THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, AKOKA

COURSE TITLE
ART EDUCATION I

COURSE CODE
VSA 322

TOPIC
THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF ART EDUCATION IN
ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY SCHOOLS

GROUP 5
EBONG QUEENETTE EMMANUEL- 190108522

HINMIKAIYE ANJOLAOLUWA JESUDARA- 180108093

ADEWUYI EMMANUEL- 190108528

IZEDOMI JOHN STEFAN- 190108535

ODUNDELE JESSICA- 190108503

ADEKOGBE ADEDAMOLA TOYEEB- 180108076

ADAMU NASIR- 190108518

LECTURER: DR ADENLE JOHN

To efficiently understand the aims and objectives of art education, it becomes important to define
and breakdown the key terms in the topic.
Art has many definitions, it differs from person to person. According to some scholars; art is a
tool that enhances the abilities of the students to communicate and solve problems and with
enormous entrepreneurship opportunities. Art can also be defined as a language of visual
science.

Education according to White Head (1962) is the acquisition and utilization of knowledge. The
the major aim of education is development, this is done through training the mind of the student
whilst equipping them with the necessary skills to help them compete, live and also contribute
positively to society.

Art education relates to imparting knowledge to students with the aim of letting the students tap
into their creative side. According to Oje E. A. & Igbinoba J. O. art education is the study and
method of learning and teaching of visual and performing Art in Primary and Secondary Schools
as a means of stimulating, cognitive, affective psychomotor activities of pupils or students. Art
education is a renowned method of teaching complex subjects to growing toddlers and teenagers.
Aims are what one hopes to achieve and objectives are the steps and measures taken in order to
achieve the aims.

Elementary school is for children between the ages of 4 and eleven, it is usually the child’s first
point of contact with formal education.

Secondary school on the other hand it the next level of education after the elementary school
learning and before college or university education.
Identifying the aims and objectives art education in elementary and secondary school will be
narrowed down to visual arts. (Rephrase)

General Aims of Art Education in Elementary & Secondary School

• Critical Thinking and Communication Skills: To develop the students’ interest in

working with various tools, processes and media and to encourage them to make choices
that enhance the communication of their ideas and imparting them with knowledge about
art in world history and culture.

• To enable students develop interest in arts as a career

• To encourage aesthetic sensitivity

By teaching the students the basic elements and principles of art forms, the students are
able to develop their ability to identify what is beautiful and what is not. This helps the
students in their day-to-day living.

• To help students gain satisfaction from participating in art related activities:

Elementary/preschooler are to be engage in activities that stimulate them to enjoy art.
Painting leads to the children being excited, this would also encourage teamwork and
bonding among the students. These students would also be able to stimulate their minds
and bring creative ideas to life. These art activities would also enable bonding between
the students and their parents if it is a take home project.

• Cultural awareness in students:

Art education aims to impart the culture of the region it’s being taught to the students.
This leads to an appreciation of national heritage. The students are able to learn folk art
as well as art of earlier civilizations around the globe. For example, in Nigeria, the art
forms of the three major tribes are taught to the students. Hence, they are able to
familiarize themselves to their traditions and the art forms of these civilizations. To give
young people a sense of civilization N. Carey (1995)

• To improve the motor & social skills of the students:

By playing around with crayons and paint brushes, the students are able to write much
better as they grow up. Through art education, the students get in tune with their culture
through working on projects with other students, which in turn stimulates their thinking.

• To improve academic performance:

 Studying arts in school helps the students improve in other areas of their academics. It
helps them improve in areas such as math and science. In most textbooks for kids, they
are majorly filled with illustrations to help the students understand the topic better.

• To impart the knowledge of improvisation to students:

Through art education, students would be able to learn how to use available resources to
make different resources. E.g. using young bamboo shoots for calligraphy pen, using
rubber bands as an eraser, etc.

The Objectives of Art Education in Elementary School

Elementary school is for children between the ages of 4 and eleven, it is usually the child’s first
point of contact with formal education. According to Viktor Low Enfield, a child’s artistic
abilities is developed through various stages. Some of these stages includes the scribbling stage,
the pre-schematic stage, the schematic stage, the stage of dawning realism and the Pseudo-
naturalistic stage. These stages are from the child’s earliest drawings to the stage where the child
shows growing interest in their environment. To encourage the child’s artistic sense in these
stages, they are taught basic painting skills, patterns, clay molding, printing with food (potato,
yam, leaves, etc.) through art education.

The objectives of art education in elementary school includes:

• To enable students use a various media to draw and paint
• To enable students effectively identify the different classes of color
• To develop the student’s skills in printmaking
• To enable the students learn safe use of various tools to create and teaching them care for
the tools
• To identify various geometric shapes and draw them.
• To enable students identify and respond to works of art
• To teach the students how to combine shapes
• To enable the students compare and contrast various art forms

The Objectives of Art Education in Secondary School

Secondary school on the other hand it the next level of education after the elementary school
learning and before college or university education. At this stage, education becomes more
structured. The students become more critical of themselves, and strive to learn and improve. At
this stage, the students need to be equipped with all the skills they need to make a proper
transition into society.

At this stage, the students are encouraged to express themselves in a creative manner rather than
copy and pasting what they see. The students are exposed to complex and structured areas of art
such as drawing, painting, music, drama and collage depending on the school’s ability to provide
the teachers for the various fields.
In an interview with Mr. Olubayo, a visual arts teacher with over 30 years of experience, we
were able to learn more on the aims and objectives of art education in secondary schools. From
being a freelance teacher at both private schools like Dansol High school, to public schools, to
now being the proprietor of his own school, Salem Schools, he termed his journey in teaching art
education as “very interesting yet challenging.
When asked of his opinion of what art education is, he defined it as the foundation and basis of
education which cuts across all other subjects. Without art education, the ability of students to
properly comprehend other subjects and develop their own concept of aesthetics would be
difficult. From this brief interview, some objectives of art education were extracted.

The objectives of art education in secondary school includes:

• To develop students’ ability to relate artistic ideals to societal, historical and cultural
contexts.
• To enable students identify the difference between tactile and non-tactile textures
• To impart students with the knowledge on identifying various subject matters, categories
and motifs found in works of art (e.g. still life, landscape, etc).
• To teach students on how to use various shading techniques
• To help students identify the difference between fine and applied arts.
• To help students identify the difference between two-dimensional and three-dimensional
artwork.
• To train the eye-hand coordination of the students
• To develop the students’ ideas on improvisation
• To conduct exhibitions of the students’ artworks
• To develop the spirit of exploration in students through homework

In summary, Art Education is targeted at attainment of all round domains of ethics, intellect,
physique, social skills and aesthetics according to their own attributes so that he/she is capable of
life long learning, critical or exploratory thinking, innovating, adapting to change.
 Reference
Enamhe, B. B. (2013). The Role of Arts Education in Nigeria. African Journal of Teacher
Education, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.21083/ajote.v3i1.1963

Harland, J., Kinder, K., Lord, P., Stott, A., Schagen, I., Haynes, J., … Paola, R. (2000). Arts
Education in Secondary Schools: Effects and Effectiveness. National Foundation for Educational
https://www.artsedsearch.org/study/arts-education-in-secondary-schools-effects-and-
effectiveness/

Clayton Schools. Kindergarten Art Learning Objectives.

https://www.claytonschools.net/Page/14030

Clayton Schools. First-Grade Art Learning Objectives.

https://www.claytonschools.net/Page/14031

University of Florida| Online Master of Arts in Art Education. (2021, August 1). The Importance
of Art Education in the classroom.
https://arteducationmasters.arts.ufl.edu/articles/importance-of-art-education/

Demartini-Svoboda, J. (1982). A study of art education in the elementary school curriculum as

amplification of other academic subjects and as a promoter of creativity in the learning process
(Publication No. 3170) [Doctoral dissertation, Portland State University].
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.3159