There is considerable evidence to support the contention that artists work best under conditions that allow long, uninterrupted periods of intense concentration, and researchers have confirmed that students' progress is facilitated by these same conditions. Yet the standard system in American education, concurrent scheduling, divides the student's day into brief instructional periods for pursuing a series of unrelated subjects. An alternative to the traditional time structure is intensive education, which allows the student to focus on one topic in depth for 2-4 weeks. Such a format may offer particular advantages to art students. The most universal application of the intensive approach is during the interim term of the 4-1-4 academic calendar, which uses the month of January for innovative courses. / The purpose of this study was to determine if the attitudes of students support the hypothesis that intensive education is a viable and perhaps preferred format for visual arts courses. / The population included all students who were enrolled in intensive art courses during January 1980 at U.S. colleges and universities. A random cluster sample was drawn from all institutions which operate on the 4-1-4 academic calendar and also offer a major in art. The data collection instrument was a 32-item questionnaire designed to assess student attitudes concerning intensive and concurrent scheduling for visual arts courses. It was constructed by the researcher and had an overall reliability coefficient of .72. Characteristics of intensive art courses were determined by surveying interim term bulletins. / Frequency analysis of questionnaire data revealed that students had more favorable responses to statements concerned with intensively scheduled art courses than they did to the same statements concerned with concurrently scheduled art courses. The t test was used to determine if the differences were statistically significant, which they were for alpha = .05. The Chi Square test clarified relationships between overall attitude and individual student variables. The findings of the investigation were used to generate the following major conclusions: (1) Intensive course offerings differ substantially from those available during the concurrently scheduled semester, with the following variations being most characteristic: highly specialized course content, interdisciplinary approaches, encouragement of self-directed study, and off-campus and international travel opportunities. (2) Intensive education is considered to be a very successful alternative to traditional concurrent education and is preferred by students who have experienced both options. (3) The opportunity to concentrate in-depth on a particular topic without the distractions and time pressures brought on by other courses pursued concurrently is the greatest advantage of intensive education in the visual arts. (4) Students are not only more interested but also more motivated to learn in art courses scheduled intensively. (5) Intensive art courses are regarded by students as more valuable in terms of personal goals, needs, and educational standards when compared to art courses scheduled concurrently. (6) Students perceive their instructors to be more enthusiastic when teaching intensive courses. (7) Intensive education in art is appropriate for all students and all areas of study. (8) The intensive format is especially advantageous for art majors. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0906. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74151 |
| Contributors | MIMS, SANDRA KAY., The Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 153 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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