Art Education in Canada || Issues and Concerns in Teacher Education: From Critical Period to Rebirth?

National Art Education Association

Issues and Concerns in Teacher Education: From Critical Period to Rebirth?Author(s): Janet Jones and John Henry MartinSource: Art Education, Vol. 37, No. 5, Art Education in Canada (Sep., 1984), pp. 39-41Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3216168 .

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/issues and Concerns in Teacher Education: From

Critical Period To Rebirth?

Janet Jones and John Henry Martin

Visual arts education and the practice of training teachers have passed through a creative, golden age and are now in a critical

period. The expansionist period of the 1960's and '70s has passed, giving way to cutbacks and restraints. The collec- tive accomplishments of the golden age are still visible in some of the actions and decisions required to move to a critical state to rebirth and renewal. However, these actions and decisions need to be informed and justified by concrete, objective research into the current aims of visual arts education and stress the value of visual arts as a discipline, intrinsically and extrinsical- ly. While an intuitive mode and a philosophical stance that promoted creativity and self expression for their own sake was a natural and seemingly easy attitude for art educators to adopt in the 1960s and early '70s, the economic and social realities of the 1980s necessitate a different approach.

In 1975, a cursory glance at Cana- dian art education indicated that it flourished in an utopian landscape. The relatively short history of growth in Canadian art education (Mac- Gregor, 1979) indicates that in less than thirty years, dedicated profes- sionals created a climate in which visual arts became a respected subject that encourages imaginative and holistic thinking. In 1955, C. D. Gaitskell became the first president of The Canadian Society for Education Through Art. As a result of his efforts, bringing together art educators from the provinces, visual arts education acquired a national forum.

In the expansionist period that followed, the characteristics of Cana-

dian art education became more diverse. New curricula were developed to accommodate avant garde attitudes in visual art forms such as video, film, and photography. Programs expanded and diversified as money became available to purchase expensive equip- ment and build the elaborate facilities which seemed necessary to support participation and learning in contemporary visual arts studies. Aspiring artists increasingly turned to estab- lished degree programs to receive academic and professional training. Rifts between the professional artist and art educator narrowed as artists were encouraged to insert personal ideas into curricula. Museum and gallery education centres developed, providing exciting links between a vigorous arts community and formal school system. Within these centres, innovative approaches to looking at art were explored and alternative instructional strategies were devised. The

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generalist teacher was helped to understand and appreciate visual arts through the actions of arts consultants and the availability of a range of inservice workshops.

Achievements in the scope and intensity of visual arts education are nor- mally reflected in related professional training programs for teachers. Teacher education programs designed to meet regional, provincial, and national needs ideally form a continuum of professional development opportunities from preservice and under- graduate courses to inservice and graduate studies. Preservice programs lead to generalist or subject specific certification in elementary and secondary education and, for the practising teacher, inservice courses are available for upgrading, retraining, and specialization. As an extension of pre-and inservice programs, graduates of master's and doctoral courses have an impact on the nature of classroom practice and the direction of renewal in teacher education.

As interest in the arts expanded in Canada, the quality of visual arts teacher training programs increased. Hobbyist, copyist, step by step, teacher-dictated-image approaches were replaced by programs that en- dorsed a serious attitude towards studio performance, the nature of art appreciation, and the identification of historical antecedents. Teacher training programs synthesized the energies of a dynamic arts community into new curricula by stressing the importance of teacher as practising artist and the need to be aware of current and emerg- ing philosophies of art education as recorded in the research literature. During the seventies, as teacher training programs evolved and as knowl- edgeable, sensitive practitioners assumed positions of leadership and responsibility, visual arts educators had sound reasons to be optimistic about the future of visual arts education.

We continue to read about the legacy

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of the sixties and the seventies. Government reports indicate that there is a tradition of education through art for all children in the elementary schools and that opportunities exist for additional exploration and specialization in visual arts at the secondary and post secondary levels. During the expansionist period, more people expressed interest in learning about the arts, and more people became visual arts teachers. In response to the public's interest in the arts, federal, provincial, and municipal governments funded research into the characteristics and functions of visual arts education, supported regionally designed exhibi- tions and conferences, subsidized critical art journals and magazines, purchased works for government offices, promoted artist-in-the-classroom programs, and provided mus- eums and galleries with financial incen- tives to hire education personnel. The corporate sector supported the arts and artists by building collections, under- writing exhibition expenses, con- tributing to museum and gallery con- struction funds, and financing the development of film, video, and print programs. The public's understanding of and appreciation for the arts grew because of this community and private support. Images reflected our diverse cultures; the significance of regional diversity assumed greater importance. Interest in and support for the arts seemed an expression of a basic belief in both the social and personal benefits of education through the arts and the individual value and intrinsic worth of visual arts education. In Canada, as elsewhere, new art styles and new media were being explored, expropri- ated, and discarded at a great rate. Ideas and theories of the function of art were discussed and debated. The art community's excitement and intensity of effort became a reinforcing and in- tegral part of a rationale for visual arts education.

Intimations of change came in 1980 at the Victoria assembly of The Cana- dian Society for Education Through Art, when a panel of art educators presented papers on the current state of visual arts education in each of the ten provinces. Common concerns and issues were identified, such as in- complete implementation of new curricula and the reassignment of support personnel. The utopian landscape, it

seemed, was being transformed by social and political actions. Inflation, unemployment, general recession, declining enrollments, aging population, a back to basics mentality, and technological advancements were con- ditioning the range and nature of op- tions available to potential and practising visual arts educators. Qualified candidates for fine arts and teacher training programs had become more numerous than could be accommo- dated by institutional space. Successful graduates outnumbered available employment opportunities. Key words such as restraint, redundancy, and retraining formed part of new vocabulary.

The magnitude and pervasive nature of social and economic problems de- fined the character of this critical period. Expenditures in the public sector were viewed as limiting growth in the private domain. People believed that economic recovery was dependent upon lowering the cost of government and taxation. Restraint policies reduc- ed or eliminated research funds, ap- propriations to arts programs, faculty appointments, special services, mobili- ty opportunities, support and resource person availability, program and faculty diversity, and material and equip- ment replacement. Psychologically, the effects were devastating. Many who had grown up during the golden, expansionist period felt robbed of employment opportunities which had been tacitly promised if they completed their studies. Though preservice teacher training programs in visual arts continued to grow, young hopefuls grew cynical with the knowledge that employment in their chosen field was available only if they were willing to relocate in remote areas or participate as substitute teachers. Having reaped the benefits of informed visual arts education programs, beginning teachers had little opportunity to im- plement their new ideas and approaches. Educators at all levels became cautious and more conser- vative, objectivity and accountability formed the new guidelines, and new ideas had to be justified. Innovation and experimentation were expensive. Inservice programs continued to ex- pand but for very different reasons; teachers were pressured or felt the need to improve or diversify their qualifica- tions in areas that held minimal interest

or in which they were unfamiliar. Visual arts teachers contemplated teaching mathematics, and other teachers considered the option of art instruction as ways of acquiring full teaching loads. Inservice courses became certification and security programs rather than opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge and understanding.

The impact of government policy was heightened by the public's reconceptualization of the teacher's role. Schools were expected to engage in enterprises such as life skills programs, computer assisted instruction, and career education. The teacher's role broadened to include community involvement, language across the curriculum, multi-cultur- alism, equal opportunity, sex equality, exceptional students, learning dif- ficulties, the physically handicapped, safety and health hazards, consumer skills, and values education. As financial support declined, public expecta- tions increased. The humanistic values of the expansionist period, which had supported and enhanced the philosophical aims of visual arts education, seemed frivolous in a time of increasing pessimism and economic struggle. Concrete reasons for in- cluding visual arts in school programs were demanded, along with practical skills, job training, career related university programs, and guaranteed paths to financial security. Creativity, experimentation, self expression, and personal development began to sound like words and echoes of a naive and distant time.

There are actions that visual arts educators can take and decisions that need to be made to shift from a critical period to one of rebirth. Questions need to be asked about the role of research, instructional purposes, and community involvement. Obviously, research into areas of social and in- tellectual importance will continue to be part of the teacher education tradition. Some proposed solutions are that universities and the public sector cooperatively establish highly specialized institutions and that the enroll- ment level in career-related programs be determined by changing labour market requirements. There is a need to maintain and intensify research programs that clarify and explain the practices of teacher training programs and


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the principles of visual arts education. Some research areas might include examination of the impact of high technological microcircuitry on social values, ways of supporting ongoing faculty renewal and replacement, and the range of endeavours that schools can be expected to support. The suc- cess of an arts advocacy program is dependent upon sincere, intelligent research. As David Pariser has stated, "there is a need to sell the importance of art education with a kind of quiet authority, like the people who sell Rolls Royces." (C.S.E.A. Assembly) Pariser's analogy has several implica- tions. The bohemian, antiestablish- ment, maverick images which have long been associated with avant garde artists quite naturally influence the public's perception of art education in both positive and negative ways. On one side some people consider artistic license to be less than desirable, while on the other some corporations employ artists for their unique visions and abilities to cause personnel to think in innovative ways. During a period of conservatism, a negative image can be a bane unless art educators can accur- ately communicate the positive accomplishments of the sixties and seventies as well as the nature of our artistic tradition. That is, it is necessary for art educators to address community expec- tations with statements that inform and instruct.

The function of the teacher training institution is being redefined by political and social events. The enroll- ment boom of the '60s and '70s has tapered off. Nineteen eighty four marks the year in which demographers predict a steep and prolonged decline in the 18 to 24 age range that currently makes up 75 percent of the post secondary population. There is a shift in em- phasis to inservice and graduate studies for upgrading, recycling, and retraining functions. To meet the demands of the expanding school curriculum, some people suggest that teacher education programs be extended from five to six years. Most people agree that the length of the practicum and field experience should be extended and that practising teachers should become more involved in preservice training. In some provinces, teachers' federations would like to assume more control over the training, curricula, and certification of beginning teachers, that is,

assume responsibilities presently held by faculties and colleges of education.

Other possible scenarios include reduction of the number of teacher training institutions, combining of faculties to develop centres of specialization, and exploration of alternative delivery systems such as museum or gallery based training programs. The development of these variations could result in more ade- quately prepared, highly qualified teaching candidates possessing more actual classroom experience, an increased knowledge of pedagogy, and more diversified or specialized skills than is currently the case. Although these changes could increase the level of professionalism, upgrade the role of practising teachers, and enhance the quality of visual arts education, the logic and motives behind these alternative approaches should be examined, particularly as they apply to preservice training programs. For the immediate future, the training of highly qualified candidates who have little opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge seems dishonest. In a period of rebirth, these highly skilled people would have a tremendous impact on the direction of renewal in visual arts education.

Given the current climate, it appears that the training of teachers will become more of a shared responsibility. Faculties and colleges of education will become more integated with faculties and departments of fine and visual art and more responsive to the needs of teachers and schools in their regions. New partnerships will be formed to ensure that there is an ap- propriate concentration of academic and professional endeavours and that the curricula remain open and responsive to new knowledge and conceptions of teacher training and visual arts education. The impact of social, economic, and technological change is uncertain; it is, however, changing the nature of the workplace and may be reshaping personal and community values. As teachers, artists, historians, critics, and the public work more close- ly together on common purposes, the activity of coping with change may be invigorating rather than debilitating.

Although the 1960s and early '70s have been described as golden years, it is important to realize that the seeds of present discontent were embedded in that utopian landscape. Perhaps we

were moving too quickly and with too much excitement to notice them, or we chose to ignore them. In the expansive years, opportunities seemed limitless and it was possible to experiment with and explore many alternatives. Diversi- ty and eclecticism were important concepts. Some artists negated their traditional role as object or image makers; some art educators ignored the historical and critical aspects of the discipline and emphasized studio practices. The esoteric art styles of the '60s and 70s tended to alienate much of the public sector. More and more people were looking at art but were understanding it less and less. As art educators at- tempted to incorporate the creative stance of the contemporary artist into the curriculum, the public sector's already skeptical attitudes were rein- forced. The principles and practices of visual arts education became easy targets in a period of conservatism.

It is encouraging to believe that to- day's visual arts educators are con- fronting the new realities. Cir- cumstances indicate that we need to adjust our actions to cause major struc- tural changes. Although multiple-digit unemployment will continue for at least ten more years and governments will continue to endorse social-sector belt-tightening to reduce deficits, adopting a short term view will cripple our potential to cope with significant change. Obviously, it isn't just the visual arts and teacher training, but other disciplines and other sectors as well that have to adjust to the new realities. In a period of transition, major investments need to be made in the identification of new skills and knowledge, traditional resources need to be integrated with new technologies, and concepts of the workplace and work need to be redefined. Instead of rehashing old battles, such as the artist- teacher conflict, the debate needs to be transformed into future-oriented exer- cises. Instead of clinging to the past, we need to reach for tomorrow. U

Janet Jones is a member of the Visual Arts Department, York University, Toronto, Ontario. John Henry Martin is Assistant Pro- fessor, Faculty of Education, The University of Western Ontario, Lon- don, Ontario.


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Art Education in Canada || Issues and Concerns in Teacher Education: From Critical Period to Rebirth?