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Understanding of function of art in general education has changed over time, leading to the parallel existence of old and new notions, even though, in some cases, they are not in accordance with each other. Focusing on some of the older and outdated notions, newer authors in art education (for example, Eisner and Kindler) discuss the myths that are widespread among teachers who teach art in general education. Some of these myths include: the primary function of art is to mainly support the development of children’s creativity, and that we should offer children as many materials as possible when they are engaged in an art activity. The aim of thethis studyresearch was to examineexplore the attitudesextent to which preschool teachers in Serbia believe in these so-called myths. This is especially relevant as kindergartens are the first educational institutions in children’s lives, thus establishing an important foundation for the way children understand the role of studentsart and artistsform regardingtheir theattitudes factorstoward influencingart. creativityWe collected data (N=135 preschool teachers) using an online questionnaire. The results showed that preschool teachers mostly believe in visual expression. The random sample consisted of 105 students from the Fine Arts Departmentone of the Artsoffered Academymyths (“children should be given complete freedom during art activities in Split,the kindergarten” – with 57.8% agreeing); most of the kindergarten teachers do not believe in four myths (such as “children’s works in which it is difficult to recognize what is drawn should not be exhibited” – with 98.5% disagreeing), but they were indecisive about six other myths (such as “When we offer children only one material in an art activity, we limit their freedom and 50 visual artists. A questionnaire with 21 statements about the factors influencing creativity in visual expression and Likert scale for self-assessment was used as the measuring instrument.creativity”). The results weresuggest analysedthat usingpreschool Fisher'steachers testneed additional support (through initial and thein-service Z-testeducation) forin twodeveloping proportions.their own notions of art in order to transfer appropriate attitudes toward arts to children.
The results indicated that for most statements, statistically significant differences were not found in the attitudes of students from different study groups within the Fine Arts Department, nor between the attitudes of students and artists. Significant differences between study groups were observed in statements: social engagement and social awareness drive my creative process, where the Painting group expressed the least agreement; acquiring fundamental professional skills is as important as fostering creativity, where the Conservation and Restoration group were more positive compared to others; and extracurricular communication and collaboration with colleagues stimulate my creativity, where the Painting group predominantly held a positive attitude. Furthermore, significant differences between the attitudes of students and artists were identified in statements: social engagement and social awareness drive my creative process, and a specific artistic medium inspires my creative process, where artists exhibited more pronounced negative attitudes than students for both statements.
The research results contribute to understanding the influence of various factors on fostering creativity in visual expression, especially among students of fine arts academies.
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