Arts and Cultural Education in Iceland : Professor Anne Bamford

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Figure 4.1.3 Art subjects are electives in grades 5 - 7 Figure 4.1.4 Art subjects are compulsory in grades 8 - 10 Figure 4.1.5 Art subjects are electives in grades 8 - 10 Figure 4.1.6 Art subjects were integrated into other subjects 90
It was argued that the arts may not have the same level of importance in the school as other subjects. In particular, the argument was made that more attention needed to be given to creative subjects as a way of building a robust future economy in Iceland. Art education should be the same level as other subjects. It is very important for the future of our country that the arts are equalled to other aspects of the curriculum. It is very important to teach initiative and to find individual talent. The last few months have shown us just how important arts and culture will be to our economy. We should establish a scholarship fund for children with talent that can’t afford private lessons. We are taking steps to improve the status of the arts. We are taking steps but they are very small steps. I am trying to pull the arts from the basement. A few schools in Iceland have undertaken curriculum reform and moved towards new, and more integrated ways of teaching, as the following vignette (taken from a press release 20 ) indicates: Vignette 4.1.7 Ulfarsardalur – Future vision The four compulsory schools in the newest district of Reykjavík, Ulfarsardalur, will collaborate tightly. The overall focus of these schools will be within the field of creativity. The schools’ proximity to nature will allow and require them to become leading in the area of environmental studies. The 21st century is the century of creative and diverse employment industries. Therefore, human rights, human resources and respect will be key aspects in the agenda of all four schools. Furthermore, the students’ individual strengths will be identified, respected, and supported. Each of the schools will be encouraged to employ a creative approach in highlighting its particular area of interest. Teaching and learning is an inherently creative process. Icelandic compulsory schools have a longstanding tradition of teaching arts and crafts to their students, but here, for the first time, the notion of creativity will be an overarching theme in the in the work and teachings of four elementary schools. “Quality education can therefore generally be understood as being education that provides all young people and other learners with the locally-relevant abilities required for them to function successfully in their society; is appropriate in terms of the students´ lives, aspirations and interests, as well as those of their families and societies; and is inclusive and rights-based.”(UNESCO´s Road map for Arts Education, Lisbon 2006). UNESCO’S Road Map will be a reference point in creating the curriculum for all four schools and creativity will be an underlying theme in all student work. Working with a creative approach, each school will then specialize in a certain field. Examples of these could be; health and physical activity; nature and the environment; reading, reading comprehension, and literature. Principals pointed to the importance of the teacher as an agent of creative catalyst in the schools: It all depends on the teacher. The pupils say that creative teachers give more freedom and that their lessons are more fun. But it all depends on what the teacher brings. I’m not teaching art, I’m a teacher of the arts. The principal director 21 of the Icelandic Academy of the Arts outlined the main opportunities and advantages of establishing Menntaskóli Listanna (an integrated arts learning environment) arguing that: 20 Oddný Sturludóttir, City Councillor and former head of Reykjavik’s education board. Press release 2008 91
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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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Figure 1.12.2 Accessibility of the
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Page 107 and 108: Vignette 5.2.4 Our selection proces
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Arts and Cultural Education in Iceland : Professor Anne Bamford

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