The Wow Factor: The impact of arts in education

The Wow Factor: The impact ofarts in educationOslo, March 31 2008Professor Anne BamfordWimbledon College of Art, Londona.bamford@wimbledon.arts.ac.uk

What do these countries have in common?Canada, Finland, NewZealand, Japan, Korea,Estonia, Australia, TheNetherlands GermanyUK, Czech Republic,Hong Kong,Switzerland, Austria,Belgium and Iceland.

And can you guess what thesecountries have in common?oBrazil, Colombia, Cuba,Cambodia, Bhutan,Kenya and Nigeria.

The QCA: Identifies 5 creative behaviours. Questioning andchallenging Making connections andseeing relationships Envisaging what mightbe Exploring ideas, keepingoptions open Reflecting critically onideas actions andoutcomes

Ofstedo The arts are important because they areintrinsic components of human culture,heritage and creativity and are ways ofknowing, representing, presenting,interpreting and symbolising humanexperience.o Contact with the arts requires the abilitiesto question, explore and collaborate; andto extend and develop one’s ideas, andthe ideas of others.o The creation of art requires a sense ofstructure, discipline, rigour, and a positiveresponse to challenge.

o schoolclimateo culturalcapital infamilieso teacherengagement

The questionInterpellasjon fra Tove Karoline Knutsen (A) tilkunnskapsministerenDatert: 05.02.2008o Den siste tids debatt om kvalitet i skolen har hatt sterkt fokus påPISA-undersøkelsens funn, som viser at Norge kommer relativtdårlig ut i basisfag som språk og matematikk. Med dette somviktigste utgangspunkt har det brede perspektivet på skolens målog oppdrag manglet så langt i debatten. Viktige læringsmål forskolen ivaretas gjennom pedagogiske plattformer for helefagporteføljen; elevene skal lære å forstå logiske strukturer,handtere kvalitative og kvantitative størrelser og øve opp evnen tilrefleksjon og kritisk tenkning. En UNESCO-rapport fra 2004, basertpå en bred undersøkelse utført av professor Anne Bamford,konkluderer med at god, tilpasset og tilstrekkelig undervisning iestetiske fag har stor betydning for både det generellekunnskapsnivå og læringsmiljøet. Hvordan ser statsråden at slikeperspektiver kan implementeres i tenkningen rundt, og tiltakenefor, en bedre skole?

Ofsted’s inspection datasuggests that the good teachingis in the artso In secondary schools, forinstance, there is morevery good teaching in artand design and musicthan in any other subject.o Inspection data also showthat many children withEnglish as an AdditionalLanguage and childrenwith special educationalneeds learn particularlywell in art and design incomparison with othersubjects.

Improving City Schoolso The arts help good teaching?• had very high expectations of the pupils• planned carefully for all the pupils in the class• took account of the pupils’ artistic interests outsideschool and made the curriculum broad and relevant• challenged pupils creatively• celebrated pupils’ work in school and with their parents• made links with professional artists and artsorganisations outside school• ensured that pupils were quickly involved in lessons inthe practical nature of the subject• formed positive relationships with pupils in lessons andin extra-curricular activities.(Ofsted 2000, 3b)

Where to get a copy…Anne BamfordThe Wow FactorGlobal research compendium on the impact ofthe arts in educationISBN 3-8309-1617-5And can be obtained throughorder@waxmann.com orhttp//www.waxmann.comwww.engineroomcogs.org

Overall findingso The arts appear in the educational policy in almostevery country in the world;o There is a gulf between the ‘lip service’ given to artseducation and the provisions provided within schoolso The term ‘arts education’ is culture and context specifico There is a difference between education in the arts andeducation through the artso Quality arts education has impact on the child, theteaching and learning environment, and on thecommunityo There is a need for more training for key providers at thecoalface of the delivery-chain (e.g. teachers, artists,and other pedagogical staff)

There seemed to bebetween 17-28%(averaged at around22%) negativeimpacts of poorquality programmes.Put crudely, thismeant that in aglobal sense about¼ of all the arts andcultural education achild receives islikely to have anegative impact

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RelevanceoooRelevance to the nationRelevance to the communityRelevance to the individual

Cultural diversity?

Accessibility to allo Quality programmes are builtaround the notion of inclusivity

Qualityo creativeo artistico culturalo economico socialo innovationo spiritualo educational

World Economic Forum, Davos 2006Economic forecasts…The arts will be a majorforce in economicdevelopment. The socalledcreativeindustries are emergingas the largest singlesector of economicactivity in manycountries and as thedriving force of the‘tiger’ economies ofIndia, China and Korea.

Global music sales fell by 10% last yearDomestic market 32% in volumeBrian Slagel started Metal Blade out of theback of his mother's home in 1982 with therelease of "Metal Massacre" — the firstalbum to feature songs from Metallica andRatt. His current gross annual sales — some$10 million-plus in the States and another $6million-plus abroad — have been growingat 4 to 5 percent a year recently. Fans stillwant T-shirts and CDs, and there's noshortage of new metal bands.

'Quality' is defined asbeing those artseducationprovisions that areof high value andworth in terms ofskills, attitudes andperformance. Inother words, a formof arts educationthat is relevant andmeaningful to thelearner.

Active partnership and collaborationo Shared responsibility for planning,implementing and evaluating aprogramme.

Flexible organizational structures and permeableboundarieso organizational flexibilityo open boundaries

Reflectiono View their work more critically andreflectively

Localo Quality programmesconnect with the localenvironment.

Project-based, research-based inquiry initiatingapproacheso research-orientatedapproaches, combined withproject-based methods

Active creation, performance and exhibitiono Exhibition and performance bringskudos to the participants andpromotes the benefits of the arts to awider audience.

The languages of the arts

Encourages people to take risks and use theirfull potential

Monitoring quality

Leadership

Everyone has the right freelyto participate in the culturallife of the community, toenjoy the arts

Promotion of Arts Education and Creativityo In 1999 UNESCO launched the InternationalAppeal for the Promotion of Arts Education andCreativity within Schools, as part of theconstruction of a culture of peace. The appeal,among other things, stated that: “we are todayclearly and strongly aware of the importantinfluence of the creative spirit in shaping thehuman personality, bringing out the fullpotential of children and adolescents andmaintaining their emotional balance.” TheAppeal also emphasized the need to move tomore balanced kinds of education to meet theneeds of the 21st century.http://www.unesco.org/culture/lea

Denmarkhttp://www.kunststyrelsen.dk/db/files/ildsjaele_in_the_classroom.pdfo ResearchThe establishment of a centre of knowledge for the arts and culturalsubjectso AssessmentThe evaluation process continues to need strengthening, and theeducational results need to be made apparent throughout theentire programme of educationo SustainedThe number of teaching hours needs to be increasedo Professional developmentContinuing education and teacher training opportunities for artistsand teacherso PartnershipThe establishment of a Cultural Ambassador arrangementInvolving artists in school teachingMore offers of artistic experiences

Flandershttp://www.nsds.be/web/canon/admin/media/14585_41.pdfo Arts, cultural or heritageeducationo Teacher education andprofessional developmento Accessibility in school andout of schoolo Policy level disagreementso Continuity of experienceso Vocational educationo Multiple systemso Mobilising the professionalgroups

The Netherlandshttp://www.minocw.nl/english/culture/index.htmlo Arts or culture?- media? Heritage?o Long term partnerships- Joining the dots- Cultural agencies- Continuous learninglineso Teacherso Monitoringo Funding

www.engineroomcogs.org

Norway?

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