The role of the arts in L1 education: A state-of-the-art review
Submitted by:
Sofia Jusslin
Abstract:
This paper addresses the role of the arts in L1 education. The multidisciplinary subject has a broad mission in school and its nature as an arts subject has tended to be overshadowed by, among other things, a strong focus on reading and writing skills (e.g., Green & Erixon, 2020). However, the critique of the imbalance between language and the arts in the L1 subject is not new (e.g., Russell, 1944), and has, to varying degrees, been a recurring discussion in the research field for several decades. The aim of this conceptual paper is to explore the L1 subject as an arts subject. The study is divided into two parts: (1) reviewing previous literature on the arts in L1 education, building methodologically on a state-of-the-art review (Grant & Booth, 2009), and (2) exploring the role and content of the arts in the L1 subject in Finland. In the paper presentation, we focus mainly on part (1). First, we review research literature on the conceptualization of the L1 subject, addressing the role and content of the arts in the subject. Thus, we seek to capture to what extent it has, or has not, been discussed as an arts subject. Second, we explore the role and content of the arts in the L1 subject in Finland, where we work as researchers and teacher educators and where research in L1 education already has a tradition of exploring and developing artistic and aesthetic perspectives on the subject. In the presentation, we discuss and problematize the findings on how the L1 subject can be understood and actualized as an arts subject.
References
Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies: A typology of reviews. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x
Green, B. & Erixon, P.-O. (red.). (2020). Rethinking L1 education in a global area: understanding the (post-)national L1 subjects in new and difficult times. Springer.
Russell, D. H. (1944). The language arts as arts. The Elementary School Journal, 44(7), 404–409. https://doi.org/10.1086/458317