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Sunday, 25 March 2007
Observations on Art Education in the UK

My first week at St. Pat’s was largely spent observing art education practice in the UK. Right now the majority of the art students are completing their GCSEs, which are a form of assessment in which students complete a sketchbook and final project that addresses a given problem. A list of problems are given to them, and they must choose one to address, within a certain time frame. Generally, the students have four weeks to research in their sketchbook and about four classroom hours to complete their final project. The problems are generally very broad, and may be taken in many directions as per the students' interests. The final project that is completed must be documented in the sketchbook. Though processes must be evidenced in the book: why the student chose the project, the development of the final project, artists researched for the project, changes and reflections made. Images and text is collaged in the book and an interactive mind map, 'stream-of-consciousness' sort of approach is encouraged over the rational and dry approach of so many notes taken in general education courses taken at the university. Both are submitted and marked. Students, if they receive high enough marks to pass, receive one GCSE. A minimum of five GCSEs are needed to graduate from secondary school, and if you want to get into the university, you should have upward of ten completed. So this form of assessment is high stakes, but relies on a portfolio approach.

Otherwise at school I have been observing the other art classes that are not going through the GCSE process. This process should be finished at the end of the week, and my cooperating teacher and I are discussing what skills I have and what I might want to teach so that I may be set up with a set of classes. It appears as though I will be taking over a collection of classes from the lot of teachers, one or two from each, as opposed to all of the classes from one teacher. Their set-up seems to be more fluid as the classes are typically not set up by media, but are general art courses set up by grade level. Each teacher has their own section of each grade, but are not compelled to have the same curriculum as their colleagues put on. The teachers also share each other's classrooms, rather than having complete rule over their own classroom.

Art curriculum in the UK protocol has much to offer art educators back in the States. One of the major differences is in how they employ sketchbooks, like those mentioned above. Sketchbooks, while used frequently in the States, do not operate under the same conditions. It has been my experience with sketchbooks in the United States, that they are used for ‘skill building.’ Sketchbooks fulfill the role for ‘additional’ practice but which takes on a lesser or supplementary role, and may or may not relate to the objectives of the larger studio project students are concurrently working on. That is, the conceptual link between sketchbooks and studio projects does not necessarily happen. Yes, sketches and ideas may be formulated and developed in a sketchbook, but the approach is fragmented, feels unnatural to the artistic process, and employed, not because it is compulsory, but when it becomes efficient for students to do so, so as to understand their own visual ideas.

Sketchbooks in the UK, however, take on a holistic approach, which tie studio endeavors to the sketchbooks. Sketchbooks do ‘skill-build,’ but not in the removed sort of fashion that occurs in the States. A sketchbooks accompanies each studio project and serves as a visual recording and representation of the student’s thought process in fulfilling the objectives of the larger studio project. Hence, the teacher can more accurately assess both a student’s technical and conceptual development.

The sketchbooks take on a life of their own and say perhaps more about the students’ styles than the finished studio projects do. Moreover, they become an art in and of themselves, a lesson in artists books and bookmaking. The sketchbooks are either factory-made and then ‘filled in’ or the students may choose to construct their own book by binding pages they have composed from various art papers. Intuitively, it would follow then, that more often than not, the self-constructed books are more advanced because the books may be tailored to more precisely and astutely ‘say’ what the students wish them to.

More generally, St. Patrick's has a distinct look to it in comparison to the style of schools built in America at the same time. It has a more "open" design concept than those in Wisconsin because the climate in Manchester is quite mild, and allows for students to pass from class to class, building to building without freezing in the middle of January. There are four art rooms in the department: three general art classrooms (for drawing, painting, printing, sculpture) and one computer lab, mainly used for digital photography (there is no traditional, chemical-based photography). Actually, I think their art rooms feel more like middle school art classrooms than high school art rooms.

Although this makes perfect sense considering their secondary schools teach students from ages 11-16. St. Pat’s, a secondary school, educates students in Years 7-11 – the American equivalent of Grades 6-10. In the art classroom, teachers see Year s 7-8, one lesson per week; Year 9-10, twice per week; and Year 11, three times a week. A lesson is one hour, and there are five lessons in a school day. School begins much later than in the States: 8:45. Teachers are expected to be in the school ten minutes before this time. School begins by students going to “form,” which is our exact equivalent to “home room.” Students converse with their cohort and will work collectively on school concerns such as charity collecting for Lent or school business, such as attendance, head office needs, and teacher review of student diaries or journals.

The “school diaries” work under the same conditions as “student planners” do in the States. Students are to list their homework for each class in their diary and also records merits and disciplinary concerns, which, upon review, are to be signed by their parents. The diaries are checked each morning for a signature.

Ironically, despite having a religious affiliation St. Patrick’s is what we would term a public school in the United States – though the terms public and private will soon become confused in a discussion of school composition. The terms public and private do not refer to religious affiliation as they do most often in the United States. Rather, the term ‘public’ is reserved for schools which, in the States we would term private. ‘Public’ schools here are institutions that are not generally open to the masses: acceptance into and larger tuition fees are part and parcel of ‘public’ schools in the UK. ‘Private’ schools are, conversely, those which are open to the general public, and which we would term ‘public’ schools. Though, these ‘private’ schools are often religiously affiliated.

Thus, it follows that the concept of “separation of church and state” does not apply to the schools in the UK. In fact, schools are mandated to have some sort of collective community for students to be a part of. This is most often taken up by religion, which is argued, is very communal in its nature. Yet, the schools do not proselytize religion in their curricula, and if one were to walk into St. Pat’s there would be no religious activity, such as prayer, to be witnessed. Classrooms are required however to display the crucifix and students are required to attend periodic chapel services, to promote the collective community. Students at St. Pat’s are not however required to attend mass or even to be Catholic. Thus, the religious aspect is not to indoctrinate students in particular religious activity, but to get to them to think more communally.