Czech Basic Artistic Schools (Bas) In Comparison To Their European Counterparts

Arts education in the 21st century

Nowadays, we are experiencing a rapid development of digital communication and other technologies. It is obvious that progressive automation and robotization of work in the next decades will significantly reduce the number of routine jobs and increase the importance of those professions that require empathy and creativity. Some authors have discussed the possibility of a new social group in the 21st century, the so-called creative class (Florida, 2002). This would include artists, teachers, designers, architects, developers, scientists, and so on. As opposed to the professions of manufacturing, where precise working practices and standards are required, people in creative professions are encouraged to exercise their originality.

These trends should be positively reflected in the educational strategies and national curricula of individual states. We are convinced that support for those educational institutions that actively form pupils for creative activity will improve not only the lives of those individuals but also society as a whole.

The world

UNESCO’s First World Conference on Arts Education (Road Map for Arts Education, Lisbon, 2006) brought the role of arts education in relation to the need to promote creativity and cultural awareness of 21st century society. The main intentions were defined as:

- Respect for human rights in education and cultural participation

- Developing individual abilities

- Improving the quality of education

- Promoting the expression of cultural diversity

As a follow-up to Lisbon, UNESCO held a Second World Conference titled "The Seoul Agenda: Goals for the Development of Arts Education" (Seoul Agenda, 2010). The emerging output is the result of a round table discussion of more than 650 leaders and art education experts from 95 countries from all around the world who believe that arts education plays an important role in the constructive transformation of education systems that seek to meet students’ needs in a changing world characterized by impressive technological advances on the one hand, and overwhelming social and cultural injustices on the other. The Seoul program should be an action plan for the carefully argued demands laid out at Lisbon. Specific targets have been set:

-Ensure that arts education is accessible as a fundamental and sustainable component of a high quality renewal of education

-Assure that arts education activities and programmes are of a high quality in conception and delivery

-Apply arts education principles and practices to contribute to resolving the social and cultural challenges facing today’s world

Europe

The application and the practical implementation of these goals are pursued in Europe by the non-profit EMU (European Music School Union). It covers the national associations of music schools of 26 European countries. It was founded in 1973 and currently includes 6,000 music schools, 150,000 qualified teachers and 4 million pupils in its international network. The EMU is a member of IMC (International Music Council) and EMC (European Music Council) and an advisory body of the EC (European Council). Since 2000, it has regularly published statistics and annual reports from its European National Associations. The association of AZUS (Association of the Basic Artistic Schools) is responsible for the Czech Republic. EMU’s main activities include:

- Support and consultation

- Development of music education

- Collaboration between different artistic forms.

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Czech Republic

Arts education is a broad area in the Czech Republic. On the one hand, it is a kind of formal education in the network of educational institutions, while on the other hand it is a kind of “informal” or extracurricular education in various cultural institutions and facilities. Our study focuses on the first case.

Besides compulsory primary education at elementary schools, where art subjects are also represented, there is a so-called basic arts education in the Czech Republic. This is provided by BAS (Basic Artistic Schools) in four disciplines: music, art, dance and literature/drama. The secondary professional level is represented by conservatories and secondary arts schools, whose students are very often graduates of a basic artistic school. At the tertiary level, there are academies and art high schools.

Since the 1990s, BASs have become fully-fledged educational institutions with all the requirements for formal education. Under the leadership of the national association mentioned above, AZUS is one of the 26 EMU members.

Definition of formal education

According to the Pedagogical Encyclopaedia (Průcha 2009), formal education is education "that is realized in educational institutions (schools) and has clearly and legislatively defined functions, aims, contents, means, organizational function and methods of evaluation. It takes place in a specific form, at a given time, and involves successive levels of education."

Definition of Czech Basic Artistic Schools compared to their EMU counterparts

Czech basic arts education as implemented by the school institutions of BAS shows the signs of formal education (Strategy of the Educational Policy of the Czech Republic till 2020, p. 6). BASs provide the foundations of arts education in musical, artistic, dance and literary-dramatic fields; they do not provide standard primary education. Students are admitted to the study of a given discipline on the basis of proven prerequisites (preparatory study) or talent exams (study of the first and the second grade and adult studies). Study of a given degree in the artistic field is completed with a final exam, which may take the form of a graduate performance or exhibition of artwork. A curricular document at the state level is the Framework Educational Program for Basic Artistic Schools (FEP for BAS). Education in BASs is governed by school education programs (National Institute for Education).

Basic arts education is part of the arts education system. It is regulated in Section 108 of Act No. 561/2004 Sb. on pre-primary, primary, secondary, tertiary professional and other education (School Act). The organization and course of basic arts education are defined by the Decree of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports No. 71/2005 Sb. on basic arts education.

This information shows that Czech basic arts education includes a relatively high level of elements of formal education. It will be necessary to look at this hypothesis critically and find out how it stands in relation to its European counterparts within the EMU.

Categories of formal education

Function of education

▪How wide is the group that are educated in music schools? Are they just young people or adults, too?

Aims of education

▪Is the goal to educate the widest public or only selected gifted individuals?

Content of education

▪What musical instruments are most commonly taught? Are they as popular in the rest of Europe as in the Czech Republic?

Means and sources of education

▪How are European music schools financed? Do state, municipal, or other budgets apply here?

Curriculum and Education Act

▪How is education organized? Are there corresponding curricular documents? Is education regulated by law?

Evaluation methods

▪Are pupils being evaluated? Are there any entrance or exit exams or other tests?

What is the position of the Czech BAS in relation to its European counterparts in the framework of the EMU? How is the arts education system of the BAS in the Czech Republic defined?

BAS compared to EMU

Goals

EMU music schools aim to address the young public and train them to be informed listeners of high quality musical art, while at the same time discovering young talents and preparing them for professional careers. The first case would correspond to those countries which have no entrance exams in their music schools. The second case corresponds to schools where entrance exams eliminate underqualified candidates before the educational process starts. The Czech BASs do have entrance examinations.

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Funds

One of the basic means of operating an institution is its funding. In Europe, this is provided by money from the state or municipal budget. The following graphics show which of the two methods is most prevalent. In the Czech Republic, BASs receive up to 80% of their funding from the state budget (Statistical Information, EMU 2010).

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BAS and formal education

The main advantage of the system of basic arts education in the Czech Republic is primarily the legal definition of the BAS - the School Act, the Decree on Basic Art Education, and the Act on Educational Workers. Basic Artistic Schools are schools funded up to 80% by the state (Statistical Information, EMU 2010), which takes into account the fundamental principle of equal access to education. Teachers’ professional and pedagogical competence and an appropriate level of their own education are necessary. There is a clear definition of further training of pedagogical staff, ensuring social and health payments from wages to employers and other social and employee benefits. For basic arts education, the framework curriculum creates a single mandatory minimum, i.e. a national curriculum. A wide network of schools - almost 500 BASs in the Czech Republic - ensures a high availability of education. Last but not least, the basic and systemic advantage over most other European countries is the existence of four artistic disciplines that can be taught at schools - music, art, dance and literature/drama. As another above-average advantage, we can include the permanent communication between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (MŠMT ČR) and the schools where the Central Arts Council of the Basic Artistic Schools of the Czech Republic is an advisory body of the MŠMT in the field of arts and pedagogy, and the Association of the Basic Artistic Schools of the Czech Republic (AZUS) in the area of school legislation. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic supports the continued development of talented pupils and the comparison of the level of educational outcomes by regularly funding competitions among the BASs.

BASs responding to the challenges

According to the Weimar Declaration Music Schools in Europe (1999), music schools have a responsibility to the public and the public has a responsibility to them. The Czech BASs fulfil these challenges: “Every person who has the corresponding inclination and perhaps even talent should be able to attend a music school. The financial burden on the pupil may not be allowed to become too onerous. People’s interest in music and their willingness to educate themselves should not be surrendered to the vagaries of the culture market and the leisure activity industry. The quality of the structures, the activities offered, and the teaching staff necessary for the music schools to fulfil their educational task and for them to participate in musical life, can only be guaranteed if the State assumes its responsibility on the basis of a clear declaration of its political will and its financial commitment.”