Fine art is an area of study which used to be hugely overlooked in the educational process. In the 19th century museum and gallery visits and the overall observation of art was for children strictly prohibited. Fine art was only used for the needs of the trade professions. The change happened in England and Germany when they established “The Movement for the Artistic Education”. The goal of the movement was to make a child evolve their sense of beauty and to realise the beauty of nature. The arts were of grave importance for the child’s independence and individuality. In our country Lidija Tavčar was the one who was the most active and the one who developed museum pedagogy in our museums, especially in the National Gallery of Slovenia. Towards the end of the 20th century, the education in the National Gallery of Slovenia was also organized for the preschool children.
When we decide to introduce the works of art ourselves, it is very important to choose a suitable work of art for a child. We have to be careful to choose the right field: theme, stylistic characteristics and quality. There is no limitation when theme is concerned. We just have to find the appropriate way to attract and motivate children. An excellent manual that shows how to motivate children is “Gal in a Gallery”, which by using humorous insertions makes even landscapes interesting. The stylistic characteristics which attract children the most are clear silhouettes, intensive colours and unstressed depth. The third and most significant factor is the quality of the painting itself. Not every work of art is appropriate. The only thing we have to take into account is the quality of the painting, especially with children who cannot separate quality and kitsch.
It is also important that we consider the principles of fine art and its cultural goals. The fine art principles are: the principle of creativity, activity, interest, individualisation, illustrative examples, vital and psychological presence, gradualness, the principle of behaving systematically and the principle of quality. The cultural goals are: realisation of fundamental human rights to education and cooperation on a cultural field, the development of creativity and individual capabilities, advancement of the quality of education, development of aesthetic sensitivity and building a critical relationship towards culture and art, expression of cultural differences, improvement of cultural consciousness and awareness of the meaning of national heritage.
When we want to introduce children to fine art, we have to create an attentive didactic model. In the process we are aided by various methods of work. It is important to not take into account just one methods, but create an intertwinement of various methods, depending on the age and behavioural characteristics of children. The methods which are the most suitable while working with children are: method of demonstration, comparison, narration, discussion, and experimentally-practical method, method of role play and method of aesthetic transfer.
While writing this thesis, I have also researched the meaning of artistic expression, the experience art brings and understanding the influence the works of art have on children. I found four fields that are, in my opinion, especially important. Children can develop creativity, visual perception and a sense of beauty, language and most importantly, they get to know themselves and can develop their own way of thinking by being exposed to various works of art.
In the empirical part of the thesis, I have researched to which extent and the way fine art is included in kindergartens. In addition to that, I looked at how the teacher’s relationship with art and the kindergarten’s surroundings are intertwined with art. The research was carried out with the help of a survey. I personally delivered 100 questionnaires among different kindergartens and got 63 back. I carried out the research in May 2015. The results of the research indicated that the teacher’s relationship with art is interconnected with the involvement of art in kindergartens and the way art is recognised and experienced. I noticed minimal connections with the kindergarten’s surroundings. There is a larger number of kindergartens in the city that use reproductions in their curriculum, than those in villages or the suburbs, but these use art more frequently than those in the city. Therefore, we can say that the quantity of involvement of reproductions is approximately the same in villages, the suburbs and in the city. There also wasn’t much difference when gallery visits are concerned. A few more kindergartens in the city and the suburbs visit galleries, than those in the villages, but those in the cities visit the galleries more frequently. The results showed that art is included in more than half of the questioned kindergartens. While including the reproductions and the work that is put into the visits of the galleries, most of them still use the traditional methods, which are discussion, observation and production.
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