Art Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Theatre Pedagogy On Student Teachers’ Development Of Beliefs About Good Teaching And Their Pedagogical Ethos: An Exploratory Case Study, Angela Hadjipanteli

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The development of student teachers’ beliefs about good teaching needs to be integral to their education programmes. This study attempts to scrutinise the contribution of a theatre education course to the conceptualisation of a group of eight student primary teachers’ notion of good teaching and a teacher’s ethos. The findings reveal that, within the coursework, student teachers’ learning experiences are interwoven with the ethics of the beautiful, the ethics of the dialogue and the ethics of the will. This nexus of learning experiences enabled them to identify three internal goods of good teaching: the awakening of learners’ positive emotions; …

Safe Spaces For Enabling The Creative Process In Classrooms, Monique Fuss, Graham R. Daniel

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Based on interviews with five creative professionals this article looks to investigate the creative experience as a source of data on how educators might create space for enabling the creative process in the classroom. Looking toward professional artists who are also committed educators provides core commentary on how to maximise creative experiences in the classroom. Whilst acknowledging the importance of physical space, the following article looks purposefully toward how to enable space as an internal state of being, with the intent toward establishing transdisciplinary discussions that stimulate and provoke creative pedagogical research across an interdependent continuum. The research concludes that …

“Learning The Ropes”: Pre-Service Arts Teachers Navigating The Extracurricular Terrain, Christina C. Gray, Geoffrey M. Lowe

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Arts teachers undertake a multitude of extracurricular activities. Yet, while these activities consume considerable time and require specific expertise, little attention is afforded to developing these skills and expertise during pre-service training. This article presents findings from a study into the value of a pre-service teacher production as a form of professional development, from both the technical and personal development perspectives. Thirty pre-service secondary Arts teachers participated in the production. Through focus-group interviews, participants indicated the benefits of building technical understanding as well as personal benefits of engaging in an ensemble experience. All spoke of the potential transferability of what …

Developing Children’S Physical Literacy: How Well Prepared Are Prospective Teachers?, Judith Dinham, Paul Williams

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

While the known health impacts of sedentary lifestyles have focused attention on children’s outdoor activity, the development of their physical literacy – the physiological, social, cultural, cognitive, expressive, and psychological dimensions of their physicality – is much less in focus.

Developing children’s physical literacy is embedded in the Early Years Learning Framework and Primary curriculum: Health and Physical Education, and the performing arts subjects within The Arts. This study asks “How well prepared are pre-service teachers to implement a program that contributes to developing children’s physical literacy?”

This mixed methods study includes an environmental scan of BEd courses at 12 …

‘We Did The How To Teach It’: Music Teaching And Learning In Higher Education In Australia, Dawn Joseph

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Australian Government recognizes that the Arts are a critical part of formal school education and it should not be viewed as subordinate or extra. This paper forms part of a wider research project titled “Pre-service teacher attitudes and understandings of Music Education” that started in 2013. The focus of this paper investigates music teaching and learning in a core unit within the Bachelor of Education (Primary) course at Deakin University (Australia). Using questionnaire and interview data gathered in 2014, I employ Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyse and codify the data. Three themes are discussed in relation to: Why it …

The Curious Schools Project: Capturing Nomad Creativity In Teacher Work, Mary Ann Hunter, Sherridan Emery

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Curious Schools project is a teacher professional learning initiative that aims to provide an insight into – and resource for – creativity in Tasmanian schools. It offers an alternative to conventional models of teacher professional learning by engaging teachers in multi-modal methods of documenting and reflecting on their work as the basis for an online community of practice and public showcase for creativity in education that takes place ‘behind the scenes’. The authors, as coordinators of the project, describe the rationale behind the project and the ways it embraced discourses and practices of curiosity as a means of making …

Partnerships With Cultural Organisations: A Case For Partnerships Developed By Teacher Educators For Teacher Education, Narelle Lemon, Jacolyn Weller

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

New ways of working in teacher education are currently being highlighted, especially in relation to partnerships. One type of partnership that is under utilised is that with cultural organisations. This paper reports on two projects where the authors work with pre-service teachers in partnership with a wildlife sanctuary and a national gallery. Common project elements included research into the value for pre-service teachers in professional engagement of their own teaching and insight into ongoing professional development. The data showed that ownership, empowerment, and meaning can be experienced by stakeholders. The research not only challenges new ways of working with partnerships …

The Importance Of Positive Arts Experiences And Self-Efficacy In Pre-Service Primary Teacher Education, Geoffrey W. Lummis, Julia Morris

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

With the impending introduction of the Australian Curriculum in the arts, there is cause to reflect on primary pre-service teacher education courses, and how effectively they prepare graduates to facilitate the curriculum. Reflecting on pre-service teachers’ experiences in the arts, at both entry and graduation of their degree, may afford insight into improving arts instruction in Bachelor of Education. A two-year mixed methods study (2013-2014) was conducted with first and fourth-year Bachelor of Education primary students at a Western Australian university, to determine students’ arts experiences and their self-efficacy to teach the arts at graduation. This paper reports specifically on …

Creative Arts: An Essential Element In The Teacher’S Toolkit When Developing Critical Thinking In Children, Caroline Nilson, Catherine M. Fetherston, Anne Mcmurray, Tony Fetherston

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper is a position paper, which argues the position that critical thinking is a crucial skill, which needs to be developed in the school curriculum and that the creative arts can do this. The paper explores the states of the Arts in the present curriculum and goes on to argue that knowing how to develop critical thinking is an important pedagogical skill that needs to be developed in our pre-service teachers. This position is supported through data gathered from an innovative project that explored teachers’ and mothers’ perceptions of children’s critical thinking.

Seeing The Bigger Picture: Investigating The State Of The Arts In Teacher Education Programs In Australia, Georgina M. Barton, Margaret Baguley, Abbey Macdonald

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is extensive research that shows how the arts provide many benefits for all students yet there is evidence that arts education offerings and experiences are decreasing across both university and school sectors. It is important that we recognize the essential role of teacher educators in preparing pre-service teachers to be aware of the ‘bigger picture’ of arts education before beginning their work with students. Drawing on interview data from eight tertiary arts educators, this paper will provide a timely national snapshot view of their perceptions. It explores their experiences as arts educators in higher education contexts in regards to …

Creating Flickr Photo-Narratives With First-Year Teacher Education Students: The Possibilities And Pitfalls Of Designing Emergent Learning Tasks, Marta Kawka, Kevin M. Larkin, Patrick Danaher

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores the implementation of a Flickr (Web 2.0 photo sharing software) learning task in a first year primary education course. The context for the task was a Multiliteracies course where students designed digital media activities for later use with primary age students. The Flickr task was constructed to determine how a learning activity might be designed to afford the best opportunities for emergent learning (Kawka, Larkin, & Danaher, 2011). Emergent learning describes learning situations where: the student is self-directed; the content is created and distributed by learners; and the learning destination is open-ended and unpredictable (Williams, Karousou, & …