Agnieszka Chalas

Preparing ‘Museum-wise’ Art Teachers: The Role and Impact of Pre-service Teacher Education in Singapore

Agnieszka Chalas – National Institute for Education, Singapore

Abstract:

Today, not only is it readily acknowledged that art museums and galleries have an important role to play in any well-rounded visual arts curriculum, but documentation of the student impacts of visits to these important cultural institutions is mounting in the literature. Despite the reported benefits to students, research indicates that many art teachers around the globe still feel ill-equipped to use museums/galleries in support of their classroom art instruction. Numerous scholars have therefore argued that both exposure to museums/galleries and direct training in the use of museum-based resources and pedagogies should be an essential core ingredient in art teachers’ pre-service preparation. While there may be general agreement in the scholarly community surrounding the potential of pre-service education to produce ‘museum-wise’ art teachers, few publications have been written on the topic. As such, little is known about how university faculty introduce their pre-service art teachers to museums or especially how such courses influence teachers’ pedagogical approaches and dispositions. Therefore, in this presentation findings from a mixed-method study that aims to fill this gap in the literature will be shared. Specifically, the study examined the impacts of a mandatory museum methods course (taught in collaboration with a national gallery) on pre-service art teachers enrolled in the teacher preparation program at the National Institute for Education (NIE) in Singapore (i.e., their values, attitudes, self- efficacy, and newfound pedagogical understandings surrounding museum-based learning). Ultimately, the findings of this study can be used to both advocate for and share knowledge aimed at improving art teacher preparation in museum use not only at NIE but in institutions of higher education around the world.