Preface: ‘Anything You Can Do’: Proposals for Lesbian and Gay Art Education

This preface introduces the themes of this special edition: the contribution that lesbian and gay individuals make to the development of the discipline. These include a non‐heteronormative perspective, and an emphasis on irony within parody. Second, this preface considers the experience of LGBT students and teachers dealing with sexuality within the school curriculum. Third, the current approach to civil rights within the school is considered especially in the context of homophobia, bullying and physical danger. Finally, areas of specifc curriculum advance are noted particularly within art history, media education and teacher education. Irving Berlin's witty little song ‘Anything you can do’ [ 1 ] epitomises the taken‐for‐granted assumption that relationships between people are always adversarial and that personal achievement always involves outperforming the opponent. The song title in full runs ‘Anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you.’ The second stanza underlines the theme ‘I'm superior, you're inferior, I'm the big attraction you're the small.’ The rest of the song develops the theme but it constantly expands a tongue‐in‐cheek ironic infection. The lyrics serve to subtly undermine the master narrative by showing the ridiculousness of empty boastfulness. I suggest that there is a strong analogy between this adversarial parody and that between ‘heteronormative’ culture [ 2 ] and its disdain for gay perspectives and experience [ 3 ]. One of the major propositions in this collection is that lesbian, gay, bisexual and trangender (‘LGBT’ throughout this volume) people bring great benefits to all in our efforts to explore and develop an increasingly inclusive art and design agenda [ 4 ]. My argument in this introduction has four interrelated themes. First, I outline what I think are the legitimate claims that LGBT people can make for their contribution to the development of the discipline. It is important to start here because, as will be come clear, there are several significant issues that LGBT teachers and students have to face in education. These issues should not distract us from the positive impact we have made throughout the art and design curriculum. The second theme is one that I take from Andrew Sullivan's title Virtually Normal [ 5 ]. The ambiguity built into his oxymoronic title is worth exploration. The LGBT experience of growing up has particular paradoxical features that are singular and significant. I consider some of these features for their salience to the general argument. The third theme that is particularly pertinent internationally is what is termed a civil rights agenda. Many educators are using this concept as a basic building block in the construction of an equality programme into which LGBT fits as a significant beneficiary. It is in this context that the issue of bullying is considered. Undeniably, bullying is a major issue confronting probably every young LGBT person on a regular basis. But I, and other authors in the collection, argue that relying solely on this equal rights approach has some major drawbacks in the promotion of an LGBT agenda. The fourth theme, which is developed by the authors of the papers throughout this volume, is that a specifc LGBT art and design curriculum can be developed away from a civil rights approach. This curriculum can provide what we all lack currently, material that reflects and expands the learning of LGBT students, provides opportunities for Continuing Professional Development for LGBT and LGBT‐friendly staff, and thus enriches the whole art and design curriculum by embracing new ideas from within and outside the discipline. At the moment there is a gaping empty space in the art and design curriculum that badly needs flling. I conclude this introduction by considering such innovation in relation to Swift and Steers' Manifesto for Art in Schools which still seems to me an excellent benchmark against which to measure change and progress [ 6 ].     

Does classic school curriculum contribute to morality? Integrating school curriculum with moral and intellectual education

Phillip Cam recently published a study on the separation between the teaching and learning of classic school curriculum (CSC) on the one hand and morality on the other. He suggests an approach to integrate them. The goal of this article was to suggest a complementary alternative approach, to Cam’s. Based on a MacIntyrean paradigm, I argue that seeing the CSC (such as math, biology, literature and history) as ‘practices’ would also enable that integration. This approach differs from the one proposed by Cam, since it preserves the structure of the CSC. Nevertheless, I will demonstrate how this approach leads to a number of changes in the formation, teaching and learning of school curriculum. As background, I will briefly describe R.S. Peters’ attempt to find an internal justification for the teaching and learning of school curriculum and point to some weaknesses it contains. My proposal can be understood as deriving from the same principle, of another famous educational initiative, Mortimer Adler’s ‘Great Book Project’. Toward the end of the article, I will demonstrate why Adler’s project differs from mine, and why it does not meet the goal of integrating learning school curriculum with moral education.     

A Lifeworld Critique of ‘Nature’ in the Taiwanese Curriculum: A perspective derived from Husserl and Merleau‐Ponty

Learning about ‘nature’ has particular significance for education because the idea of nature is an important source of inspiring meaning‐rich experience and creation. In order to have meaningful experiences in learning and living, this paper argues for a personal subject‐related lifeworld approach to the learning of ‘nature’. Many authors claim that the lifeworld‐led learning approach helps to enrich educational experience. However, there can be various interpretations of the lifeworld approach, as the concept of lifeworld is diversely understood. This paper proposes a personal, subject‐related lifeworld approach from a Husserlian‐Merleau‐Pontian perspective. I suggest that it holds great potential for improving our current curriculum which suffers from meaning‐impoverishment. This paper comprises the following parts: the elucidation of the lifeworld approach to learning, a demonstration of the flaws of current curricula by discussing and analysing the Taiwanese curriculum guidelines, and an exposition of the contribution of the Husserlian‐Merleau‐Pontian lifeworld approach towards improving our current curriculum.     

From ‘consulting pupils’ to ‘pupils as researchers’: a situated case narrative

Schools in England are now being encouraged to ‘personalise’ the curriculum and to consult students about teaching and learning. This article reports on an evaluation of one high school which is working hard to increase student subject choice, introduce integrated curriculum in the middle years and to improve teaching and learning while maintaining a commitment to inclusive and equitable comprehensive education. The authors worked with a small group of students as consultants to develop a ‘student's‐eye’ set of evaluative categories in a school‐wide student survey. They also conducted teacher, student and governor interviews, lesson and meeting observations, and student ‘mind‐mapping’ exercises. In this article, in the light of the findings, the authors discuss the processes they used to work jointly with the student research team, and how they moved from pupils‐as‐consultants to pupils‐as‐researchers, a potentially more transformative/disruptive practice. They query the notion of ‘authentic student voice’ and show it as discursive and heterogeneous: they thus suggest that both a standards and a rights framings of student voice must be regarded critically.     

The quality of writing 7–13

This article examines the implications of the Primary Strategy for primary school teachers. It focuses on the framework for learning and teaching across the curriculum (DfES, 2003, Chapter 3 ‘Excellent primary teaching’) and questions whether the new framework is in fact a return to a ‘whole’ curriculum approach. The key issues explored are: curriculum and assessment; and sharing practice; all of which present challenges for primary teachers. The downward impact of curriculum and assessment issues on the early years is considered.     

Curriculum integration in arts education: connecting multiple art forms through the idea of ‘space’

Arts integration research has focused on documenting how the teaching of specific art forms can be integrated with ‘core’ academic subject matters (e.g. science, mathematics and literacy). However, the question of how the teaching of multiple art forms themselves can be integrated in schools remains to be explored by educational researchers. This paper draws on data collected at a secondary school in Singapore. The case study analyses how three art teachers, using the idea of ‘space’ as organizing theme, implemented a module of instruction that connected concepts and processes from a variety of art forms (including dance, music, drama and visual arts). We present evidence from curriculum materials, lesson plans, student–teacher classroom interactions and students’ productions. Students were able to reflect upon the importance of space within the arts, analyse the points of convergence and divergence among several art forms, experiment with space and create their own interdisciplinary performances. Our ultimate aim is to provide insights that might inspire art teachers in designing instructional units focused on ‘big ideas’. We suggest that allowing more curricular freedom and providing teachers with adequate structures for interdisciplinary collaboration are key to achieving meaningful levels of integration.     

Learning How to Learn,Art Education and the ‘Background’

This paper describes the conditions that make learning how to learn in art possible. Rather than privileging risk-taking or the playfulness of primary process thinking, I will use a Wittgensteinian understanding of mind to argue against this approach in favour of one that raises students’ awareness of the cultural and cognitive ‘backgrounds’ (forms of life and language games) against which our individual actions and risks are framed and understood. Instead of building art education on a metaphysical view of the self, this paper will advocate a social constructivist approach to curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to create a cognitive map for ‘the background’ of art. When these three are practised in a mutual way they connect individual minds to the resources or mind of culture which, in turn, makes lifelong learning possible, reclaiming the idea of art-for-life’s sake.     

Teaching strategies for moral education: a review

We present the results of a literature review of studies on teaching strategies for moral education in secondary schools (1995–2003). The majority of the studies focus on the ‘what’ and ‘why’, i.e. the objectives, of curriculum‐oriented moral education. Attention to the instructional formats for enhancing the prosocial and moral development of students (the ‘how’) is relatively sparse. Most studies on teaching strategies for moral education recommend a problem‐based approach to instruction whereby students work in small groups. This approach gives room for dialogue and interaction between students, which is considered to be crucial for their moral and prosocial development. Other studies discuss more specific teaching methods, such as drama and service learning. We conclude that the theoretical discourses on moral education are not reflected on the practice of curriculum‐oriented moral education and its effects on students’ learning outcomes. We recommend that future research on curriculum‐oriented moral education includes the subject areas encompassing moral issues and the social differences between students.     

Environmental Education in Primary and Secondary Schools in Korea: current developments and future agendas

In the past, environmental education in Korea was not effective, in part at least, because it was not dealt with as an independent subject. However, in the Sixth Curriculum for schools in Korea, which will take effect from 1995, ‘Environment’ subject is included as an optional course for junior high school students. This paper gives details of the curriculum of ‘Environment’ subject and describes the development of the course textbook which focuses on values and attitude change. The paper also discusses Ministry of Education plans for teacher education and training courses for teachers of the new subject. Despite the current lack of qualified teachers for the subject and the fact that it is not mandatory, the introduction of the ‘Environment’ subject in the national curriculum is seen to be of great significance. With rapidly increasing national concern about environmental issues, and with an increasing number of schools teaching ‘Environment’ subject, it is expected that environmental education in Korea will move more efficiently and profoundly towards realizing its ultimate purpose.     

Philosophy across the Curriculum and the Question of Teacher Capacity; Or,What Is Philosophy and Who Can Teach It?

Pre‐college philosophy has proliferated greatly over the last few decades, including in the form of ‘philosophy across the curriculum’. However, there has been very little sustained examination of the nature of philosophy as a subject relative to other standard pre‐college subjects and the kinds of expertise an effective philosophy teacher at this level should possess. At face value, the minimal academic preparation expected for competence in secondary philosophy instruction, compared to the high standards for teaching other subjects, raises questions and concerns. In this paper I make some provisional observations about the subject of philosophy and how it is taught from p4c through to the post‐secondary level. I begin by examining the concept of ‘philosophy across the curriculum’ and offer a working analysis of the main features of philosophy's form and content that enable us to determine its relevance to, and difference from, other subjects. Next, I examine and critique what I term the ‘populist’ conception of philosophy, which correlates to lower expectations of teacher training, and use my own experience of teaching philosophy across the curriculum to shed doubt on the viability of this approach. In the third section I consider what I term the ‘autonomous’ conception of philosophy, which correlates to more stringent expectations of teacher capacity, and explain why it is preferable to the populist conception with some qualifications. I conclude by reflecting on how philosophy compares to other subjects that are advanced cross‐curricularly and argue for more training of high school philosophy teachers.     

The Politics of Pragmatism: Some Issues in the Teaching of Literature in Singapore

This essay considers the place of the secondary school literature curriculum in Singapore within the framework of ‘Thinking Schools, Learning Nation’ (TSLN), the vision set out by the Ministry of Education in 1997, and suggests alternative paths for the subject in the light of a more politicised approach towards reading texts proposed by critical literacy.     

The arts in the Aotearoa New Zealand Curriculum: challenges for educating teachers in contemporary conditions

In this paper, preliminary comments are made about The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum document questioning its framing of the arts ‘disciplines’. The notion of the ‘the arts’, which appears to take its meaning from the generic term ‘art’ that directs us to class together music, painting, visual art, dance and other diverse activities, is examined. The idea of ‘literacies’ in the arts is questioned, as well as the ideological nature of representing the arts as ‘essential skills’. Suggestions are made concerning the identity and role of educators in the arts areas of the curriculum. I then take strands within the Arts curriculum document (‘Communicating and interpreting in the arts’ and ‘The arts in context’) and scrutinize these in terms of the possibilities for a critical interpretation of pedagogy and what I believe to be our obligations as teacher educators within a pre-service programme in university setting.     

Postmodern Feminisms: Problematic Paradigms

In 1995 Frances Borzello claimed that feminist art criticism had ‘just touched the national curriculum with its fingertips.’ [1] Over the last five years constant challenges to curriculum provision have all but resulted in a loss of contact as educators pull back into ‘safe’ places and away from the edges where feminist art practices were just starting to take hold. Clinging to ‘safe’ practices has meant the affirmation of formalist modernist orthodoxies which have fostered a restricted canonical patriarchal approach to the subject. The recent publication of the ‘Manifesto for Art’ 1999 which calls for a postmodern view of art with an emphasis on ‘difference, plurality and independence of mind’ can, all too easily, be read as a panacea ‘a post modern solution to a postmodern situation.’ [2] However, embracing postmodern pluralism creates as many problems as it solves. Postmodernism often renders any feminist intervention superfluous in spite of new feminist art criticisms’ insistence that the politics of feminism remains a vital element of both artistic practice and critical discourse. While agreeing that art education urgently needs to review its complicity with high Modernist values, we suggest that there are dangers in uncritically accepting a postmodern view of education. Surely postmodernism renders any blueprint for change problematic. This paper does not provide answers, rather it raises questions in order to encourage teachers to reflect upon existing practices with a view to identifying what is still missing and why. It sets out to interrogate implications for pedagogy, educational policy and social transformation of the contemporary academic preoccupation with postmodernism.     

Popular Culture goes to school in Hong Kong: a Language Arts curriculum on revolutionary road?

English teaching and learning has taken an interesting shift in Hong Kong schools with the implementation of the New Senior Secondary (NSS) curriculum under the ‘334’ education reform. Situating the paper within the broader considerations of the intersection of Cultural Studies and English teaching, this paper examines the challenges and prospects of teaching the new Language Arts elective called Learning English through Popular Culture module. It is argued that while the module endeavours to connect and motivate Hong Kong students to learn English through popular culture materials, the official curriculum and schemes of work, however, narrowly articulate the teaching of popular culture texts conceived as ‘text-types’. Such a formulaic approach to using popular culture in the classroom is limiting and locks students into a procedural way of ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ popular cultural texts. The paper concludes by offering some ways forward that might deliver what is otherwise a revolutionary and innovative curriculum. Beyond the specific case of Hong Kong, the curriculum challenge discussed is instructive for other education systems and curriculum scholars looking to develop new pedagogies from the intersecting disciplines of Cultural Studies and English teaching.     

Ethos of Ambiguity: Artist Teachers and the Transparency Exclusion Paradox

Addressing changes in conditions for practitioners that can be related to education policy in England and Wales since 2010, this article presents issues faced by teachers of art and design and their responses in practice. The current insistence on transparency in education emerges through policy that audits performativity, in a limiting skills bank. Practitioners in art and design are particularly affected by what I term ‘the transparency‐exclusion paradox’, as they battle to maintain the subject area and are ‘othered’ by the English Baccalaureate and Progress 8. I will discuss an emergent ‘ethos of ambiguity’ among artist‐teachers and contemporary artists, with a theoretical basis informed by Beauvoir and Foucault. Empirical data from research participants will be evidenced, to explore strategies of response in inclusive social practice. This article adds to literature that considers the effects of policy in implementation and it contributes to research on creative expressions of ambiguity in the arts.     

Creativity: Delusions,Realities, Opportunities and Challenges

This article considers the background and provisions of the New Secondary Curriculum in England. Attention is drawn to the extent of the policy changes by comparing the ten‐year old demands of the Swift & Steers ‘Manifesto for art in schools’ (1999) with the new legislation and guidance. In particular, while there is strong support for overdue recognition of the importance of creativity in the curriculum it is argued that its inclusion remains problematic because the ‘risky thinking’ involved will be difficult in the many schools that have become risk averse in the face of ever increasing accountability. Nevertheless, there are very significant opportunities for art and design provided a number of key challenges are faced and acted upon.     

In Favour of Ethics Education,Against Religious Education

The questions that I address are: ‘What ought to become of Religious Education (RE)?’ and ‘To what extent do non‐religious beliefs belong in RE?’ I will argue that there are compelling reasons for studying religious and non‐religious views alongside each other, but that there are serious objections to doing this in the context of any subject called ‘religious education’ and that a new compulsory, national curriculum subject called Ethics would be an appropriate context for such study.     

An exploration of primary school teachers' understanding of art and the place of art in the primary school curriculum

Some research within developmental psychology shows a slow period of development in children's expressive drawings during the primary school years. Developmental researchers suggest that ‘educational factors’ could contribute to this dip in development but have not explored these factors. This study explores links between educational policy – in terms of the English National Curriculum – and the development of expression in child art. A Foucauldian style analysis of interviews is presented which investigates how ten primary school teachers working in two Staffordshire schools approach art. A specific concern is to explore how different understandings of art and teaching practices are shaped and managed by the curriculum. This allows links between the demands of the curriculum and the observed dip in expressive drawing development to be investigated.     

Primary humanities: a perspective from Wales

ABSTRACT

How the humanities subjects are represented in primary schools in Wales has been influenced by curriculum developments including Curriculum Cymraeg, the Skills Framework and the Foundation Phase. A central tenet of Welsh Government policy has been to actively encourage schools to promote a sense of ‘Welshness’ through curriculum content, pedagogies and school policies. In addition, early years’ education has been extended to 5–7-year olds and at Key Stage 2 skills and competencies are priorities, with subject content providing the context for learning. In 2015, the Donaldson Review’s recommendations were fully implemented in the Government’s plans for a new 3–16 Curriculum for Wales to be fully implemented by 2021. Humanities became one of six Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE) with the curriculum content to be developed by an all-Wales partnership team which includes the Pioneer Schools’ network. This article traces the post devolution build-up to this latest ‘radical change’. It suggests that for stakeholders developing the humanities curriculum the challenge will be considering how the key concepts of different ‘subject pedagogies’ are represented, while fulfilling the Government’s emphasis on early years’ pedagogy and its focus on a competency-led curriculum.     

Philosophy for Children,Values Education and the Inquiring Society

Abstract

How can school education best bring about moral improvement? Socrates believed that the unexamined life was not worth living and that the philosophical examination of life required a collaborative inquiry. Today, our society relegates responsibility for values to the personal sphere rather than the social one. I will argue that, overall, we need to give more emphasis to collaboration and inquiry rather than pitting students against each other and focusing too much attention on ‘teaching that’ instead of ‘teaching how’. I will argue that we need to include philosophy in the curriculum throughout the school years, and teach it through a collaborative inquiry which enables children to participate in an open society subject to reason. Such collaborative inquiry integrates personal responsibility with social values more effectively than sectarian and didactic religious education.