Arts and Cultural Education in Iceland : Professor Anne Bamford

lot of satisfaction out of the process. They gain confidence. They feel proud of their work when
they show it to others. Children need to be immersed in the creative process. The process is the
most important. We need to educate the parents in terms of what we are doing and why.”
Members of the creative industries spoke of the importance of arts education for building
the creative people Iceland needs for its future, as the following comments suggest:
The arts are many things to many people. I think in the future we need more creative pupils with more selfesteem
and dignity.
I think the arts given young people vision. It makes the children more forward thinking and responsible and they
have more positive self-esteem, identity and enhanced social development.
There is also the embedded assumption that arts education provides ‘more’ than just the
simply the knowledge and skills of art. Because of this, the overriding concern is that every child
should experience the arts so they can gain from it, even if they do not become professional
artists. As one of the heads of a music school stated, “The aim is not to produce musicians but to
give everybody the opportunity.” Figure 1.14.1 outlines the main aims of arts education in
Iceland as suggested in the focus groups.
Figure 1.14.1 Aims of arts education in Iceland
Aim identified
Frequency
Culture and heritage 4
Quality of life 4
Social development 8
Economic development 1
Intrinsic value 5
Practical skills 1
Creativity 5
Intergenerational learning 2
Personal development 7
Visual literacy 1
Talent development 2
Educational development 1
If you examine the aims offered, the impact of the arts on personal and social development
appears to be the most important. These findings are replicated in the survey findings. For
example, Figure 1.14.2 shows that the espoused aim of arts education as suggested by heads of
music schools is increased self-esteem, enjoyment and well being (with 72% of respondents
considering this to be very important). By comparison, preparation for employment, and
Icelandic cultural and heritage education appear to be of the least importance.
Figure 1.14.2 Importance of different aims for arts education (Music school responses)
49