Arts and Literary Festivals For Secondary Schools. Appraisal and Effects on Students´ Creativity


Research Paper (undergraduate), 2021

45 Pages, Grade: 3.97


Excerpt


Table of Contents

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
1.2 Statement of Problem
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.4 Research Questions
1.5 Significance of the Study
1.6 Limitations of the Study
1.7 Operational Definition of Basic Terms

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Conceptual Framework
2.2.1 Concept of Festivals
2.2.2 Concept of Arts Festival
2.2.3 The Concept of Literary Festival
2.2.4 Concept of Art& Literary Festival for Secondary Schools
2.3 Theoretical Review

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research Design
3.3 Population of the Study
3.4 Instrument for data collection

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Personal Data
4.3 Research Questions Analysis
4.4 Summary of Findings
4.5 Discussion of Findings

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
5.2 Recommendations

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to God Almighty who has given me the opportunity, wisdom and understanding throughout the completion of the study. I also dedicate this project to my parent and all lovers of knowledge worldwide.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My humble and sincere appreciation goes to God almighty, the King of Kings, Lord of lords, the Pillar of our strength for His immeasurable grace, power, wisdom and protection bestowed upon us throughout the course of the study.

My Special gratitude goes to my Project Supervisor and Head of Department, Dr. Abubakar M Sani for his careful supervision of this project, making necessary observations and corrections.

I also wish to appreciate lecturers in the Department of English Education; notable among them is Dr. Mrs Ruth Galadima, Hajiya Halima Dabban, Mallam M.B Kolo, Dr Sule Lawal and others for their meaningful contributions in diverse ways during my programme. I pray that God blesses you all abundantly.

My sincere thanks to the Organizers of Hadiza Ibrahim Aliyu Schools Festivals for their support and corporation in getting the data for this work, I am grateful for your acceptance and cooperation.

Also to Mashood Abubakar, Mrs. S.B Aremu, Silas, Dauda, Mrs. Comfort, Mrs. Priscilla, Sani Abubakar, Abdulrafiu Bello and other well wishers, I appreciate your sincere support.

I honour you all and heartily pray for God’s blessing in all your endeavours Amen.

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to appraise the relevance of Arts and Literary Festivals for Secondary Schools in the identification, breeding and enhancement of Creativity among students in Nigeria. The tools used for the research were questionnaire/interview which consists of some set of structured questions. Observation was also made to supplement the questionnaire. Random stratified sampling technique was employed in the selection of respondents used in this research. The subjects used in this research were the organizers, teachers and student-participants of Hadiza Ibrahim Aliyu Schools Festival (HIASFEST). A total of one hundred (100) responds constitute the population of the study. The data collected were subjected to a statistical analysis using mean, percentage and standard deviation formula. The findings revealed that Arts and Literary Festivals for Secondary Schools if utilized has capacity to become a breeding and growth ground for raw creative talents that would contribute immensely to the development stride of Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that Festivals like that should be supported by all and sundry.

CHAPTER ONE: Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Art and Literary Festivals has been building momentum over the years. The focus of festivals across the world has always been socio-cultural, religious and community-based expression of their identities, belief system, science, tourism, architecture and so on. According to Turner (1982: 11), People in all cultures recognize the need to set aside certain times and spaces for communal creativity and celebration, and festivals have long constituted a vehicle for expressing the close relationship between identity and place

An Arts Festival according to Wikipedia is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art genres including Music, Dance, Film, Fine art, Literature, Poetry and isn’t solely focused on “visual arts” while the Literary Festival is a regular gathering of writers and readers typically on an annual basis in a particular city. Literary Festival also place major premium on authors presenting their works to an audience, discussing their genre, interaction and master classes for emerging authors; The School Festival is an infinitesimal deviation from the basic definition of Art and Literary Festival.

Juliette et al (2017) opined that

A systematic review of the emerging literature on festivals reveals several key characteristics. While festivals are diverse in nature and geographical location, scholarly interest focuses on five main themes across these variations: the motivations for organising, funding, and attending festivals; the experiences of festival attendees; the relationship between festivals and their local environments; the economic and socio-cultural impacts of festivals; and the management of festivals. Despite growing interest in festivals as research sites, little attention has been afforded to investigating festival processes. In particular, considerations of how festivals are established, and which individuals are involved in their initiation and regular staging, offer opportunities for research.

Art and Literary Festival in Secondary School is an expanding circle of events surrounding a theme, contests, rewards, celebration, records and inspiration. The educational system is a hub of events and activities geared towards making the learners wholesome intellectually, emotionally, physically, creatively and even more. Since the learners have intrinsic ideas imbedded in them which only need to discovered, rehearsed, utilized and promoted for their own benefit and collectively for the society, there is need to put mechanisms in place that will guarantee the realization of these intents.

Dewey (1966) opined that Education is the Reconstruction or reorganisation of experience which adds to the meaning of experience and increases the ability to direct the course of subsequent experience. Reconstruction and reorganization of experience can only be achieved through creativity which is inherent in the learners when it is tapped and exploited. One of such avenue towards discovering, training and utilizing the unique innateness or artistic capability among learners is the Art and Literary Festival.

While we may want to dissect the impact of Art &Literary Festival on the premise of the school, it is important to state that Art and Literary Festival is a mechanism towards an outcome and the school is both a catalyst and a beneficiary of every successful School Art& Literary festival. Dewey (1938) stated that the school is primarily a social institution. Education being a social process, the school is simply that form of community life in which all those agencies are concentrated that will be most effective in bringing the child to share in the inherited resources of the race and to use his own powers for social ends. The assertion “use his own powers” suggests recreating the norm through the student’s artistic creativity. Schools as utmost concern therefore should focus instruction to students’ interests and use activities of interests as the mechanism for educational advancement.

He added that a student should develop artistic capacity, scientific ability, effective citizenship and professional and business acumen that were guided by the needs and interests of the child at the time (Dewey, 1916). This can be achieved if Arts and Literary events and others like Science Expo, Inter-school Contests and School Sport Festivals are introduced, maintained and promoted in secondary schools. A functional education system should not only bring awareness, enlightenment, information, ideas and inventions but should also inculcate creativity, sustain ingenuity and independence. Art and Literary festival can be a viable tool in this regard.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Freedman (2007:209) mentioned that by approaching curriculum as a creative activity, art educators of today aim to “emphasize concepts as well as skills of analysis, critique, and synthesis in expressive art-making, writing, and speaking”. Although many Secondary Schools engage in Inter-house sports, Cultural days, Intra- school/Inter-school Debates and Public Speaking Contest, Fieldtrips, it is uncommon to see an event which brings over fifty secondary schools together under a single competitive arena in Art and Literature across Nigeria. The support and attention that Education is getting from the Government, Parents, Community, and even the schools is in such an abysmal level.

In Niger State for instance, the Annual School Carnival of Arts & Festivals of Songs (ASCAFS) organized by Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Niger State Chapter was last held in 2013. The ASCAFS since 1995 has been the peak of Art and Literary activity in the state. For six years, Art and Literary events for Secondary Schools remained in stagnancy; the competitive spirit among students was shattered and their only solace is the School examinations, Junior School Certificate Examination (JSCE), West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and others which are prerequisites for promotion to the next academic level rather than a vehicle towards self discovery, personality emancipation, creativity and a functional mind.

It is also pertinent to note that since the school is an agency for societal development, Art and Literary festivals is one of the undermined instruments which can enhance academic programmes. The focus of the school system has also been a dogmatic, mono-religious pursuance of the syllabus in all subjects without really giving a second thought to what the learners can do; theoretical-based in all ramifications without considering how much of practicality Art and Literary Festival can give to the lessons learnt in the classroom.

The Secondary School remains the intermediary between the Primary education and Tertiary education, as such the level of creativity imbibed in the students at this level will be the foundation upon which the tertiary education will be built that is why beyond just arming students with knowledge in English, Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and others, students must also be made to understand the creative aspect of this subjects which allows them to discover, explore and advance knowledge. For example in most Literature classes in the Secondary schools, the emphasis is usually on the study of prose, poetry and drama text without the teachers stimulating the students to try their hands on any genre, while this standpoint can be argued, many will agree that the focus is always on studying text for class test, assignment and terminal examination purpose and not on what the student can do with the Literary Art. It is at this point that Art and Literary Festival can begin to give flesh to the souls ignited in the class through teaching.

It is on this basis that the focus of this research work is an appraisal on Arts and Literary Festivals and how they can be utilized in facilitating artistic creativity among students in Secondary school.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The followings objectives are formulated for the purpose of the present study:

1. To identify the relationship between art and literary festival and students’ academic performance.
2. To identify the benefits of the different programmes and events features in art and literary festivals for Secondary Schools widespread in Niger State.
3. What are the benefits of art and literary festivals to participating students?
4. Find ways to strengthen and encourage Art and Literary Festival for Secondary Schools in Nigeria.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions will guide this study:

1. What is the relationship between art and literary festival and students’ academic performance?
2. What are the benefits of the different programmes and events features in art and literary festivals for Secondary Schools widespread in Niger State?
3. What are the benefits of art and literary festivals to participating students?
4. What are the ways to strengthen and encourage Art and Literary Festival for Secondary Schools in Nigeria?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study is significant in the sense that through this study, schools can begin to channel their activities towards arousing artistic creativity in their students.

Schools can begin to increase their support and participation in Art and Literary Festival and other events which can improve the intellectual prowess and imbibe competitive spirit, perseverance and self-reliance in the students.

Students can begin to envision career paths based on their discovered ability through Art and Literary Festival.

Curriculum planners can also begin to look at areas from the competitive events that they can infuse in the school syllabus. It will also benefit researchers as they will begin to see researchable areas on the concept which will be an addition to the body of knowledge.

The Government too can begin to see reasons to partner with Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) organizing these events with funds and any other form of supports necessary to make Art and Literary Festival in schools successful.

Since the bulk of knowledge and every other thing returns to the society, through this work, the society can begin to encourage her members to support events such as School Literary Festivals. Given that it makes the children functional being; a functional mind is a vehicle for development. Similarly, through this study, credence will be given to the need to share creative, educational and cultural experiences among students as a way of enhancing educational programmes and purposeful life in the society.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

There may be some possible limitations in this study. The first limitation concerns the availability of data. While there are available data on Art Festivals and Literary Festivals, their focus did not relate to Secondary Schools. There is also a lack of definition for Art and Literary Festivals in Secondary Schools. Perhaps this paper may serve as a foundation for the study of Art and Literary Festivals in Secondary Schools.

Secondly since Art and Literary Festival seems not to have much attention in Nigeria Schools, the focus of this research appraisal will be on Art and Literary Festival (Both past and present) such as the Annual School Carnival of Art and Festival of Songs (ASCAFS), Nigerian Festival of Teen Authors (NIFESTEENA) and Hadiza Ibrahim Aliyu Schools Festival (HIASFEST) in Niger state.

Finally, since this research is the first of its kind especially in relation to Art and Literary Festival in Secondary School as such, the work may not be expansive enough in dealing with certain dynamics outside the school system.

1.7 Operational Definition of Basic Terms

Art: A field or category of art, such as painting, sculpture, music, ballet, or literature.

Artistic: It is having or revealing creative skill/ aesthetically pleasing.

ASCAFS: It is the Annual School Carnival of Arts and Festival of Songs.

Creativity: The quality or ability to create or invent something.

Festival: An event or community gathering, usually staged by a local community which centres on some theme, sometimes on some unique aspect of the community.

HIASFEST: It is the Hadiza Ibrahim Aliyu Schools Festival.

Literary: It concerns the writing, or study of literature, especially of the kind valued for quality of form.

NIFESTEENA: It is the Nigerian Festival of Teen Artists.

Non-Governmental Organization: They are usually non-profit, citizen-based group that functions independently of government.

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Introduction

This section is divided into two aspects; The Conceptual framework and Theoretical review.

In the conceptual review, the focus will be on the Concept of Festival, Concept of Art Festival, Concept of Literary Festival, and Concept of Art& Literary Festival in Secondary Schools. The Theoretical review will focus on the Vygotsky’s Theory of Art and Creativity.

2.2 Conceptual Framework

2.2.1 Concept of Festivals

The word “Festival” is derived from the classical Latin word festum which means “feast”. It has always maintained a context which relates to Culture and Religion. Festival can be seen as an event or community gathering, usually staged by a local community, which centres on some theme sometimes on some unique aspect of the community. Ekman (1999) affirmed that Festivals are occasions for expressing collective belonging to a group or a place. In creating opportunities for drawing on shared histories, shared cultural practices and ideals, as well as creating settings for social interactions, festivals engender local community.

Festivals types include Religious festivals, Arts festival, and Food and drink festival, Seasonal and harvest festivals, literary festival. Festival provides an avenue for cultural identities, shared beliefs and value systems to be celebrated, re-analysed and reformed.

Owusu and Ross (1988) suggested that such carnivals actively seek to combine local, participant and tourist, and belie months of planning, workshops, craft production and rehearsal before the events themselves take place.

2.2.2 Concept of Arts Festival

According to Wikipedia, An Arts Festival is an umbrella-term for a festival that focuses on multiple art genres including fine art (painting, drawing, and pottery), music, photography, film, literature, poetry, and other visual arts. Apart from the general arts festival, there are also specific types of festival including types which showcases intellectual or creative achievements such as science festival, art fairs, theatre festival, dance festival, literary festival and music festival.

Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, literature, comedy, children’s entertainment, science, or street theatre, and are typically presented in venues over a period of time ranging from as short as a day or a weekend to a month. The sub-genres of Arts Festivals include the following:

1. Art Fair: an art fair is a sub-genre of Arts festival which focuses on visual art. They are usually termed photography festivals or street art festivals. Typically, an Art fair has a wide range of artists, art dealers, collectors, and curators who buy or sell artwork in a venue or gallery that is open to the public. Conversely Art fairs are market-oriented shows where art dealers exhibit and sell the work of artists they represent.
2. Poetry Festival: they are organized events staged by Poetry and Literature groups, Local arts associations, Private Organizations and others that showcase contemporary poetry and provide a chance for poets to meet each other, celebrate poetry, critique each other’s work and debate poetic issues. Poets can include international, national and local writers and can include specific theme. They are often held in a particular location over set dates. In contrast to literary festivals, poetry festivals put poetry centre stage.
3. Film Festival: they are organized events, usually staged by Universities, Private organizations, Local Governments, or Arts associations, that show films in cinemas or screening venues and provide filmmakers a chance to get notable recognition among fellow film enthusiasts. Films can include International and domestic releases and can even be on a specific film-maker, genre or subject matter. Film festivals are typically annual events and can feature full-length or short films.
4. Theatre/Drama Festival: this festival provides an avenue for playwrights and poets to have their plays performed, and the actors compete to win the title of best performance.

2.2.3 The Concept of Literary Festival

A Literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city. A literary festival usually features a variety of presentations and readings by authors, as well as other events, delivered over a period of several days, with the primary objectives of promoting the authors' books and fostering a love of literature and writing. Writers' conferences are sometimes designed to provide an intellectual and academic focus for groups of writers without the involvement of the general public.

Ambrossini (2018) opined that:

If the smell of books excites you, wandering through aisles in the library finding new authors and genres to explore, getting early to a book launch to hear an author read passages from their latest book then you’ve probably attended a literary festival or two. Either that or you have friends who are writers, poets or theatre performers. The love of reading isn’t the only thing that makes literary festivals popular, the love all of all art forms and forms of expression are what makes them so enjoyable. It’s not just a place to watch debates play out on stage, hear the words of established authors, and discover new writers. Literary festivals are a way to connect with like-minded people, who enjoy a good book and the creative scene, and who also appreciate the hidden gems in the world of art and theatre. It is an excellent opportunity to peer out from behind your books or group of close friends and socialise.

He added that Literary festival or Litfest as it is popularly known is important since it provide individuals the opportunity to:

Socialise with like-minded individuals from your neck of the woods; Meet and greet the talent behind books, performances and poetry including award winning talents; Inspire reading and writing in younger audiences; Breathe new life into travels; Find the gems others are yet to discover- giving you bragging rights when they finally make it: A literary festival is literally the best of all worlds. You’ll be able to indulge in poetry readings, meet award winning writers and escape to a book festival that is unparalleled in its scope, but intimate enough to make it a reader’s paradise.

Literary festival opens every participant to the contemporary form of art across the world allowing them to delve their adventures into it and promote it from their literary circle.

2.2.4 Concept of Art& Literary Festival for Secondary Schools

It has been established in the introductory chapter that Art and Literary Festival in Secondary Schools although an offshoot of “Art Festival” and “Literary Festival” is slightly different in scope at the Secondary School level. While some of the events in the two festivals seem visible in some of the School’s Art and Literary Festival. The concept will be provisionally defined as an expanding circle of events surrounding a theme, contests, rewards, celebration, records and inspiration. The Festival in Secondary Schools seeks to provide the students with an arena to showcase their abilities, get inspired, relate with other peoples and get rewarded for the ingenuity of their talents.

For the sake of this work, three significant Art& Literary Festivals for Secondary Schools in Niger State will be reviewed based on their profile, objectives, impacts, nature of prizes and prospect. They are discussed below:

1. Annual School Carnival Of Arts & Festival Of Songs (ASCAFS)

Festival’s Profile

The Annual Schools Carnival of Arts and Festival of Songs (ASCAFS) is a program designed to bring together students of post primary schools for an annual intellectual fair. It is a forum for secondary school children to showcase their talent in creative writing, drama presentation, quiz competition, painting, song rendition, cultural display, craft and photography. At the end of the program, they are given incentives to stimulate their interests in book, culture and arts.

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Details

Title
Arts and Literary Festivals For Secondary Schools. Appraisal and Effects on Students´ Creativity
College
Ahmadu Bello University  (Faculty of Education)
Course
English Education
Grade
3.97
Author
Year
2021
Pages
45
Catalog Number
V1010207
ISBN (eBook)
9783346403384
ISBN (Book)
9783346403391
Language
English
Notes
The work seeks to promote Arts and Literary Festivals in High School as a way of discovering, nurturing and enhancing artistic creativity among teenagers.
Keywords
arts, literary, festivals, secondary, schools, appraisal, effects, students´, creativity
Quote paper
Olumide Ojo Emmanuel (Author), 2021, Arts and Literary Festivals For Secondary Schools. Appraisal and Effects on Students´ Creativity, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1010207

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