This research is motivated by two central questions: 1) Why has the place of critical studies in secondary art and design been diagnosed as 'fragile'? 2) Can practitioners from related fields inform a critical curriculum through interventionist strategies? To place the thesis in context, the National Curriculum is examined to indicate the place of critical studies within official art educational discourse. This analysis reveals a disjunction between official rhetoric and practice, one that stimulated the interdisciplinary, action research project, Art Critics and Art Historians in Schools. The researchers aimed to understand, inform and change the a critical practices of school art by instigating critical residencies drawing on the investigative and interpretative methods of (new) art history and the practices of critical pedagogy. Employing Bernstein's theory of pedagogic codes, qualitative data drawn from the project is analysed to understand the insularity of the subject and the asymmetry in power relations between art education and the other professional discourses that dominate it. These disjunctions are the starting point for a genealogy that traces the development of modernist art education using Bourdieu's concepts of 'capital', `habitus' and 'field' to navigate its complexities. The unfolding narrative reveals the dialectical philosophies that produced modernist art education and made an a critical model in secondary education tenable, an a criticality that sits uncomfortably beside the critical discourses of modernist art. Related fields are examined to understand the social and cultural conditions that have succeeded in producing a critical education. The critical traditions for the interpretation of art (including art history and visual semiotics) are examined and assessed as potential critical resources. Evidence emerges of art teachers' mistrust towards the role of writing in critical studies which has led to the current resistance. In response, the interventionist strategies of critical pedagogy and cultural studies are advocated as a means to overcome such resistance.

Text in Afrikaans / In the performing arts (music, dance and drama) affective factors do not only play a role during the performance of a work, but are present from the moment when a work is selected up to the completion of the performance. In order to analyse the continuous presence of affective factors in the performing arts, a literature study was undertaken in which the affective requirements of music, dance and drama works in different style periods were identified. The affective implications of adolescent development in a performing arts context were also researched. The most important affective factors which can influence the arts learner seem to be motivation, stress, anxiety and self-concept. A questionnaire was developed to measure these factors in a music, dance and drama context. An empirical investigation was carried out involving 297 learners. With the data obtained from the empirical investigation the reliability and validity of the questionnaire could be determined. Norms were also developed for the questionnaire. Hypotheses on the role of affective factors in the performing arts were tested statistically. The hypotheses dealt with the underlying relationship between the different affective factors, the role of affective factors in the different performing arts, the development of affective factors during the secondary school years, the relationship between affective factors and achievement in an art field as well as the role of other variables such as gender, social relations and home circumstances. Recommendations were made to teachers, parents and learners. The recommendations are aimed at the enhancement of motivation and self-concept as well as the reduction of anxiety and stress. / Teacher Education / D.Ed.

Text in Afrikaans / In the performing arts (music, dance and drama) affective factors do not only play a role during the performance of a work, but are present from the moment when a work is selected up to the completion of the performance. In order to analyse the continuous presence of affective factors in the performing arts, a literature study was undertaken in which the affective requirements of music, dance and drama works in different style periods were identified. The affective implications of adolescent development in a performing arts context were also researched. The most important affective factors which can influence the arts learner seem to be motivation, stress, anxiety and self-concept. A questionnaire was developed to measure these factors in a music, dance and drama context. An empirical investigation was carried out involving 297 learners. With the data obtained from the empirical investigation the reliability and validity of the questionnaire could be determined. Norms were also developed for the questionnaire. Hypotheses on the role of affective factors in the performing arts were tested statistically. The hypotheses dealt with the underlying relationship between the different affective factors, the role of affective factors in the different performing arts, the development of affective factors during the secondary school years, the relationship between affective factors and achievement in an art field as well as the role of other variables such as gender, social relations and home circumstances. Recommendations were made to teachers, parents and learners. The recommendations are aimed at the enhancement of motivation and self-concept as well as the reduction of anxiety and stress. / Teacher Education / D.Ed.