Aesthetics, The Purpose Of Education, And The Process Of Schooling / By Claire Amy Schultz.

Abstract

Abstract

Claire Amy Schultz

Aesthetics, the purpose of education, and the process of schooling

Under the direction of Vincent W. Youngbauer, Ph.D.

In the American education system, approaches in schooling methods are closely tied to pragmatic and positivistic theoretical paradigms, relying on universalized and generalized curricula, where the performance of an individual is displayed in quantifiable terms. High-stakes testing and other quantitative performance measures limit pedagogical practices and curriculum theory, resulting in the economy managing curricula. A purpose of this qualitative research project is to initiate and contribute to a conversation about the purpose of education and the process of schooling. This study developed a theoretical framework with aesthetic and antiaesthetic lenses to examine students’ perceptions of schooling and education.

The process of schooling and the purpose of education are discussed in this research through a hermeneutical heuristic in the context of the developed theoretical framework of aesthetics. Data were collected using an open-ended survey instrument. Follow-up interviews with participants helped to clarify some of the responses from the initial survey data.

The results of this research indicated that the student participants conflate schooling and education. Economic concerns were most prevalent in the data collected, suggesting that the purpose of education and the process of schooling are for the narrow purpose of obtaining employment. This research examines this link and offers insight to shifting the curriculum theories that drive the current trends of pragmatism and positivism in education toward an aesthetic viewpoint.