| Introduction | Program Aim and Goals | Philosophy | Three Components of Arts Education | Curriculum at a Glance | Saskatchewan and Canadian Content | The Role of Specialized Courses |
Two Minister's advisory committee reports released in the 1980s provided the basis for the development of new policy and curricula in Arts Education in Saskatchewan.
In 1981 the Minister's Advisory Committee on the Fine Arts in Education released its final report with forty-five recommendations for improving the teaching of the arts in Saskatchewan schools. It recommended that a new Arts Education curriculum be developed, and provided guidelines for curriculum development. The committee also recommended that high schools be encouraged to offer specialized credit courses in the arts at the 10, 20 and 30 levels and that the Department of Education establish rigorous standards for specialized studies in the arts.
From 1982 until 1984, the Minister's Curriculum and Instruction Review Advisory Committee undertook a province-wide study of education. The committee's final report, Directions, recommended that aesthetic education be a part of the kindergarten to grade 12 core curriculum for all students.
In fall of 1986, an advisory committee was formed to advise Saskatchewan Education in the areas of dance, drama, music and visual art. Curriculum writers and the committee began to prepare curriculum guides for a four-strand Arts Education program and for specialized arts courses at the 10, 20 and 30 levels.
Visual Art 10, 20 and 30 curriculum requirements were established in response to four main guidelines:
During the development of these curriculum requirements, drafts were taken periodically to the visual art sub-committee of the Arts Education Curriculum Advisory Committee and to the Indian and Métis Education Advisory Committee for review and comment. In addition, the requirements underwent a field review during which comments and suggestions were gathered from visual art specialists throughout the province. These comments and suggestions were incorporated during the revision process.
The Arts Education program has one major aim: to enable students to understand and value arts expressions throughout life. This one aim, which also applies to specialized arts courses, describes the main outcome for students and the primary reason for including Arts Education in the Core Curriculum for all students.
The aim of the Arts Education program can be achieved through meeting the following goals. Students will:
The Saskatchewan Arts Education program provides a unique "way of knowing" about the world and human experience. In order for students to benefit from this unique way of knowing, the program encourages the following:
In addition, the Arts Education program recognizes that artists are thinkers. Their ideas have contributed and continue to contribute to an understanding of human existence. The Arts Education program provides a place for critical and creative thinking and the development of student ideas.
All Saskatchewan Arts Education Courses, including specialized courses, must incorporate the three components of the Arts Education program. These components are the creative/productive component, the cultural/historical component and the critical/responsive component.
Courses are structured, through the inclusion of the three components, to achieve a balance in focus. The three components are not to be segregated but are intended to be interwoven throughout the program. The explanations below are specific to visual art.
The Creative/Productive Component
This component includes the exploration, development and expression of ideas using visual art materials, forms and styles. In order for a project to be creative, the student must be actively engaged in a thinking process. The student will learn where ideas come from and how ideas can be developed and transformed through visual art experiences. Reflection is an essential part of the creative process and allows the students to evaluate their own growth in their creative endeavours.
The Cultural/Historical Component
This component deals with the role of visual art in culture, the development of visual art throughout history, and the factors that influence visual art and artists. This component includes the historical development of visual art but also focuses on visual art in contemporary cultures. Students will explore popular culture and be provided with opportunities for various cross-cultural studies. The intention of this component is to develop students' understanding that visual art is an integral aspect of living for all people.
The Critical/Responsive Component
This component aims to develop students' ability to respond critically to visual art works. Students will become willing participants in the interactive process between the art works and themselves, rather than passive consumers of art works. The curriculum provides the teacher with a suggested method for guiding discussion when presenting students with art works. The method is intended to move students beyond snap judgement to informed personal interpretation.
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Aim: To enable students to understand and value arts expressions throughout life. |
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Modules
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Assessment and Evaluation
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This curriculum document encourages students to explore the rich and exciting visual art works that exist in this province and Canada. It is important that students become familiar with their own artistic heritage and surroundings. If they study Saskatchewan and Canadian visual art and artists, they will recognize themselves, their environment, their concerns and their feelings expressed in many different ways. They will learn that the visual artists of Saskatchewan and Canada deal with personal, cultural, regional and global concerns and that artistic accomplishments in this province and country are cause for celebration.
All students will have taken the four strand Arts Education program at the Elementary and Middle Levels. Both the Arts Education curriculum and specialized courses at the Secondary Level are developed along a continuum of learning that began at the Elementary Level.
Many Secondary Level students will wish to continue their study of the arts through a four strand Arts Education program. Others who have a particular interest in one arts area will choose to further their studies by pursuing 10, 20 and 30 level courses in that one particular area.
There are similarities as well as differences between the visual art strand of the secondary Arts Education program and the Visual Art 10, 20, 30 courses. Similarities are easily identifiable among the objectives of these courses as well as in the approaches taken to teaching and learning in visual art. In both cases, the continuum of learning about and through visual art that began with the Elementary Level program is reflected.
The most obvious difference lies in the time allotments. The visual art strand of the four strand program receives only one quarter of an allotted one hundred hours, while the specialized Visual Art courses receive the entire one hundred hour allotment. The additional time in Visual Art 10, 20, 30 allows students to explore the study of visual art in greater depth.