Vol. 11 No. 1 (2015)

EDITORIAL

Authors:  Glen Coutts

Pages 3–5

ARTICLES

Crafting the collective sense: A descriptive case study on recreational textile craft-making in Finnish adult education

Authors: Anna Kouhia

Pages: 7–20

Abstract
The purpose of this article is to elaborate on the collective aspects of craft-making in the field of adult education, and to discuss the collaborative elements behind the increasing popularity of leisure time craft-making. Exploring this emerging affinity further, this descriptive case study uses auto-ethnographic methods to examine the process of co-producing the collective sense in a group of hobby craft ­practitioners. Data consist of a researcher’s reflective field diary and in-depth interviews of nine course participants, which in the analysis unfold the experiences of becoming a member of a community of hobbyist craft-makers. There were four themes that emerged in the study: mutual agency, social interaction, active participation and shared responsibility. As the list suggests, a collective sense does not simply grow through increasing participation, but is also fuelled by many pedagogical and social factors. Therefore, craft-making is seen as a much broader phenomenon than a mere material transformation.

Altered viewscapes: Raising awareness through creative practice in the urban cultural heritage of Istanbul

Authors: Ilgm Veryeri Alaca And  Lucienne Thys-Şenocak 

Pages: 21–41

Abstract
Once the capital of the Byzantines and the Ottomans, and now the commercial and cultural hub of Turkey, Istanbul is a city that struggles with the legacy of its past and the demands of the present. The Altered Viewscapes of Istanbul, an art project carried out by university undergraduates,  was developed to cultivate awareness of the urban cultural heritage of Istanbul. The project enabled students to evaluate their relationships to selected cultural heritage sites of the city and asked them to consider how this heritage could foster creative forms of civic participation. The students were asked to reflect on the aesthetic experience of viewing the historic peninsula of Istanbul and particularly, Eminönü, one of the city’s oldest districts. Students drew connections between the creative process and active spectatorship of the viewscape while considering how social, political and economic factors shape public space and the urban environment.

Culdesac Island workshops: Creative capacities in a virtual learning environment

Authors:  David Serra Navarro And  Joan Vallès Villanueva

Pages: 43–58

Abstract
This work encompasses some reflections developed in the Culdesac Island project: a virtual lab put together through intergenerational creative workshops. The use of Second Life has allowed multiple pathways, the interaction of simulations and the creation of a social space where knowledge flows and is shared, plus the possibility of generating collaborative work. These simulation environments allow ‘real’ learning and spaces to share and develop artistic experiences. The aim is to show the educational potential of the virtual environment from the transference of real experience conveyed by the figure of the ‘avatar-performer’, thus establishing a relational framework between the ‘body-object’ and cooperative processes in an intangible space. In this social lab, real cultural actions are reproduced and/or revised in a mimetic way as the interactive principle between participants of different ages and profiles. Furthermore, it adds new values to network production based on real and virtual experience.

Older adult responses to art curriculum and self-directed learning

Authors:  Angela M. La Porte

Pages: 59–74

Abstract
The objective of this participant observation was to better understand how older adults respond to diverse art education curricula and self-directed learning. The study involved teaching a weekly two-hour art class of eight to ten adults at a low-income residential facility over a four-month period. Findings suggested that curricula should encompass the broad range of student backgrounds, levels of art expertise, and life experiences. Older adult participants were largely self-directed to varying degrees, depending on their art knowledge, media expertise, and confidence in the subject area. The instructor best served the older adult learner as a facilitator or resource for learning. It was important to build on what students wanted to learn and to introduce artists and styles that broadened their perspectives and inspired art-making. Not all students responded to planned curriculum, but themes with an enduring idea such as healing or ritual evoked stories and inspired meaningful art.

A critical analysis on five Korean art educators’ perceptions of pedagogic values of ‘Traditional’ painting

Authors:  Ok-Hee Jeong

Pages: 75–89

Abstract
This article critically analyses the views of five Korean art educators on traditional art practice that assume the enduring value of a particular style of Korean ‘traditional’ painting. The outcome of the data analysis shows how a particular style of Korean painting is recognized by them as ‘traditional’, while other styles such as folk painting are rejected as non-valuable from a complex historical legacy of art practice. This shows the cultural reproduction of the educational discourses and practices of tradition that are retained through an idealized memory historically rooted as part of structurally generated class ‘cultures’, as central to the constitution of social solidarity and to the creation of a collective identity, and have constantly reproduced a particular culture.

Threshold concepts in art education: Negotiating the ambiguity in pre-service teacher identity formation

Authors:  Lorrie Blair And  Sebastien Fitch

Pages: 91–102

Abstract
The dual nature of being simultaneously an artist and a teacher has long been recognized as a source of stress for novice and mid-career art educators. The article describes findings from a qualitative study into first-year art education students’ experiences of studio-based art courses. Data comprising interviews with six instructors and focus-group interviews with a total of twelve students revealed the extent to which the above problem takes root early on before prospective teachers have entered the classroom, and indicates a pressing need for pre-service art teacher training to address this issue. We suggest the inherent dichotomy at the heart of art education can be understood as a problematic liminal space, which students experience both on a personal as well as an institutional level, and we explore how Threshold Concept theory might serve as a key to help students fuse their conflicting identities into a coherent sense of self.

Embodied subjectivity: The impact of reflexive engagement with personal narrative upon the values of trainee primary art teachers

Authors:  Hannah Hames

Pages: 103–116

Abstract
This research explores the relationship between reflexive engagement with personal narrative, and the refinement and development of value systems amongst trainee primary art teachers. Work generated during a critical studies module was gathered and analysed chronologically to isolate and interpret any moments of reflexivity associated with the use of personal narrative. This was compared with the conclusions drawn by students in their final essays to identify whether such reflexive activity had supported the articulation of subject specific values. The study revealed that reflexive activity can significantly broaden students’ understanding of the value of art and design, however, most students are unable to connect their newly refined values with any proposed actions for change. The report concludes by highlighting the difficulties associated with the swift ‘interpellation’ of student teachers in primary settings, recommending that values-led practice in art and design is supported in a practical, skills-based way by training providers.

The educational role of performing and visual arts in Asante traditional politics

Authors:  Nana Ama Pokuaa Arthur And  Eric Appau Asante And  Nana Afia Opoku-Asare

Pages: 117–135

Abstract
Although various forms of art are prominent in the Asante culture, the performing and visual arts make a particularly vibrant and far-reaching contribution. This study has used a qualitative research approach, relying mainly on observations and interviews, to focus on the role of the performing and visual arts in Asante traditional politics. The results show that the arts offer more than just entertainment and communication – they also play a motivational and educational role that encourages the Asante culture to continue to evolve. It is important that traditional rulers in Asante should help preserve and promote their visual and performing art forms to ensure that the arts continue to play instrumental roles in their traditional leadership.

Visual art curricula, art teacher goals, and instructional time: Findings from an international survey

Authors:  Melody K. Milbrandt And  Ryan Shin And  Teresa Torres de Eça And  Kevin Hsieh

Pages: 137–156

Abstract
This article highlights selected responses from participants in twelve nations to an international survey of art educators posted on the International Society for Education through Art (InSEA) website from January to April 2013. Several themes emerging from this study are: 1) a shift in curricular emphasis from the creation of artworks to the goal of engaging students in creative and critical thinking; 2) problem-solving and design viewed as distinct areas of focus within the art curriculum 3) educational policies shifting some responsibilities from the states to the national level as assessments that promote international comparisons gain influence 4) in curricular groupings of art disciplines, there may be greater opportunities for student growth and teacher collaboration but also questions of time and resources to address and 5) art educators in this study are influenced by standards but are also influenced by the priorities of the educational context in which they teach.

VISUAL ESSAY

F.I.S.E Small Gallery, Community art project in Hungary

Authors:  Neil Wolstenholme And  Kinga Ráthonyi

Pages: 157–168

Abstract
Over the past seventeen years the authors have been working together, creating and promoting community art projects. The main objective of these works has always been to shape the users visual environment, with maximum involvement of the local community. Participation in the projects has allowed people to share creative thoughts, production, ideas, and communicate. These have taken place on site in a communal environment which respects and appreciates the individual. People are free to work/talk/look or just be there. The following visual essay documents a recently completed project.

BOOK REVIEWS

Institutional Time: A Critique of Studio Art Education, Judy Chicago (2014)

Author:  Hilary Robinson

Pages: 169–171

The Creative Turn: Towards a new Aesthetic Imaginary, Anne Harris (2014)

Authors: Robyn Gibson and Josephine Fleming

Pages: 171–173

Teaching Asian Art: Content, Context, and Pedagogy, Sheng Kuan Chung (ed.) (2012)

Author: Li Yan Wang

Pages 173–176