ABSTRACT
The study titled “A Study of Teachers’ Assessment of Children’s Creative Art
Works in Some Primary Schools in Kaduna State” was designed to evaluate primary
school teachers’ method of assessing children’s creative art works. A total of 262
teachers and 350 pupils were randomly selected from twenty (20) primary schools in both
public and private primary schools within Kaduna Metropolis.
The tools used in collecting the data were-questionnaire, interview and
observational schedules, a practical test of drawing was also given to the pupils to test
their creative abilities in art. The data collected was analysed using the following
instruments: percentages, t-test statistics and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation
Coefficient. The descriptive survey method (Afolabi, 1993, Johnson, 1977) was used in
collecting data for this study. Three research questions and three hypotheses were
developed for this study. The findings which derived from the analysis of data provided
some solution to the research questions and hypotheses thus:
1. A significant relationship was found among the various ratings/assessment of
children’s art works by art teachers.
2. Male pupils performed significantly better than female pupils in creative arts, and
3. There is no significant difference between an evaluation of the performance of
children in public schools and those in private schools.
4. Other factors affecting evaluation of children’s art works include:
– Poor professional/academic qualification(s) of art teachers.
– Lack of adequate knowledge of criteria to be used in evaluation and
viii
– Lack of art rooms/studios, materials etc.
Some of the recommendations made include:
(a) Kaduna State Government should employ better-qualified art teachers, who
should be exposed to periodic in-service training on evaluation.
(b) Periodic workshops should be held for both qualified and non-qualified
teachers on methods of evaluating art process and products.
(c) Children in public schools should be encouraged to take greater interest in
art through provision of adequate art materials and more conducive
environment.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Page
Title page – – – – – – – – – – i
Certification – – – – – – – – – – ii
Declaration – – – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – – – v
Abstract – – – – – – – – – – vii
Table of Contents – – – – – – – – – viii
List of Tables – – – – – – – – – xii
Definition of Terms – – – – – – – – – xiii
Chapter One: Introduction
1.0 Background of the Study – – – – – – – 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem – – – – – – – 3
1.2 Research Question – – – – – – – – 5
1.3 The Objectives of the Study – – – – – – 6
1.4 Significance of the Study – – – – – – – 6
1.5 Basic Assumptions – – – – – – – – 7
1.6 Delimitation of the Study – – – – – – – 7
1.7 Organization of the Study – – – – – – – 8
x
Chapter two: Literature Review
2.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – – 9
2.1 Concepts of Assessment – – – – – – – 9
2.2 Types of Assessment – – – – – – – 11
2.3 Assessment Process – – – – – – – – 14
2.4 What to Assess in Children – – – – – – – 15
2.5 Purpose of Assessment – – – – – – – 16
2.6 Problems Involving Children’s Assessment in Art Education – – 20
2.7 Child’s Art – – – – – – – – – 26
2.8 Methods of Assessing Children’s Art Process and Product – – 46
2.9 Qualities of Good Assessment in Teaching and Learning Process – 58
2.10 Summary / Conclusion – – – – – – – 63
Chapter Three: Research Methodology
3.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – – 64
3.1 Research Procedure – – – – – – – – 64
3.2 Selection of Subjects – – – – – – – 64
3.3 Distribution of Schools and the Subject of Study – – – 65
3.4 Description of Research Instruments – – – – – 68
3.5 Pilot Study – – – – – – – – – 68
3.6 Reliability and Validity – – – – – – – 70
xi
Chapter Four: Data Analysis and Interpretation
4.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – – 71
4.1 Data Analysis and Interpretation – – – – – – 77
4.2 Determining the Association between Teachers’ Qualifications in
Creative Art ability and their respective Pupils’ Scores in the Subject- 79
4.3 The Research Findings – – – – – – – 81
Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
5.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – – 83
5.1 Summary – – – – – – – – – 83
5.2 Conclusion – – – – – – – – – 84
5.3 Recommendation from the Study – – – – – – 86
5.4 Implication for further Study – – – – – – 87
References – – – – – – – – – – 88
Appendices
Appendix A – Questionnaire/for the Study – – – – – 94
Appendix B – Drawing Test (A House) – – – – – – 96
Appendix C – Interview Guide/Observational Schedules – – – 106
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of the Study
Assessment in art, like with other forms of educational attainment rating, is an
essential index of measuring growth and performance. But a major problem with art
teachers has always been that they are not too clear about what is to be assessed and in
what ways criteria can be defined ( Eisner, 1975; Olorukooba, 1990, 1992; ). Another
dilemma facing most art teachers today is that they do not know the most appropriate
method to use. Teachers therefore resort to using different methods and criteria in
assessing and measuring students’ artistic skill and competence. The problem of art
teachers is further compounded because they tend to believe that the art “product” of
learners are indicators of progress with little or no attention paid to how the work is
carried out. This practice seems to overemphasize the importance of product at the
expense of the process. Mbahi (1999) considers this practice harmful to the learner
because it turns attention away from artistic creativity to concerns for the picture or
object itself. Some aspects of assessment in the arts are well established. For example, in
the psychometric field, standardized tests of ability, aptitude, achievement and attitude
which have adequate levels of reliability and validity are available (Olorukooba; 1981;
1990). These measures are designed to assess the more objectively scoreable aspects of
artistic performance and perception like creative abilities and art products. Previous
attempts at designing assessment in the 1960s and1970s (Wallach and Kogan, 1965) met
with little success because the measures dealt with aspects of general intelligence which
did not lead to any new insights into the process of artistic performance. While
xvi
Standardized Test are not considered adequate for assessing children’s creative art works,
at the same time, there are always demands for the development of valid measures of
children’s progress in art. As Eisner (1975) and Mbani (1999) observed; one major
problem is that real – life artistic products are often judged by subjective criteria. In other
words the only person who can properly judge a product of art is the person who
produces it. However, in spite of these limitations, the argument that any form of
assessment in the arts is appropriate is not tenable because it is against the idea of artistic
creativity. Today, most art educators share the view that assessment and feedback both in
the process of making art and the product form an important aspect of teaching and
learning.
Researchers in the field have suggested two main reasons why standardized tests
are unsuitable for use in art: (i) they mainly attempt to assess the characteristics of the
person (producer) in favour of assessments of particular creative products within a given
piece of work (Amabile, 1983). For example, Gardner and Grinbowan (1986) reported
that it is for this reason that standardised tests of art in production, perception,
appreciation and comprehension have reached their limits in the United State Educational
System. They propose an alternative approach to assessment based on a workshop
environment. This involves teachers and pupils working in an apprenticeship relationship.
Pupils acquire artistic skills in the process by carrying out meaningful real-life project
under the guidance of teachers while assessment takes the form of joint evaluation of
pupils’ work. According to Wolf (1988), this method which has been developed in the
Arts proved to be successful.
The second trends deals with the distinction made between what is referred as “formative” and “summative” forms of assessment.
Formative assessment refers to a long- term evaluation of the process while summative refers to the overall evaluation of a piece of
work which has been undertaken over a period of time. Both formative and summative assessment are complementary aspects of
assessment in the arts though different researchers have tended to use one rather than the other. For example, Ross, et al, (1993) used
xvii
the formative approach in an assessment of art activities in which the pupils’ self-assessment formed an essential part of the process.
In this study, the researcher will find out art teachers’ modes of assessing pupils art works in some primary schools in Kaduna state.
There can be no doubt that teachers do assess children’s works in art on daily basis. However, very little is known about how they do
so.
1.1 Statement of the Problem:
Art teachers in our schools are confronted with numerous problems in assessing
children’s creative art works, amongst which are as listed below:
i. Art teachers are not too clear of what to assess.
ii. Another serious problem in art teaching is the fact that teachers do not know the most
appropriate method to use in assessment.
iii. Most teachers are often confused as whether to limit assessment of children’s work in
art to the “process” or “product”.
iv. Assessment of children’s work is subjective in nature, and that teachers lack a
uniform method or format for assessing children’s work in creative art.
Since there is no proper guide or format whereby teachers could use in assessing
children creative art works, they often resort to using different methods and criteria in
assessing or measuring children’s creative ability in art.
The importance of assessment in teaching and learning can not be over
emphasize. It is only through this medium that a teacher can understand the progress of a
child in any teaching subject. Osuagwu (1978) in supporting this view, mentions that like
in other subject areas of the school curriculum assessment in art has always been used to
determine the progress of learning and academic performance of students. The difficulty
in assessing pupils’ works therefore is mainly due to the subjective nature of the personal
art expression of the learner. Challinor (1978) cautions that because art differs from other
subject in many ways, assessment in this subject should consider:
a. The creative output of learners and
xviii
b. The fact that quality is a changing variable.
Numerical ratings are given to art works whether produced by children, adolescents
or matured students. Tests and examinations are given to learners regularly to build up a
continuous assessment report on learners. The introduction of continuous assessment by
the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1981, in which other internal and external
assessments are combined for the certification and prediction of future performance,
makes it necessary to device an acceptable means of assessing art works. The main
reason for the introduction of continuous assessment was therefore the liberalization of
our educational assessment. As contained in the new National Policy on Education,
(NPE, 1981), (Section 7.7), “Educational assessment and evaluation will be liberalized by
basing them in whole or in part as continuous assessment of individual”.
By this system, both the C.A scores of an individual and final examination scores
represent the overall performance of the student. This weighted score is believed to truly
represent the student’s capacity. The weighted score so derived is subsequently used in
decision-making like placement, prediction of future performance and certification
among others. However, many educators have expressed doubts as to the reliability of
scores often sent to states Ministry of Education. For instance, Osuagwu (1997) and
Mbahi (1999), among others also raised objection to the use of these subjective methods
in assessing artistic process and method. Because individual art expressions vary, no two
individuals are likely to react the same way to the same experience like no two art
producers can be exactly the same. The idea of liberalization of assessment cannot be
supported by individual art teacher’s subjective award of grades. There is therefore the
need to device more objective criteria for teachers’ assessment of pupils’ artwork.
xix
1.2 Research Questions:
The questions this research seeks to answer are:
1. to what extent can the rating scales used by teachers in the description of
children’s works be mutually agreeable?
2. to what extent will there be any difference in the level of performance of pupil’s by
gender?
3. to what extent can we achieve comparability of scores in both private and public
schools.
1.3 The Objective of the Study
The major objective of the study was to find out how teachers assess children’s
work in creative art.
Specific objectives of this study are as follows:
(i) To understand or know how teachers assess children’s work in creative art
subject.
(ii) The study will enable us to assess children’s creative ability in art by gender.
(iii) To compare the creative ability of children in public and private schools in
creative art and
(iv) To suggest or propose a uniform method for assessing children’s work in creative
art, for teachers in the primary schools.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The study will highlight the reliability and validity of assessment scores. This
research will help primary school teachers in Kaduna State and indeed Nigeria know
xx
methods of assessing children’s work. Teachers training institutions offering art at
various levels, (nursery, primary/tertiary) and research institutions like universities might
find the result of this study useful.
Research in art education reported inappropriateness of the criteria used by many
art teachers in assessing learners’ art work. The studies of Olorukooba (1992), Mbahi
(1999), Ozuagwu (1997), Eisner (2002) have shown that an objective criteria should
measure parameters like: originality, complexity and participant attitudes (Challinor,
1978). This study will help to re-confirm or otherwise the previous findings in this field.
Literature reviewed has shown that research in this area is scanty. It is hoped that
the outcome of this study would be useful to other art educators in teaching and research.
The effect of teacher’s assessment among boys and girls is of interest to this
study. The study would therefore be of significance since curriculum is usually designed
for both sexes.
This study is of significance because of the opportunities it offers to learners to
work and interact with each other and their teachers. Just like the opportunity offered
teachers to interact with learners and other teachers Eisner (1999). It is therefore hoped
that this study would promote co-operative spirit among learners and teachers.
1.5 Basic Assumptions:
The following basic assumptions were made of this study:
1. The schools used for this study were representative of the type of primary schools
in Kaduna State.
2. The drawing task presented to the respondents is appropriate for their level as
prescribed in their scheme of work.
xxi
1.6 Delimitation of the Study:
The subjects used for the study were primary six pupils randomly drawn from
primary schools in Kaduna metropolis. The subjects were drawn from Army Children
School (ACS) Cantonment ‘A’, Badarawa II L.G.E.A., Foundation Nursery/Primary
School, Maiduguri Road L.G.E.A., Katsina Road L.G.E.A., Sultan Bello L.G.E.A.,
Hakda International Nursery/Primary School, Kurmin Mashi L.G.E.A., L.E.A. Primary
School Kakuri, Unguwar Maichibi L.G.E.A., L.E.A Kagoro Road, Betty Queen
Nursery/Primary School, Jupavi International School, Tendercare Nursery/Primary,
Wilson Preparatory and New Breed International School Kaduna.
The drawing task was based on 2 – Dimensional art work. A period of 8 weeks
was used for the study.
1.7 Organization of the study:
The study has been organized into 5 Chapters: Chapter I is the introduction, which
includes the background and justification of the study, statement of the problem and
objectives, and the scope and delimitation of the study. Chapter 2 is the survey of the
related literature: which includes: concepts of assessment, types of assessment,
assessment process, what to assess in children, purpose of assessment, problems
involving children’s assessment in art education, child’s art, methods of assessing
children’s art process and product, qualities of good assessment in teaching and learning
process, summary/conclusion. Chapter 3 is the procedure with explanation on how the
research was designed and carried out and the statistical procedure used. Chapter 4 is the
analysis of data resulting from the statistical interpretation and discussion. Chapter 5 is
the summary, conclusion and recommendation of the study.
xxii
IF YOU CAN'T FIND YOUR TOPIC, CLICK HERE TO HIRE A WRITER»
