Monday, April 6, 2009

Introduction to Inquiry project

Art education represents an important part of a student’s education in order to form well rounded individuals. It has been proven to help students cognitively and motivate them in many other school activities.

Therefore, this study which took place in Newark, New Jersey, is a research on the importance of art education in Newark public schools. In particular there is a focus on Newark Arts High School, the opportunities this public school provides, how art is integrated in the curriculum, and the public art that surrounds the school in a ten block radius.

Because our main purpose of research is to find out what are the relationships between the arts, the community, and its public schools, it was necessary to observe the community of the Newark Arts High School, to look at art on the streets, popular art in particular, and to discover what ways art represents the community and how is it linked to public education. Do teachers use popular art in classes to engage students?

In this study the main characters were students and teachers. It was crucial to have an understanding of the interests students had compared to what the teachers wanted them to learn. The opinion of the rest of the community was also an important aspect of our study, so therefore we also interviewed people on the streets.

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