This study found that the teachers' opinions about art competitions touched upon most of the benefits and weaknesses of art competitions.
There were, however, some paradoxes in students' views of art competitions.
For example, most students did not voluntarily enter competitions, citing the stress that competition preparation brings. Nevertheless, they agreed that competing can have positive benefits.
Conclusion
Below are the research findings and conclusions for the following research questions.
Teacher's Motives for Helping Students Enter Art Competitions
Teachers incorporate art competition into their curriculums partially due to enrolment concerns or government regulations requiring local art classes to take part. Education-wise, teachers felt that competitions help to enrich and compliment the classroom content. Competition experience will help students understand their strengths and areas that need improvement.
Winning awards will increase students' interest in studying art and help them choose their future program and career; students' entries or award records will also serve as a snapshot of their art career. Most people are therefore positive in terms of teaching attitudes which in turn makes school into an important channel for art competition information.
Opinions of Junior High School Art Teachers and Students towards Art Competitions:
Individual Case Studies
Art Students' Opinion on Art Competitions
63% of students in most cases volunteer to enter competitions and they also feel pressure as a result. Causes include: “don't know what to paint”,
“fear of losing to other students”, “fear of not winning an award” and “forced to enter despite not being interested in painting”.
Students that love competing believe that entering helped to “increase painting experience”, “challenge yourself”, “improve artistic ability”, “helps with enrolment prospects”, “receive money and prizes”, as well as encouragement from “teachers” and “parents”. Since “it's always optional”, just 21% took part in competitions. Some students (8%) expressed that losing the competition would impact their self-confidence. A further 16% had been forced to compete and did not win a prize. These doubted the fairness of the competition and did not like to enter the competition. Students' opinions on competitions varied greatly.
Teachers’ Guidance, Observations and Recommendations for Art Education To reduce the impact on students from not winning an award, the teachers have adopted the following measures. 1. Recognize students’
efforts and try to balance their feeling of loss and 2. Emphasize the subjectivity of the competition. 3. Re-emphasize the nature of creative art.
4. Point out how luck can be a factor. 5. Explain that practical exams in the future are more important.
On the positive side, teachers feel that art competitions may inspire students to greater heights. Teachers and students can identify problem areas together, and winning students may also gain self-confidence and become more interested in studying art. On the other hand, excessive instruction and guidance may defeat the purpose of student competitions.
Students that do not win may lose interest in art and learning. Additionally, there is little that teachers can do if the results of the competition don't match their personal teaching philosophy. The teachers also criticized how the judging criteria of the art exhibition seemed to rely on the individual perception of the judges. In response, the teachers suggest that review standards should be transparent with more variety in competition formats, more prizes and give students more encouragement.
Opinions of Junior High School Art Teachers and Students towards Art Competitions:
Individual Case Studies
While teachers agreed that art competitions have a positive effect, they also revealed during the interviews that there is little they can do when administrators require them to enter students in the competition. Issues include excessive teacher interference in competitions and doubts about the fairness of the review process. They also pointed out problems such as competitions being merely a formality and an urban/rural divide in terms of prizes won. Though most students believe that they can take the competition results in their stride, some students said that competing affected their confidence and they were unhappy about being forced to participate.
Though teachers generally know that they should not intervene too much, the high proportion of students with their school and art teachers as instructors means that it is difficult for art competitions to avoid becoming a contest between art teachers. Whether art competitions really help to promote art education or serve to evaluate the effectiveness of art education is well worth further examination. Though the positive and negative effects of art competitions may ultimately be two sides of the same coin, this study presented the perspectives of both teachers and students in the hopes of encouraging a rethink and improvements.
Recommendations
As the popularity of the competitions may continue unabated, the following recommendations for schools, teachers, students, art competition organizers and other researchers are intended to lead to a more comprehensive development of art competitions.
For School
School administrators should return to the basics in education. They should also listen to and understand teachers’’ predicaments when faced with enrolment and administrative pressures. Schools will hopefully work with teachers to develop a direction for art education that is more beneficial for students. External factors such as enrolment pressure and school reputation will also not be allowed to interfere with the development of professional art education.
Opinions of Junior High School Art Teachers and Students towards Art Competitions:
Individual Case Studies
For Teachers
Teachers may be able to adopt the techniques used by the teachers interviewed in this study as a reference. For example, they can explain to students that art competitions should be about learning and development, not winning awards. Students that have lost interest in learning after entering competitions should also receive proper counseling. Use positive reinforcement to minimize the negative effects of art competition on art education as much as possible. Different student attitudes towards competitions should also be taken into account so they don't feel forced to compete or receive excessive instruction.
For Students
If art competitions can be treated as a part of art learning and there is not too much emphasis placed on the results, they may help students think about their own creative concepts and appreciate the true meaning of art competitions. Students should also communicate their view of art competitions to their teachers and parents through suitable channels to avoid being forced to take part.
Art Competition Organizers
During the study the interviewed teachers offered concrete suggestions such as defining clear judging criteria, adding more awards and more varied competition formats. All of these suggestions are well worth considering by organizers to make art competitions more meaningful. While art competitions are an important means of recognizing accomplishments in art education, this is not their primary purpose. If art competitions can take both the creative process and outcome (artwork) into account, it will be more in keeping with its original purpose of promoting art education.
Recommendations for Future Research
This study did not interview students, school administrators and parents.
Future researchers may wish to incorporate the opinions or suggestions of students, school administrators and parents to gain a more complete picture of different stakeholders' perspectives and then use that to think about how
Opinions of Junior High School Art Teachers and Students towards Art Competitions:
Individual Case Studies
to reduce the negative effects or problems of art competitions. Art studio teachers' perspective and actual involvement in art competitions need to be clarified as well.
Opinions of Junior