Implementation Space Of Educational Opportunities Of Art In Russian Pedagogy And Psychology

Abstract

The paper discusses the results of content analysis of dissertation research topics of Russian scholars dedicated to various aspects of implementing educational effect of art onto a person in contemporary educational practice. It has been established that there is still high and growing interest in the psychological and pedagogical community to the problem of effect of arts on a person; the coverage of artistic influence over different categories of population is increasing. For example, analysis of targeted use of arts in the contemporary Russian educational practice by content analysis of thesis research topics allowed establishing over 20 different strategic directions in implementing educational and developing opportunities provided by arts in education. This includes not only actualization of art in various types of educational work, but also development of cognitive processes, abilities, formation of personality orientation and specific qualities. It has been also revealed that more than ten popular art forms are employed as means of education in the pedagogical theory and practice, while the most current in the educational practice of educational institutions is the group of temporal arts. The least common in the educational practice are the spatial-temporal arts. In the system of artistic education that had been formed in our country, the educational potential of art is constantly in demand and is actualized in work with different age groups, thus creating a wide range of opportunities for actualization of all the contemporary art forms and a significant spectrum of vector direction in their educational effects.

Keywords: Educationupbringingarteffects of arteducational potential

Introduction

Existential vacuum of a modern person appearing as a result of commencing spiritual and moral degradation presents a challenge to the contemporary system of Russian education. Foundations of personal development are established during the adaptation period and while the person frequents educational institutions during the upbringing and education process (Dukhina, Tarasova, Taranova, Zorina, &, Chudnova, 2015).

A rational solution to this situation is a reinterpretation of the paradigmatic structure of education in the contemporary educational institutions. Currently, the educational situation there is characterized with deideologization of the system of educational work, a shift from the single-option upbringing to a multi-variant innovative educational activity. Studies aimed as specifics dialog between a person and art are becoming urgent, as throughout the history of humankind the arts have been used as the most powerful and accessible agent for personality formation of a human being. Art as a sphere of spiritual being of a person, semantic-meaning projection of subjectivity (Chudnovskii, 2015) has always played a special role in education due to its content that includes centuries-long record of reflection over life orientations of humanity.

Problem Statement

Significant educational potential of art and understanding its advantages over other means of influence facilitated research into the problem of its influence over educatees at the level of teaching practice (Sergeeva, 2009; Tikhonova, 2015; Szpakowski, 2019; Wildemeersch, 2019).

Under current conditions, when immoral art is irremovable from the society and often uses media to influence children's psyche (Wilson et al., 2002; Som, 2019; Shubina & Grigorchuk, 2017), a specifically organized art-based communication in educational institutions serves as a counterbalance to dominant influence of kitsch art, as a kind of a filter that disavows negative concepts of the mass culture (Hilde, 2019; Kim et al., 2019).

It should be noted that in the contemporary culture-crisis situation, pedagogics has accumulated a significant experience in actualizing educational potential of arts in working with children (Maltseva & Ponomarev, 2012; Pichko, 2016). Result of such work is its concentration in the form of: Pedagogical concepts and theories, pedagogical technologies, educational programs (Verkhovodova, 2010).

However, as Zinchenko (2011) notes, nowadays we “know well about the pedagogical role of art in formation of a person, but we are still far away from ability to actualize these opportunities, i.e., we still have only limited insight into its range and scope of influence” (p. 2). A logical consequence of the above is the research problem, which is a necessity of scientific and theoretical generalization of experience in functioning of arts in the Russian system of education.

Research Questions

The subject of the article is to reveal vector direction of the educational action of art, intensity of implementation of various directions of educational effect of arts onto a person and pedagogical potential of various art forms on the basis of generalization of experience obtained in functioning of arts in the Russian system of education (from the results of content analysis of thesis research topics).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to determine the implementation space of the educational possibilities of arts in the educational institutions of Russia through systematization and content analysis of thesis research.

Research Methods

The methodological foundation of analysis of the problem of education with artistic means is formed by content analysis of thesis research topics dedicated to various aspects of actualizing the educational effect of art on a person. Such a selection is largely determined by the fact that they reflect the main trends in the state of the problem of interest, as they represent the most efficient, experimentally innovative pedagogical practices in education with artistic means that includes actualization of the most significant and acknowledged range of artistic-pedagogical concepts. In order to obtain maximally objective analytical information on the state of the problem in education with artistic means in the Russian theory and practice, the authors analyzed research topics of thesis research in education and psychology for a period from 1996 to 2016.

Findings

The results of the work show that, on the one hand, there is still a high and growing interest to the problem of artistic influence onto a person on behalf of the psychological and pedagogical community. On the other hand, the coverage of various categories of population is expanding, while intensity of use of tools aimed at inclusion of artistic pedagogical methods into learning process of contemporary educational institutions is increasing.

Primarily, attention should be paid to analysis of art targeting in the Russian educational practice. For example, analysis of thesis research topics allowed determining the implementation space of the educational and developmental capabilities of arts in the Russian educational practice.

The table 01 shows that the targeting of art in the Russian educational practice has a very wide range (more than 20 strategic directions). It includes not only actualization of art in various types of educational work (moral, patriotic education, etc.), but also development of cognitive processes (memory, reasoning, etc.), various abilities (general and specific), formation of personal focus and individual qualities. The art also finds use as a means to formation of professionally important qualities of a future specialist and as a means to increase educational success of pupils.

However, it is evident, that in the structure of the vector direction of artistic influence on a person, the total weight of each of the strategic direction differs depending on the frequency with which teachers turn to solving educational tasks in that given direction. It appears in a differentiated nature of research efforts in development of various aspects of the general problem of artistic influence on a person (Fig. 01). For example, the following functional-targeting research directions are most represented in the implementation space of educational opportunities of art: development of creative abilities (17.9% of theses); assistance in professional establishment of personality (13.2%); development of specific skills (12.8%). In other words, maximum currency, approbation, theoretic justification of implementing educational potential of art takes place in directions, which are most traditional and developed in artistic-pedagogical practice, and which are directly linked to aesthetic functions of artistic activity (creativity, readiness to artistic activity, formation of artistic skills).

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Name of axes for types of education: 1 – intellectual; 2 – aesthetic; 3 – labor; 4 – moral; 5 – environmental; 6 – patriotic; 7 – social; 8 – ethno-cultural; 9 – development of creative abilities; 10 – development of specific abilities; 11 – perception development; 12 – memory development; 13 – development of reasoning; 14 – speech development; 15 – emotional development; 16 – formation of communicative competence; 17 – formation of intentionality; 18 – independence development; 19 – formation of culture; 20 – self-development; 21 – professional establishment; 22 – increasing education efficiency; 23 – general approaches in art education.

At the same time, analysis of thesis research topics shows that pedagogical resources of art are understudied and sparsely introduced into educational practice in such directions as labor, environmental or patriotic education. Against this background, the situation with studying the development of personal cognitive processes (cognition, perception, etc.) with arts is in a better situation. Consequently, capabilities of art in directions beyond “aesthetic” ones are while studied to a degree, in reality are being implemented less intensively than the artistic and aesthetic education and creative development of educatees with artistic means. Such situation causes concern, as art has significant possibilities for solving a complex of educational tasks in all the identified strategic directions.

Conclusion

Summing up the results of the performed analysis of theses research topics aimed at description of implementation space of educational possibilities of art, it should be noted that the art is currently intensively functioning in the Russian pedagogical practice as a very multifaceted and educational means. In the system of continuous artistic and aesthetic education that had been formed in our country, the educational potential of art is constantly in demand and is actualized in work with different age groups, thus creating a wide range of opportunities for actualization of all the contemporary art forms and a significant spectrum of vector direction of their educational effects. According to the theses, significance, scale and functional practicality of applying art are evidenced by its ability to be integrated into the educational system of educational institutions of various types and levels and its effect onto educatees that reflects the vast Russian experience in education with artistic means, which is undoubtedly of a significant scientific value.

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