Within the ever-changing landscape of adult education, I teach Art and from these experiences this research rational has emerged. Validated by Fetac, and previously NCVA, the courses on which I teach are filled by a broad spectrum of society, and course contents flex and bend to adapt to learners needs and intentions. Sometimes, these changes will manifest quickly in response to the level of prior knowledge in a class group or to a particular demographic group and often, in my role as a vocational teacher our curriculum meets the needs of local labour markets. All of the courses provided in CTI Senior College, are balanced on the fulcrum of consumer education; all are subject to numbers, which brings its own set of complications. My artwork explores notions of concealment and restriction, in both outlook, creativity and domestic settings, and parallels can be drawn with socioeconomic barriers among others that prevent learners accessing education over their life time. In casting this research against the backdrop of 'gesamtkunstwerk' and the mixed methodologies of evidence-based research that is scientific, and qualitative, interpretative, action-based inquiry, I hope to enrich and inform my own work and teaching.
Participation, Profiles and Democracy in Art Education.Curriculum, standards and individuals.
November 28th 2011
Gesamtkunstwerk: First popularised by the German composer Richard Wagner, the concept of a constantly growing universal, collaborative work of art must have seemed outlandish and indeed fanciful and futuristic to the 19th century readers of his essays, 'Art & Revolution' and again in The Art of the Future' in 1849. Against the backdrop of Web 2:0, it could be argued that the concept has manifest. An exhibition that shares this title by the graphic artist, Artemio, in Mexico City, displays snowflakes of guns, weapons and machetes registering a darker note in the opera of original, universal artwork.
Curriculum and choice
Similar undercurrents exist in contemporary education, in her book, 'The Death & life of the great American School System', Diane Ratvitch looks to chart the rise of universal and cohesive responses to education. Ratvitch analyzes the imperious role played by the super-sized private funders of school reform, calling for the 'rescue' of the curriculum from what she describes as the 'culture wars' and the setting of a rigourous 'statewide, or nationwide standard of content'. Throughout the revised and expanded 2010 edition Ratvitch's impatience with choice and intolerance of 'education that is not personally transformative' is palpable. Raising the issues of curriculum choice and the market forces that compel them, (particularly refferencing the american Charter School) she turns the spotlight on policymakers. 'Anyone who is a policy maker aspires to be a policymaker, or wants to influence policymakers must engage seeing 'like a state', it is inevitable. Policymaking requires one to make decisions that affect people's lives without their having a chance to cast a vote'.
Intentions vs delivery
Fenwick English is described on Wikipedia as the 'father' and pioneer of the curriculum audit, which he described as 'the content taught and the amount of time spent teaching it'. This view seemed to have evolved from the concept that the quantity of instructional time affects student achievement and that curricular decisions should be based on accurate information not opinions. A curriculum audit is related to curriculum mapping but seems to center more on what is actually taught rather than what Jacobs describes some curricula as , 'well intentioned works of fiction'. Curriculum mapping evolved in the 1990's and was largely broadened and deepened by the work of Heidi Hayes Jacobs. Firmly set in empirical traditions of educational research, it appears teacher-centred research. The objectives of which are: aligning curricula standards and wher possible assessments, building staff capacity, developing relationships, communicating with stakeholders and using resources effectively. (Clough, James & Witcher, 1996). In a study of effective practices in Virginia's Schools Educators perspectives of Effective Practices, in 2000, curriculum mapping and curriculum alignment were one of 16 effective practices highlighted across 22 schools. a further feature of curriculum mapping is comparison of curriculum maps from previous years, that may be carried out at the end of a programme or upon assessment. In addition curriculum mapping seeks to review the effectiveness of instruction as an ongoing bench-marking process that is set against the learner profile with the aim of building staff capacity. Rather than examining the curriculum as a static entity but as a living, breathing and evolving work, allows for flexibility and experimentation from year to year in the PLC sector. Curriculum mapping as outlined by Heidi Hayes Jacobs is certainly student orientated, in so far as the objective is to provide instruction in a time efficient and effective manner. The lynch pin of effective curriculum mapping seems to be its relationship to time: the quantity of time but also the placement of the curriculum in the present. Curricula are commonly described in terms of time; adjectives like 'old' and 'new', also attach a value or usefulness to them that may not always be correct. The concept of the reflective practitioner/teacher is more closely aligned to mapping, where the teacher, keeps a record of their teaching experiences upon which they systematically reflect and may use in similar settings, which was so effectively illustrated by Sue Corcoran in Cop. However, perhaps there is a further step that encompasses an more overall sense of education in the universal context so passionately advocated by Joseph Beuys: reflexivity. The reflexive discourse encourages teachers, not only to reflect critically on everyday experiences in themselves but 'to contextualize these experiences within previous experiences as a way of developing a more effective teaching strategies. ( Alex Moore 2000).
Fenwick English is described on Wikipedia as the 'father' and pioneer of the curriculum audit, which he described as 'the content taught and the amount of time spent teaching it'. This view seemed to have evolved from the concept that the quantity of instructional time affects student achievement and that curricular decisions should be based on accurate information not opinions. A curriculum audit is related to curriculum mapping but seems to center more on what is actually taught rather than what Jacobs describes some curricula as , 'well intentioned works of fiction'. Curriculum mapping evolved in the 1990's and was largely broadened and deepened by the work of Heidi Hayes Jacobs. Firmly set in empirical traditions of educational research, it appears teacher-centred research. The objectives of which are: aligning curricula standards and wher possible assessments, building staff capacity, developing relationships, communicating with stakeholders and using resources effectively. (Clough, James & Witcher, 1996). In a study of effective practices in Virginia's Schools Educators perspectives of Effective Practices, in 2000, curriculum mapping and curriculum alignment were one of 16 effective practices highlighted across 22 schools. a further feature of curriculum mapping is comparison of curriculum maps from previous years, that may be carried out at the end of a programme or upon assessment. In addition curriculum mapping seeks to review the effectiveness of instruction as an ongoing bench-marking process that is set against the learner profile with the aim of building staff capacity. Rather than examining the curriculum as a static entity but as a living, breathing and evolving work, allows for flexibility and experimentation from year to year in the PLC sector. Curriculum mapping as outlined by Heidi Hayes Jacobs is certainly student orientated, in so far as the objective is to provide instruction in a time efficient and effective manner. The lynch pin of effective curriculum mapping seems to be its relationship to time: the quantity of time but also the placement of the curriculum in the present. Curricula are commonly described in terms of time; adjectives like 'old' and 'new', also attach a value or usefulness to them that may not always be correct. The concept of the reflective practitioner/teacher is more closely aligned to mapping, where the teacher, keeps a record of their teaching experiences upon which they systematically reflect and may use in similar settings, which was so effectively illustrated by Sue Corcoran in Cop. However, perhaps there is a further step that encompasses an more overall sense of education in the universal context so passionately advocated by Joseph Beuys: reflexivity. The reflexive discourse encourages teachers, not only to reflect critically on everyday experiences in themselves but 'to contextualize these experiences within previous experiences as a way of developing a more effective teaching strategies. ( Alex Moore 2000).
