Schools Council Project Art and the Built Environment 16-19

Abstract

The Schools Council Project 'Art and the Built Environment' is a research project to consider the role of the art teacher in environmental education. The study is concerned with the development of environmental perception, discriminative skills and critical appraisal of the built environment. Its aims are: to enlarge students' environmental perception and enable them to develop a feel for the built environment; to enhance their capacity for discrimination and their competence in the visual appraisal of the built environment; to evolve generally applicable techniques and materials for achieving these aims; and to disseminate these in a form suitable for teacher training and guidance.

The Project is directed by Colin Ward, the Education Officer of the Town and County Planning Association. The Project Team will report to the Schools Council Art Committee in September 1979 after a three year research period. Although the study brief is primarily concerned with the 16-19 age range, our view is that the ideas are relevant for all ages, though the balance and bias of the studies might change with different age groups because of differences in levels of perception. The Project findings will therefore be of interest to teachers in secondary schools, and not just those who teach at 6th form level.