Application of the Richardson Methods to Contemporary School Practice

This paper is to examine the relevance of the “Richardson Methods" in art teaching inJapan and Britain of the present day. The methods of Marion Richardson (1892-1946)， whopioneered the learner centered art education in the early this century in Britain， were basedon the training of inner vision in order to cultivate the aesthetic sensibility and individualvalue of the learners. They also include various approaches like pattern making，observationalstudy，games and exercises in colors and materials，a nd critical studies. A historical approachbased on the study on the archival material, and a practical approach based on the experimental lessons in classrooms，are both taken in this research. In Britain，7 curriculum studies on theRichardson Methods were done from 1984 to 1996. In Japan，the author conducted anexperimental project on the Richardson Methods in collaboration with a school art teacher.In the project，we focused on the effects of the training of imagery on the diversification of the expression，promoting tolerance for the diversity in art，and improvement of learningbehavior for more self-reliance. Based on the investigation of these British and Japanese cases，significance，problems，and future possibilities of the methods are discussed from various aspects. (1) Teacher-learner relationship，especially the coexistence or cooperation of the teacher\u27s positive leadership and the learner centered education. (2) Cultural backgroundand the teacher\u27s aesthetic ability in conducting the imaging process by oral description. (3)Possibility of a new interpretation of the methods beyond the historical framework