Arts and Cultural Education in Iceland : Professor Anne Bamford
Arts and Cultural Education in Iceland : Professor Anne Bamford
Arts and Cultural Education in Iceland : Professor Anne Bamford
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
context, scale, scope or resources. The question now is to determ<strong>in</strong>e if these structures are<br />
present at the national level.<br />
2.3 The nature of quality<br />
'Quality' here is be<strong>in</strong>g def<strong>in</strong>ed as those arts education provisions that are of recognised high<br />
value <strong>and</strong> worth <strong>in</strong> terms of the skills, attitudes <strong>and</strong> performance engendered. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
Pearsall (1998) quality implies someth<strong>in</strong>g that has been achieved successfully.<br />
In the case of arts education, quality is considered to exist as someth<strong>in</strong>g that may <strong>in</strong>clude<br />
achievements (i.e. quality outputs), but goes beyond this to consider learn<strong>in</strong>g journeys,<br />
pathways, partnerships <strong>and</strong> recognition. Dewey (1934: 19) writes of quality as be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
characterised by a "heightened vitality." He further comments that quality signifies, "active <strong>and</strong><br />
alert commerce with the world: at its height, it implies complete <strong>in</strong>terpretation of self <strong>and</strong> the<br />
world of objects <strong>and</strong> events." Under this notion, quality is not a fixed disposition but rather as<br />
Kissick (1993: 27) notes, "quality is first <strong>and</strong> foremost an idea, its criteria are susceptible to<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluences from with<strong>in</strong> a given society."<br />
Quality arts education is the result of <strong>in</strong>terplay of structure <strong>and</strong> method. It should be noted,<br />
that alpha does not specify content. This is deliberate, as content should be derived <strong>in</strong> relation<br />
to local environments, culture <strong>and</strong> resources. In this way content <strong>and</strong> context can operate<br />
<strong>in</strong>dependently of the quality alpha. Similarly, these <strong>in</strong>dicators of quality hold true for both<br />
education through the arts <strong>and</strong> education <strong>in</strong> the arts. In both these complementary ways <strong>in</strong><br />
which the arts contribute to education, the <strong>in</strong>dicators of quality rema<strong>in</strong> quite stable <strong>and</strong><br />
consistent.<br />
These quality <strong>in</strong>dicators are:<br />
1. Active partnerships between schools <strong>and</strong> arts organizations <strong>and</strong> between teachers,<br />
artists <strong>and</strong> the community<br />
2. Shared responsibility for plann<strong>in</strong>g, implementation <strong>and</strong> assessment <strong>and</strong> evaluation<br />
3. Opportunities for public performance, exhibition <strong>and</strong>/or presentation;<br />
4. A comb<strong>in</strong>ation of development with<strong>in</strong> the specific art forms (education <strong>in</strong> the arts)with<br />
artistic <strong>and</strong> creative approaches to learn<strong>in</strong>g (education through the arts)<br />
5. Provision for critical reflection, problem solv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> risk tak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
6. Emphasis on collaboration<br />
7. Flexible school structures <strong>and</strong> permeable boundaries between schools <strong>and</strong> the<br />
community<br />
8. Accessibility to all children<br />
9. Detailed strategies for assess<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> report<strong>in</strong>g on children’s learn<strong>in</strong>g, experiences <strong>and</strong><br />
development<br />
10. Ongo<strong>in</strong>g professional learn<strong>in</strong>g for teachers, artists <strong>and</strong> the community<br />
These alphas of effective arts education will be used to organise this report <strong>and</strong> the quality<br />
of arts education <strong>in</strong> schools <strong>in</strong> Icel<strong>and</strong> will be discussed <strong>in</strong> reference to these world st<strong>and</strong>ard<br />
quality alphas.<br />
52