Art and Craft Higher Education in Pakistan - Literature review Example

ART AND CRAFT HIGHER EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN By Art and Craft Higher Education in Pakistan Art and craft entails skills of making objects such as decorations and pottery by hand. It is important to note that art and craft is heavily dependent on hands utilization and this forms its main trademark. Over the years, education systems across the globe have incorporated arts and crafts in their curricula at all levels including higher learning institutions. However, learning in arts and crafts does not necessarily take place within formal settings such as schools but also informally (Cox, 2007). In fact, informal learning is arguably the largest platform of passing art and craft knowledge. Additionally, advancements in arts and crafts field have variations in different parts of the world. This can be attributed to the fact that art and craft activities are heavily dependent on cultural practices in a given area. According to Lees-Maffei and Sandino, “the principles that define the differences and relations between design, art and craft are subject to historical change and vary regionally and culturally” (2004, p.1). However, formal settings may incorporate different aspects of art and craft from different regions. This is in relation to some of the common arts such as music and dance. There have been some major developments in art and craft and increased applications to solve different issues either directly related or indirect. To get a clear picture of these developments it is more appropriate to focus on one particular area or country with rich applications of art and craft such as Pakistan. Since the establishment of Pakistan as a republic in 1947, there have been many transformations and developments in the art and craft field. For example, the first five-year plan for education focused on improving creativity through art and craft (Perveen, 2011, p. 3). This prompted the government to employ art and craft professionals to ensure proper learning. However, Perveen’s article mainly focuses on primary level art and craft rather than its developments at higher education level. Nevertheless, it has contributed in evaluating the development and incorporation of art and craft in higher education by the Pakistan government. Additionally, there was adoption of a conceptual and physical platform by various institutions in a bid to support modern arts. According to Tarar major changes were experienced in 1950s following an upgrade of the Mayo School of Arts into the National College of Arts (2008, p.1). This increased awareness and focus on art and craft as a subject and course in the Pakistan education system. Additionally, distinction between art and craft further contributed to incorporation of arts in other seemingly unrelated sectors such as economy. This distinction between art and craft was based on the view that these are actually two unrelated subjects. Amid increased developments, there was incorporation of fine arts to replace art, which now comprised of pottery design, Commercial arts, and interior design among others (Tarar, 2008, p.4). This transformation made fine arts seem to lie more on modernity while craft lied more on traditional practices. Tarar provides important insight on the development of art and craft along with the distinction between art and craft. Additionally, there is a reflection of evolvement of art into fine arts while craft is seemingly dormant. This dormancy has contributed greatly to the view of craft as inferior compared to either art or design either through the scopes of economic value or intellectual activity (Niedderer and Townsend, p.3). Incorporation of art and craft in higher education system has gained even more popularity in the modern day as need for education increases to solve various emerging issues. In Pakistan there has been increased focus on improving education levels to address various prevalent challenges ranging from social to political and economic. As at 2012, Pakistan ranked among the bottom 8 in relation to education performance arising from poor education quality (Benz, 2012, p.2). This implies that there is need to improve education standards such as through incorporation of art and craft in the education system. However, art and craft is relatively easy to teach and develop since it already has a foundation in the country. Through Benz’s contribution it is possible to analyze education levels in Pakistan. This is important because effective incorporation of art and craft in the education system requires presence of a well-established education system. Moreover, Benz’s contribution gives a reflection of the general education status in Pakistan hence it is possible to determine the missing links necessary to effectively incorporate art and craft in higher learning level. However, there are some limitations accompanying Benz’s work since it is heavily focused on the private sector rather than the entire education system. Economically, Pakistan faces high poverty rates thereby prompting increased focus on education as a means of poverty eradication. Additionally, there is great focus on reducing the public’s indulgence in unlikable practices such as terrorism and promoting education seems like an effective solution. In fact, a solution to these many challenges facing Pakistan seems to revolve around education improvement especially at higher learning institutions. This is because there is rising need to create a skilled and educated manpower to create better leadership of the country. As such, there has been some collaborations from various agencies such as USAID, which is working closely with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to improve the higher education sector (Khan, Janjua, Naeem, Kayani, 2014, p.2). This implies that higher education levels in Pakistan are rising at high rates following the increased support from foreign agencies. This explains the art and craft focus on higher education, which is a favorable platform for expansion and development. Involvement of USAID among other agencies in higher education is a reflection of joint efforts to improve education levels in Pakistan. As a result, art and craft at higher education level is bound to develop greatly thereby reducing poverty levels due to economic advantages tied to arts. Moreover, incorporation of arts in higher education has been found to be an effective mechanism of reducing violence among the youth (Chandio, Hussain, Khan, Gurlez, 2013). Increased likelihoods of violence can be attributed to the fact that universities are comprised of people from different cultures and backgrounds hence prone to disagree. Additionally, at higher education levels, it is arguably hard to control interay7ictions with some of the external environments that may have negative influences on students such as detrimental politics. However, incorporation of arts in the education system may somewhat yield some positive results. Arts seemingly strike a balance between people with different backgrounds and from different communities hence improving relations between university students. Additionally, most of the art related activities such as music and dance act as great diversions from violence created tensions since they offer an appropriate platform for self-expression (Chandio et al. 2013, p. 2). Creating conducive and peaceful university environments is important since universities are breeding grounds for great leaders. Moreover, peaceful interactions in universities are bound to have a positive effect on the country at large as students enroll and complete their studies consequently joining the corporate world. Furthermore, Metsapelto and Pulkkinen argue that participation in arts increases self-development levels (2011). With this in mind it is accurate to argue that art and craft can be used to improve the learning environment in institutions of higher learning and individual performance. This explains the increased concentration of incorporating art and craft in higher education. In order to effectively teach and impact art and craft knowledge, it is important to invest deeply in teachers. This is in correspondence to Mirza’s arguments that lack of effective input yields incompetent and unskilled students (2003). In this context, input refers to teachers and other professionals charged with the responsibility of impacting art and craft knowledge in institutions. This implies that the quality of results achieved is heavily dependent on the quality of work done to produce those particular results. Efficiency of teachers can be determined by critically examining the skills and teaching methods employed in class (Rahman, Khalil, Jumani, Ajmal, Malik, and Sharif, 2011). This implies that in order to improve education levels in higher learning institutions, it is important to concentrate on improving and developing skills of teachers. This can be done by ensuring that institutions responsible for teacher trainings have appropriate resources. Additionally, there can be evaluations of teacher’s teaching skills regularly to ensure that they conform to the required standards. The field of art and craft is bound to change with time following increased developments in the field and the general modernization. For example, a research showed that students given instructions through modern teaching methods portrayed better performance than those taught using traditional teaching methods (Khurshid and Ansari, 2012). This implies that teaching methods play an important role in shaping the outcome of education. Moreover, teachers need to have more than teaching method to ensure understandability given the diversity of students, cultures and backgrounds in higher learning institutions. Therefore, it is important to integrate art and craft with modern teaching strategies to ensure better performance. Different teaching methods yield different results depending on the subject in play and also the students. Some of the common teaching methods used at higher education level include lectures, demonstrations, and group discussions among others. However, these methods are used for different purposes mainly judging from the mature of the audience. For example, lectures are preferred for students who are active listeners (McKeachie and Svinicki, 2006). Art and craft is a wide field and lectures may be used as a teaching method although they are seemingly limited to theoretical purposes. Art and craft is seemingly more dependent on practical aspects of study hence demonstrations may be considered more favorable. Problem based learning strategy is also an effective teaching method for art and craft. Problem based learning entails student discussions that allow identification of problems whose solutions can then be addressed. This may be done by fellow students or by teachers. Since arts incorporate different cultures and higher learning institutions comprise diverse cultures due to high student populations, problem based teaching method is arguably highly effective. In fact a research focusing mainly on students revealed that most students preferred problem based learning technique compared to other learning methods (Mahmoodi, Khatoon, Ali, Ejaz, and Qureshi, 2013). This is because of the view that it is relatively easy and the increased interactions boost understanding levels. This implies that it is essential to consider students and subject of discussion in determining the most appropriate teaching method to use. As discussed, literature surrounding art and craft plays an important role in improving the general education status especially in relation to higher education level. As such there has been efforts in Pakistan to integrate art and craft in higher learning. The results accompanying integration of art and craft in higher learning are relatively positive thereby encouraging this integration. For example, arts have been found to reduce violence levels in universities by creating a balance between people from different cultures and backgrounds. Additionally, arts have improved the overall students’ performance in other areas such as academics. This implies that arts serve a great purpose of improving the status of higher education. With this in mind, the Pakistan government has made some important contributions to improve university education standards. For example the government has collaborated with some foreign agencies such as USAID in a bid to improve education status. However, amid these efforts it is important to ensure that teachers apply effective teaching methods for effective students’ understandability. Choice of the method to use is dependent on the subject in play and nature of the students. However, only one method may not be appropriate hence, teachers need to have several teaching methods to suit the needs of different students. For example, teaching art and craft may require use of problem solution method and demonstration among other teaching methods. Therefore, integration of art and craft requires establishment of favorable education institutions and certainty of appropriate teaching techniques in order to consequently improve the overall status of higher education. Works Cited .Benz, A 2012, ‘The Crisis of School Education in Pakistan of Governments Failure and New Hopes in the Growing Private Education Sector’, International Quarterly for Asian Studies, 43.3, pp. 223-244. Chandio, J, Hussain, I, Khan, H, & Gurlez, N 2013, ‘Arts Education as a Strategy for Eradicating Violent Behavior among University Students: A Novel Proposition’, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, Vol. 7 (3), 435- 443. Cox, G, 2007, ‘The Teaching and Learning of Music in the Settings of Family, Church and School: Some Historical Perspectives’, pp. 67-80. Khan, M, Janjua, S, Naeem, M, & Kayani, F 2014, ‘United States agency for international development’s role in reforming higher education in Pakistan’, business education & accreditation, Vol. 6 (1). Khurshid, F, & Ansari, U 2012, ‘Effects of Innovative Teaching Strategies on Students’ Performance’, Global Journal of Human Social Science Linguistics & Education, 12(10). Lees-Maffei, G and Sandino, L 2004, ‘Dangerous Liaisons: Relationships between Design, Craft and Art’. Mahmoodi, A, Khatoon, F, Ali, M, Ejaz, S & Qureshi, A 2013, ‘Perceptions and preference of contemporary teaching methods among university students of Pakistan- A cross-sectional survey’, Medical Channel, 19(2), pp. 13-16. McKeachie, J & Svinicki, M 2006, ‘McKeachies teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers’, Boston: Houghton. Mifflin Metsapelto, L and Pulkkinen, L 2011, ‘Socioemotional behavior and school achievement in relation to extracurricular activity participation in middle childhood’, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 56(2), pp. 167-182. Perveen, S, 2011, ‘Evaluation of Curriculum at the Primary Level in Light of Education Policies and Plans in Pakistan’, Journal of College Teaching and Learning, Vol. 8 (3), pp. 31-38. Rahman, F, Khalil, K, Jumani, B, Ajmal, M, Malik, S, & Sharif, M 2011, ‘Impact of Discussion Method on Students Performance’, International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(7), pp. 84-94. Tarar, M, 2008, ‘Aesthetic Modernism in the Post-Colony: The Making of a National College of Art in Pakistan (1950–1960s)’, JADE 27.3. Read More

 

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