Present Conditions and Perspectives in Art Class (2):
Educational Reform During the Period from 1977 to 2001
in Japan
Mr. Hideshi UDA
Associate Professor of Fine Arts Education,
Faculty of Education, Nara University of Education
Takabatake-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, 630-8528, Japan
*This paper was presented at the 31st World
INSEA conference in New York (August 22, 2002)
4. Playful Art Study in elementary school
4.1.What is playful Art
Study?
In the Course of Study (1977), Playful Art Study was introduced to Drawing and
Handicraft in 1st grade and 2nd grade. This Playful Art was expected to relate to
kindergarten's formative expression activities, namely, children express and make something
as they play in there. This study's aim ran as follows: to make student express independently
as they play, to enjoy enough the pleasure of the artistic expression. Teacher should expect
student to hit upon ideas and thoughts independently, not
to express for desirable goal at first. Teacher lays stress on student 's
expressive process, not outcomes (works) 14).
Considering Playful Art, we need to think about background
of art class in Japan.
Traditionally, Japanese teacher set narrow and focused goal, so
students painted same model
and theme. Teacher made students paint works of high quality, but
they are standardized
works. Teacher made students be impressed by accomplishment and
success, so students had
strong will of next expression. Kitao (1991), a cognitive
psychologist proposed Two
Dimension Model for Teaching Method and Goal as Figure 1 15). He showed
four main types
in teaching method and goal. The axis of ordinates shows the axis
of teaching goal. The more
the point stands away from the origin, the more teaching goal gets
free. And the axis of
abscissa shows the axis of teaching method. The more the point
stands away from the origin,
the more teaching method gets free.
Now we apply this Two dimension Model to teaching art. A type has closed goal and
method
such as drawing same model under distinct goal. But even if this type, each
student
may
have delicate different goal in art class. B type has free goal and closed
method such as
imaginative
drawing under same materials and theme. Students start planning under same
materials
and theme, but they expressed individual theme finally. C type has closed goal
and
free
method such as programmatic study. Teacher presents two or three materials at
the
beginning
of the term, each student plans individual program and finishes the works until
the
end
of the term. They can have choice of making order, but they have to arrive
distinct goal.
Teacher
must present distinct self-evaluation items for students. D type has free goal
and
method
such as free inquiry and expression in art. Students seek their theme and
material
under
their individual interest and will. Kitao said that there were many A
type-classes in
Japan
as compared with America and Europe. Teachers who proposed Playful Art Study,
criticized
A type-classes. They proposed art study based on Playful Art Study, so they tried to
increase B or D type-classes.
There
are many painting competition for children and students in preschool,
elementary
and secondary schools. Some Major competitions are supported by
Ministry of Education,
and teacher make efforts to get
first prize, Prize of Minister of Education. Of course these competitions had
merit for students, but had demerit, too. In those days, teachers tended to
devote themselves to get prizes
for honor of themselves, schools and districts. (Today, some
of the teachers teach
Handicraft and drawing in this way.) Teachers' excessive teaching
sometimes ruined student'
expressive will and zest in lower grades of elementary school.
Ministry of Education and some
teacher established Playful Art Study
against these
tendencies based on painting
competition.
Teaching Plan 1 is quoted from Teaching
Resources by Ministry of Education 16). As previously stated, Playful
Art Study lays stress on independent
expressions and dose not
expect students to have
distinct goal at first (goal free). And teacher's role is supporting
student's
activities, preparing various materials and setting activity space. Course of
Study
denies teacher's
excessive teaching strongly. These activities produce many work styles at
last, for example, painting,
relief, installation, environmental art, performance art and so on.
Under the control of Ministry
of Education, teacher developed and researched teaching
materials for Playful Art in university-attached schools and experimental public
schools.
These leading researches and
practices were spread all through the country.
Figure 1
Two Dimension
Model for Teaching Method and Goal (Kitao(1991))
Goal
free
Goal closed
Method
Method
closed
Method free
Teaching Plan 1
|
2nd grade. Let's arrange and place to your heart's content!! Playful Art Study based on various materials 1) class
objective, aim a), To gather materials around you, to
choose them by yourself, to arrange and place many things, and to enjoy these creative activities. b), To arrange and place same
materials, to mix other materials, to pile up as you like. 2) Plan
(2-4 school hours) a), Teacher announces students to get
various materials. Teacher introduces interesting
materials for students and announces to gather something rare and strange together. b), Students arrange and place various
materials on the classroom floor, gymnasium floor, school ground and slope. They sense the quality of
materials and directions of them. (Illustration 1, 2 ) c), Students devise independently and
enjoy those activities. 3),
evaluation a),Arranging and placing the materials
together, teacher sense and evaluate students' trial one after another. b),Teacher evaluate students' various
activities such as arranging, placing, mixing and piling up. 4),
preparation Teacher prepares interesting materials
that students don't hit upon. For example: rope, string, used shoes. Teacher prepares open space pre-class
and in class, students gather materials for arrangement and placement. For example: wood block,
pebble, empty can, paper box, cap of bottle and so on. |
4.2.Present conditions and
perspectives in Playful Art Study
Playful Art Study has brought achievement and critical problems in recent
art education
practice. One educational
practice has two faces, so we present both of them, namely,
achievement and critical
problems of Playful Art at the same
time.
(1), This study's idea put the brakes on
teacher's excessive teaching for painting
competition. Once again, we had
started to have a point of view of aesthetic expression by the child. These
ideas had a role to destroy teacher's scholastic ability in Drawing
and
Handicrafts. But this strong
zest and reform movement have become stereotyped after
25years. We occasionally see
stereotyped Playful Art Study in recent
elementary school class.
(2), This study extended contents of art
education field, based on drawing and paining
before. This Playful Art
Study has broad fields such as playing
with materials, integrated
expression, mixing various
media and so on. So teacher has observed Arts in living life and
paid attention to modern and
contemporary art. On the other hand, representative drawing has been treated
lightly in the Course of Study. Because Playful Art lays stresses on imaginative and creative drawing,
representative drawing has been losing standing point in a limited school
hours. Current problem is that student has little time for basis of color,
treating
drawing brush, and composition
and so on. Some students want to have more time for
representative drawing in upper
grades of elementary school.
(3), Since this study has radical ideas and
theories such as self -expression, and social
constructivism, many teachers
can not understand these thoughts enough. These teachers
criticize that Playful Art
Study has ambiguous scholastic ability and
strongly depends on will
in student. They sometimes say
that teacher must give up art class if students don' t have
will
and zest for expression.
(4), Individual student's
interest and idea are very important in Playful Art Study, so it is
effective that one teacher
teaches proper number of students. But this study doesn't fit
for
Japanese educational system or
class style yet. There are a few teachers who teach only
Drawing and Handicrafts
professionally in Japan. Most teachers take charge of their classes,
teach many subjects except for
a few subjects (Music and Homemaking and so on). They are
very busy to prepare many
subjects and classroom work, so they have no time for gathering
materials and researching Playful
Art. And there are 40-pupils-per-class
system except for a
few cases. So it is sometimes
difficult that teacher supports expressive wills in all students.
In addition to the previous statements,
introduction of Integrated Studies has influenced
playful Art and art class. Next we will consider the relation of art
class to Integrated Studies.
5.Relation of art class to Integrated Studies (Life Environment
Studies and
"Period
for Integrated Study")
5.1.What is "Period
for Integrated Study"?
Establishing Integrated Studies was reported by
Central Council for Education and
Curriculum Council. So the 7th
Course of Study (1998) established "Period for Integrated
Study"
from 3rd grade to upper secondary schools 17). The 6th Course of Study
(1989)
established Life Environment
Studies for 1st and 2nd grade. So we have Integrated Studies
both elementary and secondary
schools now. In the new curriculum, these studies should have important role
for cultivating the "zest for living" such as ability to learn
and think
independently. The 7th Course
of Study says that overall objectives of "Period for Integrated
Study" run
as follows: to cultivate nature and ability of studying independently (finding
out
own theme, considering, seeking
and solving own theme independently), and to foster
attitude of seeking own life
style.
For example, themes of these Integrated Studies
run as follows: (1) crossed themes
beyond the subjects and
integrated themes such as understanding international affairs,
information, environment,
welfare and health, (2), themes based on individual interest, (3)
characteristic themes based on
the district and the school. And methods of teaching of these
studies run as follows: (1)
learning by experiences such as natural experience, volunteer
activities, (2) practices such
as observation, experiment, field trip, research, presentation,
debate, making and product,
leaning by solving problem.
5.2.Relation of art study to
Integrated Studies
Now we should consider the relation of art study to these Integrated Studies, because the
Integrated Studies are similar to art study in objectives and contents. It has been a main
purpose of art education after World War II that student finds out his/her own theme of
expression and express independently. The Integrated Studies and other subjects have
approached art study in recent 10years.So we should have good curriculum that consider the
relation of two studies. For
example, students experience various materials in Playful Art
Study, next they research materials such as sand and clay in
Integrated Studies. And musical
instrument, color study, and
environmental art have much possibility of Integrated Studies.
Further we should present
original value of art study that differs from other field studies at
the same time. If we can't
present original value, Ministry of Education and our society might
expel art study from school.
We are now researching art study as required subject and showing the Integrated Studies
plan based on art field. Concerning the Integrated Studies based on art field, we proposed as
follows 18) : poster, papermaking, plaything, making costume, making huge thing, animation,
making totem pole in park, art event in school festival, research on advertisement company,
workshop by artist. Artistic appreciation has much
possibility in the Integrated Studies based on art, so we are now researching
language and criticism between art and Japanese
language. And Chapman's art card (1988) 19) and German gymnasium art class 20) tell us importance of appreciation. We can study these
educations as appreciation study at first, and study as Integrated Studies at
next time. Because it is education for international and cross-cultural
understanding that we study foreign appreciation study. We can talk and
research the problem such as cultural difference and acculturation.
The
Integrated Studies has just started in April 2002, so it is no time to state
achievement and critical problems. We are sure of possibilities in art study
and continue our research in art education.
6. Conclusion: Japanese educational reform and art
eductionin recent 25 years
The Author traced Japanese educational reform
and art education history in recent 25
years. Art teacher and Ministry
of Education have reformed idea and method in class. Now
Ministry of Education is trying
to shift the stress from school subjects to the Integrated
Studies. From this history, we
can say several points as follows.
(1) Playful Art Study was established in elementary school 25 years ago. This
study has
proposed new ideas and changed
teachers' consciousness and culture on educational practice.
But this study has brought
critical problems such as decreasing representative drawing and art
theories at the same time. This
history suggests us that we should have balance between
independent expression and
teaching art. We should respect both values in school education.
(2), We should consider relation of art class to
the Integrated Studies and respect both
educational values. It is
important that we have meaningful curriculum for student and make
art study useful to the
Integrated Studies. The Integrated Studies can also be planned to be
useful for Art expression and
appreciation.
(3) Art appreciation study is very useful for
the Integrated Studies, so we should develop
teaching materials for art
appreciation positively. Art appreciation study will make us seek
language, criticism, our
culture, systems in art museum, life-long study society and so on.
(4), We need to reform educational system and
administration. We should realize proper
number of students in a class
and prepare computer and art room for creative activities. And
we need to set up in-service
education enough for studying Playful Art
and art appreciation.
Okazaki (2000) stated comparison of Japanese
educational reform and American one as
follows 21). There
is striking contrast between Japanese reform and American one. Symbol of
the Japanese reform is
establishing "Period for Integrated Study" (1998) under
decrease of
subjects hours. And American
reform symbol is establishing subject standard strictly such as
The National Visual Arts
Standard (1994). Okazaki used metaphors of
mirror to explain the
relation of two countries.
Now we have to gather proper and well-timed
information from the world. If it were not
for proper information, art
education could not survive in Japan. It was misfortune for
students. The Author will
continue to research art education history and construct alternative
education in the 21st century.
Notes and References
14) Takayama,
Masagiku and Higuchi, Toshio 1977. Kaitei syougakou gakusyu shidou youryiou
no tenkai zuga kousaku hen (New
Handicraft and drawing's
contents in Revised Course of Study), Meiji-tosyo Publishing Co., Japan, pp. 47-48
15) Kitao, Norihiko 1991. Gakusyu sido no sinri gaku ( Psychology
in Learning guidance). Yuhikaku
Publishing Co., Japan. pp.113-137
16)
Monbusho(Ministry of Education) 1991. Shogakko zuga kousaku shidou shiryo
(Handicraft and Drawing's
Teaching Plan Resources in elementary school), Nihon-Bunkyo Publishing Co., Japan, pp.112- 115
17) Web Site
of Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Government of Japan
(Monbusho),
http://www.monbu.go.jp/emindex.html,http://www.mext.go.jp/english/,
http://www.monbu.go.jp/aramashi/1997eng/e2041.html.
18) Fukomoto,
Iwasaki, Uda, et al. 2002. "Report on Activities of the Research Forum
2001: Sougou gakusyu
to bijutu kyoiku (Integrated Studies and
Art Education)", Bijutu kyoiku gaku (The Journal for the Association
19) Chapman, Laura H. 1988. Teaching Art, Davis Pub.
Inc., Massachusetts.
20) In 2000, Yokohama National University held Extension lectures.
This lecture's theme was Art Appreciation
21) Okazaki,
Akio 2000. "America bijutu kyouiku no doko (Art Education in the U.S.A.)",
Bijutu kyoiku no
kadai to tenbou (Problems and Prospects
in Art Education), Kenpaku-sha
Publishing Co., Japan, p.21.
