The benefits of integrating Arts into our schools

Education is a major factor that enriches a country, and no matter how financially rich the country is, it is only education which makes it so, because education enhances development. Education is the key to social transformation, practice of liberation, emancipation and the dignity of the individual - factors that contribute towards human development and therefore towards the development of a richer country.

Education for good citizenship is for life. It should include cultural activities as a tool to promote interaction, communication, learning, participation and a most important issue, that of expressing one's opinion.

Arts is made up of inter-relationships, which are very important for development. Therefore, when we work with Arts we are working in favour of various other aspects of development.

All cultural activities are important, and they do not substitute but supplement each other. It is of utmost importance that Arts are integrated in schools and other educational centres. Activities can include dance and movement, play, drama, music, arts and crafts, and story-telling.

These forms of educational activities stimulate the child's mind to develop in a way which promotes creativity and improvisation, in which the individual, as a result of his or her personal abilities and possibilities, and in interaction with his or her environment, will seek new and/or original products which are adequate for the situation. The child can thus benefit from a wider range of accessibility of an infinite number of possibilities, and thus acknowledge a wider spectrum about a particular situation.

The child-centred education should promote curiosity, independent thinking and reasoning, encourage children to ask questions, co-operation rather than competition, creativity, associations and connectivity of knowledge, good interaction, communication and dialogue.

Good quality education means good quality of physical environment, accessibility, aesthetics, having opportunities of play with much movement and action, together with safety to, from, and within educational centres.

It is up to each individual to do what is possible today, so that the impossible can be achieved tomorrow and above all it is essential that we look at the past to construct a better future.

"Psychological Implementations in Musical Compositions for Children", was the title of a paper that I presented at a conference entitled "Education for European Citizenship through Arts", held at the University of Coimbra, Portugal between May 29 and June 1, in which I explained how Vygotsky's and Piaget's theories are used and applied when composing music for children.

The book Kinder Garden, consisting of piano pieces for children, which I co-authored with seven other Maltese composers, was also re-launched in Coimbra and is now available in several academic institutions around the world.

The conference was organised by Professor Fernando Ramos and Professor Maria Angustias Ortiz Molina, director of Research Studies at the University of Coimbra, and it was attended by prominent personalities from universities around the world who are involved in the educational and arts sectors.

Among them were Miriam Skorjten, professor at the University of Oslo, Akin Euba, professor at Pittsburgh University, director of the Churchill College in Cambridge, UK, and president of CIMA, Lucia Herrera, Oswaldo Lorenzo Quiles, and Rosario Garzia Morales from the University of Granada, Maria de Fatima Sanches from the University of Lisbon, Rui Gomez from the Council of Europe, together with other foreign and local professors and educators.

At the Escola Superior de Educacao de Coimbra (ESEC), multi-cultural activities are a dominant feature for young and old. During the conference week, all the university students worked hard and till very late to transform the school into a world of fantasy and play area for little children.

By the end of the week, the school became a path through the woods with trees and grass. The students prepared multi-cultural activities and displayed scenes and articles synonymous with different cultures around the world. They dressed up in costumes; some painted their faces to look like animals of the woods.

From early morning, young children arrived at the school from several educational centres around Coimbra. The university students organised games in the areas around the school. They prepared colourful balloons, clowns, games and activities for the younger students. The aim behind this activity was of course educational, but at the same time in a non-formal, colourful and enchanting way that children are bound to remember.

To round up the week, the children were taken to a big hall where a local band with a large group of musicians gave a concert. Both teachers and students encouraged the children to clap, jump, and stamp their feet to the rhythm. A group of students sang and danced with the band.

The instruments were introduced one by one to the children by means of animation on a big screen. The children could thus see each particular instrument, learn its name, and identify its sound. Moreover, each instrument was played by the members of the band.

A special activity was also organised for the participants of the conference. This activity, which was again multi-cultural, consisted of films and slides of different countries collated through the use of computerised technology. The students also gave their own live contribution played the traditional music of each country using several different instruments, while a large group of other students danced to the music. It is amazing how the university students of Coimbra managed to put what they learnt into practice.

Jane Pace, BA (Hons) Music, attended the conference entitled "Education for EU Citizenship Through Arts" in Coimbra as part fulfilment of her Master's degree in Music Composition, which she is currently reading at the University of Malta, sponsored under the Government Scholarship Scheme Board of 2006.