"’The Arts are an essential part of public education. From dance and music to theater and the visual Arts, the Arts give children a unique means of expression, capturing their passions
and emotions, and allowing them to explore new ideas, subject matter, and cultures. They bring us joy in every aspect of our lives."
Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, Minister of Education, Arts and Culture Namibia, March 2016
It is important to recognize and take account of the personal goals that drive and inform the research. The touchstone of own experience may be more valuable an indicator for the researcher of a potentially successful research endeavor (Maxwell, 2005, p. 220-221). Joseph A. Maxwell distinguishes among three kinds of purposes for doing a study:
♦ It has goals that motivate the researcher to do the study, and they can include such things as a political passion for changing an existing situation, a curiosity about a specific phenomenon or event, a desire to engage in a particular type of research, or simply the need to advance your career. These personal goals often overlap with one's practical or research goals, but they may also include deeply rooted individual desires
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and requirements that bear little relationship to the ‘official’ reasons for doing the study (p. 220-221).
♦ These goals focus on accomplishing something, meeting some need, changing the same situation, or achieving some objective (p. 220-221).
♦ These purposes focus on understanding something, gaining some insight into what is going on, and why this is happening (p. 220-221).
Although necessity is the primary reason for this study, I was inspired to undertake this research for all the reasons listed by Maxwell. Another important reason for my undertaking this study was the observation that teachers admit a lack of teaching ability in the Arts, which leads to the severe deficit of the practice of Arts in the country. A clear understanding of what the motivations are, can contribute significantly to a focus on core aspects of the study, and help bring about objectivity to the research methodology and context, particularly if the Arts Education are clearly highlighted through Picasso`s turning down of honorary degrees. It is a good example of why research in the Arts should be done not just for status or promotion, but for pedagogical reasons (Frayling, 1993, p. 4). The drive is to create positive changes in Arts Education in Namibian schools.
Likewise, considering Maxwell’s first reason, this study aims to search for potential solutions to teaching the Arts. I want to undertake this study to contribute to the existing knowledge of teaching methodologies. The second reason draws a parallel interest in this study as it suggests improvements in practice: Teachers might become more resourceful in teaching the Arts. The research will offer practicing educators new ideas to consider as they go about their professions. From participating in research or doing research, educators can learn about new practices that have been tried in other settings or situations (p. 4-5). This research also strives
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to assist teachers to evaluate and maintain the various approaches brought forth from the research for use in their classroom settings.
This study aims to search for additional teaching methodologies for the Arts in Namibian schools. As confirmed through the questionnaires conducted during this study, the majority of teachers assigned to teach the Arts are not qualified to teach the subject. The teachers who had the Arts as an additional subject during their academic training course, lost interest in teaching it, due to a lack of support from principals and advisory teachers.
Researchers and educators need to create ways to re-order the available knowledge for better outcomes in Arts teaching. Schools need to focus on Arts-rich education that encourages critical thinking from both teachers and learners that strive toward problem-solving and reflection so that the new reality is in the crucial and the aesthetic realm of learning (Bamford 2010). This research tries to encourage Arts teachers toward critical thinking in making lessons interesting for learners.
The perspective of the Arts in many schools, if not all, is questionable. The uncertainty drives the research questions as follows:
♦ Do the educational authorities have a concern about the standard of the Arts in schools?
♦ Are the authorities aware of the challenges faced in Arts Education?
It is evident that these difficulties will contribute to the overall negligence of the Arts in society and the country at large. It is clear that a learner coming from a school where the teaching of the Arts was neglected, or not taught at all, will develop into an adult with no appreciation of the Arts.
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It is with high expectations that this study looks at the value and acknowledgment of Arts Education in Namibian schools.
Times have changed, and so have the methodology of various curricula, but it is clearly visible that teaching approaches for the Arts have barely been touched on. The mere fact that this field of study is seen as not necessary at all, or less important, may be a reason why the neglect grows from year to year, from grade to grade, and from school to school. Educational institutions also do little to restore the domain to its rightful place in the education system.
Momentous attention is needed if the Namibians want to elevate the status of the Arts, and by so doing change the interest of the teachers and the learners, who will be fused at a later stage by the parents and the community as a whole. This goal can only be reached if we consider a complete revolution in the methodology of the Arts.
The Arts in Namibian schools are not shown an equal value to other subjects. It is extremely noticeable that it is one of the most neglected study fields in education. It came to my attention that the negligence of this critical subject leaves an enormous void in the development of the child. All learners need proper Arts Education since it serves as an opportunity for the expression of knowledge and the statement of rights.
It is a thorn in the flesh to see the teachers, the learners, and the parents do not show much interest in the teaching of the Arts. No or minimal interest in the Arts and Arts Education in schools is a phenomenon that can be observed nationally and internationally. It is sad to say that the Educational Directorates also show little involvement in, and motivation toward the teaching of the Arts in schools. That may be due to a lack of proper teaching methods for the Arts. Day- to- day conversations among teachers and the community demonstrate that this is a national challenge that needs attention.
The lack of interest from parents, teachers, the government, and the community as a whole influences the whole Arts industry in a very negative way. The background of all these challenges seems to be influenced by the lack of appropriate Arts methodologies. The lack of
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the teachers’ motivation leads to the challenge of learners’ not disinterest in the Arts. This reason leads to a chain reaction: Teachers do not know the methodology, learners are not interested, and so neither is the parents.
This research aims to guide and give teachers the skills and to boost their interest in Arts knowledge. They have to understand and value what they are teaching.
It is believed that this research on teaching methodologies can lead to the real assistance for Arts teachers to be effective in teaching the Arts.
1.3 Delimitations
The following delimitations defined the scope of this study:
♦ This study is limited to surveying private Pre-primary school centers that cater for children three to seven years old. The results may differ slightly from formal Pre-primary school settings. The results may not apply to Pre-Pre-primary schools other than those in the Erongo Region.
♦ It is limited to the government schools and concentrated on primary and Junior Secondary phases.
♦ The study is restricted to non-promotional Arts subjects from Grades 4-9.
♦ The study is limited by a lack of previous studies into Arts Education in Namibian settings.
♦ The results of this research are based on willing participants.
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