ABSTRACT

This study investigated An Examination Factors Affecting Students‟ Behaviour in Cultural and Creative Artsin Junior Secondary Schools in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The aim of the study was to identify the significant factors that affect students‟ behaviour in Cultural and Creative Arts among some selected secondary schools in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The objective of the study is to ascertain if instructional strategies employed by art teachers have any significant influence on studentsbehaviour in Cultural and Creative Arts, assess the environmental factors (such as family, school, peers and the society) which affect students learning.Assess the socio-cultural and religious factors which influence students‟behaviour in learning Cultural and Creative Arts,and to determine if gender of students have influence on the students learning of Cultural and Creative Arts in Nasarawa State. The information gathered was analyzed using descriptive statistics.A stratified random sampling technique was used in the selection of the subjects in schools, in the case of the teachers; the art teachers responsible for teaching the art subject were selected.A 23- item questionnaire for students and a 22- item questionnaire for teachers were administered, and interview was conducted for students and teachers alike. A total of three hundred respondents comprising teachers and students from selected private and public secondary schools within Nasarawa, Keffi, Akwanga, Lafia, and Awe Local Government areas were selected for the study respectively. Pilot study was used for feasibility study to ensure that the ideas / methods behind the research are sound before launching into a larger study. In all, a total of fifty students and seven teachers were selected The populations for the pilot study were teachers and students, drawn from selected (private and public) secondary schools within Nasarawa, Keffi and Akwanga towns. This constituted the sample size used for the pilot study.After collecting the data obtained from the instruments, the mean scores of the data obtained were used to analyzeand determine the degree of the relationship of the variables involved through the use of the statistical package for social and scientific method [SPSS]. The researcher discovered in the study that poor methodology, socio cultural and religious views, environmental influence are factors against effective teaching of Cultural and Creative Arts. The researcher concluded by recommending that there is also the need to provide opportunities for learners to develop language, express feelings, ideas, and moods through Cultural and Creative Arts activities, because lack of past art experiences have a negative impact on attitude to art education.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page ………………………………………………………………………………………………i Declaration………………………………………………………………………………….……ii Certification…………………………………………………….. ………………………………iii Dedication………………………………………………………………………………………..iv Acknowledgement ……………………………………………… …………………………………….v Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………….vi Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………………..vii List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………………..………x CHAPTER ONE:INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Problem………………………………………………………………..1 1.2 Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………………………3 1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study………………………………………………………….5 1.4 Research Questions……………………………………………………………………………..5 1.5 Basic Assumptions…………………………………………………………………………..6 1.6 Scope of the Study…………………………………………………………………………..6 1.7 Justification of the Study………………………………………………………………….7 1.8 Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………….7 1.9 Conceptual Framework………………………………………………………………………7 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE. 2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………14
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2.2 Instructional Strategies……………………………………………………………………17 2.3 Environmental Factors which Affects Students………………………………………………20 2.4 Socio-Cultural and Religious Factors…………………………………………………..23 2.5 Gender and Art Teaching………………………………………………………………..29 2.6 Empirical Studies……………………………………………………………………….32 2.7 Summary of Literature Review and Uniqueness of the Study…………………………..34 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY. 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..36 3.2 Research Design……………………………………………………………………………..36 3.3 Population and Sample…………………………………………………………………….37 3.4 Research Instruments………………………………………………………………………38 3.5 Data Collection Procedures………………………………………………………………38 3.6 Data Analysis and Technique…………………………………………………………………38 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS. 4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………39 4.2 Demographic Distribution of the Respondents………………………………………….39 4.3 Factors Affecting Students in Learning Cultural and Creative Arts…………………….42 4.4 Findings………………………………………………………………………………….55 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 5.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………58 5.2 Summary………………………………………………………………………………….58
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5.3 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..58 5.4 Recommendations………………………………………………………………………59 References…………………………………………………………………………………..61 Appendix A:…………………………………………………………………………………66

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION 1.1Background of the study. Cultural and Creative Arts education is a subject which leads children towardsthe understanding and appreciation of arts and culture. Itdevelops the creative skills and aesthetic sensibilities of children. Itinvolves the philosophy, psychology and sociology of education in learning situation.Cultural and Creative Artsprogrammeisdesigned to meet the professional needs of students who plan to specialize in Fine Arts, Drama, and Music. Creative Arts provide and trains teachers for the schools and colleges. Nigerian government realizes the importance of Cultural and Creative Arts and therefore include it in the National Policy on Education (Federal Ministry of Education,1981, 2004, 2007).The teaching of the subject is compulsory in Junior Secondary School and it is made optional at the senior secondary level. To ensure successful implementation of this programme, the federal government provided Cultural and Creative Arts syllabusfor all Junior Secondary Schools in Nigeria.
Crowder in Akolo (2000)perceived that a way of preserving the arts in Nigeria is to encourage effective teaching – learning through provision of adequate materials and funds. Funds are not adequately allocated to Cultural and Creative Arts Secondary Schoolsprincipals. There is need for attitudinal change on the part of parents, teachers and school administrators as suggestedby Olorukooba (1990; 2006); Mbahi,(1990; 2008). The attitudinal change on the part of the administrators is also part of the problem of the Cultural and Creative Arts. Teachers and students also make negative statements about Creative Arts to people in authority. Such attitudes have to change for the students to be receptive to the teaching of Cultural and Creative
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Arts.Aspin in Akolo (2000) also saw student‟s attitudeas crucial to the development of a sound curriculum. In Creative Arts, other questions are the deliberations on how the attitudes might be changed, new strategies for reorganizing and planning the scheme and methods of teaching and considerations that may arise from “a reflection on the analysis of the nature of the subject itself”, with regards to its “meanings and cognitive operations and skills”.This means that the need to change the attitude towards a subject will not only reflect on the method of teaching but also on the content.
Nevertheless, the contemporary Nigerian art educators seem to have different views about the role which early Nigerian elites played in promoting Cultural and Creative Arts.Mamza(2002) reports that early Nigerian elites displayed negative attitude towards Art Education. Olorukooba (2006) and Mbahi (2000) were not in complete agreement withMamza‟s view however.Theauthors considered the efforts of the pioneering Art Educators in the face of lack of funds, and the negative attitude of the colonial masters and government to Creative Art teaching as the challenge. In spite of the opposing views, however, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) have been making efforts to evolve meaningful curriculum contents to encourage and promote aesthetic and creative abilities of Nigerian students.
Nigeria‟s introductionof the Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme in 1976was aimed at providing education to every Nigerian child of school age. As a measure to improve education, the Federal Government formulated a National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1981. The National Policy on Education was characterized by the 6-3-3-4 system of education which was not only a major landmark in the history of educational planning and development in Nigeria, but a step forward toward the development of Cultural and Creative Arts education
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nationwide. The new policy came into force in 1982 and includes Cultural and Creative Arts as a core subject in Junior Secondary School. On Cultural and Creative Arts, the policy specifies the following objectives of secondary education. They are to: i). diversify the curriculum to cater for the differences in talent, opportunities and roles possessed by or open to study after their secondary school course; and ii). develop and project Nigerian culture, art and language as well as the world‟s cultural heritage (NPE, 2004). Researchers like Akanbi, (2000) andEto, (2001) revealed that few students usually offer art, it is possible that some factors such as the home environment, school, instructional strategies, vocational anticipation, socio – cultural and socio – economicbackgrounds influence the students. Other factors are individual differences and often socialand emotional matters. These factors determine students‟ attitude to learning, their ability to direct their learning, and their engagement in learning activities. Students‟ attitude also influencelearning and teaching processes. The way students engage in Cultural and Creative Artsaffect performance in the subject. The researcher believes that the problem of students‟ of Cultural and Creative Arts in Nasarawa State may be related to some of the factors enumerated above.By assessing students‟behaviour towards Cultural and Creative Arts is an indirect way of evaluating the overall effects of students‟ disposition to Cultural and Creative Arts subjects. 1.2 Statement of the Problem
The challenge of teaching Cultural and Creative Arts in general is the way most people look at art. From the teaching of the subject, and outcome of students‟ performance and discussions of colleagues during art exhibitions, conferences / seminars suggest that there are certain factors
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affecting the teaching of Cultural and Creative Arts in Nigeria.While it is not clear what the cause is, there is the presence of some factors such as: – parental influence, environmental, and teaching styles, materials and religious beliefs. The researcher is interested in identifying such factors in order to determine how they affect students. From the time of Plato, art has been considered useful so far as it is subsidiary to moral and political education (Butcher in Hurwitz and Day 2007). Although Aristotle saw Cultural and Creative Arts as a free and an independent activity of the mind, religion and politics (Aspin in Akolo2000) extended this by stating that a culturally impoverished being is a subhuman participant in the „goods‟ of human society.Arising from this observation people‟s attitude to Cultural Arts have not changed significantly from the time of Plato. Cultural and Creative Arts teachers are inspired by the goals of Art Education astheir efforts is directed at changing attitude towards Cultural and Creative Arts teaching and learning.
Cultural and Creative Arts teachers do engage students in thinking and reasoning about Creative Arts and Visual Culture through questioning of ideas, and solving problems through active engagement; being involved in personal creationin response to the examination of art objects. The Creative and Cultural Arts curriculum has the potential to engage students in several ways: through refined perceptions of aesthetic qualities of artworks; through analysis and interpretation of meanings, which often time is metaphorical and embedded in works of visual art and culture. Creative and Cultural Arts through inquiry into social, political and other contexts give rise to artistic creation. The knowledge of students‟ ability is considered necessary for the effective teaching of Cultural and Creative Arts. Junior secondary school students are the focus of this study and are of special interest in this regard and the investigation into their interest towards Cultural and Creative Arts is crucial because at this level, students start to doubt their ability in
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Cultural and Creative Arts. Students lack confidence in their Cultural and Creative Arts abilities, they oftenabandon cultural issues like (speech, and dress) and prefer to ape everything western at the expense of their rich cultural heritage. Students therefore need special support from the Cultural and Creative Arts teachers for them to continue to be involved with Cultural and Creative Arts.(Eisner in Akolo 2000). 1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study Theaim of the study was to examine the factors affecting students‟ performance in Cultural and Creative Arts in Junior Secondary Schools in Nasarawa State. The Objectives of the study were to: a). Ascertain if instructional strategies employed by art teachers have any significant influence on students‟ performance in Cultural and Creative Arts. b). Assessthe environmental factors (such as family, school, peers and the society) which affect students learning. c). Assess socio-cultural and religious factors which influence students‟ performance in Cultural and Creative Arts. d). Determine if gender of students have influence on the students‟ performance in Cultural and Creative Arts. 1.4 Research Questions The following research questions are posed to guide the study.
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i). isthe teachers‟ methods of teaching influencing students‟ behaviour in Cultural and Creative Arts? ii). what are the environmental factors influencing students‟ learning? iii). what are the socio – cultural and religious factors which influence students‟behaviour in Cultural and Creative Arts? iv). is gender influencing students‟ behaviour in Cultural and Creative Arts? 1.5 Basic Assumptions It is assumed in this study that: a). teachers methods of teaching influencesstudents‟ performance in Cultural and Creative Arts. b). there are environmental factors which affect students‟ learning. c). there are socio – cultural and religious factors affecting students‟ performance in Cultural and Creative Arts. d). gender is affecting students‟performance in Cultural and Creative Arts. . 1.6 Scope of the Study Creative and Cultural Arts teachers and students, were drawn from some selected (private and public) secondary schools within Nasarawa, Keffi, Akwanga, Lafia and Awe towns respectively for this study. Researcher‟s design instrument were served the teachers and students for data gathering and only JSS III students were used.
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1.7 Justification of the Study The study is focused on the factors affecting students‟ performance in Cultural and Creative Arts. The teachers teaching methods, environmental factors, socio – cultural / religious, and gender were the variables involved. The actual performances of students were not involved. 1.8 Significance of the study Findings from this investigation is expected to provide useful information that will add to available literatures on factors affecting Cultural and Creative Arts teaching and learning in secondary schools. The state government, the Ministry of Arts and Culture, and particularly the crafts unit of the Ministry of Education, will benefit from the outcomes of the study and the problems identifiedas wellby which means students‟ interest in Cultural and Creative Arts aswell as the cultural heritage of the people can be maintained and sustained and would be additional information that would be used to further encourage Cultural and Creative Arts in secondary schools. 1.9Conceptual Framework The study is based on Nkom‟s opinion (2010) which states that… One of the greatest problems in Nigeria as far as Art education is concerned, is the lukewarm behavior and performance in Cultural and Creative Arts coupled with poverty and inequality in educational opportunity among its citizens. Cultural and Creative Arts is generally not seen as other subjects.(p170).
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It has been discovered however, that most educational policies and programs formulated are in principle rather than in practice (Hurwitz and Day2007). Opportunity is also, not given for the teaching and learning of Creative Arts despite its inclusion in the curriculum. In a situation of this nature, it will be difficult to hope that Nigeria will attain the height of a self-reliant nation. A change in behaviour toward Arts is therefore necessary. All subjects in schools should equally be appreciated and equipped with human and materialresources to meet global challenges. In view of the role that Art Education plays in the technological advancement of the society (Olorukooba, 1986, 1990) the need for teaching of Fine Arts at the early stages of the child is apparent. Art Educationfacilitates better understanding of what the child is being taught. Current research in cognitive psychology, as it is applied in education, emphasizes interactions between knowledge and various levels of thinking. Lauren Resnick and Leopold Klopfer (1989) pointedout that before knowledge becomes truly generative – knowledge that can be used to interprete new situations to solve problems, to think and reason, and to learndemand that students must elaborate and question what they are told; examine the new information, and build new knowledge structures. This view recognizes that learners require a certain amount of knowledge in order to use knowledge flexibly or creatively and that learning is easier once a generative knowledge base has been established. A rich storehouse of knowledge is essential as students deal with issues raised by the ubiquitous images of visual culture. Uzoagba (2008), pointed out that in pre-colonial traditional Nigeria, Arts and craft had always played a major role in all aspects of life, but the arrival of the missionaries imposed an alien way of life with a Western typeeducation.
Olorukooba (1984),Nkom (2010), were of the opinion that;
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“It is the responsibility of those who plan the form, the content of our educational syllabus to see that this creative heritage finds new expression in terms of contemporary life; to ensure that Nigerian pupils under their charge know of and respect the richness of the many cultures which are Nigerian and have the opportunities to express their ideas and aspirations”.(p170). In the system of Nigerian education introduced, the needs ofthe society were not properly assessed as they would have been if education had been adequately defined. It was the Nigerian independence of 1960 that led to the re-assessment of the needs of the country since it became imperative for the systems of education to focus on such needs. A national policy on education thus emerged in which the national aims of education were spelt out. Series of curriculum workshops were organized between (1971) and (1975) out of which emerged the general objectives for each subject area including arts and crafts. As stated in the Universal Primary Education UPE Teacher Education Project, (1977), the objectives of arts and crafts education include: To provide opportunities for the students to: 1). develop a language for expressing, ideas, feelings emotions, moods through a variety of Arts experiences (creative growth). 2). gain understanding of the media. 3). learn the proper use of tools, equipment and materials. 4). understand and appreciate works of art (man-made and natural). 5). develop interest for a future vocation in Arts.
6). have adequate skill and competence for higher education in arts.
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7). see the usefulness of Arts in other subject areas. 8). help the children develop their mental and physical capabilities. 9). be adequately equipped to teach Arts to children. Poppers in Hurwitz and Day (2007), a philosopher of science and a social theorist, suggested a theory of learning and a model of creativity in which objects or ideas are understood as products of interactions between social institutions, cultural environments and individuals. Popper views interest as a positive feeling towards a particular object or activity in which an individual gets deeply involved. He emphasizes that interest is usually directed towards satisfying some needs. For this reason, it is concluded that the stronger our needs the longer our interests will last. The implication of this as it affects Arts and crafts shows a real need for art in the lives of pupils, their general total development, and the need to sustain their interest. Furthermore, as stipulated in the National Policy on Education (1981)revised edition, it is stated that government will take measures to see that our culture is kept alive through drama, music and other cultural studies in our schools as well as through local, state and national festivals of the arts, and that where necessary, local crafts men will be used to teach pupils. The most recent significant innovation in the area of art education in schools is seen in the WAEC review of Arts syllabus and the school certificate examination pattern in the arts. The compulsory inclusion of both theory and practice in the certificate examinations since (1986) has made the teaching of Arts in school a discipline based subject (Uzoagba2008).
Instead of making Arts look mystical, teachers should state the role as a discipline and as part of the general curriculum. Apart from teaching students to draw, paint, design and model which constitute the domain of creative art teaching as a discipline, each student needs to be taught the
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second domain which is to perceive and appreciate the appearance of creative art objects and crafts as well as their analysis and classification. Broudy(1974) and others perceived the need to teach the two domains of aesthetic experience. Kaelin(1965) also noted that by concentrating on the verbal aspect of education alone, we do not adequately reach our students who communicate better visually. Available research information in Art Education (Mbahi 2000; Ngashang 2007, Mamza 2008), reveals that there are few purpose built Art studios in secondary schools. In some secondary schools, regular classrooms are converted into Art and Craft studios. Many studios if any are located at the outskirts of the school because of the nature of the subject. The position and types of Art rooms tells much about what to expect in terms of the status or importance attached to the subject. The outcome of informal interviews with some art teachers showed that most secondary schools have more than one syllabus whichiseither prepared by the teachers themselves, the State Ministry of education, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) or the West African Examination Council (WAEC). The curricular are based on self-expression and academic tradition. The objectives are mostly derived from learners and therefore they demand academic knowledge. The goal is then focused on the creative accomplishments of individuals and are stated with such terms as self-expression, developing the senses, identifying creative potentials and so on (Mbahi, 2000).
An effective educational program depends on proper planning for its success. Chapman in Uzoagba(2008) described planning as „the thought process‟ that makes teaching with confidence and flexibility possible. Hence, educators need to establish very clearly what they are trying to
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achieve with their students, then decide how they hope to do this and finally to consider how successful they have been in their attempts. According to Hurwitz and Day (2007) the creativity rationale for Art education and the interest in personality development as strongly advocated by Lowenfeld and others dominated the field well into the (1960s), when a new generation of scholars and educators began to suggest, for the first time, that the study of Arts was intrinsically worthwhile. Attention was focused on Art as a body of knowledge that could be learned by children. The justifications for this in the schools arose from Arts value to other areas of concern, such as the development of competent industrial designers, the development of perception, achievement of general educational goals, and cultural literacy. The study of the Arts is part of the disciplines including art history, archeology, cultural anthropology and some areas of psychology as briefly mentioned below: Definition of Terms Art history is the historical study of visual arts and art objects. Art historians are able to study unfamiliar art object and attribute it to a period, a style, and an artist, and determine whether a work is authentic or a copy. Lot of Art historians now specialize in art of Africa, the Americas, Oceania, and Asia. Art historians also examine the working of museums, the institutions that educate artists, the functioning of the galleries, and the role of the collector and critic. Art criticism consists of judgments about the value of art exhibits and events. The writings of art critics are circulated in magazines and on radio, television, and video. Art criticism is also educational and encourages viewers to think for themselves.
Archeology is the scientific study of the physical remains of past human life and activity. It includes all things that are buried or thrown away, such as bones, stone tools, art objects,
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weapons, utensils, and other functional objects. It also includes monuments and buildings. Archeologists conduct fieldwork in which they carefully excavate, classify, record and date the artifacts they find. Cultural anthropology is the study of humanity within cultures, including human behaviour, social organization, and the creation and use of objects. For living cultures, the cultural anthropologist does fieldwork (that is, lives with people), and collects data on human behaviour and social organization. The visual arts are important because they reflect the social structures, religious beliefs, domestic practices, and aspirations of a people. Behaviourin the context of this work is looking at students‟ attitude to Cultural and Creative Arts.

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