How could expressive arts sessions relate to the four purposes of the curriculum (Donaldson, 2015)?

          In the Donaldson Report (2015), the previous concept of art as a subject area in education is developed into a much wider area of learning; the expressive arts. Expressive arts describes any creative way of expression, such as writing and music as well as the traditional ideas of ‘art’ such as painting. In this blog, I am going to discuss how a lesson that I recently took linked with expressive arts and the four purposes of the new curriculum in Wales. (Donaldson, 2015)

            The lesson was developed to link in with the idea of the Spring Equinox. The session began with the children being taught about the equinox and what it involved. Following this, I took small groups of the children and spoke to them about how it only occurs once a year, and asked them to consider what they would like to achieve in a year’s time. The children then wrote about their aspirations and drew pictures to support their ideas, before putting their work into bottles, following a ‘message in a bottle’ theme.

            With reference to expressive arts and Donaldson’s (2015) four purposes, the first purpose is for children to become ‘ambitious, capable learners’ (Donaldson, 2015). One aspect of this purpose that links closely to my Spring Equinox lesson is that, through education, children should be ‘building up a body of knowledge’ (Donaldson, 2015). The pupils were given this opportunity during the session as they were being taught about something that otherwise would not be included in the curriculum. Before researching for this activity, I did not have any knowledge on equinoxes. I feel that this shows how the previous curriculum did not include topics that, although may not be linked closely with core academic subjects and skills, are important to have knowledge about.

            The second purpose is for children to become ‘enterprising, creative contributors’ (Donaldson, 2015). My lesson links with this purpose and, consequently, the expressive arts as an area of learning and experience through Donaldson’s suggestion for children to learn to ‘express ideas and emotions through different media’ (Donaldson, 2015). The message in a bottle activity allowed children to express themselves through a media that was slightly different to the traditional pen and paper concept, and the addition of drawings to the writing added another form of expressive media to the task.

The third purpose is for children to become ‘ethical, informed citizens’ who, linking to the equinox task, ‘are knowledgeable about their community, now and in the past’. It has been found that, particularly in areas of deprivation, communities can be completely unaware of historical and cultural events or places that are so close to them. A few years previously to the Spring Equinox session, pupils from primary schools in Tinkinswood were brought together at the Tinkinswood chambered tomb – a place where, at the time of the Spring Equinox, sunlight can be seen to align through the tomb each year. It was found that the pupils involved in this project, as well as some teachers, were unaware of the meaning of the chambered tomb beforehand. (Reynolds & Adams, 2014) Projects like these, as well as the equinox session that I took, help to build childrens’ knowledge on the culture of the places in which they are living, helping them to develop a true sense of citizenship and pride of their home towns and country. (Donaldson, 2015)

            The final purpose in Donaldson’s (2015) Report is for children to become ‘healthy, confident individuals’. One of the aspects of this purpose is for the curriculum to support children in building their confidence and their mental and emotional health. I feel that the Spring Equinox activity particularly helped to develop the pupils’ confidence as it gave them opportunity to discuss their goals and aspirations with one another. Many adults would struggle to discuss personal weaknesses and areas of improvement, however by the end of the session the children were openly talking about these things with one another. (Donaldson, 2015)

References

Donaldson, G. (2015). Successful futures: Independent review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales. Welsh Government.

Reynolds, F., & Adams, D. (2014). Sound and performance in public archaeology: examining the benefits of outdoor learning with creative engagement at the Neolithic site of Tinkinswood Burial Chamber, Vale of Glamorgan. Time and Mind, 7(1), 13-31.