Elementary Art School of Folk Dance and Music in the Context of Regional Culture-Oriented Schools in Slovakia

In the study, we present the basic goals, content, strategies and organisational forms of education of the Elementary Art School of Folk Dance and Music in Ružomberok. The basic information about the school is supplemented with the ideas of its founder and the school principal, as well as the photo documentation of this school environment. We analyse this school model in the broader context of elementary regional culture-oriented schools, which began to develop in Slovakia after 1989. In connection with the school reform in 2008, the educational content of such schools was transformed and defined in the State Education Programme in the subject of Regional Education and cross-cutting topic Regional Education and Folk Culture. In addition to other alternative and innovative educational programmes in Slovakia, the regional culture-oriented school represents a domestic model of education, which is based on the historical and cultural peculiarities of individual regions of Slovakia. Despite the uniform name, each school with this orientation can have a unique character expressed in its school curriculum.

From Sharks to "The Big Ugly"

This longitudinal case study explored one rural elementary art teacher’s praxis for two years after she participated in professional development sessions on place-based education (PBE). These sessions focused specifically on PBE within the discipline of art for K-12 art educators in a geographically-large southeastern school district. Through surveys, observations, interviews, and document analysis of curricular materials, the researchers investigated the teacher’s experiences with PBE as she taught art in a rural area of the district. Her curricular decisions transitioned from a focus on art reflecting her personal knowledge base to art that built on students’ expressions of, experiences in, and knowledge of, their rural setting. Implications for teacher professional development focused on rural education include strategies for promoting the contextualization of content and communicating the benefits of transitioning from place-neutral to place-based instruction.

Lidová píseň v hudební výchově na základních a středních školách v České republice

The monograph presents and reflects the results of a specific research project of the same name (MUNI/A/1423/2018) carried out by a team of academic staff and students of the doctoral program of the Department of Music at the Faculty of Education, Masaryk University. The folklore song scope represents an important didactic basis, permeates music education at elementary, partly also secondary schools and specialized instrumental or singing education at elementary art schools. Due to the influence of multilayered cultural expressions and the influence of multimedia means, however, the question of how to present the musical and folklore heritage to school youth is more prominent. The object of investigation was the application of folk music to school education.