PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT (practical skills): ARTS AND CRAFTS, SELF-EXPRESSION, THE ARTS, DANCE AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE
Starting point of the working group
The scope of this workshop is very extensive: arts and crafts in its widest sense, various manually created forms of art (drawing, painting, sculpture), as well as dance and physical exercise.
Arts and crafts comprise every kind of manual production, reparation or renovation (clothing, textiles, knitting, woodwork, metal working, work on precious metals and jewels, pottery and ceramics). Handicrafts, working with hands, and creation various products is an essential part of European general education and the preservation and development of a community's culture. It encourages interpretation, self-expression and problem solving. It develops cognitive processes: design, problem solving, organising and evaluating work. It also provides instruments for every-day life control and material for career planning or vocational practice. Producing handicrafts can promote both self-sufficiency and business actifvity. Handicrafts do actually bridge the present to the past for people who have transferred from rural areas to cities.
Studying art may include, among others, watercolour and oil painting, sculpture and porcelain decoration. Dance can mean oriental dance, jazz dance, tap-dancing, African dance, salsa, folk dances, classic ballroom dance and so forth; physical exercise may be aerobic, different forms of gymnastics, yoga, Tai Chi. Both studying art and engaging in physical activity develop the individual's aesthetic and coordination skills and offer an opportunity for social contacts.
The workshop will examine the teaching arrangements and status of handicrafts, art subjects, dance and physical exercise in the Member States and the possibilities for developing and preserving national and regional cultures and strengthening individuals' identity by means of teaching these subjects in today's Europe.
Excursion
The workshop will get acquainted with the instruction of practical skills in Turku Adult Education Centre. The participants will learn about the operating principles and the structure of costs of the centre and the state and municipal support it receives. The participants may follow instruction and studying and meet both teachers and learners. The workshop will be divided into smaller groups for the excursion, each of which examine the subject on the basis of topics drafted during the opening session.
Turku Adult Education Centre
