Arts and Cultural Education in Iceland : Professor Anne Bamford

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Chapter 4: Other factors 4.1 Education in and through the arts ‣ There is a difference between, what can be termed, education in the arts (e.g. teaching in fine arts, music, drama, crafts, etc.) and education through the arts (e.g. the use of arts as a pedagogical tool in other subjects, such as numeracy, literacy and technology) ‣ Schools need strong programmes in the arts AND artistic and creative ways to learn in an integrated way across the curriculum ‣ Teachers are unclear about the aims and specific learning embedded in the arts ‣ Continuity is vital if arts education is to have an impact especially between the various levels of education ‣ The creative industries in Iceland are calling for more creative approaches to education There were very high quality examples of schools that adopted flexible approaches to the delivery of curriculum. In these situations, learning philosophies were grounded around connected learning. Adopting meaningful thematic learning, they tended to relate learning across curriculum areas. This approach was particularly strong in the pre-primary school. A comprehensive study conducted in 2004 19 implored schools and the broader educational sector to commence arts education early in a child’s life and ensure there was continued development of creative and cultural competencies throughout the entire school programme. The report cautions strongly that “Within the entire educational trajectory the concept of creativity must be central” In some schools in Iceland learning has effectively been mapped across the school and within particular school years. Consistent and continuous experiences are vital if a child is to develop fully their artistic languages. This is mainly achieved through using education through the arts in an integrated way, as these quotes from a range of schools suggest: Whenever there is an opportunity to use the arts or teach through the arts we use it. Need to integrate the arts (why don’t we draw mathematics? This school is a boarding school located in an isolated part of Iceland. It was just under 200 pupils from preprimary school to secondary school. Adults also have the option to study in the school. The arts are seen as the element to connect people together. They have dance, music, visual arts, textile and woodwork. The teachers are encouraged to work across disciplines at least a few hours per week. We are trying to make this offer. Really though it is only done in special weeks such as the annual festival, then everything is integrated. We have a new principal that really encourages integrated learning. For example, the Icelandic teacher is working with a poet. We are looking for professional development courses in this way of working. There was a need expressed for not only more education through the arts, but also for the walls between disciplines of the arts to be removed, as this quote from a parent indicates: I would say we have good education in the arts, but we don’t have education through the arts. There should be more of that – integrated teaching, learning through films and so on. This way pupils, teachers, and artists can inspire one another. We need to build happy children who are open to anything. We could do more teaching around themes that cross all curriculum areas. Walls need to come down. We don’t have flexibility in the system. School is like a separate world. We are losing site of why we are educating our children. We need to be 19 Devos, 2004) p 2 88
demanding more of our schools and teachers The idea of 40 minute lessons ruins education. The arts become restricted to week by week lessons that are not connected to anything else. The barriers are strong and high. It won’t be easy to get these barriers down (either in schools or in cultural institutions). Yet we have to change schools. We are entering a creative age. We need to change schools – 40 minutes is a state of mind not a rule. The schools are so focused on timetables and regulations. We need reeducation. What is my child supposed to know? Many interviewees pointed to a number of structural elements such as curriculum and timetabling that actually prevent integration. Competition between the arts disciplines was also identified as being a problem that reduced the likelihood that there would be greater integration of the arts: We (textile) want to connect more to visual arts but there is always some competition there. We are both electives and the clever students want to take visual arts, but we can see that they would also be very good at design. There is a false assumption that textile is easier, but to be good at design takes a lot of work and very creative and innovative ways of thinking. We need a new vision for the compulsory school. Subjects are still isolated. The curriculum is still subject orientated. The curriculum is too square. We need more flow between subjects. We need to activate the pupils more. In all subjects, we need to put in creativity. Integration? We've talked about it, and the philosophy, but not done much... I will do it in the future, also more art history mixed with regular history. There is little or no integration of subjects. The reason is probably the subject-oriented curricula. A lack of integration was seen as a factor that limited the “full” benefit of the arts being felt more broadly (especially in the economy). Isolation between subjects means that we do not get the full benefit of the arts. We need to use arts more in all subjects. Learning how to integrate is a major shortcoming in our education system. Figures 4.1.1 to 4.1.6 show the differences in subject distribution over different grade levels and the reduced presence of integrated learning by comparison. Figure 4.1.1 Art subjects are compulsory in grades 1 – 4 Figure 4.1.2 Art subjects are compulsory in grades 5 - 7 89
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Arts and Cultural Education in Icel
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Acknowledgements This research woul
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Helga Rut Guðmundsdóttir Helgi Vi
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5.4.2 Talent developement..........
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practices, but in reality there are
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Chapter 1: Introduction and overvie
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school type to which the comment re
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A future study could examine specif
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The number of pupils with a foreign
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pre-primary school teachers were so
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Figure 1.5.3: How useful is the Nat
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The conclusions from this report in
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primary level exceptional students
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‣ Schools and colleges should be
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Increasingly, schools are becoming
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here, it is a good cooperation. We
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In terms of suggested improvements
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There are 300 hundred pupils in thi
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