The design of visual arts education curriculum policies and teacher interpretation: the interface between curriculum provision and the implementation process

This study investigated and compared art education curriculum policies and their implementation within the approaches to the subject for the age group 5 to 14 in Turkey and England. It specifically focused on the interface in art education between curriculum policy and practice within seven approaches to art education (Eisner, 2002): discipline-based arts education (DBAE), visual culture, creative self-expression, integrated arts, the arts and cognitive development, creative problem-solving, arts education as preparation for the world of work, and their implications for policy and practice in both countries.
A mixed methods comparative research strategy was employed using online questionnaire responses from 94 English and 102 Turkish primary and secondary school art teachers, and interview responses from nine Turkish and ten English art teachers, and from six policy makers (four from Turkey and two from England).
The quantitative findings showed that DBAE, visual culture and arts education as preparation for the world of work were the three most preferred approaches by the art teachers and that integrated arts was the least preferred approach. The qualitative results showed that each of the seven approaches to art education was regarded as very functional by both art teachers and policy makers, but their implications for policy and practice differed by country because of several factors. The narrow content of the art and design curriculum in England and unclear curriculum elements in Turkey were found to lead to variations in teachers’ interpretations of the respective curricula. Other factors identified were the limited time allocated to the subject, the lack of appropriate teacher training, and insufficient facilities available for the subject in schools. Findings showed that all of these factors are related to governments’ and schools’ undervaluation of the subject which causes the interface between the curriculum and its practice as these factors affect teacher’s implementation of curriculum in the classroom.
The findings of the study suggest that the incorporation of the seven approaches into the curriculum would make an ideal curriculum. Also, training teachers in regard to the curriculum and providing sufficient facilities for the subject in schools are essential to avoid a gap between the curriculum and its practice and to provide equal learning experiences to all pupils. It is recommended that subject-specialist experts’ views and voices should be taken into careful consideration when forming curriculum policies, and that attention should be given to forming a curriculum which acknowledges the specific requirements of the subject based on its unique nature, and to provide equal learning opportunities to all pupils across the country in both Turkey and England.