Abstract:

Abstract enThe aim of this study is to examine the expectancies of education unions in relation to visual arts teachers’ qualifications. The data were collected through focus group interviews with the board members of two education unions (N = 13) located in the central district of a city in the Western Black Sea region. The grounded theory method was adopted in the present study, and the data collection, coding, analyzing processes, as well as category and theme creation processes, were all conducted accordingly. The data were analyzed by using NVivo 7 qualitative data analysis software. The findings showed that the expectancies of education union board members could be explained through 21 themes (e.g., value, communication ability, and special education knowledge) and 82 categories (e.g., freedom, democracy, creativity, philosophy of art knowledge, and initial teacher education) that formed them. The findings also demonstrated that the mentioned themes could be also meaningfully explained through 15 meta-themes (e.g., art education policies, visual arts teacher’s professional beliefs).  However, because it enables to explicate the research findings briefly and more meaningfully, the findings were discussed based on the 10 meta-themes labeled as art education policies, visual arts teachers’ personality characteristics, vocational beliefs, values, professional knowledge, subject-matter knowledge, affective characteristics, to carry out social and cultural activities, organizing ability, and selection and training of prospective visual arts teachers. Within this context, the findings revealed that the education union board members expected visual arts teachers to have such qualifications as being open to innovations, engaging with continuous self-development, holding commitment to the profession, being humanistic, perceiving art and art education as the means for social transformation, utilizing effective in-class and out-of-class teaching methods and techniques, having not only field related knowledge, but also professional knowledge, and willing to implement these knowledge excitedly and eagerly. Furthermore, it was also determined that the union board members believed that the potentials of teacher education programs, which are perceived as an extension of the current art education policies, for preservice teachers to gain the mentioned qualifications were weak. In line with the findings of the study, it was suggested that effective art education policies should be created and developed, visual arts teacher education should be started at secondary school level, visual arts should be taught by in-field teachers from the beginning of preschool level, and within this context, teacher education programs should be designed to provide opportunities for gaining expertise according to the developmental stages of children.      

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