“I think the arts are as prominent as any subject”: A study of arts education in two Scandinavian schools

Abstract

Abstract:The arts seem to be under pressure in many educational systems, which is demonstrated by a general lack of recognition of aesthetic experience and learning, a lack of emphasis on the arts in education, and often also a lack of fully competent teachers. Despite the challenging situation facing the arts in schools in general, there are exceptions. Some schools do choose to focus on the arts. This article is based on an ethnographic double case study that explored arts education practices in two such Scandinavian schools. The purpose was to examine how education in the arts subjects was carried out in the schools, and how the actors perceived, articulated and legitimated the educational practices in the arts subjects. The case descriptions of the two schools imply that the educational leadership in the schools were of great importance. Further, that the arts are integrated as a natural part of everyday school life, and both schools have taken a holistic approach to education, in which the arts are perceived to involve and contribute to learning in the broadest sense, as well as to the pupils' social and personal growth. Also, the case descriptions show that arts education practices were carried out in a creative, but challenging tension between frames and freedom.

Views of poetry as a competence expressed by students in teacher education

“…They were also asked about what they had learned and Views of poetry as a competence expressed by students in teacher education observed concerning aesthetic expressions, like poetry, during their teacher education and what they thought about using these expressions as future teachers. Then the students were asked what their associated thoughts were when presented with some keywords, which made this an association interview (Christophersen & Ferm Thorgersen, 2015). The keywords were chosen from the syllabus in Swedish (Skolverket, 2011) as well as from a broader context involving both verbal and non-verbal languages (Liberg, 2007).…”

The (female) situated musical body

“…In order to be able to grasp experiences of being a female electric guitarist in ensemble education, associative interviews (Christophersen & Ferm Thorgersen 2015) was chosen, as a way to encourage engaged stories based on different aspects of the specific education. Five female electric guitar playing students who were, or had been, enrolled in upper secondary music specialist programs were interviewed.…”

Lärares uppfattningar om betydelsen av estetiska uttrycksformer i svenskämnet.

“…Urvalskriterierna med en variation av skolor (både med övervägande flerspråkiga elever och med flest svenskspråkiga elever) och lärare (årskurs 1-3 med olika lång erfarenhet som lärare) uppfylldes härmed inom ramen för studien. Intervjuerna som genomfördes under april och maj 2015 var associationsintervjuer (Christophersen & Ferm Thorgersen, 2015) där informanterna fick associera till nyckelord som var inspirerade av Ivanics (2004) diskurser: färdighetsdiskurs, kreativitetsdiskurs, processdiskurs, genrediskurs, diskursen om sociala praktiker, och den sociopolitiska diskursen. Informanterna kunde själva välja ordning för vad de ville tala om och det fanns ingen hierarkisk ordning mellan nyckelorden: Kreativitet, Lgr 11, literacy i och utanför skolan, critical literacy, processer, multimodalitet, genrer, färdigheter och förmågor.…”

“…Det är "de", rektorerna, som bestämt hur "vi", lärarna ska arbeta. Rektorer har betydelse för organisation och lärares arbete och kan påverka skoldiskursen (Christophersen, & Ferm Thorgersen, 2015), men de andra lärarna uttalar sig inte om deras roll under intervjuerna. I Lgr 80 var det sociopolitiska perspektivet tydligt framskrivet, medan det inte är synligt i Lgr 11 (Liberg et al, 2012).…”