Why Visual Arts Education? : Compulsory School Student’s Perception of the Relevance of Visual Arts Education

This is a study of qualitative method that aims to investigate how compulsory school students perceive the content of Visual Art Education and the relevance of art education. The study is based on empirical methods that consists of semi-structured interviews with a total of 12 students in grades 6 and 9. The theoretical framework of the study is based on a sociocultural perspective which describes that it is through communication and interaction with others that the individual acquires knowledge and skills. The theoretical starting points for the study are supported by the concepts of visual culture, visual literacy and Vygotskijs concepts of creativity and imagination with the assistance of contemporary research that describes the concepts from the perspective of a modern-day society. Furthermore, the study uses the cultural circuit from Hall and photo elicitation from Rose as analytical tool to analyze the participants perceptions about Visual Art Education. The results of my study show that Visual Art Education still represents something that is more similar to a traditional view of artist work, with a focus on techniques and materials. The results also show that the participants perceive Visual Art Education as less important compared to other school subjects and some of the participants don’t think they will benefit from the subject’s knowledge and abilities either in future education, future profession or their private life. This shows the participants narrow view of how abilities linked to visual literacy are relevant in a modern society. The knowledge contribution added to the problem area and previous research is a deeper understanding of how the participants perceive the relevance of Visual Art Education. The study is important and relevant for the teaching profession, as students need to be made more aware of the breadth and relevance of Visual Art Education. From this content it can be deduced that the abilities that students must acquire through visual arts education are about so much more than just drawing. It is also important that teachers gain insight and understanding of how students perceive the relevance of Visual Art Education for them to be able to move forward