Art in Iraqi Secondary Schools - Literature review Example

?Running Head: Art in Iraqi Secondary Schools Art in Iraqi Secondary Schools [Institute’s Art in Iraqi Secondary Schools For the growth and development of children, along with all other subjects, subjects of arts are very important to teach. Not only subject of Arts is important but also teaching all other subjects through arts and interdisciplinary ways is very important if teachers want their children to understand the concepts deeply. Many parts of world accept this fact that arts is essential for the mental development of their children, therefore, they have designed their secondary education curriculum in such a way that children learn arts at school. Along with learning arts, they also use arts to strengthen the understanding of other subjects. The advantage of this integration is that children will not have to join extra classes and give additional fees to accomplish their passion. However, many children do not even get the opportunity to learn what interest them because their parents do not have resources to get them into arts classes. Despite the huge importance and recognition of arts globally, there exist many countries, which do not want the teaching of this subject in their secondary schools (Alias, Gray & Black, 2002, pp. 165-175). Neither have they wanted the children to learn in interdisciplinary ways. Iraq is one of those countries, which in spite of knowing the value of this subject, has removed the subject of arts from its schools. The schools in developing countries, mostly of Asia, even if have arts as subject, they are not able to deliver the true essence of arts to the students. The primary reasons behind this scenario is that teachers give arts education in theory in the primary classes and in secondary classes this education is given through elective subjects. Teachers in many schools of developing countries do not have enough knowledge of what they are teaching, if a person does not have enough knowledge, one cannot expect him to teach that subject in different ways. This happens in the schools, which do not have enough funds to hire well-educated and skilled teachers. With the limited amount of money, they can only hire teachers who have a little knowledge about the subject. This might be one of the reasons that Iraqi schools do not have arts as essential model. Lack of resources is one of the important issues that hinder the provision of arts education in developing countries. Nevertheless, this is not the only reason, mostly in Asian countries, schools use western modules of arts however, western and eastern cultures are greatly different from each other (Cacchione, Mohring & Bertin, 2012, pp.1-10). An art is something that one learns from everyday life environment. Therefore, every country should design arts module according to its own culture so that children can easily observe, express and envisage the concepts that they learn. In many countries like New Zealand, arts in the curriculum carry the equal credit as other subjects like mathematics and science. Schools implement this to meet the needs of students, as students of this era do not want to limit their learning to the theory however; they want practical examples of everything they learn. Arts enable them to practically examine every phenomenon. There are mainly four key learning areas of arts i.e. creative, perceptual and cognitive skills; Aesthetic skills; communication and expression skills; and lastly understanding of one’s culture and values. For provision of quality arts education, schools should indulge few factors in the module of arts. Firstly, relevance between subject material and one’s environment and cultural background is important for the children. As discussed above, today children need practical examples to learn in a better way (Carroll, 2011, pp. 9-25). If teachers educate students about something that they can never encounter, the learning of that subject would not be fruitful for the students. Integration of arts in the module would induce teachers to design the curriculum consisting of those matters about which they can give practical examples. Secondly, the factor that is very essential for developing countries if they want to see the results of what they are teaching is Teamwork. Without working like a team with children, teachers would never be able to deliver the true meaning of arts to children. Teachers should not only expect children to do what they are being taught however, arts is all about creativity, if children are doing something innovative, they should be encouraged rather than being scolded. Another aspect, which would change the picture of arts in secondary schools of developing countries, is partnership. A strong partnership among schools, families, and cultural and artistic institutions is essential if they want their children to rise in this field (Colley, 2012, pp. 4-12). Experts and teachers from artistic institutions should be involved in teaching children because they have a better understanding of this field. A separate set of material and practices should be designed for each grade level, because students in different levels have different mental and physical capabilities and they would not be able to grasp things which are above their level. Therefore, there should be different curriculum of arts for different classes. Lastly, pluralism must exist where arts is being taught. Pluralism for, both teachers and children is compulsory because often teachers have clashes among themselves because of which children suffer. Therefore teachers should try and solve their differences and focus on children. Through many researches it is clear that students’ learning speed increases if they are taught through interdisciplinary methods. When students show good results in a test, it is not only result of their test preparation however intellectual work, opportunity provided to them to present their learning in different ways, also contribute greatly in showing good results of test. When students involve in such activities they feel that they have ownership of what they have learned which increases their confidence (Creswell, 1998). When technology is used in arts room, it encourages the engagement of students with subject. It shows how students can learn in variety of methods, not only through reading and listening. One of the reasons why arts education is not given importance in developing countries is the need of manpower for industrialization. According to the runners of developing countries, countries can only succeed if they have industrialization however in reality this is not the case. If a country has diversified fields and people who are working in different professions honestly then only a country can expect stabilization. In developing countries, educational systems focus more on vocational trainings so that students can choose their careers in such fields. ‘Arts’ is a subject, which can contribute greatly in a country’s development because not many people are gifted with this ability (Kiser, 2011, pp. 20-22). The ones, who are, possess the great potential and can shine like stars. Developing countries do not building arts institutions and focus more on vocational training institutes because donor agencies like World Bank have promoted the establishment of such institutes. The building of such institutions requires engineers, financial supporters, and such other skilled workers. Therefore, from the very beginning i.e. secondary school curriculum countries like Iraq have not promoted arts as they see that everywhere need is only of individuals who have got vocational skills. Nevertheless, they forget about the fact that if teachers teach students through arts they would not require vocational training because concepts of science are applied in vocational training as well. There are other significant motives why families may favour to send their children to schools that give emphasis to particular job skills. Fees and expenses of university education, both in terms of direct and opportunity costs, is a main financial problem for families of poor countries. However, there are many ways in which students can study in universities without taking much support from parents and those are taking scholarships and other such assistances. Poor parents who have faced many hardships in bringing up their children and have spent a huge proportion of their savings on the education of children just don’t want their children to study when children can earn (Marble, 2003, pp. 111-123). This desire of parents in developing countries is the reason behind formation of more vocational institutes rather than arts one. Without any doubt, vocational trainings during secondary schools provide a quicker return to parents however this does not imply the elimination of arts from the schools. Today, many countries have understood the importance of arts in children’s lives and initiated many programs which could help children act on what they have passion for. One of the examples of this initiation is by Director-General of UNESCO. In November 1999, he launched an international appeal for the promotion of Arts Education and Creativity in schools. In 2010, The Iraqi Ministry of Education forbidden theatre and music classes in Baghdad's Fine Arts Institute (Carroll, 2011, pp. 9-25), and commanded the elimination of statues displayed at the way in of the institute devoid of giving any explanation of the move, but some of the students consider religious reasons as the genuine motive. According to people, it is because of religious purposes and it might be true however the religion does not actually preach such teachings. None of the religions has ever focused on elimination and prohibition of art from the society because art is the strongest way of expressing love for God (Carroll, 2011, pp. 9-25). Sufis express their love and dedication for God by singing and dancing. Rather, they have a special kind of dance called Sema in which they continuously revolve and think about the eternal being. After such ban, students of Iraq are in a fear if they would be able to study other arts or not, other arts include photography, directing, sculpting and drawing. In the name of religion, Iraqis are doing something, which would never be liked by any of the religions. It is often said that artists have strong relationship with their God; poets write poetry about the love that exists between them and God. Painters, through their paintings try to reveal different faces of God. Though Iraqis have tried to murder the spirits of artists but true lovers of art would not let that last for a longer time. They would definitely raise their voices against this and succeed in expressing their love for art. This was about the institute at a higher level, but Iraqis promote this prohibition from the level of secondary schools. Some of the schools of Iraq have not even included art in their curriculum and some which have included it does not bother to promote it (O'Donnell, David, 2000, pp. 178-203). They have just done it for the sake of doing. Religious purposes along with the reasons that poor families want vocational trainings instead of art because they want their children to earn after they complete their schools are behind this act. Many steps can be taken to change this perception of people. Mainly countries should try to elevate public awareness and encourage the worth and social impact of arts education. This would create a demand for this profession and ultimately for the professionals of this field. Information regarding the importance of arts should be given to shareholders, governments, NGOs and other main participants so that they try to build institutions of arts. Effective motivational leaders should be contacted so that they motivate students to go for this field. This field should possess the equal weight age in the curriculum so that students work hard for it. Arts in not only about learning arts, however it also means learning in an artistic way. According to Thomas Hill, Clinical Assistant at New York University’s Centre for Global Affairs, Iraqi educational systems should opt for more effective methods of teaching, learning and researching (Colley, 2012, pp. 4-12). He said that till day, lectures are mostly used for educating children however world is now far beyond lectures. All around the world, schools are teaching children with ways that have fun cum learn approach. Hill further said that students should be more responsible, they should not only depend on teachers for their learning however, they themselves should make efforts and conduct more research for learning. When students learn in schools with the help of arts such as visual aids, they are able to understand the concepts in better ways (Colley, 2012, pp. 4-12). When students learn with interdisciplinary arts, they adopt problem-solving skills along with critical and analytical skills. Students must learn in an artistic way otherwise they would not be able to develop critical skills that are integral in today’s world. With this kind of learning students are able to think critically, generate their own creative ideas and their understanding of materials increases. Some subjects like history do not get much attention by teachers during the elementary years of children because teachers focus more on subjects like mathematics. During these years, children’s mental capabilities are not high enough to understand the plans, accomplishments, and conspiracies that took place in the history (Patton, 2002). Moreover, such subjects are not included in aptitude tests taken by other schools for the admission at district levels. Teachers merely teach history from textbooks, which do not create enhanced learning for students rather help them in achieving satisfactory test scores. Integrated art education matches with the working of minds of children. Arts integration is responsible for generating abstract ideas in the minds of students, it also initiates weaving and spinning of ideas in the minds of children. The main aim of Interdisciplinary art lessons is to motivate students by enabling them to connect art with their own selves and with the environment by connecting the thoughts. When students get to learn in interdisciplinary ways they get a chance to understand their subject more profoundly. The art teacher is not only responsible for making students learn what she is supposed to make them learn. Nevertheless, her duty is to prepare children for future and create a sense of search in them so that they do not limit their studies to the classroom but acquire teachings from every aspect of life. Researchers (Patton, 2002) have conducted various researches to see the impact of arts on students learning. In one of these researches, the researcher conducted an experiment on the children and asked them to do a drama on a topic of history. He allotted different characters to different students. When students performed the drama, the researcher found out that students were able to understand and retain the lessons of topic in a better way than they would do otherwise. This experiment of the researcher proves that when students are retold any historical story in a form of arts they grasp it well. Another researcher conducted a similar experiment on the students, in which the main topic was maritime battle plan of the United States and the British during the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813 (Kiser, 2011, pp. 20-22). In this experiment students were divided in some groups and each group was asked to present the topic in a different manner. In fact each group had to make a movie and in total six movies were made. Students learned the lessons from the battle, used appropriate props to illustrate some things, and animated a stop motion movie to restate the battle plan. This experiment mainly emphasized on the use of stop motion animation unit. The utilization of an animation’s prop list helped the students in the formation of battle vehicle and other materials. If students along with their lectures and reading of text, get the opportunities to learn in arts and technological ways they would succeed greatly. Not only inclusion of arts is important but also teaching of other subjects in artistic ways is also important for schools. The concern of parents that their children should start earning when they are done with some of their education would also reduce if such practices are involved in the schools (Kiser, 2011, pp. 20-22). If students are practically shown what they are taught, they would hardly need to do any vocational training to earn money. Now the question is why Iraq and other developing countries neither like to include arts in their curriculum nor teach their students through arts and technology ways. The answer to this question is might lack of resources. When schools arrange huge events and educational picnics for their students so that they can get a natural experience of what they learn, they need a huge amount of money. When schools ask students to make projects using stop animation techniques, they need such resources in their schools. When school want to show videos and pictures to their students so that students get a better understanding, they need projectors and screens for which they need money. However, developing countries do not have many resources for this. One cannot deny that there are larger number of schools is developing countries which have initiated such activities in their schools but they charge a very high fees (Kiser, 2011, pp. 20-22). Therefore, only children from elite classes are able to take advantage of new techniques. It is the duty of government to initiate the similar practices in such schools which have limited resources so that all children get equal opportunities. In fact poorer schools need these facilities more so that parents do not stop the education of their children. Governments of developing countries are so involved in the problems regarding electricity, gas and other utilities that they ignore the future of their upcoming generation. They should give priority to this issue and solve it so that developing countries can change into developed ones because only quality education can ameliorate the conditions of backward parts of the world. References Alias, M., Gray, D. E., & Black, T. R. 2002. “Attitudes towards sketching and drawing and the relationship with spatial visualization ability in engineering students.” International Education Journal. Vol. 3, 165–175. 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