Art in the Primary School: Towards First Principles

Geoffrey W. Southworth

Vol 1, No 2, 1982

Art in the curriculum

The English primary school curriculum is made up of a variety of subjects and activities. The range of the curriculum is diverse, but not all the subjects are equal since the tradition of the three Rs creates an elite core of the so-called 'basic subjects'–reading, writing and number. One can appreciate the reasons for emphasizing these skills but one has less enthusiasm for the damage which this hierarchy tends to inflict on the other activities. Maths and English, generally speaking, have become the titans of the primary curriculum, towering over all other subjects. Moreover, they dominate the attitudes and assumptions of primary curriculum development.

Art is usually one of the activities associated with primary schooling. In one sense it is true to say that it is no longer necessary to fight for art's inclusion in the curriculum. In another sense, though, this is not true. Because of the pre-eminence of maths and basic language skills, art, along with certain other subjects, has tended to suffer. For one thing it is the misfortune of primary art to be considered as simply a decorative frill to the other so-called more important areas of the curriculum. Art is regarded as an occupation which interests children, keeps them busy and is sometimes mildly therapeutic. However, compared to the main purpose of primary schooling, which is the transmission of basic skills, art is 'non serious'. Art, it is thought, has nothing whatsoever to do with mathematical and linguistic understanding. Indeed, art is often considered to have only one main function, namely, to provide opportunities for children to express themselves. Thus, once art is pigeonholed as 'expression' it becomes typical of such compartmentalizing to regard art as having no intellectual function at all. Art may be 'in' the curriculum but primary art is not given much respect when placed alongside certain 'more important' activities. Art is under-emphasized and it is under-estimated.

The 1978 HMI primary survey said that the general progress of children and their competence in the basic skills appear to benefit where they are involved in a programme of activities that include art, crafts, music, P.E., science, history and geography as well as language, mathematics and religious and moral education (DES 1978: 114, para. 8.29). Insofar as art is concerned we still have to demonstrate the validity of this claim. Primary art specialists need to challenge the attitudes of many of our colleagues in order to reverse the prevailing prejudices which result in art's low standing and diminish and restrict its purpose. Those concerned about primary art need to become more active and convince more teachers of art's real contribution to the child's development. To do this we need to have a fairly clear conception as to the nature of the activity we call art. Only then can we begin to justify the role and scope of art education.

Art's contribution to the child's development

In attempting to identify the nature of the activity we call art it is necessary to ask: what is art's unique contribution to the education of children? Eisner's response is to say that:

The prime value of the arts in education lies in the unique contributions it makes to the individual's experience with and understanding of the world. The visual arts deal with an aspect of human consciousness that no other field touches on; the aesthetic contemplation of visual form. (Eisner 1972: 9)

Eisner demonstrates that the fundamental nature of the activity is concerned with visual form and this is widely accepted by the common use of art's alternative title, namely visual education. However, Eisner's statement also suggests certain other aspects of art education. For one thing it is noted that art involves the individual's experience with the world. Art education is implicitly concerned with individuals and a regard for individuality. Another thing which is embodied in Eisner's thinking is the notion that the visual arts deal with an aspect of human consciousness. This suggests that consciousness is comprised of a number of aspects that consciousness is not singular or monolithic but, rather, that it is broad and made up of a variety of areas of awareness. Such a view is supported by Hirst's idea of forms of knowledge (Hirst 1974).

It is therefore possible to say that Eisner raises three areas of attention: (1) the visual aspect of art education; (2) individuality; (3) human consciousness. Each makes significant contributions to the nature and role of art education and each needs to be examined.

The visual aspect

As human beings we have a variety of symbol systems at our disposal and in some way or another each of these systems is a mode of understanding. Art is primarily a visual mode, although this...