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13. The Arts Inspected, Office for Standards in Education, Ofsted. Heinemann Publications, 1998
This publication, as most identified in my collection, reflects the emphasis of the time. As I recall the debate about ‘critical studies’ had been overtaken by the debate about the combined ARTS. Across the nation’s school Art departments and faculties there was major reorganisation to best accommodate the National Curriculum requirements. For some the solution was the movement to faculties of ‘Technology’ which would subsume Art and Design. For others the unification of the ARTS offered alternative management strategies. Teachers in these schools had little choice in the matter and what was presented as a preferred opinion was reliant on the advisory agencies. Stronger than advice, the recommendations from the inspectorate (HMI) created real pressure and this report on findings served to prepare, in my opinion, the ground for the research that was being chaired by Ken Robinson as Warwick University. A charismatic and powerful change agent Robinson had always been a supporter of the ‘arts united’ and this direction had huge implications for Art as a free standing discipline. This particular HMI publication provided a slim forerunner to the ‘All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education. National Advisory Committee/Department for Education and Employment, DFEE publication that followed in 1999.Prof. Tom Davies. |
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14. All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education. National Advisory Committee/Department for Education and Employment, 1999, DFEE publications, UKThis lavishly quoted and indeed quotable contribution to the body of knowledge was commissioned by the Department for Education and Employment and produced by the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education under the chairmanship of Professor Ken Robinson. It takes as its task the clarification of creative and cultural learning for both planners and practitioners in the forthcoming millennium. As National Curriculum frameworks had impacted on educational institutions it was salutary to have a publication that addressed the importance of the Arts in general and Art in particular. Too detailed to summarise here it is an essential lens in the scrutiny of a demand for a new balance in the curriculum. Much of this optimism and passion however has been now eclipsed, in this the second decade of the 21st century, but it is hoped that others with influence have access to this report and its recommendations.
“Art is not a diversion or a side issue. It is the most educational of all human activities and a place in which the nature of morality can be seen” Dame Iris Murdoch. Prof. Tom Davies. |
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15. The National Curriculum: Handbook for Secondary Teachers in England. Department of Education and Employment, UK. 1999.
This so-called ‘handbook’ illustrates the centralist, controlled political agenda that was the framework for curriculum change in the 21st century. Disappointing in content and intent it used national provision for pupils as a mechanism to further restrict teachers’ creative interpretation and instigate performance tables for pupils and teachers. While the principle of monitoring quality and securing successful outcomes is commendable the consequence was the over use of prescription and the stultification of pedagogical innovation. Prof. Tom Davies. |
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16. Postgraduate Teacher Education (Art and Design): ‘wising up ‘or ‘dumbing-down’? Tom Davies, International Journal of Art and Design Education, Blackwell Publications UK/USA. Vol 19.3. 2000.
In this published paper I shared a number of themes that were drawn from personal research regarding teachers’ concerns (perceptions of theory and practice) and the implications for those training as specialist teachers. Drawing on a range of Initial Teacher Training institutions it explored the dangers of a growing orthodoxy in pupils’ examination work and how, in the best interest of the subject, this should be challenged. Prof. Tom Davies. |
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17. Disciplines, Fields and Change in Art Education, Editors, Jacquie Swift, Prof John Swift, Tom Davies, ARTicle Press
Birmingham, UK. 2001. ARTicle press was a research initiative created by Prof. John Swift at Birmingham School of Art/Education. Conscious of the wealth and diversity of research interest he thought that this could be a valuable contribution to the broader dissemination of theoretical enquiry. The imprint ‘Broadsheet’ provided short runs of publishable research and staff and students contributed to the body of work. The comparatively local readership served to promote the theory-practice interdependency and reinforced the need for vigilance in pursuing the resources and support for the subject’s best contribution to teaching and learning. Articles were used as part of the major Initial Teacher Education programme at Birmingham and the Professional Development strategies. Further dissemination was assured by the international network of art educators and UK conferences. Prof. Tom Davies. |
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18. Drawing on the Past: reflecting on the future. Tom Davies. International Journal of Art and Design Education, Blackwell Publications UK/USA. Vol 21.3. 2002
This item drew on the historical contribution of Birmingham School of Art and how this legacy had served to inspire new forms of thinking about drawing and the breadth of definition. The paper was drawn from the conference contribution hosted at the requested of Her Majesty’s Inspectors for Art and Design Education (HMI). Art/Design educators from national constituencies were invited by HMI to develop further the central messages at the event. Prof. Tom Davies. |
