A REPORT ON THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL ON VISUAL ARTS TEACHERS IN HONGKONG
The Research Project entitled “The circumstance of Visual Arts teachers participating in visual arts creation activities and factors affecting their motivation to participate” is an endeavor to identify the types of visual arts creation activities that Visual Arts teachers in secondary and primary schools in Hong Kong participate in, the factors affecting their level of motivation to participate in the said visual arts creation activities, and the teachers’ opinions on the significance of participating in the visual arts activities to their teaching effectiveness. The Researcher gathered preliminary data for the study through an initial interview in order to identify the questions that needed to be asked in the preparation of a questionnaire as the primary data gathering instrument. The results of the preliminary interviews revealed that many Visual Arts teachers seldom have visual arts creation activities due to heavy workloads. Most of them agreed that they needed more time and access to visual arts creation activities since they think that it would help them improve their teaching skills and thus enhance their effectiveness as educators.
The purpose of the study is premised on the education reform in Hong Kong launched in 1999 which essentially called for developing a new culture of learning and teaching as well as bringing and strengthening relevant subject contents within the context of the new political situation (2003). The Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) (2004) in its Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications (ACTEQ) stipulates that every teacher should be a continuous learner in order to advance the quality of the education system and the quality of students’ learning (p.1). The government recommends approximately 4,200 hours of total lesson time over six years of primary schooling in whole-day schools-- 23.5 hours per week (or 4.7 hours per day) and thirty teaching weeks per year. Furthermore, to improve the existing teaching and learning environment in pre-primary schools, the initiatives on teacher-to-student ratios have been implemented in three stages over a three-year period to bring the 1:20 ratio in nursery classes and the 1:30 ratio in kindergarten classes to a 1:15 ratio. However, most teachers are concerned that the routine curriculum cannot handle the number of subjects, and that too little attention is given to artistic and extracurricular activities and social and personality development ( 2003).
Initial findings from the study revealed that under the education reform in Hong Kong, teachers' work loads are heavy. Their functions are becoming more complex and encompass a more comprehensive scope (2004). They spend time in administrative work and they are obliged to promote the school as the Government cut the number of schools. This affects the flexibility of their time schedules to participate in continuous learning programs and thus run contrary to the purpose of the Education and Manpower Bureau. Most of the Visual Arts teachers regard continuous learning like participating in visual arts activities as helpful in supplementing their skills and knowledge which in turn would facilitate a more effective learning environment for the students. The difficulty posed on the teachers by the teaching environment is an issue on balance. The heavy workload and teacher’s commitment to the profession make them pay little attention to activities or programs that would enhance their skills because they are already preoccupied with their official responsibility of managing the classroom discussion and other tasks required of them by the school.
A teacher is valued as a person and Hong Kong’s educational system takes into consideration their physical and spiritual well-being as a critical part of their profession. Because of the strenuous nature of the profession, teachers must learn how to balance their lives in order to maintain effective professionalism. They are expected to retain sound harmony between physical well-being, time management, emotions and stress tolerance and other areas of their lives in order for them to achieve full professional and personal growth (2004). The observation made by the Researcher in the workshop led to the conclusion that Visual Arts teachers are tired and have lost interest in creating art works. Art works require ample time for conceptualization and creativity and the stress that the Visual Arts teachers are feeling with regards to their teaching functions affect their level of creativity. The heavy workload makes them less interested in using their already stressed body and mind in coming up with creative and useful pieces of art work.
Moreover, observation on the teachers during the seminar uncovered the fact that Visual art teachers are not acquainted to the current issues in art. Continuing professional development programs which may include visual arts creation activities are favorable venues for sharing of latest trends and contemporary themes in art. These activities bring together different kinds of persons with different kinds of experiences that would help facilitate a more current pool of information for the visual arts community. The visual arts teachers who do not have time and motivation to attend some of the visual arts creation activities are deprived of a valuable opportunity to become informed of the most recent innovations in the field which would also be useful for them in their role as educators in a past-faced society.
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