CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Background to the Study
Imaginative painting is one of the topics offered by students of Arts in Secondary Schools. According to Chapman (1978), it is painting from memory; that is painting something that you have imagined rather than something that exists or is seen. It is one of man’s ways of communicating. Imaginative painting in this study is the ability of the students under study to create pictures in their minds and their ability to come up with exciting ideas
The student’s art work will follow the same universal pattern whether as a student or a child in a school, in the rural area or attending a school in the Urban Area. This arises from the fact that all students pass through the same stages of growth and development in their Primary and Secondary Education through qualified creative art teachers who expose them in the elementary drawing methods as prescribed by the curriculum, Robertson (2005) posted that each student is subject to likes or dislikes and each is affected by the inner world of his mind and the outer world of his environment. He maintained that each student manifests these individual influence in the results of his art activities.
Empirical evidence (Ekpendu, 2006) on the importance of arts in communication revealed that the students may be harmed by the imposition of adult standards and the use of coloring books and patterns. The student who is free to paint as he pleases grows in ability and power of self-direction. The student’s drawings testify to his instinctive desire to communicate, his crayon becomes a graphics means which is often more expressive and informative than spoken words (Koye, 2002). If this kind of spontaneous creative activity is given free range and encouraged in childhood, it may well lead to the development of that personal creativity which in turn leads to enrichment of adult life by spontaneous creativity at greater and more advanced kind.
Creative ability is a direct product of the student’s imagination. When a student is given a brush, paint and paper, as soon as he discovers that to deep the brush and apply it to the paper produces a mark, his imagination takes over. He will continue to make mark after marks for the sheer joy of it. The patterns of marks he produces will spring from his imaginations, imagination sparked off by the visual impact of either things around or what was heard.
Creative activity may be direct or induced. In other words, it may arise directly, spontaneously, out of the students’ imagination, or it may begin as a result of something he sees or hears or feels. In either case, what happens afterwards, the play, the song, the dance, the model, the painting, and drawing arises from his imagination and develops his communications ability (Brown, 1991).
To persuade the student to talk about his work opens a rich field of direct communication between him and his teacher/fellow students. This conversation between teacher and student or parents and child promotes the child’s mental capacities and ability for imaginative paintings. It is not known; however, which mode of stimulating students will improve imaginative painting: when students are stimulated verbally and when they are stimulated graphically.
Graphic stimulus is the dramatic and artistic presentation of visual elements of communication to the students using teaching materials in this study, while verbal stimulus refers specifically to the spoken words used in teaching imaginative paintings to students.
The use of verbal or graphic stimulus may lead to the students’ differential performance in imaginative painting, hence the need for the study.
Statement of Problem
In the recent years, there has been a decline in the turnout of graduate teachers in the area of Cultural and Creative Arts /Fine Arts. One equally wonders why students shy away from the study of imaginative painting in arts. Osuagwu (2006) suggested that emphasis and more consideration should be given to individualized learning. This is because more effective means need to be adopted for the teaching of imaginative painting using verbal and graphic stimuli in SS1 classes since intellectual difference and ability do vary among the students.
Imaginative painting is one of the various ways an artist can use to communicate to others or express himself. The images represented are usually from memory which could be influenced by what we hear or see. In Nigeria, the value of graphic and verbal stimuli to children’s art development is not known and quite appreciated and thus not given serious attention in most of our schools through the provisions of verbal and graphic media. This might have contributed to students poor performance in imaginative painting. Hence, the problem of the study is what is the effect of verbal, graphic and verbal-graphic stimuli on students performance in imaginative painting?
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to find out the effect of verbal and graphic stimuli on student performance in imaginative painting. Specifically, the study determined the:
1. Effect of verbal, graphic and verbal – graphic stimuli on students performance in imaginative painting.
2. Influence of gender on students performance in imaginative painting.
3. Interactive effect of stimuli and gender on students’ performance in imaginative painting.
Significance of the Study
Conclusion reached at the end of the study will establish the extent verbal and graphic stimuli will enhance the performance of students in imaginative painting. It is also hoped that results obtained will provide empirical data for encouraging the use of verbal and graphic stimuli teaching and learning in Nigeria schools.
Furthermore, the findings will touch the area of weakness of the students’ and also generate relevant suggestions that will be of value to learners, teachers, publishers and the government at large, particularly, the State Education Management Board – the government organ in-charge of School Curriculum. They will ensure that verbal and graphic stimuli are used for the motivation and benefit of the students.
This finding will help the students, the teachers and the authorities in finding a possible solution in elevating the performance of students. Also, the outcome of this study will bring to the field of knowledge the degree of influence which verbal and graphic stimuli have on students performance in imaginative painting especially in the Nigeria context. It will serve as a guide to teachers and parents in ascertaining the impact of verbal and graphic stimuli on their students and wards as well as know how to stimulate students to improve their performance in imaginative painting. This will eventually be beneficial to teachers, scholars in this area of teaching, research and practice. The outcome of this study will bring to the field of knowledge the degree of influence which verbal and graphic stimuli have on students performance in imaginative painting especially in the Nigeria context. This study will also serve as a guide to teachers and parents in knowing or determining the impact of verbal and graphic stimuli on students’ performance in imaginative painting
