Opinions of primary and all-age school teachers concerning art in education

Abstract

This article reports on a preliminary survey to ascertain the opinions of primary and all-age teachers about the part that art and craft activities play in their students' education. Approximately 100 questionnaires were randomly distributed in two parishes in Jamaica--Trelawny and St. Thomas. The questionnaire sought to determine: 1) what positive values or benefits, if any, teachers felt their students derived from involvement in art and craft activities; and 2) what positive relationships teachers felt existed between the art ability and the general school ability of their students. The teachers' opinions seemed to suggest that there are positive values and benefits to be derived from art and craft activities. However, the majority of teachers saw these activities leading mainly to skills acquisition and manipulative development. They did not appear to feel that art and craft developed the mind as well as the eyes and hand. The teachers also felt that it was their average-to-fast students who showed more ability in art and craft rather than their slower students