E-learning in the music and visual arts education of pre-service teachers: Academic perspectives

Arts education is one domain that has traditionally taken place in a faceto- face mode, and this research paper, part of an ongoing three year research project, explores teacher perceptions of the application of elearning to Arts education. E-learning has had an enormous impact on higher education; however there has been only limited application of elearning to Arts education, with this mode of learning presenting many challenges to Arts education academics in designing courses. This paper analyses quantitative and qualitative survey data collected from six education academics who taught in an undergraduate Arts education unit in an online mode in 2010 and 2011. The analysis of these data found that teachers viewed e-learning in Arts education as very different to face-to-face teaching, mixed perceptions about the equity of student opportunities in this mode; a perception (with one respondent dissenting) that the online unit was successful in preparing students to teach the Arts in schools; and, the critical importance of student engagement to their success in this mode. More extensive research of e-learning in Arts education involving more participants from a range of tertiary institutions is anticipated.