the department of arts education

315 Pages·2015·7.29 MB·English

DEPARTMENT OF
ARTS EDUCATION
INSTITUTION-LED
REVIEW

MARCH 2015

FOREWORD
The following review report describes the Department of Arts Education, one of five
departments of the Iceland Academy of the Arts (IAA). The Department of arts Education
self-evaluation work took place during the spring 2015. It was conducted on the occasion
of the five-year cycle of the Icelandic Quality Enhancement Framework, established by the
Quality Board for Icelandic Higher Education, created by the national Quality Board in
2011.
The review committee consisted of two members of the department’s academic faculty and
an international expert:
Kristín Valsdóttir, Dean of the Department Review Committee Chairman.
Vigdís Jakobsdóttir, Adjunkt & Programme Director of performing arts education.
Rita L. Irwin, Professor of Art Education in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy,
and Associate Dean of Teacher Education, at the University of British Columbia in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The report was written following numerous meetings with programme directors, faculty
and part-time teachers as well as students, alumni and stakeholders during the 2015 spring
semester during which every facet of the department discussed and evaluated. The review
committee convened between March 5th–6th, in Iceland, where the international expert was
present.
SEE APPENDIX 1A. REVIEW VISIT MEETING PROGRAMME

The contributers:
Faculty members and administration personnel:
Ásthildur B. Jónsdóttir, programme director, visual art education.
Vigdís Jakobsdóttir, programme director, theatre Education.
Gunndís Finnbogadóttir, adjunkt, department coordinator.
Fríða Björk Ingvarsdóttir, rector.
Rebekka Silvía Ragnarsdóttir, Director of Quality Assurance and Enhancement.
Ólöf Gerður Sigfúsdóttir, director of research service center.
Sóley Björt Guðmundsdóttir, director of human resources.
Ingibjörg Þórisdóttir, director of academic affairs.
Magnús Loftsson, managing director.
Alma Ragnarsdóttir, head of international office
Sara Stef. Hildardóttir, director of library and information services
Björg Jóna Birgisdóttir, director of student affairs

Part time lecturer:
Ingimar Waage, part time lecturer.
Guðbjörg R. Jóhannesdóttir, part time lecturer.
Ellen Gunnarsdóttir, part time lecturer.

Stakeholders:
Sigurjón Mýrdal, head of Department of Education and Science at the Ministry of
Education, Science and Culture.
Elísabet Siemsen, assistant headmaster of FG (upper secondary school).
Sigrún Grendal, head of the Association of Music Teachers.
Jóna Guðrún Jónsdóttir, chairperson FLISS (Association for Theatre in Schools)
Ásdís Spanó, from; The Association of Design and Art Teachers - upper secondary school.
Jóna Hlíf Halldórsdóttir, artist, chairperson of the Association of Visual Artists in Iceland.
Former and enrolled students:
Halldóra Gestsdóttir, fashion design, 2nd year student.
Ragna Skinner, music, 1st year student.
Auður Ragnarsdóttir, dancer, 1st year student.
Ólafur Jens Sigurðsson, theatre artist, 1st year student.
Vigdís Gunnarsdóttir, actress, teacher in upper secondary and primary school.
Benedikt H. Hermannsson, musician, teaches in a primary school.
Hanna Ólafsdóttir, artist, teaches at the Iceland University.
Rakel McMahon, artist, teaches in upper secondary school.
INDEX
1. INTRODUCTION 1!

THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION 2
2. EDUCATIONAL PROCESS 10!

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF STUDY 10

OPEN ARTS ACADEMY – LIFELONG LEARNING 15

LEARNING CULTURE – PEER LEARNING 16

LANGUAGE - LANGUAGE POLICY 16

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 16

NETWORKS AND AWARDS 17

LEARNING OUTCOMES 18
3. STUDENT QUALIFICATION 21!

ENTRANCE QUALIFICATIONS 21

INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS 22

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY 22

ALUMNI 22

ALUMNI SURVEYS 23
4. ACADEMIC FACULTY AND RESEARCH 25!

ARTISTIC AND SCHOLARLY QUALIFICATIONS 25

FACULTY RESEARCH AND INNOVATION 25

RESEARCH SERVICE CENTER 25

ARTS EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTRE 26

SIZE AND COMPOSITION OF THE FACULTY 26

STAFF DEVELOPMENT 27

INTERNAL FUNDING AND SUPPORT 28
5. RESOURCES AND ORGANISING STRUCTURE 29!

FACILITIES 29

THE ARTS EDUCATION LIBRARY, ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT AND SERVICE 30

FINANCIAL RESOURCES 30
6. QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM 33!

ORGANISATION AND DECISION MAKING 33

DEPARTMENTAL MEETINGS 33

DEPARTMENT COUNCIL 34

THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL 34

MANAGEMENT COUNCIL 34

VARIOUS COUNCILS 34

STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS 35

THE IAA STUDENT COUNCIL 35

DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES FOR CURRICULAR AFFAIRS 35

GUIDELINES FOR FACULTY AND STUDENTS 35
7. PUBLIC INTERACTION 37!

INFLUENCE ON CULTURAL LIFE 37

THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION’S MAIN COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS 37

THE CONSULTANT ROLE OF THE DEPARTMENT 39

NETWORKS 40
8. SUMMARY 42
APPENDIX 45
1. INTRODUCTION
The Iceland Academy of the Arts (IAA) was established on the grounds of separate arts
colleges with a vision to create a single umbrella for all the fields of the arts, constituted
with an official charter in 1998 and officially founded in 1999. It is a self-governing
institution and as the only higher arts education institution (HEI) on a national level the
IAA holds a distinct and unequivocal place in Iceland´s cultural and educational
landscape.

Figure 1 Organisation chart
Fifteen years after its foundation the Academy has developed into a dynamic and
manifold institution, running 18 study programmes in the five departments of arts
education, design and architecture, fine art, music and performing arts. As shown in
figure 2, it offers a total of 18 study programmes, thereof five on the graduate level. On
the undergraduate level the Academy offers three-year 180 EC point programmes leading
to BA- or BMus-degrees, and on the graduate level two-year 120 EC point programmes
leading to an MA-, MMus- or MArtEd- degrees, or a one-year 60 ECTS programme
1
leading to a diploma. Figure 1 provides an overview of programme development within
the Academy.
SEE APPENDIX A. CHARTER FOR THE ICELAND ACADEMY OF THE ARTS

Figure 2 Study programme development
THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION
The Department of Arts Education was founded in 2009 and organized according to the
new Icelandic legislation on teacher training. Prior to that date (2001-2009) the IAA
offered a one-year teaching diploma for artists, first mainly in visual arts, but it soon
developed courses of study for musicians, actors and dancers.
In January 2015, 43 students were enrolled in the department, 36 women and 7 men, and
the faculty counts four people sharing 2.8 full time equivalent units. Part-time lecturers
(17), field work teachers (24) and supervisors for final projects (15) share 2 full-time
equivalent units.
2
Figure 3 Overview of departments in IAA Figure 4 Students’ gender 2010-15

As can be seen in figure 3 the Department of Arts Education is the smallest within the
IAA. There are fewer students this year than in previous years1. There is also a
discernible gender gap this year compared to the previous three years. There are now
fewer men than in the last three years.
The Department of Arts Education shares a building on Laugarnesvegur 91 with the
Department of Fine Art. The departments share resources, support staff, equipment,
libraries, and other facilities. This excludes workshop facilities which serve the
Departments of Fine Art and Design and Architecture only; photography and image
Studio, metal and wood Workshop and printmaking workshop. All the departments of the
IAA are run from the main office under one central administration. The central office is
based in Þverholt. Support services are generally small in capacity, and some offices or
divisions are the responsibility of only one person who also acts as director.
ROLE, MISSION AND VISION
The Department of Arts Education aims to provide a high standard teacher education for
artists. One of the main aims of the programme is to meet individual needs and connect
the learning to the student’s former experience while providing a strong focus on
contemporary issues and social context. The department considers it an important aim to
provide its students with a learning environment that helps them to become critical and
more aware of their practical and artistic knowledge, and to facilitate combination with
new knowledge.
The mission of the department is to educate artists to become excellent and enterprising
arts teachers, equipped with a range of tools to transmit their art form in an educational
setting. During their studies they get opportunities to strengthen their academic skills.
This provides them with a new platform from which to communicate their knowledge and
lead artistic projects, inside and outside the formal education system.
MANIFESTO
The Iceland Academy of the Arts’ Department of Arts Education graduates independent
arts educators who:

1 This can partly be attributed to uncertainty around teachers’ collective pay agreements. In
3
! Are pioneers in their field and possess solid knowledge of the arts and the Icelandic
educational environment.
! Are prepared to engage with teaching in a modern society in a responsible, critical
and creative manner.
! Can read and interpret the diverse forms of contemporary media and use their
knowledge when facilitating artistic learning experiences with a novel and fresh
perspective.
! Have the potential to be leading in artistic education for sustainability,
! are cultural producers and persuasive advocates for the arts in schools and society.
! Appreciate the significance of lifelong learning.
! Are able to use research to enhance their practice.
With this study programme, the IAA aims to ensure that innovation in the arts and arts
education extends to all levels of the school system and that artists´ approaches to artistic
formation be respected.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
During the last decade, considerable changes have taken place in higher education in
general, and in the education of artists and art teachers in Iceland. These changes are
rooted in legislation on higher education (Law nr.63/2006), and connected with the
implementation of the Bologna declaration and new laws for teacher education degrees
from 2008. The establishment of the department in 2009 had its roots in the new
legislation on teacher education, requiring master degrees for all teachers in elementary
and high schools.
The University of Iceland’s School of Education and the University of Akureyri graduate
the majority of elementary school teachers in Iceland, with most teachers going through
five-year study programmes. Both universities also offer two-year teacher education
programmes for upper secondary school teachers, designed for people with a BA degree
from different disciplines similar to that offered by the Department of Arts Education.
Their study programmes, however, are mostly distance learning with a general focus on
pedagogy. At the IAA, on the other hand, we offer on-site proximate learning, exclusively
for artists.
The majority of the department’s students have come from the visual arts. The overall
figures of graduated students reveal that 75% of graduated students have undergraduate
degrees in the visual arts and design fields, 16% in the field of the performing arts, and
12% in music.

4
Figure 5 Art education graduates 2002 – 2014 by fields of undergratuate degrees
The department’s members of staff have been very conscious of this fact and have made
efforts to attract artists from other fields. The department is gradually succeeding in this,
as, with the market saturated, there are also fewer applications from people in the visual
arts field.

Figure 6 Current arts education student by fields of undergraduate degrees
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