Art teachers' values in the classroom

• Main Author: Princic, Linda
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26594

Art teachers, like other members of society, hold certain values and these values are probably exhibited while teaching art. Using participant observation, the study sought to uncover the values and the curriculum orientations demonstrated by three art teachers in their classrooms. Data were collected by means of field notes, made while classes were conducted in each of three schools. These notes were supplemented by observations supplied by each of the three teachers in interviews conducted on the school premises and in the teachers' homes. Associations between instrumental values, style of teaching and curriculum orientation were examined to discover consistencies or inconsistencies. It was found that two teachers expressed values which reflected their curriculum orientation as well as their objectives for teaching art and one teacher expressed values which chiefly reflected his curriculum orientation. Conclusions from the research support the fact that effective curriculum development should continue to provide flexibility in order to account for teachers' values. Implications for the public school system indicate that students attending particular schools may complete art programs with different ideas about the purposes of art and the methods by which it is characteristically taught. === Education, Faculty of === Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of === Graduate