A study of trends and needs of art teachers in using computer graphics for art education instruction at the upper secondary education level in secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the Department of General Education, Bangkok Metropolis
Abstract:
The purpose of the present study is to investigate trends and needs of art teachers in using computer graphics for art education instruction at the upper secondary education level in secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the Department of General Education, Bangkok Metropolis. Of particular interests to this study are trends of computer graphic curricula, roles of art teachers and computer graphics, art teachers' knowledge and skills of computer graphics, and components of computer graphics instruction. The study also aims at exploring experts' attitudes toward trends in using computer graphics in art education instruction. The instruments used in the study include a survey questionnaire and an interview protocol. The data collection was conducted by means of a survey questionnaire which was sent to a number of art teachers teaching at an upper secondary education level in secondary schools in Bangkok, 176 of whom, or 78.57 percent, completed and returned the questionnaire. The data analysis was conducted for frequency distribution, percentile, means, and standard deviation, and the data was subsequently presented in tables and discussed. In addition, the researcher also interviewed twelve experts based on an interview protocol and the data elicited from the interviews was then analyzed for frequency distribution and percentile, and later tabulated and discussed. The findings of the study reveal that the majority of art teachers are knowledgeable in basic computer programs such as word processing, and that a minority of art teachers are knowledgeable in computer graphics. The attitudes of art teachers toward the trends and needs of computer graphics in different aspects are summarized as follows: 1. There is a strong possibility for a computer graphic curriculum and art teachers really need to use computer graphics in their art instruction. 2. There is a moderate possibility for art teachers to use computer graphics to prepare themselves for their instruction due to lack of support from the schools in helping increase their computer skills. What art teachers seem to need most is training to develop their computer knowledge and skills by computer experts. 3. Computer knowledge and skills that art teachers strongly need are the use of computer programs to design printed materials and to create illustrations and designs. There is a strong possibility that art teachers will use these programs in their instruction. 4. As for components of computer graphic instruction, art teachers feel that there is a moderate possibility to obtain computer media and instruments they need. Also, they believe that they are strongly in need of budget for a computer graphic laboratory reserved especially for art instruction. Most of the experts have pointed out that there is a strong possibility for more use of computer graphics in the upper secondary level because it complies with the National Education Act of 1999 which emphasizes media and technology in education. This will lead to a technology-oriented art curriculum or an art curriculum that is based on social reform. Besides, it is discovered that schools do not have sufficient numbers of computers and computer equipment, both in terms of quality and quantity; that most art teachers lack knowledge and skills in computer graphics; and that there is a lack of systematic and significant support for the use of computer graphics in art education