Of Mice and Manga: Comics and Graphic Novels in Art Education

A justification for the inclusion of graphic comic art in post-14 art education following the development of graphic novels in Europe, Japan and the USA. in recent years. The case is based on the visual dynamics of the medium and the potential for a critical realism which can be exploited in students’ studio practice and research. Particular attention is given to the Holocaust novel Maus and selected Japanese ‘Manga’ comics which have made an impact in the west, such as Barefoot Gen and Adolf. The article analyses the various innovative visual forms that these graphic novels utilise and considers their effectiveness as a vehicle for practice and research in the institutional art curriculum.     

From comics,graphic novels and picturebooks to fusion texts: a new kid on the block!

There is probably a comic or graphic novel to suit the needs and requirements of all kinds of readers. However, in addition, there is now a new kid on the block! A different kind of book is emerging, one that exhibits some, but not always all, of the characteristics normally thought of as belonging to comics and graphic novels. These books blur the boundaries and include elements of comics, graphic novels and picturebooks, fusing them and creating a category that is a synthesis of aspects from all of them, hence the term, “fusion” texts. This article challenges the view that comics, graphic novels and picturebooks are aimed at a younger and/or immature audience and shows how they are often complex fusion texts dealing with challenging, controversial issues which frequently deliver thought provoking and uncomfortable messages.     

Comics as an educational resource in the teaching of social science: socio-historical commitment and values in Tezuka’s manga / El cómic como recurso educativo en la enseñanza de las ciencias sociales: compromiso socio-histórico y valores en el manga de Tezuka

From the perspective of Dual Coding Theory, comics facilitate comprehension of aspects beyond those of art, language and literature. Some authors and projects such as Manga Edutainment Project to Open New Worlds defend the use of manga (Japanese comics) as an educational resource for the teaching of different subjects, including history, society and culture. After the introduction, the paper carries out a brief review of the role of the teaching of values and socio-historical commitment in the work of Osamu Tezuka (1928–89). Finally, a discussion is carried out of the educational potential of his work Adolf in relation to questions about historical conscience, attention to identity conflicts and emotions, and to the delegitimization of war, leading us to recognize the educational potential of Tezuka’s work and its capacity to construct ethical values.     

The Perfect Marriage? – Language and Art Criticism in the Hong Kong Public Examination Context

Art education in Hong Kong has undergone various changes in response to educational reform. In art assessment, a major change in the Hong Kong New Senior Secondary (NSS) Curriculum is the inclusion of art criticism as a compulsory component of the new public examination. Assessing students’ abilities to interpret art in an art criticism public examination context is a critical issue in Hong Kong because the new senior secondary curriculum and assessment has brought attention to the role of written language in the art examination paper. This means the examination assesses not only students’ abilities to interpret art, but also their language abilities required to respond to art in written form. Since this new mode of assessment of art criticism has been published a number of issues have appeared. Recent studies show that teachers and students perceive this development negatively and they believe that the written format will assess students’ written language abilities rather than their critical abilities. These findings challenge the justification of the new art assessment policy and raise questions about the role of written language in responding to art. This article aims to raise the issue of the marriage between language and art criticism in the Hong Kong public examination context. It argues and examines the relationship of language to art interpretation, reasoning in the assessment, and issues in the public art criticism examination context. The issues addressed in this article provide opportunities for researchers and policy makers to reconsider and refine the new form of examination.     

How graphic novels support reading comprehension strategy development in children

This qualitative case study explored the relationship between comprehension strategies and graphic novels in one Grade 4 classroom, utilising children as informants. The primary research questions related to children's applications of metacognitive reading comprehension strategies as well as the potential for graphic novels to support the students’ development as readers. Findings demonstrated that the children were able to apply two types of strategies to their reading of graphic novels: ‘keys’ that supported form‐specific comprehension strategies and ‘master keys’ that supported more general comprehension strategies that could be applied to other types of texts. Student preferences for graphic novels aligned with their preferences for reading narrative novels and non‐fiction, and did not align with preferences regarding comics or cartoons. Student preferences for reading graphic novels increased throughout the study. Fluent student responses to graphic novels through process drama were identified. Implications of the study involve the employment of graphic novels to support metacognitive strategies for reading and writing as well as to facilitate process drama.     

Portfolio Development in a Secondary Teaching Credential Art Programme

This paper describes portfolio development by pre-service art teachers in a secondary teaching programme at California State University, Los Angeles, USA. A portfolio reflects knowledge, skills, and beliefs about teaching in general and teaching art specifically. It displays one’s learning experiences as they are collected, organized, and refined to provide a critical framework and rich portrayal of one’s best work. The article addresses the questions of what a portfolio in art education is, what its goals are, how one creates a portfolio, how one assesses portfolios once they are developed, what the issues and challenges surrounding the use of portfolios as assessment tools are, and finally, some likely future developments of portfolio assessment in teacher education.     

A Critical Study of Comics

The paper describes a project for Liverpool John Moores University PGCE Art and Design students in which they carried out practical research into comics and graphic novels as part of their preparation for teaching. The students were encouraged to investigate the history of the genre, its formal properties as well as its potential as a vehicle for social realism. The practical task was to prepare a single comic book page design, in the course of which they explored a range of possibilities from imaginative children's stories to serious issues such as illness and abuse. They took the opportunity to investigate the potential of this sequential medium to construct narratives using devices such as sequence, repetition and multiple perspectives as well as the juxtapositions of image and text. The paper contains examples of students' work where the investigations yielded interesting and innovative results.     

线的意味与神韵——论贺友直连环画的中国美学特色

贺友直先生是我国当代著名的连环画作家,在其60多年的漫长创作历生涯中形成了个性鲜明的艺术特色。他通过“从传统中寻找语言”,在积极吸收中国绘画传统的基础上,不断探索富有中国作风、中国气派的连环画艺术规律,创作出许多人民群众喜闻乐见的精品,为当代中国连环画事业做出了巨大贡献,同时又使中国传统绘画艺术在连环画这个具有时代特色的绘画类型中得到发扬光大。     

Developing a School Drawing Policy with Newly Qualified Teachers of Art and Design

This paper describes part of a one–day course run by the authors for Newly Qualified Teachers of art and design (NQTs) planned to develop subject knowledge and assessment expertise. The former was achieved partly through an examination of the roles of drawing in secondary school art and design education. Through review and discussion of their pupils’ drawings, the NQTs developed ideas about the functions and purposes of drawing. These ideas were then refined and some practical work undertaken. The nature of drawing policies for secondary art and design departments was considered. The session concluded with a consideration of ideas that might inform the development of such a drawing policy. Secondly, the authors take up and develop several issues from the NQTs’ ideas and responses. These include reference to participants’ drawing performance and understanding, their judgements about the value of drawing, and to how these may be influenced by factors in art education, including those associated with GCSE and assessment. Finally, reference is made to two distinctive perceptions of drawing in schools and, with reference to the work of Wilson, Hurwitz and Wilson, the authors suggest a strategy and argue for the development of drawing policy and curricula for secondary school art departments. The paper is based on part of a presentation given at the Annual Conference of the NSEAD, York, 2002.     

Interrupting Everyday Life: Public Interventionist Art as Critical Public Pedagogy

In this article we explore two urban interventions art projects in the public sphere designed by our Masters’ students at New York University as they set the stage for a discussion on how urban art interventions can function as a form of critical public pedagogy. We argue that these kinds of public art projects provided a space for dialogue with people on the streets about the increased corporatisation of the public sphere. This kind of urban interventionism, we believe, is needed in art education today, as the public sphere is increasingly being eroded by private interests and it is only by reclaiming the public sphere that we can develop a cultural politics that in turn renews our democracy.     

日系漫画形式中的夸张技巧研究

在现实生活中,我们总会为漫画作品中各类各式的形象所吸引并过目不忘,重要的原因就在于漫画家在创作过程中对“夸张”这一表现技巧的娴熟运用,使得漫画作品中的各种形象特征鲜明、个性强烈,直观效果突出,让观者迅速地通过外在感受到角色的内涵,直至深入人心。我国的漫画艺术发展道路还很漫长,要想进步就有必要学习他国成熟漫画的很多优点,其中就包括绘画形式方面的夸张技巧。世界上有超过60％的动漫作品出自日本,从20世纪90年代开始,日本漫画慢慢地在中国传播开来。日漫画风非常丰富和漂亮,十分贴近当下年轻人的心理需求和审美心态,所以很受读者的欢迎。一个不可否认的事实就是我们这一代人很多都是看着日本漫画成长起来的,熟悉它们并对其有很深厚的感情,所以,应对日本漫画画面中的夸张技巧做深入分析,以供吸收借鉴之用。     

两种美术教学新媒介引发的思考

美术学科具有多元性、多样性的特点，这启发着美术教学不断探索新的媒介。博物馆和纤维艺术作为两种美术教学的新媒介，分别在德国和香港地区受到了关注。在博物馆中进行美术教育的优势在于，能通过对艺术原作直接的感受来提高审美，激发创造热情，在教学中应注重对作品的选择和启发式教学方法；纤维艺术教育的优势在于，技法容易掌握，打破了造型上的局限，能有效的激发创造力，在教学中应将重点放在思维训练方面。这两种新媒体既各有侧重（博物馆中的美术教育强调对于“美”的认识和欣赏；纤维艺术教育则强调对于“术”的感受和表达），又有着内在统一：都注重激发兴趣这一内在驱动力。     

Risky choices: the dilemmas of introducing contemporary art practices into schools

Contemporary art is a popular feature of the cultural landscape in the United Kingdom, and recent research has recommended introducing its practices into state education. Yet these practices are still rare in schools, and this paper argues that the many difficulties that arise from attempts to introduce them are indicative of their socially contingent character, which threatens to disrupt the ideological underpinnings of orthodox school practices. The school art projects ‘Room 13’ and ‘Teaching through contemporary art’ are used as prominent examples of contemporary art practices that support a relatively high degree of learner autonomy within state education, yet are situated outside of government initiatives. Through these projects the paper explores the dilemmas that the participants face, which include questions of learner agency, choice and creative risk, and the effects of regulatory assessment systems upon collaboration, experiment, play and ephemeral learning outcomes. The paper concludes by examining the possibilities of encouraging these more ‘risky’ contemporary practices in schools.     

Changing Play – writing,researching and learning in an early years arts project

ABSTRACT

‘Changing Play’ is an ongoing project initiated by education curators from the Serpentine, a prestigious London art gallery, working with the Portman children’s centre nursery. Viewed by curators as a collaboration between artist, children’s centre staff and parents, and the gallery, Changing Play combines art and action research, and expands the boundaries of the gallery. In the words of one of the education curators, ‘the project is about social change’. It is not for the gallery curators to develop proposals but to ‘co-develop work’. Ethnographic evidence employing narrative, visual arts informed analysis is being used by the gallery to report to funders, inform iterative planning and inform future directions. The paper focuses on methodological questions on ways in which ethnographers might meet artistic projects both during and after being in the ‘field’. It takes the form of a ‘loose parts’ montage which reflects the ways in which the art project was conducted.     

Self‐Assessment in Art Education through a Visual Rubric

A tool for self assessment in secondary art education was developed and tested. The tool includes rubrics for assessing production and reception activities in art education and consists of visual and text rubrics. The criteria in the rubrics are based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Visual Literacy which was developed by The European Network of Visual Literacy (ENViL). The way teachers and students use the rubrics, whether they consider them helpful and to what extent students’ self‐assessments are in line with teacher assessments was studied. It was concluded that teachers work with the rubrics intensively and both students and teachers appreciate its visual form. However, it was found that the agreement between teachers and students about the students’ scores was moderate and needed to improve. The results show that it is untrue that students, or boys in particular, overestimate their own performance in art education. The current study contributes to the development of feasible and valid assessment criteria and instruments in secondary art education.     

Drawing with Children: An Experiment in Assisted Creativity

This report outlines the cognitive accomplishments of young children involved in graphic dialogue with adults. A token of collaborative drawing is examined exhibiting the degree to which adult informed tutoring enabled children in their drawing development, enhanced their motivation and ability in narration and resulted in drawings meaningful to them. The case studies examined are the result of a three‐year research project conducted by undergraduate students of Athens University Department of Early Childhood Education under the supervision of the author of this article. This game‐like pedagogical strategy is inspired by L. Vygotsky's educational philosophy and based on B. & M. Wilson's model of adult–child graphic dialogue. It is understood as a method of instructing drawing enabling children to pass from that which they can achieve alone to that which they can accomplish with adult assistance. This educational approach answers to a call for a more socially accountable art education addressing the child's need to deal with issues he encounters in his everyday life and as such is open to adult and cultural interference. A similar educational approach intends to challenge the long‐standing, non‐interventionist art educational theory also known as ‘child art’ and its contention that a prerequisite for a creative individual is expression free from social and adult influence.     

强化公益主题与环保理念的艺术创新教育

艺术教育应以其敏锐的目光深刻地把握社会发展的现状,走在时代发展的前列,教育和引导学生形成良好的生活习惯和社会公德意识。本文试图探索艺术创新教育如何以公益主题与人文关怀为动因．以专业教学为依托,以创新活动为载体,用鲜活的艺术作品及育人方式,提高学生综合素质．创造社会效益。     

Critical Thinking: Art Criticism as a Tool for Analysing and Evaluating Art,Instructional Practice and Social Justice Issues

Recent educational initiatives have emphasised the importance of fostering critical thinking skills in today's students in order to provide strategies for becoming successful problem solvers throughout life. Other scholars advocate the use of critical thinking skills on the grounds that such tools can be used effectively when considering social justice issues. In this article we make the case that the teaching and learning strategies of analytic art criticism can serve as fundamental tools used not just for the study of art but can also centre critical thinking and analysis in all aspects of the art education curriculum. Our argument begins with a review of literature on the use of art criticism for critical thinking and meaning making. Then we describe our efforts to address critical thinking with our students by using the critical analysis model of art criticism and applying it to learning environments for forming reasoned judgments about teaching and learning, and also as springboard for examining social justice issues. We believe that promoting this form of affectively driven, intellectually guided critical thinking makes our students potentially more successful not just in their encounters with art and education, but also in their lives as human beings beyond school.     

Meaning‐making with colour in multimodal texts: an 11‐year‐old student's purposeful ‘doing’

Colour, a visual element of art and design, is a semiotic mode that is used strategically by sign‐makers to communicate meaning. Understanding the meaning‐making potential of colour can enhance students’ understanding, appreciation, interpretation and composition of multimodal texts. This article features a case study of Anya, an 11‐year‐old student who participated in a classroom‐based research project that explored developing student visual meaning‐making skills and competencies by focusing specifically on a selection of visual elements of art and design in picture books and graphic novels. Excerpts from Anya's interview about her multimodal print text revealed that her intentional use of colour was affected by her participation in the learning opportunities afforded during the explorative study that included overt instruction about making meaning with colour. The semiotic analysis of Anya's use of colour in her multimodal text included a consideration of how the various distinctive features of colour were evident in her work. The article concludes with a discussion of pedagogical and assessment issues associated with teaching students about colour and other visual elements of art and design.     

Crossroads of public art,nature and environmental education

This paper explores how environmental education through ecological art can help students develop creativity, critical thinking, and an arts-informed notion of being a citizen of the world. In illustrating the importance of uncovering the relationship between environmental education and ecological art, the paper examines how this may be used to promote intellectual development, inspiration, and a greater consciousness about social and environmental issues. Through a discussion of examples of classroom projects and processes that integrate art into the curriculum, the paper examines how teachers can use the work of ecological artists to help students learn to ask questions and examine contextual information about ecological art, which are argued to be essential for engagement and motivation. The paper also discusses how infusing ecological art into environmental education can help individuals develop a greater sense of connection with nature both within and beyond the classroom setting.