‘Research in Cultural Education Conference 2008’: a selection of the papers presented
cultuur + educatie 22 (2008)

The following is a selection of contributions to the second ‘Research in Cultural Education Conference’ (Onderzoek in Cultuureducatie Conferentie). The subjects addressed included the development of an aesthetic sensibility in children, a youth marketing model, interdisciplinary work and an analysis of Anne Bamford’s criteria for effective arts education.

Culture as a process
In the introduction, Groningen cultural scientist Barend van Heusden discusses the many faces of research into cultural education. He wonders what the most important common thread is in all of the past research. Have art and culture ever been clearly defined? Van Heusden’s philosophical exploration leads him to a definition by a cognitive scientist of culture as a process of expressing meaning.

A different perspective
In the first article, Dineke Kolen-van Loon, culture and media researcher at the research and consulting firm IVA, reports on her empirical study into the development of an aesthetic sensibility in children. Focusing on photography, the study demonstrates that young children literally look at photos through different eyes. They concentrate on the subject of the photo and only later see other visual features such as perspective and zoom. For this reason, it is important that the presentation of cultural education activities take this aspect of visual development into consideration.

Young opera audience
In the second article, Letty Ranshuysen describes her study of the Yo! Opera Festival 2007 in Utrecht and the hip hop opera Atalanta in Theater Hal 4 in Rotterdam (2006). Both events also targeted a young audience. Ranshuysen looks at the approach the events took to attract young people and assesses the approaches’ effectiveness. She then incorporates her results into a youth marketing model, finally drawing the conclusion that marketing and education are inextricably linked.

Teacher competencies
In the third article, Ninja Kors (World Music and Dance Centre (WMDC)/Prins Claus Conservatoire), discusses the results of her research into the interdisciplinary art project at the School for Young Talent in The Hague. Kors examines whether an interdisciplinary approach could facilitate the professional development of young artists and which competencies teachers require to provide the best possible guidance in that process. This requires various skills, including striking a balance between challenging pupils and creating a safe environment and between encouraging them and overwhelming them with examples.

Bamford’s criteria
What are the prerequisites for effective cultural education? The final article addresses this question. This is a revised version of the contribution by arts education lecturer Diederik Schönau to the discussion during the conference on the evaluation studies by Anne Bamford in the Netherlands and Flanders. Schönau critically analyses the characteristics of and criteria for effective cultural education as described by Bamford, concluding that they are not specific enough for arts education.

Dutch overview