Arts Education : an alternative approach

This study concerns art education, and the importance of creativity in learning. The objective is to examine the use of art education in practice, and the school teacher’s position on this practice. The theoretical basis of the study is rooted in a socio-cultural perspective, and concerns the relationships between theoretical concepts as learning, knowledge and art education. The investigation is qualitative and the main research methods are participant observations and structured interviews. The group studied in this investigation consisted of five active educators, who work at different schools and make use of art-based methods in their daily work. My results show that teachers believe that art education can be used by schools as a gateway to the other subjects. Art is regarded as a form of understanding through which pupils explore their surroundings, challenge their ideas and build skills through interaction with others