This thesis is a documentation of an empirical study in which qualitative methods were employed to investigate the current programmes offered to pre-service Creative Arts teachers at selected South African universities. The subject, Creative Arts, is one of the compulsory learning areas for grades R - 9 in all South African public schools as prescribed by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement of 2011. In order for learners to gain maximum benefit from the subject Creative Arts, pre-service teachers should be educated to gain an understanding of the interrelatedness of the different art forms. The theoretical framework underpinning this study is Mezirow's theory of transformative learning which is based on critical reflection. Pre-service teachers should therefore be encouraged to critically reflect on the learning process, rethinking their own perspectives and constructing new knowledge in the process of discourse with others. Information on the current programmes offered at five South African universities involved in this collective case study, was extrapolated from interviews with both lecturers of Creative Arts programmes, and pre-service teachers enrolled for courses in Creative Arts. Furthermore, observations were done at various sites to obtain an in-depth perspective of how the arts are presented at these institutions. Findings revealed that most universities offer Creative Arts programmes with an arts specific approach. This corresponds with the demands of artistic disciplines, and especially performance arts, which require the development of practical skills which should be developed over an extended period. Although developing these specialized skills and knowledge in each art form is important, the discrete presentation of these arts may limit opportunities for students to experience integrated arts activities. Moreover, pre-service teachers need practice in school based settings to hone their teaching skills in delivering meaningful arts activities to learners. The recognition of common grounds between the different art disciplines makes the merging of these arts into the broad subject, Creative Arts possible. These commonalities should be further explored, especially in a South African context where African arts are inherently integrated. Benefits of co-operative curriculum planning between the departments of Basic and Higher Education in the provision of competent and skilful teachers for Creative Arts is the key to successful arts education in South African schools. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Music / DMus / Unrestricted

abstract: This dissertation uses constructivist pedagogy to teach acting via Practical Aesthetics, a system of actor training created in the mid/&ndash1980s; by David Mamet and his college acting students. Primarily taught at the Atlantic Theatre Acting School in New York City, Practical Aesthetics has been the focus of little academic research. The same lack of research regarding constructivist pedagogy exists in academic theatre scholarship. The author takes a step toward rectifying this situation. Using an action research methodology, based on approximately thirteen years of teaching experience, the author suggests that Practical Aesthetics and his accompanying voice and movement exercises can be effective in training novice actors. The author melds theory and practice into the educational approach called Praxis to create specific detailed lesson plans which can be used to implement Practical Aesthetics. These lessons constitute primary research on this topic. Compatible voice and movement exercises are also included to provide a comprehensive semester length digest. The first chapter is an introduction, the second outlines Practical Aesthetics, the third focuses on constructivism, the fourth discusses teaching acting using Constructivist Learning Design, the fifth provides narrative lessons that can be used in the classroom, and the closure provides a review as well as suggestions for further research. An intriguing point made in the closure is a call for studies that might determine Practical Aesthetics' applicability and usability in other fields such as law, business, politics, public speaking, and even non-profit work. Although the primary audience for this dissertation is secondary school and college acting instructors, any scholar studying acting theory or constructivist pedagogy may find value in its contents. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Theatre 2014

The purpose of this research was to review a significant body of literature that related to music and arts education in the context of community engagement. An examination of the literature identified several issues affecting the engagement of communities in arts education pertaining to arts education policies, the role of arts organizations and the relationship between schools and communities. The summation of this research included an overview of models of successful collaborations between the public school and community institutions at national, state, and local levels in the United States with implications of future reform to the arts education policy. With such a vast array of program offerings initiated through the collaborative partnering of schools with communities and local arts agencies, valuable insights can be gained from concerted research efforts in the field of music education as to the unique opportunities afforded through purposeful community engagement.

African American and Latino students attending Title I schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area were not reading on grade level. The majority of students are low performing readers and minimally met the reading comprehension requirements. The 2015 average 8th grade reading score for these students was 246 out of 500. This applied dissertation was designed to add to existing literature on the benefits of arts integration. Specifically, this study looked at whether the Alliance Theatre’s Collision Plus Program, an arts integration strategy, improved reading comprehension skills. Moreover, from the perception of the English language arts teacher, this study examined to what extent arts-integrated techniques prepare students for college or a career. Using a quasi-experimental mixed methods design, pre- and posttest results of the Scantron Performance Series computer adaptive assessment (CAAS) assessment were analyzed for an ELA control group and treatment group to determine if arts integrated instruction impacted the reading comprehension of the middle school students who participated in the study. Findings indicated that the mean and median scores for the treatment group of students were not statistically different than that of the control group of students after the Alliance Theatre Collision Plus Program lessons. From the perception of the ELA teacher, arts integration helped learners to comprehend what they are reading because they are able to connect to the text. Students showed greater inquisitiveness and the ability to change and produce new ideas. Recommendations for future research include utilizing a larger sample size and providing ongoing professional development to teachers on arts integration strategies.

We live in an increasingly globalized world where mutual dependencies are clearly visible, especially in the lives of children and young people. Therefore, schools must prepare students for a life in which society houses multiple cultural diversity, give them global education, and create conditions for sustainable internationalization. Not much research and writing has been done about intercultural and multicultural art education in Sweden, because of this we chose to delve into this subject in our overview project. This knowledge overview examines the intercultural and multicultural meaning in visual arts education through scientific research. The main aim of this study is to investigate whether intercultural methods can help both students and teachers reach a better understanding regarding diversity in schools. Furthermore, this knowledge overview aims to gather different resources that touch on the concept of integrating multiculturalism into different pedagogy approaches that centers around visual arts. Our SAG project hopes to widen the perspective that current teachers have on/against diversity within education and which effects it may conjure.

The aim of this study was to research the visual arts classroom and its impact on the teaching possibilities within. The visual arts subject has been subject to many studies based on curriculum and policy documents. This study chose to focus its research on the physical elements of the classroom, which meant the classrooms construction, materials and furnishing as the focal point. Observations have been made to study these layers in the visual arts classroom in three separate schools in the south of Sweden, which were all public elementary schools. In the three schools there have been four visual arts classrooms observed, and the teachers of these classrooms answered an open question survey around the time of the observations. The material was then analyzed using frame factor theory and Foucault’s power theory (1979). Based on the observations and the survey multiple discoveries were made. There is a power in how the classrooms are furnished, and the funding of the school has a big impact on what the art teachers can do. Most of the art teachers wants to work with three-dimensional materials and assignments, but feel limited due to either space, class size, limited budget, or limited time among others. The primary materials the teachers were working with were therefore paints or pencil crayons on paper. The study has also seen the similarities and differences in the arts classrooms furnishing and has shown some ways that the students try to create their own persona and revolt against the school structure.

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This thesis seeks to determine whether an integrated program provided a progressive enlargement of experience or participation in social situations; whether it placed value upon service to others through social participation; whether it resulted in personal satisfactions through the development and use of the capacity of each individual; whether it provided for the development of functional knowledge, skills, attitudes, and appreciations by which the problems were solved in situations which were real, meaningful, and worthwhile.

Hur fungerar bildämnet i dagens skola? I relation till skolämnenas snarlika strukturer, där ett slutresultat bedöms, särskiljer sig bildämnets metoder och lärande som mer processorienterat. Traditionella, hantverksmässiga arbetssätt kompletteras med nya digitala medier och arbetssätt, som resulterar i urvalsproblem och stoffträngsel. Dessa faktorer bidrar till stora klyftor mellan kunskapsnivå, betygssättning och en likvärdig bildundervisning. Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap om hur bildämnet påverkar och påverkas av att samexistera i skolan. Genom att analysera formulärsvar från tolv bildlärare dels utifrån våra egna erfarenheter och dels mot bakgrund av en posthumanistisk teoretisk ansats fick vi syn på bildämnets nomadiska funktioner. Bildämnet, liksom bildlärare, fungerar likt en kil i skolans kontext, både förenande och separerande. I bildämnet kan det genom friktion skapas rörelse mot olika typer av tillblivelser som möjliggör för nya arbetssätt. Slutsatsen visar på att en målinriktad undervisningsstruktur och seglivade traditioner i skolan riskerar att kila fast bildämnet i ofördelaktiga normer, där friktion behövs allra mest för att bildämnet ska utvecklas och dess status höjas.

Although there is a great deal of research on students with disabilities, there has been little exploration of twice exceptional students, those who have both learning disabilities and gifts and talents. There are even fewer studies of twice exceptional students who are gifted and talented in the arts. This research was based on extensive interviews with eleven twice exceptional students at a public arts-focused high school. This school employed a dual differentiation approach for these students: educational services to address their disabilities as well as school-based enrichment in their artistic talent areas. Discourse analysis and thematic coding of the interviews revealed that despite this school’s positive focus on students’ artistic talents all eleven informants considered themselves academic failures. The study revealed that these students had a strong negative identity as learners: their academic careers were characterized by being bullied, forced to repeat grades, and frequently getting in trouble at school. They expressed feelings such as loneliness, anger, and anxiety. In terms of talent or giftedness, the participants described themselves as talented but not exceptional because of their belief that everyone has a special talent. Most of the students did not describe their own disabilities in terms that are typically used in special education. Nor did they describe their talents in language that teachers would apply to them. In the academic area students described themselves as powerless and their teachers as powerful in determining success. But in their artistic work they claimed greater power than their teachers, taking an expert’s stance