Seeking Harmony: Teachers' perspectives on learning to teach in and through the arts

Abstract

This inquiry examined teachers' perspectives on learning to teach in and through the arts by administering multiple protocols - a focus group, questionnaire and survey - throughout an integrated arts professional development program involving artists. Findings indicate that when artists are involved in professional upgrading, teachers acquire the confidence to express themselves freely, they are willing to teach the arts in their own classrooms, they realize the potential and value of the arts within the school curriculum, and they develop arts-specific teaching expertise. Further, the teachers' sensitivity to their own creativity and openness to experimentation is heightened, and an awareness of the potential of the arts to develop a student's imagination, intuition and personal expressiveness is developed.