Group+3

**Art Education Throughout The World ** Group 3









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=What ideas, practices, and approaches do the country’s share? = Art is important in all of the countries, only some of them have art in education while others practice art through other ways. Dance is extremely important to Chile, whereas music is very big in England. The visual arts are important in Nepal, and artisan crafts are important in Ecuador. France is known for its architecture. Although each country has its own specialty, each one values art in some way. When reading our groups presentations, there were many similarities I noticed right away about certain countries. When researching Nepal, I observed an artist who was a painter and he incorporated much of the culture and religion of his country and beliefs into his work. After reading about Ecuador, Spain, Nepal, Israel, and Chile; I realized this was a very common technique with artists and musicians living in a culture-rich environment such as these countries. Many of the artists paint what they see and paint the feelings they have about the situation, like the artist from Ecuador, “…his work portrays the suffering and sadness of Ecuador's indigenous peoples” (Mary, Ecuador). There were many countries that our group researched that have a lot of low income areas such as Ecuador, Chile, and Nepal. With the art programs associated in these programs, they provide a lot of outreach programs to communities that did not get as many opportunities as others. On the other hand, countries like England and Spain did not have as many low income areas and had many non-profit organizations that provide financial help to students who need it. One thing I noticed between nearly all of the countries is that most of the schools that were researched in our group required students to learn a different language other than the language in which they were fluent. Some of the art organizations that were researched in countries like Nepal and Israel helped maintain certain parts of their culture via preserving museums and providing local art galleries for the community.

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=Where are there differences? =
 * Throughout the world there are many different versions of education systems. Within our group, when looking at the different countries, not only did we find similarities but also differences between each of them. Differences ranged from the lack of education as a whole to required arts incorporation within every grade level. Depending on which country the results varied. Examples of differences are listed below.
 * Nepal and Chile, unlike many of the other countries, are struggling to provide schooling in general for students within their own borders. Not only is there a lack of standard curriculum but also a lack of arts incorporated within their education systems compared to countries like Spain, England, and Russia.
 * Ecuador incorporates art into their curriculum because many families use art to provide for their families. Not only is art a creative outlook, it is also a means of family income. Spain, England, Russia, and France study art more for creative advantages than a way to survive.
 * The only art education that French students are offered during school hours is foreign language. Many other art activities are offered in after-school clubs which many students do not participate in because of the fact that their standard curriculum is already a heavy load. Education systems in England, Spain and Russia offer a variety of art classes throughout their grade levels.
 * The art education in Israel is lacking to say the least. Much like the art education in France, there are many after school or community programs in which students are able to participate in but because of their already intense school work they are unable to join some of the activities they may want to.
 * Nepal art is heavily based off of religion and royalty. These aspects are kept in mind throughout the country's art work. Some other countries incorporate religion within their education systems but not as much as Nepal.
 * England's and Spain's governments control the majority of the curriculum taught in classrooms compared to France, Nepal, Ecuador and Chile whose do not.
 * England's teachers are required to participate in an arts education course themselves which requires them to work personally with professional artists to gain valuable information which they can bring back to their own classrooms. It is unclear whether or not the other countries have a similar requirement which better prepares their own teachers.
 * Chile, Ecuador, and Nepal have disadvantaged art programs because of the lack of funding from their governments. This is much different compared to England and Spain whose governments are able to supply much funding for arts programs.

=What cultural aspects might impact creative expression? Why? =

I found many similarities between Ecuador and Chile and France and England. I think Ecuador and Chile don't have as much creative expression incorporated into their programs because there isn't money available. France and England, however, have a lot of room for the arts in their education systems. Since the economy is not as great in South America in comparison to Europe, there is less creative expression in Chile and Ecuador because there simply is no money for it. Nepal, Ecuador and Israel's cultures all value religion very highly and it is reflected in the arts. In Ecuador, there are very old churches with religious pictures painted inside. "Sculptures of religious figures and shrines can be found almost anywhere throughout Nepal" (Smith, Camden). In Israel the art scene had its beginnings in the early part of the 20th century when the rebirth of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel was beginning to take shape. Because more than seventy-five percent of Israel's population is Jewish it seems natural that most of the art present throughout Israel is prompted by the country's most prevalent religion. Since religion is a huge part of Nepal, Ecuador and Israel's cultures, it is very reflective in their creative expression. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dance is also a huge part of Latin American culture. Spain, Ecuador, and Chile embrace their Latino culture through the art of dance. Even though dance is not often incorporated into the education systems of Chile or Ecuador, extra-curricular Salsa lessons are very common in both countries. Despite the lack of art in formal education settings, Latin Americans find other ways to practice the art of dancing.

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=<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">What surprised you about your comparisons? =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is very interesting to see how so many different countries utilize arts in education so differently. England places a very high importance on education, which is seen through their national curriculum that keep students in school starting from nursery school, through university. It is also interesting to see that teachers even have to go through a program called Catalyst that will help them incorporate arts into their curriculum. By looking through the information provided for Ecuador it is clear that the arts in education have a bigger focus on ethnic communities, and the values of culture. Schools provide art classes for their students because it teaches them skills that their own parents use to bring in income. This not only helps shed light into the real world, but also will help teach a skill that can be helpful later on in life. Ecuador uses the teaching of art as more of a life lesson to be used later in life rather than as a purely creative experience. It is very interesting to see that the government mandates educational art in Spain very strictly. Certain classes are only allowed to be introduced to students at a certain age and during a specific grade. Despite this fact, arts in education are required in Spain, and there are many art programs in higher education levels that are very beneficial for students. As I studied and researched about art in education in Chile, I was very shocked to learn that there was not a lot of opportunity for students to be involved in art classes unless they were taken outside of school, and on their own time and money. Chile is a very literate country, however has a huge lack of funding for art programs. They focus heavily on teaching English, and place a higher value on that than art. The government pays for 93% of the student population to go to school, where the rest go to private school. Chile is an arts enriched country, but only sadly outside of school. Huge protests are known world wide that go on in Chile for the fight for free education. Something very interesting we found while comparing countries is that art in Nepal has a heavy focus on religion, even art that dates back to centuries ago. Buddha is a common character found in most paintings, pictures, and drawings. Another big majority of art found in Nepal are photographs of royalty, and dominant figures known throughout the country. When art is taught in schools, these aspects are kept in mind and shown to the students. It was very cool to see that France has one of the most well respected educational systems known in the world. School is required for children from the ages of 6-16. Also, we learned that France has art programs in schools just like the United States, which are required. There are also many after school programs still affiliated with the school such as choirs and extra art and theater classes. -Amy Muskovitz