AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
book our aim was, except for researching above mentioned
competencies determined by pregradual preparation in
bachelor´s and master´s level of study, evaluate acquired data
according to the context and review the results of cognitive and
emotional psychological processes of our respondents gained in
a non educational environment in a long-term perspective.
2.2 Research hypotheses
We assumed that:
1.
According to the pictures showing a closed book and an
open book more respondents will point out in connection
with the material pictures not only common associations
regarding the book as a tool for reading, textbook, and
source of knowledge, but also a wide spectrum of
qualitative personal links than those who will only restrict
themselves to a confined spectrum of associations.
2.
Master´s degree students - future teachers of Fine arts in
connection with the book (either closed or open) will
associate iconographical and iconological connections of
this object as an attribute to religious and sacred images or
Holy Saints and will outnumber Bachelor´s degree
students.
3.
Among all of the respondents there will be more of those
who in connection with the book will associate their
childhood and a book as a source of storytelling than those,
not associating the context as such.
2.3 Research plan and research file
Our research sample consisted of 143 respondents altogether, 98
studying full time - Fine Arts Education in academic year of
2018/2019. Particularly: Bachelor`s degree - 38 students in the
first year, Bachelor`s degree - 16 students in the second year,
Bachelor`s degree - 16 students in the third year, Master`s degree
- 8 students in the first year, Master`s degree - 20 students in the
second year and 45 attenders of further education within
University of the Third Age, CPU in Nitra studying: History of
Fine Arts and Creative Art, under the patronage of Department
of Creative Arts and Art Education at the Faculty of Education,
Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. The
questionnaire was filled in by attenders studying at University of
the Third Age in above mentioned program in a two year study -
second and third year of the first grade (winter semester of the
first year covering general subjects is taught at other
departments) and in all three years of study of the second grade.
The main purpose of integrating the students of Third Age
University into our research was to obtain opinions from the
group of respondents much older (45 plus), therefore we can
assume that they have more visual skills than the respondents
studying full time, specifically studying Teaching of Fine Arts
(19-25). On the contrary in comparison with full time students of
master's degree, students of the University of the Third Age,
based on the nature and concept of interest-based learning within
this form of further education, did not take the subject
specialized in analysis and interpretation of fine arts aimed at
theoretical and practical aspects of perception, reception and
interpretation of art works and visual culture.
2.4 Research methods
The main method of data gathering was an anonymous
questionnaire consisting of preliminary basic questions and 7
articles. By asking the basic questions we were trying to
ascertain the affiliation of respondents according to their
applicable study or educational programme, year of study,
previous education i.e. secondary or university education and
sex.
The first six articles included visual inputs - photographs and
three open questions:
1. What is the picture describing (representing)?
2. What associations (images, connections) come to your mind
with the object shown in the picture?
3. What does the object in the picture symbolize (semantically)?
Article No.7 was containing all of the above mentioned pictures
as a complex of visual inputs. This article contained only one
assignment in the text: If you look at pictures 1 - 6 altogether,
what associations (images, stories) do you reflect on in
connection with these pictures?
The questionnaire deliberately omits any formulations,
definitions of above mentioned authors or our theoretical
conclusions which our students came across during their studies.
We were trying to monitor interest and ability of our students to
apply acquired knowledge and skills in practice.
In our previous paper (Récka, 2018) we published a complete set
of photographs of visual inputs that were part of our
questionnaire: picture No.1 - one apple, picture No.2 - two
apples, picture No.3 - a closed book, picture No.4 - an open
book, picture No.5 - an empty plastic box, picture No.6 - plastic
box containing a small object.
In the paper published in 2018, we
analyzed in detail the results associated with the interpretation of
picture No.1 - one apple, picture No.2 - two apples, picture No.5
- an empty plastic box, picture No.6 - plastic box containing a
small object. Here we publish only those images that are subject
to analysis and interpretation of research results in this article:
picture No.3 - a closed book, picture No.4 - an open book from
our questionnaire (see picture No. 1 a 2).
Pict. 1
Pict. 2
(Photo: Adriana Récka, 2018)
The research was carried out during the winter semester of
academic year 2018/2019. Method of data processing was
quantitative and qualitative analyses of answers from the
questionnaire reflected in verbal interpretation as well as
verification and evaluation of hypothesis.
According to the nature of our questionnaire, including articles,
open questions and our ambition to make reference to our
respondents' formulations, each filled in questionnaire was
marked according to the following key: numeric index of the
year of study (1, 2, or 3), abbreviation of study programme (Bc -
Bachelor degree, MA - Master degree, U3A - University of the
Third Age, 1. Level, U3Ad - University of the third age, 2nd
level), serial number (1 - number of respondents in certain
group). Our respondents are marked as 1Bc1 – 38, 2Bc1 -16,
3Bc1 – 16, 1MA1 – 8, 2MA1 -20, 2U3A1 – 10, 3U3A1 – 11,
1U3Ad1 – 7, 2U3Ad1 – 9, 3U3Ad1 – 8.
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