Developing students’ critical response to visual arts: A study of inquiry approaches and outcomes in learning art criticism

A review of the current literature on developing students’ critical response to visual arts reveals a heavy reliance on using art criticism models in schools. The learning of art criticism is generally seen as an engagement of students in various language tasks, such as describing, analysing, interpreting and evaluating. Geahigan (2002) disagrees with the view that the learning of art criticism is a discursive practice and conceptualises it as a process of inquiry. Building on the theory of Geahigan, the present study aims to develop, field-test and evaluate an inquiry-based model for learning art criticism. Using ‘design research’, a systematic and rigorous method of seeking out tested improvements in learning situations, as the principal methodology, the study will develop and test a pedagogic model that will enhance students’ critical ability in art criticism.

Funding Source: RGC - General Research Fund (GRF)