As stated by Chalmers (2019), the process of early childhood education is a complex one and the educators as well as the educational institutions are required to give adequate amount of attention both to the physical and the mental developments of the children. Hattie, Masters and Birch (2015) are of the viewpoint that the major objective of the early childhood education which is being offered to the children is to facilitate their mental and physical growth or for that matter their cognitive development. Thus, the educational institutions need to formulate the kind of educational curriculum which will give adequate attention to different subjects like Mathematics, Science, Arts and others. However, as discussed by Williamson (2015), the major problem arises because the majority of the educational institutions formulate the kind of curriculum which primarily focus on Mathematics, science, History and other core subjects whereas completely relegate the arts to the background. This in turn leads to the ineffective development of the children and can even substantially affect their personality or for that matter their preferences as well. This essay undertakes a critical discussion of the importance of visual and media arts within the early childhood and school curricula.
Webb et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that education helps the students or the children to acquire the required knowledge which in turn not only helps their cognitive development but also helps them in the latter part of their life for the effective completion of the different job roles that they perform in their professional life. Adding to this, Sáez-López, Román-González and Vázquez-Cano (2016) have noted that in the light of this aspect the educational board of the different nations of the world had given a strict mandate through which the educational institutions need to educate the children regarding the diverse technologies, current affairs, offer knowledge regarding the subjects of Mathematics, Science and others. Furthermore, as discussed by George-Palilonis (2016), the students are being offered only rudimentary knowledge about these subjects or concepts most of which they hardly ever use outside the framework of the educational institutions. More importantly, despite the achievements which had been attained within the framework of education it is seen that arts, media and other subjects related to Humanities are still being considered to be non-essential subjects and indulge within the same is considered to be merely a past-time activity (Dezuanni, 2015). However, as the research works conducted in the contemporary times indicate this is not completely true and the educational institutions have the opportunity to facilitate the cognitive development of the students by effectively focusing on arts and other related subjects (Semali, 2017).
According to Robin (2015), one of the most important benefits that the introduction of arts and other subjects related to Humanities within the curriculum offers to the students can be attributed to the aspect of cognitive development. Adding to this, Temple et al. (2017) have noted that an important factor which affects the cognitive development of the children can be attributed to the environment in which they dwell or for that matter the things that they see around themselves or are made to learn. More importantly, it had been seen that by actively indulging in arts or other similar subjects the students or the children have the opportunity to develop their creativity, creative thinking and others. Furthermore, as discussed by Chalmers (2019), by effectively indulging in these, the children also have the opportunity to understand as well as the cope up with the environment or for that matter the surrounding in which they dwell and this in turn contributes towards their cognitive development. The process of cognitive development of the children is important since it not only helps them to effectively understand the things that are being taught to them within the classroom setting by their educators or teachers but also facilitate their growth or development as well (Williamson, 2015).
Duchesne and McMaugh (2018) are of the viewpoint that an early exposure to arts and other subjects related to Humanities profoundly affects the character or for that matter the personality of the children or the students as well. According to Semali (2017), different kinds of art and music had a profound impact on the character or the personality of the individuals and if the children are being introduced to the same at an early age then this is likely to positively affect the aptitude or the personality of the children as well. For instance, it had been seen that the children who are exposed to music, arts and other at an early age are more likely to develop a congenial personality and vice versa. Adding to this, Sáez-López, Román-González and Vázquez-Cano (2016) have noted that an important benefit that the usage of visual and media arts offers to the students is the fact that it facilitates the process of their learning or for that matter their entire education itself. Recent researchers have revealed the fact that the children are more likely to grasp the things that are being taught to them adequately if the educators or the teachers take the help of visual or media arts (Chalmers, 2019). This can be explained on the basis of the fact that the children find it much easier to understand the things or the concepts that are being taught to them through the usage of visual or media arts. Furthermore, the usage of visual or media arts makes the things which are being taught to the students more appealing and thereby kindles their enthusiasm or interests towards the things taught in the classroom (Dezuanni, 2015). These in short are some of the most important benefits which in turn had made it imperative for the inclusion of visual and media arts within the curriculum which is being taught to the children within the classroom setting.
As discussed by George-Palilonis (2016), the usage of visual and media arts positively influence the cultural as well as family life of the students and also help them to positively cope up with the environment in which they dwell. Webb et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that the adequate usage of different kinds of visual and media arts introduces the children to various kinds of cultural traditions or dimensions which in turn substantially affects their outlook towards these cultures or for that matter towards the wider world itself. Adding to this, Temple et al. (2017) have noted that this also helps the children to not only acknowledge or for that matter to respect the cultural differences but at the same to celebrate the same as well. Furthermore, the positive attitude that the children are being able to derive through the exposure to visual and media arts also influences them to lead a positive family life as well (Robin, 2015). For instance, it had been seen that the children often try to model their family lives as per the positive conventions that they have seen in the visual and the media arts and this in turn contributes substantially to make their family life a more fruitful one.
Hattie, Masters and Birch (2015) are of the viewpoint that the children should not only be seen as the consumers of visual and media arts but also as the producers of the same on the score of their effective interaction with the same. Adding to this, Duchesne and McMaugh (2018) have noted that the children often subconsciously change the original works of arts without having any intention of doing so and this in turn contributes substantially towards the pleasure of learning as well. Thus, it is important for the teachers as well as the educators to encourage the students or the children to become the producers of arts rather than just being the consumers of the same. More importantly, this action on the part of the teachers or the educators is also likely to help in the effective development of the creative thinking or for that matter the creativity of the children as well (Robin, 2015). This in turn is not only likely to positively affect the character or the personality of the children but also their ability to effectively grasp the concepts that are being taught to them within the classroom as well.
To conclude, the education boards of the different nations of the world even in the 21st century are focusing on the core subjects like Mathematics, Science and others for offering the required education to the students. However, the major problem arises because arts, music and other subjects related to Humanities which offer numerous benefits to the students are being completed relegated to the background. For instance, it had been seen that usage of visual and media arts helps in the cognitive development of the children and thereby helps them to learn the things that are being taught to them within the classroom in the best possible manner. Furthermore, an early exposure to arts positively affects the personality or for that matter the character development of the students and also kindles their interest towards the things that are being taught to them. Thus, it is important for the educational institutions to include arts and other related subjects within the curriculum which is being used by them for educating the children.
References
Chalmers, F. G. (2019). Celebrating pluralism six years later: Visual transculture/s, education, and critical multiculturalism. In Art, Culture, and Pedagogy (pp. 57-70). Brill Sense.
Derewianka, B., & Jones, P. (2016). Teaching language in context. Oxford University Press. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016.
Dezuanni, M. (2015). The building blocks of digital media literacy: socio-material participation and the production of media knowledge. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 47(3), 416-439.
Duchesne, S., & McMaugh, A. (2018). Educational psychology for learning and teaching. Cengage AU.
George-Palilonis, J. (2016). A practical guide to graphics reporting: information graphics for print, web & broadcast. Routledge.
Hattie, J., Masters, D., & Birch, K. (2015). Visible learning into action: International case studies of impact. Routledge.
Robin, B. R. (2015). The effective uses of digital storytelling as a teaching and learning tool. Handbook of research on teaching literacy through the communicative and visual arts, 2, 429-440.
Sáez-López, J. M., Román-González, M., & Vázquez-Cano, E. (2016). Visual programming languages integrated across the curriculum in elementary school: A two year case study using “Scratch” in five schools. Computers & Education, 97, 129-141.
Semali, L. M. (2017). Literacy in multimedia America: Integrating media education across the curriculum. Routledge.
Temple, C. A., Ogle, D., Crawford, A. N., & Freppon, P. (2017). All children read: Teaching for literacy in today’s diverse classrooms. Pearson.
Webb, M., Davis, N., Bell, T., Katz, Y. J., Reynolds, N., Chambers, D. P., & Sys?o, M. M. (2017). Computer science in K-12 school curricula of the 2lst century: Why, what and when?. Education and Information Technologies, 22(2), 445-468.
Williamson, B. (2015). Governing software: Networks, databases and algorithmic power in the digital governance of public education. Learning, Media and Technology, 40(1), 83-105.
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