Geoffrey W. Lummis

The Western Australian Art and Crafts Superintendents’ advocacy for years k-12 Visual Arts in education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to record Visual Arts education in Western Australia (WA) as it underwent significant change between 1967 and 1987, in administration, policy, curriculum and professional development. Design/methodology/approach – A narrative inquiry approach was utilized to produce a collective recount of primary Visual Arts teacher education, based on 17 interviews with significant advocates and contributors to WA Visual Arts education during the aforementioned period. Findings – This paper underscores the history of the role of Western Australian Superintendents of Art and Crafts and the emergence of Visual Arts specialist teachers in primary schools, from the successful establishment of a specialist secondary Visual Arts program at Applecross Senior High School, to the mentoring of generalist primary teachers into a specialist role, as well as the development and implementation of a new Kindergarten through to Year 7 Art and Crafts Syllabus. It also discusses the disestablishment...

Exploring the drama experiences of Western Australian pre-service primary teachers

Abstract Primary teachers may facilitate children’s first formal experiences of drama, and as such, one Western Australian University was motivated to explore the experiences of its Bachelor of Education primary pre-service teachers. By investigating the experiences of pre-service teachers, the University academic staff could determine the prior experiences of drama on entering and graduating their teacher education course and hypothesise about the learning experiences these teachers may require during their time at university. Approximately 20% of both first and fourth-year students participated in a mixed methods study involving a questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews. The researchers found positive drama experiences led to increased self-efficacy in teaching, and learning using drama.