Psychosocial Perspectives on Arts Education

Code:

MEAV11

Acronym:

PPEA

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	General Education Training

Instance: 2025/2026 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Education Sciences
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Teaching of Visual Arts for Teachers of the 3rd cycle of Basic Education and of Secondary Education

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MEAV	25	Plano de Estudos 2025	1	-	4,5	40	122
		Plano de Estudos 2025 - Transição	1	-	4,5	40	122

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

As part of the Master’s in Visual Arts Teaching, the course of Psychosocial Perspectives in Arts Education sets out to be a space of interdisciplinary dialogue, exploring the connections between the artistic, the psychological, and the social. It draws on insights from the psychology of art within education while also engaging with diverse perspectives on the sociocultural phenomena that shape it. The course aims to create an environment that encourages collective debate on the epistemological and practical implications of these approaches for contemporary artistic and educational thinking. Its main purpose is to foster a critical way of thinking and making, one that challenges modern essentialisms, whether expressionist, representational, or grounded in Western aesthetic traditions, while opening up reflection in and on arts education. Here, arts education is understood as a way of cultural citizenship, serving both personal growth and social transformation. The objectives of the course are:

- Critically assess how psychological, socio-cultural, educational, and artistic discourses influence visual arts education, while considering factors such as gender, social class, race/ethnicity, generation, and sexuality;

- Develop imagination, sociological awareness, and a reflective, analytical, and critical approach to knowledge production in education science and visual arts, challenging naturalist, individualist, ethnocentric, and anthropocentric perspectives in education and culture;

- Explore the relationships between learning, education, and teaching in visual arts, breaking down disciplinary boundaries between psychology, sociology, and art;

- Build a critical and informed teaching practice, recognising the psychosocial mechanisms that both constrain arts education and create opportunities for art and education to foster youth identities, self-expression, and active citizenship in schools.

Learning outcomes and competences

- understanding relevant dimensions in visual arts teaching, such as: (i) the place of visual experiences in education and in relation to different fields of knowledge; ii) the relationship between learning and education; iii) the meaning of the context in learning processes; iv) the specificities of artistic knowledge in the life of communities and social groups;

- demonstrate skills of theoretical articulation and critical analysis when addressing problematic situations and educational activities, mobilizing reading skills of social and educational realities in its complexity;

- identifying different research problems taking into account the contexts of action of visual arts teachers;

- be able to collect, select and interpret relevant information, national and international, about education, art education and the teaching of Visual Arts, related with the thematics under study and the evaluation proposals

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Not applicable

Program

1. Psychosocial Approaches in Arts Education: Building Common Ground


2. The Portuguese School System: A Closer Look


3. Visual Experiences, Learning, and Knowledge Construction


4. Cultural, Social, and Psychological Dynamics in Arts Education: An Exploration of Key Theories


5. Youth, Gender, and Ethnic Identities in the Classroom and School: Knowledge and Power


6. Artistic Practices, Education, and Citizenship

Mandatory literature

Abrantes , Pedro; Os sentidos da escola : identidades juvenis e dinâmicas de escolaridade. ISBN: 972-774-179-7
Almeida , Ana Nunes de; A escola em Portugal : novos olhares, outros cenários. ISBN: 972-671-181-9
Arnheim , Rudolf; Para uma psicologia da arte : ensaios Arte e entropia : ensaio sobre a desordem e a ordem. ISBN: 972-576-119-7
Berger , John; Ways of seeing
Dewey , John; Art as experience
Dubet, François, Marticcelli, Danilo ; A l’école, sociologie de l’expérience scolaire, Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1996
Vygotsky , Lev Semenovitch; Psicologia da arte. ISBN: 85-336-1003-3
Willis , Paul; Aprendendo a ser trabalhador : escola, resistência e reprodução social

Comments from the literature

During the semester, will be given a specfic list of mandatory readings.

Teaching methods and learning activities

A - Contact Activities
Lectures involving the presentation and discussion of content by the teaching team
Viewing of films and/or documentaries, followed by large group discussions
Reading and analysis of texts, with the production of commentaries during sessions
Tutorials focused on providing guidance for individual projects

B - Independent Work
Reading and analysis of the recommended bibliography, alongside bibliographic research
Theoretical and practical analysis and reflection, conducted in small groups
Individual assignments

Both pieces of work must:
i) integrate readings from the prescribed bibliography and/or bibliographic research undertaken
ii) interpret and substantiate the analyses based on the empirical materials referenced, with a critical reflection on the topics covered in the course
iii) be submitted in written format

keywords

Social sciences > Educational sciences > Education > Art education
Humanities > Arts > Visual arts
Social sciences > Educational sciences > Learning studies

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	40,00
Trabalho escrito	60,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	32,00
Estudo autónomo	53,00
Frequência das aulas	37,00
Total:	122,00

Eligibility for exams

The assessment scheme adopted assumes compliance with the compulsory attendance. It is considered that the student complied with the attendance, having been regularly enrolled and to that extent not exceeding the limit number of fouls, corresponding to 25% provided for (cf. Article 9, 2 of regulation of evaluation).

Calculation formula of final grade

The assessment method, which combines continuous assessment with a final exam (written assignment), requires students to attend at least 75% of the contact activities in classroom. In this context, regular attendance and participation throughout the semester are crucial to the proposed assessment process, which follows a continuous approach supported by tutorial guidance. The choice of the assignment topic is the responsibility of each student, and it will involve an exploratory study based on a specific visual/image universe. This could involve an object or body of images, such as works by a visual artist, a photographic project, a documentary, a design piece, a significant film or series of cinematic images, an advertisement or propaganda campaign, a television series or program, a theatrical performance, a visual performance, an artist’s book, an educational textbook or pedagogical material, a historical-visual archive or museum collection, etc. The aim of the assignment is to: 1) link the discussion of the selected material to the theoretical perspectives covered in the classes; 2) propose a way of seeing, interpreting, and articulating the visual, imagistic, and discursive universe from which the project originates; 3) discuss some of the implications of the exploratory study both for the field of visual arts teaching and learning and arts education.

The work throughout the semester will be supported and guided by the teaching team through tutorial sessions.

Assessment Criteria for Written Assignments:

Conceptual clarity and accuracy

Integration of theory and practice

Depth of critical interpretation in the exploratory study

Internal coherence and logical flow of the presentation

Originality and relevance of the content

Formal presentation of the work, in accordance with the academic standards established by the University of Porto.

The assignment is assessed on a scale of 0 to 20 and comprises the following weighted components:

-Presentation script – 40%
- Final written report – 60%

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable

Internship work/project

Not applicable

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Students who by law are required to frequently in class may be called upon to perform a particular paper, with a view to the assessment of skills and knowledge provided in this course. To this end, such a situation of layoff must be communicated to the teacher at the beginning of classes, with a view to defining the terms of delivery of special paper (cf. Article 7, 4 of regulation of evaluation).

Classification improvement

Improvement of the final grade will occur in accordance with the Assessment Regulations (i.e., it may be done only once and during one of the two assessment periods immediately following the period in which the student passed) and will involve a revision of the written assignment.

Observations

Assessment Criteria for Written Assignments:

 

Conceptual clarity and accuracy

Integration of theory and practice

Depth of critical interpretation in the exploratory study

Internal coherence and logical flow of the presentation

Originality and relevance of the content

Formal presentation of the work, in accordance with the academic standards established by the University of Porto.