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On September 30th of 1998, Ministration of Education (M. O. E.) promulgated “General Outline of the Nine-Year’s Linking Curriculum for the Period of Nation’s Education” and decided to include important issues like information, environmental protection, two sexes, and human rights in the seven learning fields (M. O. E., 1998). Due to the implementation of the education policy, the concept and essence of the equality of two sexes can be merged into “General Outline of the Nine-year’s Linking Curriculum for the Period of Nation’s Education,” the learning capacity indexes of it appropriate for different phases can be developed, and the idea of multiple cultural education can be achieved.
Take the curriculum of art appreciation for example, we can find that male artists’ works prevail among the texts and images of art appreciation teaching while there is a long absence of the introduction and appreciation for the life stories, works, contents, images, and semiotics of female artists.
Due to the problems of art education mentioned above and the urgency of echoing the implementation of the policy for our education revolution, “Nine-year’s Linking Curriculum,” and adding “Equality Education of Two Sexes” into “Art and Humanity” learning field, I decide to employ the method of questionnaire based on quality and quantity as a way of investigation and engage in an experimental teaching research in a clinical teaching situation to supply the texts of female artists and solve the problems of art education. My research will focus on the study of female particularity and female art’s thinking, and the design of experimental curriculum for the appreciation of women’s art. My experimental objects will be the six-grade students in the elementary school. I will guide them to acquaint and appreciate female artists’ works and explore the influence of the curriculum of female art’s appreciation upon the students.
Conclusions from the Research:
1. Students generally lack the knowledge for the base of women’s art before the implementation of the curriculum.
2. The implementation of the curriculum will help students be willing to understand and respect female artists and their works.
3. The implementation of the curriculum will help students cultivate a sympathetic attitude toward “Women’s Art.”
4. The curriculum can provide the meaning and value for the potential curriculum of
“Equality Education of Two Sexes.”
i) The role of maternity will no longer be limited to a specific sex, and we will have more freedom to act on our own and decide if we want to assume the kind of role.
ii) There should not be any stereotypes of gender and status for art creation.
iii) The self-dominance of women’s bodies and the presentation of the combination between women’s bodies and natural experiences deserve people’s respect.
Suggestions for Future Researchers:
1. The time for the research can be prolonged: There are still rooms for the research of the thematic curriculum about women’s art, and it is worth prolonging the time of the experiment for a deeper and more detailed research.
2. The topics and texts for the curriculum can be many faceted: It is better to collect multiple materials of female art and develop active and multiple texts for students to appreciate.
3. The curriculum of women’s art appreciation can be related to other relevant curriculums for an integrated curriculum design: For example, Six Topics or other learning fields can be merged into the curriculum of art education.
Proved by my research, it is really important that elementary art teachers should have the gender awareness, actively explore and develop the art curriculum which can combine with various relevant topics and suit the teaching of each stage, and establish multiple perspectives of art education without any gender bias. The greatest gains of the research, which is attained through the interaction between teaching and learning,
further validate the idiom “Teaching Is Learning.” Through the exploration and guidance of the experimental teaching, students not only learn to understand and respect women’s art, but also obtain the complete gender recognition without any prejudice; therefore, as what is sincerely expected in the research, the purpose of “Education of Whole Human Beings” can be realized.
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