Department of Visual Arts

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Browsing Department of Visual Arts by browse.metadata.advisor "Constandius, E."

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    Exploring critical thinking and critical citizenship education in a visual art course at a secondary school, KwaZulu-Natal
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-03) Van der Berg, Cecile; Constandius, E.; Perold, Karolien; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Critical thinking and critical citizenship are generally considered to be desirable outcomes of the educational process as they enable students to make thoughtful choices. Citizenship Education does not currently form a separate part of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), but is rather one of the main objectives and principles that shape the whole curriculum. In this research study, students took part in a project where the aim was to promote critical thinking and critical citizenship through the investigation of contemporary South African artworks. The purpose of the research was to firstly establish how students’ participation in the project affected their ability to think critically about Post-1994 South African art and the issues it conveys. Secondly the aim was to establish how effective the teaching strategies employed were in facilitating critical thinking and critical citizenship. An interpretative approach was followed in this case study. The nature of this research is predominantly qualitative, but is used in conjunction with quantitative methods to measure the increase of critical thinking applied. During the base-line assessment, students’ initial critical thinking skills were measured through the analysis of previously unseen images. Their ability to critically analyse artworks was assessed by utilising the Artful Citizenship Visual/Critical Literacy Scoring Rubric compiled by Rawlinson et al (2007). In the post-project assessment, the same visual examples and rubric were used, to detect possible changes in the students’ ability to apply critical thinking. Main themes and sub-themes were identified during the project. The main themes were knowledge, power and identity. The subthemes were meaningful knowledge, citing of evidence, experience, multiple opinions, exclusion of voices, power versus rights, binary oppositions and self in relation to other. With these themes, I aimed to unpack and explain the differences that occurred in the results from the pre- and post-project assessment. The findings of the post-project assessment showed a 39% improvement of critical thinking applied subsequent to the project. The teaching strategies followed during this project proved to be effective as the ability of the students to think critically was positively affected. The research indicated that activities which exposed students to multiple perspectives were conducive to the development of critical thinking.
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    Perceptions of globalisation : how high school learners perceive and express their understanding of globalisation
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Cameron, Sean Stuart; Constandius, E.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As an art educator, my role is to assist learners to assign a deeper meaning to art. Learners need to be guided to connect with art on a greater than superficial level based on the obvious aesthetic. Learners need to understand that art connects them with the world they inhabit and where they, as a generation, are headed. This has been the focus of my approach: to guide them towards an understanding that there is a difference between form and context. My challenge is to instil knowledge and understanding of the potential of art to reveal more about the world in relation to others and where one stands within this context; to reveal an interconnectedness between the self and the world. This attempt was met with ambivalence, disinterest and, in certain cases, resistance on the part of the high school learners. The theoretical perspectives of Theodor W. Adorno regarding conceptions of reified consciousness were used to inform the research. The research focused on how high school learners perceive globalisation, how those perceptions are expressed, what those expressions reveal about high school learners’ attitudes towards globalisation and to what extent attitudes expressed by high school learners may be interpreted according to the theoretical perspectives of Adorno as reified consciousness. This case study was used in conjunction with non-probability sampling and qualitative data-collection techniques. The sample comprised high school learners at a private school in the Helderberg region of the Cape Town Metropole. Inductive content analysis was used to make sense of the collected data. The study revealed that perceptions and attitudes towards globalisation of high school learners do indeed exhibit traits of reified consciousness. This was indicated by the learners’ general lack of interest in broader socio-cultural contexts and through displays of lack of empathy towards others, a certain level of desensitisation towards violence and a limited level of autonomy. Implications based on the findings and conclusions of this study indicate that reified consciousness poses a significant barrier to critical citizenship education. As an educator this poses certain challenges for me, such as how to approach related topics and ensuring that I do not potentially alienate learners further or, unintentionally, reinforce resistive attitudes.