The purpose of this research was to investigate the past art experiences
and the beliefs about ability to create art as held by beginning elementary
generalist teachers, and the effects of those beliefs on art teaching.
Constructivism as a learning theory formed the theoretical framework
for this study. An investigation of the related literature explored the topics of
ability to create art, elementary generalist teachers of art, beginning teachers,
teachers' beliefs, preparation of art teachers, and beginning teachers' images of
self as art teacher.
The research, consisting of two phases, was conducted using a
descriptive case study methodology. Phase one of the study consisted of using
semi-structured interviews with eight elementary generalist teachers in order
to determine their past art experiences and their beliefs about their ability to
create art. Three of those participants formed the purposeful sample for
phase two of the study which consisted of observations of five art lessons per
participant, along with pre and post interviews. An extended final interview
was conducted along with documentation examination and interviews with
school personnel.
The thesis which emerged from this study is that beliefs about ability to
create art were formed from prior experiences with art, and that beliefs about
an ability to create art affected the art teaching practice of the participants. The
participants believed that they do not have an ability to create art and do not
have the natural talent required to be an artist. These beliefs, along with their
limited background in art, lack of subject matter knowledge in art, and their
status as beginning teachers adversely affected their art teaching practice. This
study revealed eight specific connections between beginning teachers' beliefs
about their ability to create art and their art teaching practice.
Insights into these beliefs about art making and their connections to art
teaching suggest important implications. Noteworthy among these
implications are the need for teacher education programs to provide for
personal art making skill development and the need for schools to provide
support and accountability within art education for beginning teachers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/11256 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | McCoubrey, L. Sharon |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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