Arts in Early Years Education (26-Oct-2017)

Arts in Early Years Education

Arts: 

Art is an expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. It has various branches of creative activity. 

Curriculum: The subjects comprising a course of study in a school or college, integrated course of studies.

Introduction:

Arts is the Creative expressions, unlimited (lots of) imaginations, mental representation’s, 3H coordination’s (Head, Heart & Hand coordination), Self-Identity, to mingle with others through the different means like dance, drama, singing (Performing arts); Painting, drawing, (Fine arts). Arts have aesthetic ideas and authentic learning. (Here you could link it to children’s inherent energy and need for various ways to explore)

Curriculum can be the disciplines containing the course of study in Institutions & also broadly defined as completeness of student experiences that happens in the educational process.

Essay:

National Curriculum framework (NCF) 2005 also recommended arts education (Music, dance, theatre and also visual arts) in schools till 10th standard, to maintain the unique cultural diversity in our country; and also for exploration of nature and language; understanding of self and others; by various arts forms like theatre, heritage craft traditions etc.   

We all know that art is a creative activity, expression, representation etc. In this creative is inside the body and expressing/activity is outside, that means art is a process between inside and outside experiences. Then art can be done in inter- experiential space. For this we need to see the value of intrinsic learning and external learning for development of art education in children. Art is having authentic ideas (psyche), authentic learning by the body.  

(There has been some thought but not enough implementation)

Curriculum paradigms:

Allopathy, Homeopathy, Naturopathy aim is same to cure the disease, but the way of treatment to patient is very much different. Like this only, curriculum also, it has different approaches to educate, but these approaches aim is to educate only. The approach (process to educate) and model (The process of using) is very different. 

(Link this thought to how children learn)

These four are the different curriculum paradigms that are

1) Managerial/Technical Paradigm:

In this paradigm, curriculum is focusing on outcome, in this most of the subjects will be evaluated based on the performance of child. In this paradigm curriculum is having the planning, organizing, control (use of power and resource), competition, etc.

In most of schools, curriculum is fixed, its little difficult to go beyond that curriculum, they need to follow others instructions to develop curriculum.

This makes fixed outcome from the school, art can be fix in this curriculum paradigm, but it may expect fixed outcome from students, so in this paradigm, art might not be fix in curriculum. This may makes us dependent on external things instead of making authentic learner. 

2) Critical Praxeological Paradigm:

This approach of curriculum focuses on critical understanding of structural matters of human context politically, historically, biologically, economically, etc. like class, caste, gender, religion, language, body etc. It’s about understanding of human context. 

This curriculum approach is also might not be suitable for arts, it’s mainly about understanding, not mainly focusing on practicing. These all subjects are related to science (observation).

3) Constructivist Paradigm: 

In this model of curriculum, it mainly focus on learning than product (end), it focus on experimentation and innovation in classrooms, the teachers/students can be use the classroom as a laboratory. In this there will be autonomy for teachers and students (questioning the things), interactions between students and students; teachers and students; etc.

In this model art can be fixed in the curriculum, because art is ever learning process it has no end, in this curriculum paradigm we can put art in curriculum, because it focus on learning process than end.

4) Transformative/Emancipatory Paradigm:

In this model the curriculum will say about holistic understanding of human self, in this they (teachers) and students are giving value for historical development and liberation. This transformative approach of curriculum will focus on self-understanding (Self-realization), emotional growth, how to be with others, ecological sensitivity, etc. this approach makes self in transforming by its actions. 

In this curriculum approach, arts is naturally in curriculum, because this is related to psyche and also helps in focusing on self-understanding, emotional growth. This will surely develop their actions in artistic forms. Emotional growth and self-understanding makes to feel that “I am not the best and I am not the least, but I am very special like you all others”.

These all curriculum models/approaches/paradigms are water tighten, there is some overlapping between them. And these all curriculum models are in the systematic analysis process. This can be done in forming an ideological, formal, operational, hidden, curriculums.

We can put art education in curriculum. The basic curriculum process has 3 steps that are one classification of available public knowledge (like arts, language, science, math’s, etc.), two selection of objectives (Why we are bringing this- creative thinking, to get fine and motor skills etc.), three bridging the gap between public knowledge (arts) and selection of objectives (Creative thinking, etc.), by an institution and pedagogy. (Link this to children’s leaning for play and its potential for being a source of learning through fun)

When we are putting arts in curriculum we need to think/assume on many things like assumption about children’s learning, assumption about teachers teaching, assumption about learner and teacher; assumption about school and schooling process; assumption about knowledge and behaviour; assumption about thinking and assessment. We can take only the interjection of these all assumptions, because children mind is not ready to take all at same time.

These all curriculum process emphasis on individual (Child), knowledge and society.

Arts in the Curriculum:

Art is an embodied activity of transforming the things and actions, not an activity of misleading thoughts and actions.  

Arts in the curriculum need to be the embodied activity rather than product based activity. This means, most possibly artist (teacher) only need to be the curriculum. Then only art education will be more organic and useful. In product we can judge and finalize the things, but in engagement it is difficult to judge and finalize because it might be in ever changing process. Arts start with psyche (thoughts) and it is the source, and done by body (actions, expressions) it never become a product (finished thing).  

For art education most possibly we should use the minimum abstract knowledge for students. Artist only possibly need to be the curriculum. Art is an embodied activity that can be done by artist only, art doesn’t meant for copying things and interpreting actions (Instead of copying, we need to inspire from things and actions). Copying things will happen without any reflection, inspiration happens with self-reflections. 

Arts is a process of changing/transforming the form, it is primary thing in arts in a unique way by individuals. This might be possible through the engagement in that activity. 

Ex. making toy from clay, we are transforming the clay with our body and mind activities. Walking like other person might called imitation, they may never become authentic.

We need to put performing arts in curriculum for their physical development through the physical creative activities like theatre etc. Fine arts for hand and eye coordination ex. Drawing, painting, etc. We can include art education in different subjects also with embodied curriculum (artist).

Ex. 1) Science Subject.

The basic source of science subject is observation, the product of science subject is theoretical (abstract) knowledge, as a science teacher I need to teach science by its source. We can teach science by observations of nature, society, etc. While doing observation we need abstract knowledge for guidance, not as a substitute for experience. We can’t show everything by observation because something are not concrete and some it’s very difficult to show because of farness, etc. for this thing we need to make them to feel (Anubhuti). 

Ex. Teaching photosynthesis can be done through the observation also, we try for that, (It take long time, but they can remember for in long last)

2) Language

We are teaching the language for expressing the feelings, actions, thoughts, experiences, etc. (Internal through thought & externally through talking language helps in expressing). Teaching language is for expanding the possibilities of expression. We can also try to make then expressing in a way through bodily activities, narratives, poetry, writing, etc. 

For arts education teacher is only needed to be the curriculum for me.