Art Education Experiences in Unified Classrooms: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

This research aims to create a perspective on the Visual Arts course through the eyes of unified classroom teachers and to reveal their experiences. It is a matter of curiosity how the unified classroom practice, which can be seen as a problem in terms of education, results in terms of art education. This is the first research in the literature in terms of analyzing the positive/negative situations experienced in the Visual Arts course applied in unified classrooms. Phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research designs, was preferred in the study. The study group of the research consisted of 10 classroom teachers (4 female and 6 male) working in primary schools in a provincial centre in Anatolia and teaching in combined classes. Data were collected through interview form, metaphor study and artificial intelligence drawing application. The data obtained from the metaphors were transformed into a meaningful text and concretised with a colourful drawing with artificial intelligence application. Debriefing was then carried out with the participants on the resulting image, aiming to ensure both the internal consistency of the study and the concretisation of abstract expressions. The results of the studies in the literature show that education in unified classrooms leads to a negative process and result. However, according to the results of this research; it was seen that art education in unified classrooms produced positive effects and results. It has been revealed that there is an interactive, collaborative process in unified classrooms and that there is no situation that would negatively affect education. In addition, it was also among the results that art education in unified classrooms is an important impact factor in terms of social, cognitive, kinetic and artistic sense in terms of being an individual for students and coping with life dynamics. This situation shows that art can be used as an important influence factor in the construction of individual and life. Repeating this research after the participants were given art education might make a difference in terms of both education and participants.

Keywords

• unified class
• art education
• visual arts lesson.
• unified classrooms
• art education
• visual arts lesson.