Creative arts has been used as a part of the educational process at various levels of development. The utilization of the creative arts in the education is questionable, as it has been a source of the vehement discussion for an extended number of years. It is unclear whether using creative arts is appropriate for the early childhood education since it implies increased level of interactivity and creativity. Nonetheless, despite the criticism of the application of the creative arts, these aspects have a positive influence on the development of the children while affecting imagination, critical thinking, and ability to express emotions and opinions profoundly. Nowadays, this discipline is actively used in the education, and it is considered as a primary source of discussion of this paper.
The critical goal of the essay is to depict the essentiality of creative arts in early childhood education while determining a suitable pedagogical approach to be applicable in this instance. Firstly, the concepts and skills of the strands of the creative arts are evaluated to define the applicability of concepts. Additionally, this approach contributes to the understanding of the complexity of the creative arts while emphasizing the variety of the perceptions.
In turn, the essentiality of the creative arts in the early childhood education have to be depicted to highlight its necessity, and the benefits have to be analyzed. Furthermore, the core matters, which an educator has to comply with, have to be assessed, as the pedagogical approach has to be based on the reasonable stances and principles to cultivate an enhancement of a child’s cognitive skills and physical capabilities. Lastly, a suitable pedagogical principle is proposed based on the application of the creative arts to support the intellectual, sensory, and aesthetic development of a child.
Concepts and Skills of the Strands of Creative Arts
In this case, the notions of creative arts have to be described to determine general understanding of its applicability to the early children education. Firstly, the creativity implies a combination of imagination, critical analysis, problem-solving, value creation, exceptionality, and productivity (Sharp, 2004). Nonetheless, the creative arts are not limited to the visual arts, as it is a complex discipline. Furthermore, the creative arts are represented by dance, music, drama, history, and art (Wright, 2003). In this instance, all of these aspects are utilized in the early education to enhance cognitive development of children. The application of these approaches like a combination determines child’s ability to develop from different angles due to the variety of the involvement in the plethora of activities.
The creative arts can be actively used while being represented by various forms of the activities. For instance, one of them is the creation of the collage, and it implies creating a composition while uniting dissimilar elements including textiles, papers, and images (Department of Education, Training and Employment, 2012). It remains evident that this activity contributes to the development of a child, as it assists in the creation of remarkable and curious compositions while using imagination and analyzing the materials critically. In turn, the box construction is another approach, which can be actively used, as it is similar to the practices of collage but implies working with 3D figures (Department of Education, Training and Employment, 2012).
The progressive education of creative arts is vehemently present in the modern world while having a child-centered orientation (Twigg & Garvis, 2010). Furthermore, it experienced other changes in terms of becoming subject-centered and being discovered as an instrument for social construction based on the principles of globalization, multiculturalism, and diversity (Twigg & Garvis, 2010). These matters have to be considered as essential elements of education due to the high significance in the world. It could be said that a combination of these principles helps build values among early children and describe the necessity of the interactions in the society.
Moreover, songs and chants can also be discussed as a form of the creative arts since they help children express emotions and feelings (Burton, 2002). It could be said that spontaneous singing has to be studied since its application might have a positive influence on the development of the children. In turn, the role of painting cannot be underestimated, as its part in the creative arts is substantial. In this instance, it can be represented in the form of finger painting and while using brushes, paints, pencils, and other appliances (Lady Gowrie, 2013).
Lastly, the creative arts can be portrayed and defined by the utilization of the dramatic performance and plays for the development of children at the early stage (Hendy & Toon, 2001). It could be said that the dramatic performance implies an active involvement of a child in the process while playing the particular roles and telling stories. Nonetheless, in this instance, the drama can be divided into several groups by identifying the involvement of the child in the process, as a child can be considered as core participant by creating drama, or a teacher involves a child into play (Dunn & Stinson, 2012).
Benefits and Significance of Creative Arts in Early Childhood Education
In turn, it is vital to depict and portray the essentiality and beneficial influence of the principles of creative arts on the early childhood education. It is apparent that the significance of the creative arts cannot be underestimated, as it has a positive influence on the development of imagination, critical thinking, and decision-making of children. Nonetheless, the benefits and essentiality have to be assessed in details to assure the necessity of the creative arts in the early childhood education.
Firstly, the progressive approach portrays that creative arts contribute to the sufficient development of a child due to the necessity of this principle in cognitive development (Twigg & Garvis, 2010). It could be said that a cognitive development of a child is crucial due to the necessity to be able to interact and learn efficiently in future. In this instance, the application of the multiple forms of creative arts contributes to the development of the intellectual skills and critical thinking among children (Wright, 2003). It remains evident that this approach is actively used, and it implies having an extended interactivity with the students.
Additionally, the application of the play also has a positive influence on the early children education, as children learn to share their personal experience and adapt to the functioning of the society (Hendy & Toon, 2001). In turn, the storytelling assists in the intellectual development and ability to express the emotions (Hendy & Toon, 2001). A combination of these approaches tends to have a positive influence on the development of the children since they are able to act and express their thoughts while interacting with the different members of society and social hierarchy. In turn, it contributes to the development of the civilization, as arts help a child understand the beauty of the processes and necessity of intercultural interactions to support the creation of arts (Australia Council policy on Arts in a Multicultural Australia, 2000).
Another concept is art appreciation, as it has a positive impact on the development of the children while providing the ability for art demonstration and contributes to the understanding that children are an essential part of the community (Mai, 2013). In this case, children learn to cherish the artistic performance and want to share their pictures and other forms of art in the society. Additionally, the creative arts have a tendency to develop the ability to interpret and use visual symbols to express opinions (Wright, 2003). In this instance, children learn to understand the principles of symbolism and utilize this knowledge in future sufficiently.
Furthermore, a teacher has to avoid the presence of discrimination in class and emphasize vitality of the equality and diversity of the educational process (Hendy & Toon, 2001; West, 2006). This aspect contributes to the development of multiculturalism and vitality of the human interactions while acting in the society. In this instance, it has a beneficial influence on a child’s understanding of the structure of the society and vitality of equality in the modern world.
Lastly, as for the dance, it helps children develop their awareness of their body and express emotions and feelings via movements and actions (Cecil-Fizdale, 1991). In turn, it makes classes more interactive while enhancing the essentiality of the periods of relaxation (Cecil-Fizdale, 1991). It could be said that these aspects cannot be considered as novelties in the modern society due to the extended range of implementation in different forms. In the end, the role of the creative arts is vital in the early children education, as it contributes to the development of the understanding of the structure of the world, essentiality of equality, diversity, and multiculturalism, and cognitive development with the assistance of interactions and art appreciation.
A Suitable Pedagogical Principle
Lastly, a relevant pedagogical principle is introduced based on the factual information provided above. In this case, the selected approach has to pay vehement attention to the development of a child from all angles simultaneously. It remains evident that a teacher has to be able to encourage creative development of the students by cultivating the essentiality of experiments, dissimilar answers, and asking interesting and open-ended questions (Sharp, 2004).
It could be said that the educational program implies encouraging creativity while helping children build social networks and applying creative thinking to express ideas with the help of praxis (Dinham, 2014). A combination of these aspects complies with the commonly accepted educational principles, as they tend to aim at the development of a child from different perspectives while encouraging creativity and understanding of equality.
Additionally, the classes have to be well-established and appropriate for the selected age-group (Cecil-Fizdale, 1991). In this instance, it could be said that a combination of these principles has to be utilized to establish a sufficient pedagogical practice to convince and encourage the development of a child at the early stage. It is apparent that the choice of the right tasks is vital to the establishment of the educational program, as the difficulty of the tasks have to be modified depending on the age.
Lastly, it has to be highlighted that sometimes it is vital to help a child make the first step (Kolbe, 2005). In this instance, the assistance remains a requirement, as a child might lack motivation and sufficient set of skills to start creating exceptional objects. In this case, teacher’s involvement positively assists in the enhancement of creativity among children.
Furthermore, a pedagogical principle has to be determined based on the aspects mentioned above, as it provides beneficial conditions for the functioning of the child and encourages him/her to devote time to the completion of creative tasks. In this instance, it remains apparent that the teachers have to be culturally competent while encouraging children to understand their identities and modify them if needed (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, 2014).
It could be said that intentional teaching can be considered as an appropriate approach, as it focuses on the development of a child beyond the textbook and depicts the necessity of growth and creativity (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, 2014). In this instance, the teacher has to be able to ask open-ended questions to encourage participations.
Consequently, teacher-centered play can be displayed as a suitable educational principle, as it combines all the necessary doctrines regarding creativity, diversity, and intentional teaching. In this case, play can be based on the particular topic, and a teacher will encourage interactions with the younger children by using songs, dances, and open-ended questions. It could be said that the utilization of this method is beneficial, as it will have a tendency to develop child from dissimilar angles while encouraging the appreciation of art.
Furthermore, painting can also be utilized as a form of creative art in the context of the play, as a teacher can give children small tasks to complete while playing a role. Nonetheless, play has to be regarded as a primary approach applied in the class, as it will develop a relaxing atmosphere among children.
References
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