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Listen
CHAPTER FOUR
Discussion
'…very few people listen to teachers and that's the sad thing about it…'
167 In general a favourable picture of arts teaching in Scottish schools was presented in by teachers involved in this research. Teachers from all over the country described a considerable array of arts activities at the centre of school life, and most of those in the survey reported the arts as having a stable presence in the curriculum at their school. Nevertheless, a number of important issues have emerged.
1. Teachers & their subject
168 The role of specialist teachers in primary and SEN schools emerged as a central debate. There was ample testimony to the positive input that subject specialist teachers could have. This was frequently weighed against the lack of confidence in teaching one or more areas of the Expressive Arts curriculum that many teachers in the primary focus groups described. One model for delivering teaching that was suggested was to increase the allocation of arts teaching handled by specialists, or to have them handle the entire arts curriculum. However, some were concerned at segregating the arts in this way, and saw the removal of arts teaching from general teachers as a less holistic approach, and perhaps casting them as more recreational than academic. They felt that with appropriate training or CPD, any teacher should be able to deliver the curriculum, and that this would allow the arts to be better integrated into education.
169 Secondary teachers in the focus groups expressed no similar lack of confidence in teaching the arts, possibly a reflection of the extent to which many were active in the arts in their own time; however, they expressed some reservations about the variations in basic arts skills which pupils were bringing to first year. Given that most teachers in the survey reported that primary liaison did not take place because of lack of time or opportunity, it would therefore seem worthwhile for better liaison between primary and secondary arts teachers to be facilitated and encouraged. SEN teachers also argued for better opportunities for interaction with their colleagues in mainstream education.
2. Curriculum & guidelines
170 Different views again emerged from the primary and secondary focus groups. Primary teachers in general were approving of the content of the 5-14 curriculum, but expressed reservations about the guidelines; they found these lacked clarity, and felt there was considerable need for clearer examples. Secondary teachers, in contrast, raised concerns with curriculum content, either on the grounds of 'dumbing down' or not addressing the needs of the workplace or further education, for instance in the limited embrace of technology in Art & Design. They were, however, largely accepting of the guidelines. These concerns may not be reflected at a national level, however; in the survey, the mean ratings for the appropriateness of curriculum balance, and the appropriateness, clarity and achievability of the guidelines were all positive.
3. Resources & management
171 Making the arts available within school timetables emerged here as a key issue. Primary school teachers described very constrained opportunities to deliver the Expressive Arts Curriculum; in the survey, many respondents saw little or no opportunity to deliver teaching in dance. At a secondary level, teachers in the focus groups frequently discussed the problems of being 'in competition' with other subjects; this was also one of the most frequently cited reasons in the survey for pupils not taking arts subjects in third year, and teachers on the whole agreed that timetabling in their school did not support those wishing to combine arts with non-arts subjects.
172 Teachers in the survey felt overall that their interests and abilities were capitalised on, and felt well informed about current developments. However, throughout the study, teachers have stressed the demands on their time, in some cases seeing this as greater than the demands of other subjects. Two fifths of the survey sample worked more than ten hours per week in their own time, and there was clear agreement that they felt this was expected of them. Many of the concerns regarding resources and employment were attributed in the focus groups to a lack of management awareness of what was involved or required in arts subjects, though there was some indication from head teachers in the groups that staff could do more to bring their concerns to the attention of management. The institution of some forum for consultation on arts teaching, such as liaison groups for management & relevant staff, perhaps facilitated by external individuals such as cultural co-coordinators, would therefore enhance the scope for arts provision in schools.
4. Assessment & accountability
173 All teachers expressed concerns regarding assessment in the arts. At the focus groups, these ranged from a perceived lack of clarity over what was expected by the SQA or HMI, to worries that working towards evaluated outcomes limits the expressive potential of the arts. SEN teachers were concerned that assessment was geared towards end products rather than processes. In the survey, teachers did not agree that assessment supported arts provision, though expressing confidence in their ability to carry this out. These results suggest that clarifying assessment criteria and procedures would be beneficial, and that assessment in the arts would meet with greater approval from teachers if it placed more emphasis on individual expression and processes.
5. External input
174 Collaboration with, or exposure to, professional artists and groups was seen as a valuable contribution to the curriculum at all levels, with a very broad range of examples given in the survey. Such projects were inspirational at primary level and in SEN schools, and demonstrated the vocational character of the arts to secondary teachers. Cultural coordinators were cited as having facilitated schools' access to such resources. However, it was stressed that professionals' input offered most as an adjunct to teaching provision, rather than replacement of teaching time; in particular the importance of teachers' own participation, in order to develop their own ideas and skills, was seen as vital. Teachers' time therefore needs to be factored into providing any such activity.
6. How the arts are seen
175 In the survey, schools emerged as something of a stronghold for the arts - teachers saw schools as valuing the arts more than parents or the nation as a whole. In the focus groups too, teachers stressed the important resource that arts teachers can represent to a community, and felt passionately themselves about the importance of the arts to all individuals. However, they felt to some extent that while parents valued the output from their child's arts education, they did not take this area of the curriculum as seriously as it merited. Yet teachers in the focus groups also frequently cast arts subjects as redressing the balance between 'academic' pupils and 'less academic' ones. In the survey, one of the benefits of the arts most frequently added by respondents was that they were good for 'less able' pupils. Emphasising such benefits may have the knock-on effect of painting arts subjects as not appropriate for 'academic' pupils, or of fuelling the treatment of arts subjects as a 'sin bin' or 'dumping ground' as one group discussed. Parents and pupils may also be sensitive to such a hierarchy, accounting for the loss of gifted pupils at third year.
7. Benefits of the arts
176 Many different ways in which studying the arts can benefit children and young people were highlighted in the focus groups. Personal benefits included growth in self confidence, self-esteem, social and communication skills, emotional intelligence, discernment and being able to articulate individual opinions. As a distinct and less formal learning environment involving complex tasks and personal input, art, music, drama and dance were all seen as having the potential to help students with behavioural difficulties, or those struggling in other subjects. This could also provide them with transferable skills - assisting literacy and numeracy at primary level or in SEN schools, for example, or developing writing skills and teamwork at secondary level.
177 Many teachers felt that arts qualifications or experience were strongly appealing to employers, and stressed that students should realise that Higher Grades in their subjects would help them gain entrance to further education. And for SEN teachers, the arts provided an arena for children to overcome physical challenges and engage with pupils from mainstream education. In the survey, the benefits most frequently selected as important from the list provided all related to the personal development of pupils as individuals. This is perhaps a reflection of the teachers' personal investment in their subject, and commitment to allowing all their charges to benefit from the same sense of fulfilment throughout their lives as well.
178 Finally, an important theme emerging from the process of this research has been the positive feedback from teachers taking part. Secondary practitioners from different arts subjects, management and SEN teachers were all able to contribute to a common nexus of interests and concerns around arts teaching provision. Such interaction represents a valuable means of developing the field.
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