teaching methodologies nor of one curriculum to another. Rather, the study sought to document and so illuminate the emic views of the participants, the children in schools in Victoria and Bali and the views of the researcher as this particular study progressed. The instrumental case study is presented in a narrative style designed to evoke key features of the stages of the project and provide engaging interpretative accounts from the participants' perspectives. The My Place Tempatku study reveals that when children in a cross cultural context are engaged in art making that is relevant, challenging, expressive and personal, their imagery and final art work generate intense levels of interest for other children and their communities. The informal exhibition emerged as a significant phase and as the cultural exchange agent, facilitating observation and direct interpretation by children and teachers. In this cross cultural context the art work and bi-lingual translated written stories, served as vehicles for communication and exchange, substituting for face-to-face interrelationships. The children demonstrated shifts in their thinking and levels of understanding as a consequence of their observation and prolonged engagement with the exhibition My Place Tempatku
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ItemSearching for a fair assessment( 1995)The full implementation of the VCE in 1992 represented significant changes to senior secondary schooling in Victoria. These changes were strikingly evident in the new assessment methods and procedures of the Art test CAT. The difference between the HSC Art Appreciation examination process and the 1992 VCE Art test CAT assessment was more than a difference in practices and methods. The ideological foundations of the two examination systems were vastly different. The HSC system served to rank students so that universities could select the best candidates. The BOS promoted the VCE as more 'equitable', 'accountable' and 'inclusive 'than the HSC. These concepts derived from the recommendations of the Blackburn Report (1985) which advocated major reform of the senior curricula and assessment. I interviewed five experienced Art Appreciation examiners in order to acquire a perspective of the two examination systems during' a time of change (1987-92) and ultimately focused upon the fairness values that were evident in the examination process. I compared published policy statements regarding fairness and equity with the examination practices that the five examiners described and analysed during our interviews. The theories of Foucault and Bourdieu enabled me to understand that examinations are part of a systematic social selection process. How can 'fairness' be defined and embodied in examination practices if examinations inherently represent a form of social power? Bourdieu and Foucault nourished this type of reflection. The Blackburn Report, the views of the five examiners and the social theories of Foucault and Bourdieu led me to consider the Art test CAT (1992) as a representation of the equity values that were defended by the BOS. Fullan's theories revealed that disorder usually accompanies educational change and added -another dimension to this investigation of 'fairness and justice' in the Art Appreciation examination (1987-92). In addition, this research study evaluates the practice of the BOS policy regarding equity and fairness, as evident in the VCE Art test CAT assessment process (1992), because the Board promoted the view that the VCE would provide greater equity and fairness to all Victorian students than the HSC.
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ItemAn examination of multicultural perspectives in art education, and their contribution to a just, tolerant and creative society( 2000)Contemporary art curriculum guidelines in Australia, both at national and state levels, state that study in the Arts must gives students access to the cultural diversity in their immediate community and the broader Australian and international context. As well, the principles of gender equity and equal opportunity for students from all ethnic, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds have been incorporated. These statements appear to reflect multicultural perspectives, in promoting an equitable, harmonious, and innovative society (Stuhr, 1991; Sleeter and Grant, 1991). However, critics such as Rizvi (1994) contend that these directives are seldom reflected in the art program in most schools. In this thesis, I have examined the potential of art education to implement these aims, and assumptions regarding the desirability of this outcome. To this end, I have investigated the ideas that underpin this kind of multicultural awareness. These theories direct their focus towards democratic teaching methods, and recommend an art curriculum and teaching practices which encourage students to become active social critics through the arts. To this end, I discuss ways in which teachers and students might explore and analyse the ways in which the arts affect attitudes and relationships of power, and the contributions to be made by a study of Australia's diversity. 1 have also compared the proposals of the many educational theorists whose ideas have been explored with those in the CSF for the Arts. To assist this evaluation, I have also conducted a small field research study in a number of secondary schools in the south-eastern metropolitan area of Melbourne, to establish whether the art teachers interviewed understood and implemented the aims of multiculturalism. On the basis of this comparison, proposals have been outlined for a focus on social justice and appreciation of difference.
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ItemArt and the art of coping( 1998)Consider the conscious not as a purely passive but as an independent active factor... artistic forms not as a facade but as an extremely important mechanism and technique... and include in its sphere of investigation the sum total of human life... Art is the social technique of emotion, a tool of society which brings the most intimate and personal aspects of our being into the circle of social life. (Vygotsky, 1971, p. 249). This thesis reports how young adolescents increased their awareness of themselves and their coping skills experientially through the arts in the context of a teacher/student relationship. Through a series of art sessions the students become aware of significant issues in their lives. The unfolding of meanings occurred in relationship with a teacher or in collaboration with peers. The relationship became a key to self-understanding: this key is called 'intersubjectivity'. Facilitating students' shift in awareness and uncovering the meaning made by the students of their experiences was grounded in the methodology and procedures of existential, experiential phenomenology. This thesis is a study of three case studies. In these case studies the students communicated metaphorically through the arts their feelings and thoughts about concerns and how they cope with these concerns. This communication occurred in the context of a relationship with a teacher and/or peers. The students explored their lived-experience, concerns and ways of coping with concerns through the arts, that is in drawing, painting, pottery, movement, dialogue and written form. Students explored their coping skills also by completing the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993) and reflecting on their experiences of coping through the arts. The next level of the experience for the student involved them reviewing their art and text and describing themes and the essence(s) of their experiences, this was mostly a creative and reflective process in the arts. This study illuminates the processes that facilitate the development of awareness and coping skills. It marks arts expressions as modes of inquiry and validates the significance of the intersubjective relationship in developing young people's awareness of themselves and their coping skills. The intersubjective relationship in this study was empathic, didactic and encouraging; the teacher reflected student's expressions, and encouraged and taught skills, while maintaining a focus on coping.
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ItemThe construction of art in the secondary classroom: an investigation of the theories of Pierre Bourdieu( 1996)This thesis examines aspects of the theories of Pierre Bourdieu as they apply to art education. The study investigates whether Bourdieu's theories are supported by the real life histories of teachers and students. The research utilises the life history approach to investigate three factors which Bourdieu argues are significant in determining a student's chances of success in art education. The three factors are the socio-economic background of the student, the way in which art education tends to construct correct ways of making art and viewing art, and the values of art and schooling as reproduced through the family. This thesis shows how complex the structures are which construct what is taught in schools, and argues that altering the way teachers teach art does not necessarily alter what is valued by the teacher within the art classroom. The thesis discusses the way boundaries are constructed for students and that these boundaries influence the way students make and talk about art. This thesis argues, therefore, that for students to be successful within art education they must adhere to the parameters set by the teachers and the school.
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ItemThe possibility of objectivity in aesthetic evaluation in the visual arts( 1990)In order to establish a rational framework within which to discuss aesthetic matters, I attempt to find grounds to support the notion that objectivity in aesthetic evaluation is possible, within the visual arts. I begin by exploring the possibility that the foundations of our aesthetic response are innate, because, if this is the case, it would indicate that aesthetic considerations have a common basis within us all, rather than belonging to a purely personal and subjective realm. In Part One, in search of foundations, I turn to the art of those who are relatively unprogrammed in our artistic conventions, in an attempt to distinguish between innate impulses and conditioned responses. Next, by looking for the motivation behind the aesthetic impulse, and what this can tell me about how the aesthetic is constituted, I consider the possibility that the aesthetic impulse is in some way linked to characteristics which aid survival. This includes studying the nature of perception, including various innate perceptual mechanisms and the part they play in the way our idea of the aesthetic is constituted, and some theories concerned with the psychological aspects involved in creativity, which link the aesthetic impulse with creativity in all fields of enquiry. In Part Two, I study examples of how discussions on aesthetic matters are conducted in our culture, to see whether there is evidence to support the notion of objectivity in aesthetic evaluation. While recognizing that it is common for aesthetic discussions to be conducted in a confused and even unintelligible manner, often using criteria actually irrelevant to aesthetic value (an example of which I provide), I seek out examples of reviews which are conducted in a rational and intelligible manner, based on relevant objective criteria. Also, by analysing the terms we use when discussing an art work, I ascertain whether these terms refer to properties in the actual art work, which we believe exist independently from the spectator, or whether these terms describe how we feel when viewing a work. In other words, I examine whether we have the concepts to support the idea that objectivity in aesthetic evaluation in the visual arts is possible.
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ItemA study of events and influences shaping the history and culture of the Gippsland School of Art 1971-1995( 1995)The major objectives of this study are to identify and explain the events, changes and culture of the Gippsland School of Art. The study follows an historical survey across a twenty-five year period from 1971 to 1995. The study is a re-construction of selected events from the perspectives of people who have been directly affiliated with the School. It commences with a contextualisation of the educational environment of the seventies, and a brief summary of the establishment of Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education (the institution to which the School was originally attached), which emanated from the Yallourn Technical College. The twenty-five year period has been divided into four chapters (2,3,4, and 6) as a means of segregating periods of particular influence. Specific topics discussed within each chapter are: Course developments; staffing and student statistics; physical resources; visiting artists and the social context. The four main chapters also include comments from staff and students. Chapter 5 summarises the initial implications of recent changes to the Federal Government's Higher Education Policy. It becomes apparent throughout the study that a multitude of factors have contributed toward the School's created and ever-changing environment, and that the change process is initiated and propelled by a plethora of internal and external influences. Qualitative research methodology has been applied as a data collection instrument and analytical procedure. This has enabled the acquisition of a variety of data and an abundance of rich first-hand accounts, many of which have been reported within this historical survey. The study concludes with a summary of the scope of the School's operations and briefly explains the role it has played as a catalyst to the growth of the Latrobe Valley visual arts community.
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ItemThree early childhood teachers reflect 'critically' on art and 'emergent' curricula( 1997)To maintain a vital place for art in the early childhood curriculum it is crucial to develop methods which assist teachers to reflect 'critically' and articulate clearly their art-related theories and practices. This study inquires into the particular educational theories, issues and terminology significant to three early childhood teachers, including ideas such as the 'emergent curriculum' and the arts conceptualised as 'symbolic languages'. Through a case study analysis, involving open-interview methods which allow for an exploration of the 'complexities' and 'uncertainties' related to arts education, the study draws out significant teacher 'conceptions' which through a process of 'construction towards discovery' are eventually synthesised into individual teacher profiles. The final comparative and 'formative' summary identifies how three teachers conceptualise the place of art within their educational philosophies, and reviews the experience of critically reflecting for both the teachers and researcher. The conclusions give credence to the importance of teachers' knowledge and help to revitalise our understandings of art in the early childhood curriculum.