Philosophy of Art Education

Shayla Simons
My aspiration to become an art teacher stemmed from a desire to pass on the lessons art
has instilled in myself to others. Art as a whole has served multi-faceted purposes in culture
throughout history, and it continues to do so today. Examining visuals in order to cultivate a
deeper understanding of the world around you, as well as yourself in relation to that world,
stretches the mind regarding previously conceived notions of situations, feelings, ideas, and a
limitless number of other topics, ranging from the most concrete to the elusive abstract. Seeing
multiple perspectives in an infinite number of artworks continuously challenges individuals and
humans as a whole to think critically about the changing world around them. Teaching art,
therefore, is important to me because I know firsthand the advantages that can be gained from
studying the subject. Skills and knowledge gained from creating and responding to artwork, in
addition to the connections one can make to other disciplines and the self through careful
investigation of work, continually help to shape my own life and choices. Ultimately, I want to
be a teacher so I have the ability to instill in my students the same appreciation and
understanding for visual art that I have, as well as the valuable life skills that accompany the
study and making of art.
The theory of art as a human adaptation proposed in the writings of Ellen Dissanayake
has influenced my purpose for teaching. Viewing art as an adaptation needed to better equip
human beings for survival in their constantly changing world frames art education as a means to
further psychological coping abilities and critical thinking skills. Essentially, art-making as an
adaptation has given humans over centuries an outlet for addressing their most pressing
emotional and psychological dilemmas. Addressing these issues through art-making allows a
person to exercise abstract thinking, working over individual complex problems in the mind and
proving subsequent arrived understanding through the physical action of making art; the end
result, a person better equipped to handle the worlds challenges. The basic tenets of Ellen
Dissanayakes child-centered art education theory reshapes the way we think of art itself.
According to Dissanayake (2000):
Human cultures have developed as ways of satisfying evolved individual emotional
needs and motivations. In other words, all cultures have devised ways of dealing with
their members vital concerns the arts are integral parts of this armamentarium The
concept of making (art) special is congruent with a number of valued premises in
contemporary humanistic study The concept provides a general and superordinate term
for a universal human behavior that helps us to understand the different arts in different

societies to be instances of the same underlying propensity. (p. 24)

Essentially, Dissanayake is advocating that while the product of art-making is a useful and
pleasing aspect of culture, it is the act of art-making itself that allows humans as a species to
address different ideas and to progress in various fields, such as reasoning and problem-solving.
The act also helps individuals find their own identity, as well as helps to reassure them on a
psychological basis within their own cultural system, may it be family, group, country, or
otherwise. This in turn contributes to individual and group success and, consequently, prolonging
of a species.
In contrast, subject-centered art education theory focuses less on individuals and more on
curriculum and what varying types of it can accomplish. The basic tenets of Elliot Eisners
subject-centered art education theory include creating art education that develops students in a
way beyond art itself, utilizing art as a means of teaching such content. We mean individuals
who have developed the ideas, the sensibilities, the skills, and the imagination to create work that
is well proportioned, skillfully executed, and imaginative, regardless of the domain in which an
individual works The fine arts have no monopoly on the artistic. What Eisner is advocating
for is art education as a means of transportation from Point A to Point B; to help students get to
that next level of concrete or abstract thinking, to instill in them the abilities needed to
comprehend ideas much bigger than themselves and, in turn, implement said ideas in work that
will change the world.
These two approaches to art education, while different, reinforce each other. While one
defines art-making as a means of improving an individual or group and the other defines artmaking as a necessary act to be included in curriculum to further our childrens futures, both
arrive at the same conclusion; art education is necessary to equip students to the best of our own
abilities. The role of the teacher, then, is to facilitate an environment that gifts students with as
many resources possible to tackle creative problems and gain the skill needed to best navigate
the world we live in today. In response, the role of students is to challenge themselves to think of
new ways to solve creative problems. Art, then, is a facilitator of higher thinking, a method of
teaching how to solve problems when there is no concrete right or wrong answer.
My approach includes combining the two mentioned educational theories using Ellen
Dissanayakes theory of art as reasoning to further Elliot Eisners points. Both theories gravitate
towards art as a means of improving people. Dissanayakes is certainly much more evolutionbased, but its also about progressing as an individual as well as a species by addressing difficult
problems and improving reasoning through art-making. Eisners theory continues this idea by
stating that school systems should learn from art-based curriculum as a means to teach children
the valuable life skills they need to succeed. Essentially, art is all-encompassing; it is seen
throughout cultures throughout history through many different forms. It can be understood, then,
that it serves some biological purpose. Following this line of thought in todays context along
with Eisners theory, I approach teaching art as a necessary facet of modern education, where the

ultimate goal is to not only teach the basics of art theory such as line, shape, and color, but also
to teach students how to utilize their imagination, to experiment, to improvise, and above all, to
improve themselves and their work.
Instructional scaffolding, inspired by Vygotskys observations of apprentices
accompanying their masters, helps push students in the right direction to advance their skillsets.
Both soft and hard scaffolding are instructional theories that are well-suited to the art classroom.
Soft scaffolding offers a gentle nudge in the right direction through conversing with students
who are looking for ideas, providing valuable constructive feedback and criticism. Hard
scaffolding is the more concrete, planned version of providing instruction; the teacher assists
students through learning something new or difficult, while simultaneously asking questions that
facilitate an even higher level of thinking to help students progress. I believe in a combination of
lecture, modeling, and hands-on instruction before really turning students loose with projects.
Interactive lecturing to students, getting their initial engagement in the lesson, gives them an
introduction to what they will learn. Modeling demonstrates different techniques students may
use, and hands-on instruction allows the teacher to give students advice while they are working
with the materials, simultaneously utilizing both soft and hard scaffolding.
Overall, my main objective for my students is for them to learn to utilize art as a vessel
for furthering their ability to think critically and independently; I want to instill in my students a
love for the arts, but also the knowledge that art is multidimensional and has many different uses
to further ones self as well as the world around them. Improving the world we live in and the
thinkers that inhabit it is of the utmost importance in a society that increasingly emphasizes
structure and conformity; art has the capability to drive that free-thinking message home in many
capacities, and I look forward to cultivating this ability in my students.

Bibliography
Bates, J. (2000). Becoming An Art Teacher. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Dissanayake, E. (2008). The Arts After Darwin: Does Art Have an Origin and Adaptive
Function? In World Art Studies: Exploring Concepts and Approaches (pp. 241-263).
Amsterdam: Valiz.
Eisner, E. (2002). What Can Education Learn from the Arts About the Practice of Education?
Retrieved September 30, 2015.
Slavin, R. (1997). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice (5th Ed.). Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.