Teacher competences in the arts curriculum

Županić Benić, Marijana. (2017). Teacher competences in the arts curriculum. PhD Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Pedagogy.
(Poslijediplomski doktorski studij pedagogije) [mentor Jurčić, Marko].

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Abstract

Background: The current trends in the development of education in the globalized world are directly associated with the need for scientific and technological development, economic and political goals, social factors, and sets of values that determine desired learning outcomes and the application of the humanistic approach in education. Improving the quality of education is possible only through the development of professional teacher competences, which the teachers require to implement the humanistic approach. The professional competences are important because the role of the teacher is changing from traditional approaches, which involved a passive transfer of knowledge to the students, to the new culture of education, which encourages active learning that enables students to obtain and develop key competences they will need to function in contemporary society. In the arts, the application of the new approach to education in class allows students to develop various competences, including creativity, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and interpretation. The model of professional competences by Jurčić (2014) was used as a theoretical framework for analyzing professional teacher competences in this doctoral dissertation. The model comprises of the pedagogical and teaching dimensions as two distinct, but intermixed components of the professional roles of teachers. The theoretical part of the dissertation includes a detailed description of the professional teacher competences of both pedagogical and teaching dimensions, as well as the discussion and analysis of curriculum theories, teaching and methodical components of the visual arts subject curriculum, national arts curriculum, and the comparative analysis of national arts curricula of seven countries for the school subject visual arts. Purpose: The purpose of the empirical research was to determine if primary school teachers and visual arts teachers in elementary education use their pedagogical and teaching competences effectively while teaching visual arts. A total of five research objectives were defined, and one or more hypotheses were developed for each research objective. The first objective of this study was to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in the teachers’ self-assessment of professional competences in teaching visual arts depending on their workplace position, status, and higher education background. The following three hypotheses were developed according to that objective: H1.1: There is a statistically significant difference in the self-assessment of professional competences in teaching visual arts depending on the workplace position of the participants. It is expected that the visual arts teachers will assess their professional competences significantly higher compared to primary school teachers. H1.2: There is a statistically significant difference in the self-assessment of professional competencies in teaching visual arts depending on the status of the participants. It is expected that subjects who are mentors in the workplace are more likely to assess their professional competences significantly higher than subjects who are interns or teachers. H1.3: There is a statistically significant difference in the self-assessment of professional competencies in teaching visual arts depending on the higher education background of the participants. It is expected that subjects with a degree in visual arts education will assess their professional competences significantly higher than subjects with a degree in teaching. The second objective was to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in the selfassessment of professional competences in teaching visual arts depending on the age and work experience of the participants. The following hypotheses were tested to achieve that objective: H2.1: There is a statistically significant difference in the self-assessment of professional competencies in teaching visual arts depending on the age of the participants. It is expected that the self-assessment of professional competences increases with the age of the participants. H2.2: There is a statistically significant difference in the self-assessment of professional competencies in teaching visual arts depending on the work experience of the participants. It is expected that the self-assessment of professional competences increases with the work experience of the participants, so participants with more working experience are more likely to report a higher level of professional competences compared to participants with less work experience. The third objective of this study was to determine if there is a statistically significant correlation between the self-assessment of the teachers’ professional competences in the methodology of visual arts curriculum development and the application of those competences in teaching practice. The following hypotheses were tested: H3.1: There is a statistically significant correlation between the self-assessment of the teachers’ professional competences in the methodology of visual arts curriculum development and the application of visual arts teaching methods in the classroom. H3.2: There is a statistically significant correlation between the self-assessment of the teachers’ professional competences in the methodology of visual arts curriculum development and the use of visual arts teaching materials and aids in the classroom. H3.3: There is a statistically significant positive correlation between the self-assessment of the teachers' professional competences in the methodology of visual arts curriculum development and the use of collaborative teaching strategies in visual arts class. The fourth objective of this study was to determine if there is a statistically significant correlation between the self-assessment of the teachers’ professional competences in the organization and control of the educational process in the visual arts and the application of those competences in teaching practice. The hypothesis for this objective was as follows: H4: There is a statistically significant correlation between the self-assessment of the teachers’ professional competences in the organization and control of the educational process in the visual arts and the actual organization and execution of visual arts classes. The fifth and final objective was to determine if there is a statistically significant correlation between the self-assessment of the teachers’ professional competences in the assessment of students’ achievements in visual arts and the application of those competences in teaching practice. The two hypotheses for that objective were as follows: H5.1: There is a statistically significant correlation between the self-assessment of the teachers’ professional competences in the assessment of students’ achievements in visual arts and the evaluation of children’s artwork. H5.2: There is a statistically significant correlation between the self-assessment of the teachers’ professional competences in the assessment of students’ achievements in visual arts and the grading of students. Methods: The empirical research used quantitative methods. The data was collected by surveying primary school teachers and visual arts teachers from Grad Zagreb and Zagreb County (N = 193). One questionnaire was used as the instrument for collecting information about both independent and dependent variables. The independent variables were gender, workplace position (primary education teacher or visual arts teacher), status (intern, teacher, mentor, or associate), work experience, age, and education background (alma mater and major programs). The dependent variables were the professional competences of teachers in visual arts. The questionnaire was divided into three parts, and each part measured one dimension of teaching competences from the teacher competences model by Jurčić (2014). Those dimensions included the methodology of visual arts curriculum development, the organization and control of the educational process in the visual arts, and the assessment of students’ achievements in visual arts. The items for measuring the methodology of visual arts curriculum development were based on the survey developed by Tomljenović (2014), and the items for measuring the organization and control of the educational process in the visual arts and the assessment of students’ achievements in visual arts were based on the questionnaire developed by Lončarić and Majić (2015). The instruments from previous researchers were adapted so that they can be administered to explore teacher competences in visual arts specifically. The dimensions of professional teaching competences were measured using the Likert 5-point scale. The survey data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, whereas the comparative analysis of national arts curricula, which is presented in the theoretical part, was conducted using a descriptive non-empirical method and reviewing official documents. Results: The results showed that the pedagogical and teaching dimensions of professional competences can be measured in a subject-specific context and that the self-reported assessment of competences and the application of competences in visual arts classes are positively correlated. Those results have important implications in the conception and development of a lifelong learning model, which needs to consider the current level of professional experience teachers obtain through practice in order to identify optimal courses of further professional development of competences for each individual teacher. The categorical variables age and work experience have a significant role in the self-assessment of competences. Younger teachers are more likely to report a higher level of information and communication technology competences compared to older teachers, but the self-assessment of all other competences is positively correlated with age and professional experience, so all teacher competences increase with professional experiences. It was expected that visual arts teachers have significantly higher competences for teaching visual arts compared to primary school teachers, and the results supported that expectation. However, primary school teachers evaluate their abilities to integrate and correlate the visual arts subject contents with other subjects significantly higher compared to visual arts teachers. That result suggests that the holistic concept of the visual arts teaching process, which depends on the integration and correlation with other subjects, exists in practice during primary education, but it is lost once classroom learning becomes subject-oriented. Implications: This doctoral dissertation also has important implications for future scientific research in the field of education. The key point is that professional teacher competences can be measured and analyzed using self-assessment methods to investigate and improve the quality of education. In the context of visual arts, this study opens new research questions and problems relevant to the development of teacher competency models in the arts curriculum. One recommendation is to investigate the differences between teacher competences gained through higher education and compare them to the competences obtained through professional experience so that it would be possible to suggest improvement directions of current teacher education and lifelong learning.

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