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7. Testing Time for Art and Design, Award: NSEAD/Berol Research Bursary 1988/89. Also published in International Journal of Art and Design Education, Blackwell Publications UK/USA.
Prior to taking up my post at Birmingham School of Art in 1988 I had submitted an application for the research bursary in 1987. Interviewed and awarded the bursary in 1988 I had both a new job and a new research challenge. Approaching all previous roles as a critical participant I thought that this would give me the objectivity to analyse material collected from various parts of the country (principally London, Wigan, Reading, and Birmingham). Aware of the many demands in the statistical race to produce GCSE examination success, I found evidence of systems and practices that appeared to circumvent pupils in the pursuance of graded outcomes. I felt that the distinctive and the demonstrably desirable aspects of art education were being compromised in a culture of generic standards and uniform provision. Arguments for how art education differed from other subjects in the school curriculum were being lost and I appeared to be in the significant minority. Professional interest groups stressed that the only way forward was through this commonality so my somewhat cautionary conclusions had mixed responses from review panel members. This said, the validity and the supporting evidence for the point of view were acknowledged and subsequently reported in the appropriate journals. Prof. Tom Davies. |
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8. Thinking Though English, Paddy Creber, Open University Press, UK, 1990
I have always felt a strong connection with educators who see language as key to empowerment and personal development. Having had the privilege to know a number of them over my professional career, Paddy Creber’s approach to specialist English teacher training had many parallels to what we were trying to achieve in Art. As a fellow lecturer and an external examiner for our Postgraduate Teacher Training: Art and Design course in the late 1980s he championed experiment over predictability. Drawing on his experience he advocated ‘worst books’ over ‘best books’ and ‘failure’ as the foundation for improvement. A considerable benefit in having an examiner from outside of the specialist field was the wisdom and common sense that he brought to the task. An unorthodox and inspirational teacher he valued challenge and paradox in his approach to ‘good teaching’ for English specialists. Defining ‘good practice’ he posited the view that this was ‘often deliberately unreasonable’, ‘experimental’ and those practitioners’ don’t (quite) know what they’re doing’. This slim paperback contains the propositions that supported a principled approach to teaching with the ‘best ‘interactions with pupils being, in his opinion, ‘a kind of mystery’. These intriguing educational encounters were clearly far removed from the ‘teacher-proof materials’ that proliferated then, as now. Paddy was very keen to acknowledge the contribution of art educators to notions of ‘mental play’ and he identified empathy as a reoccurring strength in the trainee teachers’ interaction with pupils. He addressed the child’s perception of ‘school knowledge’ and ‘real knowledge’ and recommended caution in following emerging policy as it may represent just a different way of ‘pulling the puppets’ strings’. Prof. Tom Davies. |
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9. The Unschooled Mind: how children think and how schools should teach, Howard Gardner. Fontana Press 1991
While little could be described as a totally original some ideas can be so convincingly expressed that they impact on accepted conventions associated with teaching and learning. The start of the 1990s saw another contribution from Howard Gardner (Developmental Psychology) whose publications are generally well annotated, highlighted and quickly assimilated into changing perceptions of learning. Education policy in the UK was certainly greatly influenced by those notions of ‘multiple intelligence’ (Frames of Mind) and provision for alternative teaching and learning styles gained momentum in all local education authorities in the UK. Creativity has a firm base in these theories with very readable strategies on nurturing knowledge acquisition along a model of five entry point considerations. Gardner offers significant psychological reasoning for the development of thinking through and understanding the world. Prof. Tom Davies. |
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10. Resources Pack /Teacher’s Book, Robert Clement, Shirley Page, Oliver and Boyd, UK. 1992
Bob Clement was a subject adviser with considerable resource (both personal energy and national influence). Valued in his county of Devon and on the national circuit he had a special place as a senior advocate for the subject. This resource pack is, however less about guiding principles and respecting teachers’ judgment and more about sharing ‘tried and tested’ content in order to ensure a quality of outcome relevant for the then new ‘National Curriculum for Art’. This ‘resource pack’ was one of several identified in my research collection as the content was indicative of the guidance offered at the time. Many keen to provide ‘off-the-shelf’ support for the envisaged interpretation of the statuary orders, publishing companies harnessed expertise to attempt to generate market leading content. It is certainly evident on re-reading much of this training material that the response to the central Government’s direction was to further standardize the approach, albeit with demonstrable successful teacher planning templates. Arguably, we see in much of this support material a growing reluctance to promote the requirement for teachers to think for themselves. Prof. Tom Davies. |
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11. Celebrating Pluralism: Art, Education and Culture, Graeme Chalmers, T he Getty Education Institute, University British Columbia, Vancouver, 1996
This book was bought in New York in 2002 while attending and contributing to the World Congress event organised by the International Society for Education through Art. On that occasion the mood was sombre, following the attack on the World Trade Centre/ Twin Towers the year before, but the emphasis was on business as normal, wherever possible. Understanding difference and exploring different cultural perspectives has always been a major concern for art educators and here the author promotes multiculturalism as an extremely positive dimension of the educational experience. Using art as the vehicle for promoting cross-cultural understanding the publication celebrates racial diversity in Art and the scope for enhancing self-esteem and pride in heritage. In so doing it was seen as a mechanism for addressing any imbalance that may contribute to the dangers of stereotyping, discrimination and racism. While the context is American state schools the philosophy had application elsewhere and throughout the late 1980s-1990s in the UK we experienced a more thoughtful approach to what may contribute to a balanced art education. Drawing on culturally diverse histories and traditions expand the contextual base of understanding cultural expression. Prof. Tom Davies. |
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12. Supporting Assessment for the award of Qualified Teacher Status: Art and Design, exemplification material and video, produced for the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), Prof Tom Davies, Pete Worrall 1998
In 1996 Pete Worrall and I were approached by the Teacher Training Agency, Department for Education, to identify a possible teacher trainee and a school that could be used as the National Exemplification of ‘partnership’ and ‘Qualified Teacher Status’. Fortunate to be asked to provide the UK training materials we worked with the film crew to secure the video editing material and the accompanying textural support. Final copy was approved in 1998 and circulated throughout all training institutions in the UK. While we had relative control over the project the final editing and emphasis was harmonised to achieve the desired match with the other curriculum subjects. Of necessity this bias reinforced the Governments concern for a generic and common emphasis, so material thought distinctive for the particular requirements for Art was removed. On balance this was an interesting exercise in its time but we sensed that the 21st century agenda would depart further from what we thought worth retaining in the discipline. Prof. Tom Davies. |
