Creative Arts in Education
Overview
WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS?
Visual arts, music and other creative and performing arts play a major role in the optimum development of the well-rounded human being. From his childhood man has an innate desire to create. Smaller children create spontaneously, but as we grow older we sometimes lose that spontaneity and our imaginative interaction with the world around us. Art, music and other creative expressions grant us the opportunity to develop the playful, spontaneous and imaginative parts of our personalities.
Being creative is the story of man. If you want to gain knowledge into the actions and conduct of people, into your own actions and conduct, and into the stories behind the stories of “big” politics, then Creative and Performing Arts is the right subject for you. It teaches you to think critically. Lawrence Calcagno summarised it very well: “As an artist, it is central to be unsatisfied! This isn’t greed, though it be appetite”.
The Creative Arts student is someone who looks deeper, understands deeper and experiences deeper. These characteristics make you a passionate person. You challenge life because you always see the bigger picture and in that way you make a difference in the community. The artist is the one with the third eye, the prophet who sees the order in the disorder of the world in which they live.
Creative Arts is a contemporary study area, it is driven strongly by critical thinking, problem-solving and independent and self-directed learning, it develops all the senses and provides creative stimulation. It corresponds with many other study areas, for example Social Studies, Psychology, Archaeology, Graphic Design and other multimedia fields like literature, to name but a few. It stimulates problem-solving thought, an appreciation for the aesthetical and an understanding for, and of, the inner life of man.
Whether you live in Japan or in Potchefstroom, this is a universal language that everyone understands. There is no single aspect of society that is not influenced by Creative Arts in some or other manner. Consider the design of the pen that you hold in your hand, or the pattern of the fabric of which you shirt is made, the world of theatre and films, the world of music, and the important role that they play in our daily lives …
Creative Arts presents many professional opportunities, apart from those in education. You can pick and choose from the possibilities that this beautiful subject offers: journalist, film or art critic, curator or gallery manager, art therapist, music, dance or drama teacher, any culture-driven profession, web designer, etc.
Furthermore, Creative Arts is one of the very scarce skills that the WEF (World Economic Forum) lists as one of the most important skills for the 21st century.
Come and join us and free yourself from narrowmindedness and ignorance. Many years ago Queen Victoria realised the fact that artists portray the truth when she warned her people: “Beware of artists – they mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous!” What a compliment! Come and show your “dangerous” side in a very safe and lovely environment.
Degree options
Economic and Management Science for Education
Overview
The focus of this subject group is to equip pre-service student teachers to facilitate the subjects of specialisation by bringing the world of business into the classroom. This subject group offers specialisation in three core modules, namely Accounting (ACCE), Business Studies (BSTE) and Economics (ECOE) for the Further Education and Training Phase (FET), Grades 10–12. Pre-service student teachers are trained to facilitate these subjects according to the National Curriculum Statement of South Africa together with principles of methodology where specialised teaching skills and practices are acquired. Pre-service student teachers are trained according to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) that provides guidance to facilitate each subject of the South African curriculum.
In Accounting students will be trained to facilitate accounting knowledge, skills and values that focus on the application of financial accounting, managerial accounting and auditing. This will equip learners with accounting concepts and skills to prepare them for a variety of career opportunities.
Business Studies encompasses the ethical and responsible participation of both the formal and informal economic sectors. This module includes business principles, theory and practice leading to the development of entrepreneurial initiatives, sustainable enterprises and the economic growth of a country.
Economics looks at how individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations within a society use scarce resources to satisfy the needs and wants in a manner that is efficient, equitable and sustainable.
The subject group also prepares student teachers to teach Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) in the Senior Phase, Grades 7–9. Two additional subjects are introduced to do so, namely Entrepreneurship in the Senior Phase (BSTG 111) and Economics in the Senior Phase (ECNG 121).
Degree options
History for Education
Overview
The subject group History Education resides within the School of Human and Social Sciences for Education. Through on-campus and distance programmes this subject group aims to provide knowledge and practise for those students interested in becoming History teachers. By providing high-quality teacher training we equip our students with the necessary teaching skills to become History teachers par excellence.
Within its undergraduate programmes as well as its postgraduate honours-degree programme the History Education group offers a wide range of themes relating to the school History curriculum. These interrelated themes cover:
- European history
- African history
- South African history
- Regional and provincial history
In all its programmes the subject group aims to stimulate learning and research on a continuous basis in order to develop original thinking and critical perspectives.
Degree options