| Aim | Goals | Philosophy | The Four Strands | The Foundational Objectives | The Components of Arts Education | Saskatchewan Content | Arts Education Special Events |
Goals
The aim of the program can be achieved through meeting the
following goals. By participating in the Arts Education program,
students will:
The Arts Education curriculum has been developed for all students in the province. For this reason, the program is broad in scope and includes a diverse range of arts experiences. "Arts" includes fine arts, popular arts, traditional arts, crafts, commercial arts and functional arts, with the understanding that there is much overlap among these categories.
At various times in the history of Arts Education, different reasons have been given to justify the arts having a place in the classroom. The resulting programs have ranged from the purely creative (letting the child's creativity "unfold" without interference from the teacher) to the purely historical (prescribing a body of content based on history) to the purely academic (focusing the program on the formal elements of the particular arts area -- art for art's sake).
The Saskatchewan Arts Education curriculum includes the benefits of these three approaches, but switches in focus to the aesthetic benefits of an Arts Education. The arts provide a unique "way of knowing" about the world and human experience. In order for students to benefit from this unique way of knowing, the Arts Education program encourages the following:
The Four Strands
To fully appreciate the arts throughout life, students need to
study each of the four strands of the program. It is true that
certain concepts pertain to more than one strand, but each strand
has unique content that can be learned only through specific
studies in that strand. For example, the concept of movement
applies to both dance and music. However, if students study
movement in dance, they cannot be expected to understand movement
as it applies to music. To apply concepts to music, students must
first have a basic understanding of the content of the music
strand.
Each of the arts strands has played a unique role in history and continues to play a unique role in contemporary cultures and societies. Most students are exposed to dance, drama, music and visual art at home through cultural events and the mass media even before they enter school. By extending what the students already know about the four areas, lifelong enjoyment and critical understanding can be achieved.
The Foundational Objectives
The foundational objectives describe the required content for each
strand. The foundational objectives are broad in scope and are
developed over the course of the entire year. Detailed
descriptions of the foundational objectives for each strand are
included in each curriculum guide.
The Saskatchewan Goals of Education state that "a body of knowledge and a range of skills and attitudes are necessary to function in a changing world." The Arts Education curriculum includes the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes in the areas of perception, procedures, conceptual understanding and personal expression. These four categories were taken into consideration when the foundational objectives for each strand were determined.
Three Components of Arts Education
The Arts Education curriculum is structured, through the inclusion
of the three following components, to achieve a balance in focus.
The components are not to be segregated but are intended to be
interwoven throughout the program.
This component includes the exploration, development and expression of ideas in the language of each strand or art form. In order for an activity to be creative, the student must be actively engaged in a critical thinking process. The student will learn where ideas come from, and how ideas can be developed and transformed. Reflection, both ongoing and summative, is an essential part of the creative process and allows students to evaluate their own growth in their creative endeavours.
This component deals with the role of the arts in culture, the development of the arts throughout history and the factors that influence the arts and artists. It includes the historical development of each art form. In addition, it focuses on the arts in contemporary cultures, and includes popular culture and various cross-cultural studies. The intention of this component is to develop in students an understanding that the arts are an integral aspect of living for all people.
This component enables students to respond critically to images, sounds, performances and events in the artistic environment, including the mass media. Students will become willing participants in the interactive process between artist and audience rather than passive consumers of the arts. The curriculum suggests a seven-step process to help teachers guide discussion about works of art (for example, visual art works, musical compositions, or dance and drama performances). The process is intended to move students beyond quick judgment to informed personal interpretation, and has been adapted for each of the four strands. A description of the process appears in the introductory section of each strand in the curriculum guide.
Saskatchewan Content
The curriculum encourages students in this province to explore the
rich and exciting arts community that exists here. It is important
that students become familiar with their own artistic heritage and
surroundings. If they study Saskatchewan arts, they will recognize
themselves, their environment, their concerns and their feelings
expressed in a diverse range of materials, styles and art forms.
They will learn that Saskatchewan artists deal with personal,
cultural, regional and global concerns, and that the artistic
accomplishments in this province are cause for celebration.
Arts Education and Special Events
Often teachers are expected to use the Arts Education program as an opportunity for providing entertainment or decorations for school events. This might result in a conflict for the teacher, as artistic products and presentations are not always the objective or outcome of daily arts lessons. Time required for the planning or presentation of special events such as the Christmas concert should be taken from across the curriculum, not just from Arts Education.
Much of the daily work in Arts Education is process oriented and of a problem-solving nature. While students must be encouraged to take pride in their artistic products, the creative process is equal in importance to the resulting product. It should not be expected that the aim of all students' work is for public presentation, although presentation can provide opportunities to demonstrate acquired learnings to parents, administrators and the public at large.
The foundational objectives of the Arts Education program describe the required content. These objectives require teachers to emphasize the processes used in the arts and to teach the arts within meaningful contexts. To maintain the integrity of the Arts Education program, any artistic products should be an outgrowth of the foundational objectives and classroom activities; otherwise, the students' arts education is being compromised.