No word captures the hopes and ambitions of Africa’s leaders, its educated populations, and many of its farmers and workers in the post-war decades better than “development.” Yet it is a protean word, subject to conflicting interpretations. Its simplest meaning conveys a down-to-earth aspiration: to have clean water, decent schools and health facilities; to produce larger harvests and more manufactured goods; to have access to the consumer goods that people elsewhere consider a normal part of life. To colonial elites after the war, bringing European capital and knowledge to Africa reconciled continued rule with calls for universal progress. To nationalists, a development that would serve African interests required African rule. After independence, new rulers could claim a place for themselves as intermediaries between external resources and national aspirations. But African rulers were in turn subject to criticism for sacrificing development for the people to personal greed.

The most important holdouts against the abdication of imperial power in the 1950s and 1960s were colonies with substantial white settlement. But despite the sustained efforts of settlers in Rhodesia and South Africa to retain power, and the determination of the Portuguese government to retain its centuries-old empire, their ultimate fate was determined by the regional and worldwide process that rendered empire indefensible. That process was slow; only in December 1960 did the United Nations officially recognize that world opinion had changed and colonial rule had become morally unacceptable. Rhodesia, South Africa, and Portuguese colonies became international pariahs, but it took over thirty more years before the last bastion of white domination in Africa fell.

In this chapter we introduce and explain the key principles of integrated learning and outline ways in which it can be put into practice to provide quality Arts experiences, as well as quality learning in other areas. We suggest ways to achieve integrated learning that you can adapt to construct your own successful program.

We also move beyond the concept of curriculum integration to look at child integration as it should be applied in the classroom. Schools do exclude, both intentionally and otherwise. We explore the justifications offered for, and ways to remove, these barriers to engagement in the Arts by all. We argue in this chapter for the need for everyone to experience the Arts equally, no matter what their background or what form of diverse learning is brought to the classroom. For some children, this is the only pathway to success. In the Arts anyone can engage; everyone gets to live them.

This chapter will provide a foundation for the provision of quality visual arts educational experiences in early childhood and primary years. Practical suggestions for planning a high-quality visual arts program are linked to recent theory in a way that helps you construct your own visual arts program. Visual arts concepts, language, elements and principles will be defined and explained, with examples of the progression in visual arts education from early childhood through the primary years. Practicalities such as classroom management, safety and materials are addressed and additional interactive material can be found through the icons.

If we approach Arts education as we might approach literacy, we would aim to develop Arts literacy in students. We would teach students the tools of language, ways of constructing meaning, vocabulary, structures, forms, genres and shaping cultural and social contexts. In literacy we allow children freedom to gain confidence and experiment with creative writing, but we also intervene when necessary to correct, guide and teach them explicit skills and knowledge. If we apply this approach to the Arts, then, rather than stand back and ‘let the child be free’, we focus on developing proficiency in knowledge and skills as well as fostering creativity and imagination right from the start. As with any other Learning Area, child engagement and achievement in the Arts are determined by exposure to ongoing, sequential learning experiences. This chapter suggests ways in which teachers can achieve this in a way that is respectful of the needs and interests of the child.

The previous chapters have explored the teaching methodologies and concepts related to different forms of the Arts, as well as methodologies for integration and organisation. However, in addition to being able to teach the Arts, we need to have in place a system for evaluating the teaching process to ensure that the outcomes and goals we wish to achieve are met for the learners. There has been a great deal of research to identify specific teaching practices that can improve children’s outcomes. This chapter does not intend to analyse the validity or otherwise of these outcomes, as these are mandated by the various examination and education boards. In part, this is because it is difficult to isolate any specific technique or learning skill that works for individuals because all children have unique and individual learning styles. For these reasons, the focus of recent research has been to isolate general characteristics.