Creative Arts and the National Curriculum Statement

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Introduction

Chapter 1 focuses on the background, rationale and motivation for this study. A brief outline of the research problem, the research questions, and the aims of the study are provided, as well as the chosen research methodology.

Background to the study

Before 1994, when South Africa was still under the governance of the apartheid regime, three different systems of education were practiced, namely Bantu Education for black South Africans; Administration for Coloureds; and Administration for Whites (Potgieter & Klopper, 2006:141). In all of these education systems, Music and Visual Art were taught as independent subjects to learners from primary education up to the end of secondary education. At primary school level (Grades 1–7), development in arts subjects were assessed and recorded to indicate the level of progression (with symbols A–F) in each art form, but not for promotion purposes. At secondary school level it was offered as enrichment only.
The education system prior to 1994 was based on Christianity, brought to Africa by Euopean colonists, and it promoted European ideals and contexts. “From the earliest years, music in government and missionary schools was Eurocentric in orientation” (Potgieter & Klopper, 2006:141). In this process, indigenous African arts practices was totally ignored (Herbst, De Wet, & Rijsdijk, 2005). In the former education system for ‘whites’, learners at secondary school level could choose to study one of the two arts disciplines, namely Music and Visual Art.
This was possible since ample provision in terms of resources, facilities and arts teachers, was made for these specialized art forms in former ‘white’ schools by the government of the day. Learners in Bantu and Coloured Education were deprived of this privilege, as the former apartheid government did not provide for the arts to be presented at these schools (Jacobs, 2010). Learners from these schools – who had parents able to afford it and who had access to private tuition – could take up private lessons in arts disciplines to prepare them for tertiary education.
Students wanting to continue their studies in the arts at tertiary level had to select one art form, since the arts were presented as discrete and independent subjects only. This is a notion based on the Western tradition of separatism or discrete arts instead of the merging of the arts which is inherent to African musical arts (Nzewi, 2003:13). However, conservatories where music could be studied at tertiary level were not accessible to non-whites. Being a lecturer for Creative Arts education for several years in Namibia, and since 2015 at the Faculty of Education of the Universtiy of Pretoria, I have a long standing involvement and interest in pre-service teacher education in the arts.

Table of Contents :

• Declaration
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Abstract iii
• List of acronyms and abbreviations
• Notes to the reader
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• 1.Chapter 1: Introduction
  • 1.1 Background to the study
    • 1.1.1 Statement of the research problem
  • 1.2 Aims of the study
  • 1.3 Research questions
  • 1.4 Research methodology
  • 1.5 Delimitations of the study
  • 1.6 Value of the study
  • 1.7Chapter outline
• 2.Chapter 2: Literature review
  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Theoretical framework
    • 2.2.1 The concept of transformation
    • 2.2.2 Transformation as a system of knowledge construction
    • 2.2.3 Three types of learning
  • 2.3 Production or performance based outcomes for Creative Arts education
  • 2.4 Making use of the senses during Arts education
  • 2.5 Models of integrating the arts in education
  • 2.6 A twenty-first century context for Arts education
  • 2.7 Historical developments regarding Arts education in South Africa
  • 2.8 Creative Arts and the National Curriculum Statement
    • 2.8.1 Inclusiveity as a key component of the subject Creative Arts
    • 2.8.2 Scope of Creative Arts in the South African curriculum
    • 2.8.3 Designing issues concerning the Creative Arts in the curriculum
  • 2.9 Pre-service training of arts educators
  • 2.10 Some existing models of Arts integration internationally
    • 2.10.1 Namibia
    • 2.10.2 United States of America
    • 2.10.3 United Kingdom
    • 2.10.4 Canada
    • 2.10.5 New Zealand
    • 2.10.6 Australia
  • 2.11 Challenges in Arts education
  • 2.12 Concluding remarks
• 3.Chapter 3: Research methodology
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Research approach
  • 3.3 Research design
  • 3.4 Sampling strategy
  • 3.5 Data collection techniques
    • 3.5.1 Semi-structured interviews
    • 3.5.2 Focus group interviews
    • 3.5.3 Electronic communication with respondents
    • 3.5.4 Observations
  • 3.6 Trustworthiness
  • 3.7 Ethical considerations
  • 3.8 Data analysis technique
  • 3.9 Summary of thischapter
• 4.Chapter 4: Data analysis, findings and discussion
  • 4.1 Introduction
  • 4.2 Data collection procedures
  • 4.2.1 Research instruments for face-to-face interviews
    • 4.2.1.1 Semi–structured face-to-face interviews with lecturers in Creative Arts
    • 4.2.1.2 Semi–structured face–to–face interviews with pre–service teachers
    • 4.2.1.3 Focus group interviews with pre–service teachers
  • 4.2.2 Observation of Creative Arts lectures
  • 4.2.3 Electronic correspondence
  • 4.2.4 International respondents
  • 4.3 Analysis of data
  • 4.3.1 Responses from lecturers and pre-service students
  • 4.3.1.1 University
    • 4.3.1.2 University
    • 4.3.1.3 University
    • 4.3.1.4 University
    • 4.3.1.5 University
• 5.Chapter 5: Summary, recommendations and conclusion
  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 Summary of the main findings
    • 5.2.1 An arts specific approach
    • 5.2.2 Authorities and lecturer’s views regarding Creative Arts courses
  • 5.3 Recommendations regarding the research topic
  • 5.4 Recommendations for future research
  • 5.5 Conclusion
  • 6. References
  • 7. Appendices

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