CHAPTER ONE

BACKGROUND OF STUDY

All school subjects have their intrinsic value (intellectual and utilitarian) and art is one of those whose utilitarian and aesthetic value are of the most precious significance to human life and happy living (Majasca 1995).

It has been observed that art education has not been given adequate recognition, attention and support in Nigeria. The society believes that it is all about drawing and painting but art is more than that.

Art is virtually an everyday activity, it is embedded in every subject that we can think or do, art is all around us, the cloth we wear, flowers planted in our homes, offices and schools are all art works. (Uzoagba 2000).

The government knows the importance of art and consequently it has been made an integral part of the curriculum especially at the junior secondary level (part of the formative level of education). It seems that government finds it hard to sponsor art as the sciences. It could be that art materials are highly expensive and mostly imported.

Teachers are very essential, they are hub of any educational system in curriculum implementation. What goes on in the classroom depends in no small measure on the quality of the teacher, their number and devotion to the success of any educational system. If the students are to master this important subject very well they must be guided by a good art teacher.

The skilled for good art teacher should be able to motivate their students in a manner that will arouse the interest of the student to art learning. This knowledge will encourage the students to personal fulfillment through art experience, transmit an appreciation of the artistic heritage and develops an awareness of role of art in the society (Chapman 1978).

Assumption of above role may be affected by belief system as some secondary school are owned by mission which holds a believe that our art works are idols and arts studios shrines. A lot of art works were destroyed by missionaries in the name of Christianity, during those days, subject like English language which was very vital for easy communication were rising while art was reduced to its lowest level even till date in some private secondary schools.

Converts of this religion also may have contributed a lot of psychological damage to their children. Some of which vowed that they will not welcome idol worship to their families in the name of art. It appears that peers also contribute to this effect as they believe that knowledge of art should be for apprenticeship and shouldn’t be learnt or studied in secondary schools (Chapman 1978).

Even when the subject was taught, it seems that little or not time is allotted to art teaching and learning in schools.

This study is therefore an attempt to investigate the extent to which such problems militating against effective teaching of art in private junior secondary schools in Enugu urban and possible solutions to them.