Identifying Learning Concepts in Art Activities: Teaching Strategies for Inclusive Group Learning

ABSTRACT

Inclusive education has been promoted in recent years; however, its inadequacies and the difficulty of its practical application have been pointed out. Hence, this study presents a scheme of learning according to the conditions of a person’s disability and proposes a hypothetical teaching method that accommodates various degrees of disability. The method implements teaching materials developed for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities with people with moderate to mild disabilities. The authors conducted classes for 15 students enrolled in two special needs schools and an art club that utilises art activities that highlight positive aspects of individuals. Through qualitative analysis, 11 types of learning concepts were extracted and classified into broad categories of basic literacy, cognitive skills, and social skills. Additionally, by categorising learning schemas based on the level of communication and physical movement, rather than the type of disability, six types of instructional methods are proposed. This provides a viable guidance system for inclusive group learning for people with various disabilities.

KEYWORDS:

• Art education
• cognitive skills
• disabilities
• inclusive education
• special needs school
• teacher support

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2023.2175200.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI [JP18K13160 and JP22H01008].