Making, knowing and seeing art: An exploration into the importance of art knowledge for teaching within a broad and rich primary school curriculum

Osborne, Claire

Abstract

This thesis explores the importance of art knowledge for teaching within a broad and rich primary school curriculum. The research was conducted across an English city and surrounding area over a ten-month period, during the academic year of September 2022 – July 2023, using an exploratory, mixed methods, case study approach underpinned by a constructionist/ interpretivist positionality. Survey questionnaires, semi-structured 1-1 interviews and group interviews were used to gather data. Participants consisted of five primary art subject lead teachers, two generalist primary teachers, 11 teachers-in-training, two teacher-educators, two gallery learning and engagement officers and an artist-in-residence.

Initial findings indicate that art is valued highly by many educators working and training within primary education today, largely because it acts as a means for children’s creative self-expression. However, differences in the amount of time and priority afforded to the study of art in primary schools was evident across the data gathered. Where provision was good, this tended to reflect the visible presence and passion of a knowledgeable art lead teacher responsible for whole school curriculum planning and progression, supported by their senior leadership team. In addition, my findings revealed that many primary schools are implementing schemes of work to ensure sufficient coverage of the art curriculum across the key stages. Although welcomed by most school-based participants, this invites questions around the purpose of schemes and their role in supplementing teachers’ depth and breadth of knowledge, given that some teachers reported that professional development opportunities to build their art knowledge for teaching were constrained by time, budgets, and school leadership priorities. The widespread use of schemes for art also raises questions around teachers’ professional autonomy and whether prescriptive schemes could limit creative pedagogies and exploratory practice in the primary classroom. Concurrently, my analysis of trainee teacher comments suggests that some trainees may lack confidence in their abilities to teach art, including teaching children about the contested notion of who or what is a “great artist”, due to a lack of in-depth knowledge in this domain (DfE, 2013, p.176). This suggests increased time spent on acquiring art knowledge for teaching, during Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and beyond, would be beneficial. Initial research findings also suggest that a lack of opportunity to specialise in art during ITE could impact upon the pool of expertise available to lead the subject in schools.

A further significant finding was that school visits to see original artworks displayed in galleries were rarely prioritised, largely due to time and budget constraints combined with wider curriculum demands. Some teachers reported that they are utilising digital technologies in the classroom to compensate for this. The study concludes by suggesting that a matter of time and increased support for teachers to build their art knowledge for teaching, during ITE and whilst in school, may positively impact upon children’s access to a broad and rich primary school curriculum which includes making, knowing and seeing art.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: May 3, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 14, 2025
• Keywords: Art; Teaching; Primary Education; Subject Knowledge; Cultural Capital
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11975133
• Award Date: Jan 14, 2025