The development and use of imagination in the secondary art curriculum

The premise of this thesis is that learning within the classroom is enriched when imaginative thinking and procedures are used in combination with the B.C. "Secondary Art Guide" (1983). The thesis discusses philosophers since Plato until contemporary times and how their ideas continue to affect schooling today, including practical applications in the art classroom. It also investigates twentieth-century educators and philosophers involved with promoting the use of more imaginative thinking in the classroom. Principal applications based on the "Secondary Art Guide" dealing with the thematic units of the Figure and the Environment are given particular emphasis. These units from the guide in combination with assignments to promote individual image-making result in images that are unique to the students. Sixty students from the Vancouver school system formed an integral part of this study by answering questions in a classroom context and by being involved in art assignments. The B.C. "Secondary Art Guide", Foundation section on imagery was found to offer good technical strategies but lacked the necessary strategies for developing imagination that is unique to students. The researcher's conclusion was that by teaching students how to use their imaginations to obtain new knowledge rather than assuming that imaginative thinking and viewing is something they inherently know, that their image-making became more unique with the processes described.Education, Faculty ofCurriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department ofGraduat