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EFFECTIVE ART EDUCATIONFOR OLDER ADULTSDixie Durr a , Sylvie Fortin b & Jeffrey Leptak ca Michigan State Universityb Université du Quebec à Montréalc The Ohio State University , ColumbusPublished online: 03 Aug 2006.

To cite this article: Dixie Durr , Sylvie Fortin & Jeffrey Leptak (1992) EFFECTIVEART EDUCATION FOR OLDER ADULTS, Educational Gerontology, 18:2, 149-161, DOI:10.1080/0360127920180203

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EFFECTIVE ART EDUCATION FOR OLDER ADULTS

Dixie DurrMichigan State University

Sylvie FortinUniversité du Quebec à Montréal

Jeffrey LeptakThe Ohio State University, Columbus

This article reports the results of an ethnographic research project conducted aspart of a graduate seminar in art education. The research team observed andinterviewed the instructor and seven learners in an oil painting class at a com-munity retirement center. Data collection focused on the physical environment,interaction among students, interaction between students and instructor, andthe artwork being produced. The findings reveal a classroom climate character-ized by Stephen Brookfield's "principles of effective practice for facilitatinglearning," including mutual respect and support, collaborative learning,praxis, critical thinking, and self-direction.

As part of a graduate seminar, "Ethnographic Research Methodology:Issues in Art/Art Education" conducted at Ohio State University dur-ing the spring quarter of 1990, nine students participated in an ethno-graphic research project. The researchers were interested in the roleof art in the lives of older adults. Due to the constraints of the aca-demic quarter system, the class members focused on a microculture:an oil painting class offered at a retirement community operated bythe Metropolitan Housing Authority in Columbus, Ohio. The researchteam discovered a model case study of effective art education forolder adults.

Although some research indicates older adults have greater inter-est in instrumental learning for solving practical problems such ashealth or finance, other studies show an equal, coexistent desire forexpressive learning (Wirtz & Charner, 1989; Heimstra, 1982). On the

The authors gratefully acknowledge the following people who collected data: Les-ley Constable, Bob Dalton, JoEllen Harris, Jean Ippolito, Susi Long, Lori Nock, andBrenda Yellock. In addition, thanks are due to Dr. Patricia L. Stuhr for advancing thisproject.

Educational Gerontology, 18:149-161, 1992 149Copyright © 1992 by Hemisphere Publishing Corporation

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Education Participation Scale, the motive for participation rankedhighest by older adults is "cognitive interest," followed by "socialcontact" (Boshier & Riddell, 1978). Socializing is seldom the solemotivator for participation in education; it functions in conjunctionwith other equally important motives (Wirtz & Charner, 1989). Oneway to meet both cognitive and social needs in the lives of olderaduits is art education.

RELATED LITERATURE

Malcolm Knowles (1980) developed and revised an approach to adultlearning called andragogy, characterized by learning that is self-directed, experience-based, problem-focused, and performance-centered. Although educational gerontologists agree that no onemethod works best for all older learners (Peterson & Ogren, 1982;Bolton, 1978), andragogy is widely endorsed as a preferred strategy(Peterson, 1983; Okun, 1982; Bolton, 1978). Age-segregated classessuch as those at senior centers often use a more informal approach,which is typical of the andragogical model. For older learners in par-ticular, this means less pressure, a slower pace, more socialization,and more student direction (Peterson & Ogrun, 1982). Jean EllenJones (1982), one of the few art educators to address older adultlearning, notes the "critical need among the elderly for a student-centered approach and individual instruction" (p. 22).

Knowles' writing initiated 20 years of debate about andragogy as atheory, philosophy, and method of adult education. Thus far, the mostthorough critique of andragogy is Stephen Brookfield's Understand-ing and Facilitating Adult Learning (1986). In that book, Brookfieldadapts and expands Knowles' theory into "principles of effectivepractice for facilitating learning." These principles, which seem espe-cially applicable to older adults, are briefly summarized here.

1. Adult education is voluntary.2. Adult education occurs in a climate of mutual respect and support

among learners and between learners and facilitators.3. Adult education is collaborative, between learner and facilitator,

and among members of the learning community.4. Adult education leads to praxis—reflection upon one's actions and

action based upon reflection.5. Adult education fosters critical thinking.6. Adult education nurtures self-direction.

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ART EDUCATION 151

CONTEXT OF STUDY AND SETTING

The retirement community consists of ground-level apartment unitsthat surround a main building in which the inhabitants may gatherfor a variety of events, including scheduled activities planned by theColumbus Recreation and Parks Department. The oil painting classmeets every Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The researchers first visited the center and observed four dimen-sions of the setting: the physical environment, the interaction amongstudents, the interaction between students and teacher, and the art-work being produced. Each researcher was responsible for a particu-lar area of observation.

A second visit involved taped interviews between the Ohio Statestudents and select members of the oil painting class. The questionsasked of each senior citizen were designed by the interviewers andagreed upon through consensus. Consensus was used to determinenot only the wording of each question but also the number and typesof questions asked. Each Ohio State student interviewed a differentsenior participant. Each interview was scheduled in advance and wasconducted at a mutually agreed upon time. Those who agreed to beinterviewed were either present during the observation session orwere individuals whose names were supplied by the instructor.

Although approximately 25 individuals enrolled in the oil paintingclass, the average number of participants during a given Tuesday is12. Though there are 250 living units at the retirement community,most of the participants in the oil painting class are nonresidents.Some members of the class travel from as far away as 17 miles.

The oil painting class takes place in a room that is approximately35 by 20 feet. Easels, tables containing painting equipment, storageand filing cabinets, a rack for storing oil paintings, hanging plants,and walls covered with prints, paintings, and newspaper photos com-bine to create a warm and friendly ambience. Classical music can beheard in the background. Windows on two sides of the room permitan abundance of natural light to enter the room. In addition, fluores-cent lighting fixtures are located in the ceiling. Two long tables run-ning the length of the room are placed parallel to each other with apassageway between them. The room is clean and functional but hasa lived-in feeling.

THE INSTRUCTOR

The instructor of the oil painting class is Mary Thompson, a confidentindividual, who radiates warmth and frequently smiles and laughs.

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She is approachable, direct in her responses, and generally offers heradvice only when it is sought. Mary is a trained professional artistwho received a scholarship and degree from the Columbus College ofArt and Design and later a degree from Ohio State University. Herofficial title with Columbus Recreation and Parks Department is rec-reation supervisor.

In addition to her oil painting class, Mary teaches china painting,hand-built and potters-wheel ceramics, stained glass, needlework,weaving, and chair-caning. She attributes her ability to teach somany different things to her college studies as well as all the odd jobsshe did while in school.

I have this thing that if I know a little bit about it, I can get somebodyinterested enough to make them want to learn more. I think that is thesecret . . . it is not what you know, it is how interested you can getsomeone else in being and what they want to know . . . I have probablyas good a fine arts background as anybody could want . . . I really don'tthink that is as important as the ability to get people to want tolearn . . .

For Mary, teaching is "not working . . . Teaching is kind of like . . .drinking water . . . it is something you need, . . . It is part of mynutrition." When asked to describe how she gets ideas for teaching,Mary responded that she "shoot(s) from the hip." Reflection plays alarge role in her ability to process, as do her surroundings. Everythree or four weeks, Mary conducts a large group demonstration forthe participants. However, she acknowledges that she functions beston a one-to-one basis. Yet, she admits that she talks quite loud in classin the "hope that there's six other people who hear me and that theymight pick up on something and digest the thought."

Another method that has been effective for Mary is that of groupcritique, wherein "we share the image and talk about what should orshould not be done." At first, Mary noted that the older adults werevery defensive about it but now look forward to the group critiquesessions.

When asked how she guided an older adult through a painting as-signment, Mary replied that she tried:

. . . very much to touch on the thing that is foremost in their mind,because whether I would paint as they do, or I would feel as they do,or even see as they do is a ridiculous thought . . . I am not going to. Itry to open their eyes to see more clearly what they are trying to ac-complish. The technical things . . . that is really of second nature . . .because I can always go in and give them technical advice or talk to

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ART EDUCATION 153

them about preparation of the canvas or talk to them about loading uptheir palette . . .

Mary notes that their themes and moods tend to center on the"peaceful quiet of the old countryside type of thing . . . they seem tobe very committed to a visual experience, something that they canidentify with, an objective kind of thinking . . . they do like to reflecton the quiet past."

Mary often takes the class on field trips. A visit to the ColumbusMuseum of Art to view an exhibition of contemporary American art-ists allowed Mary to introduce the students to a painting session innonrepresentational art. She commented that "they didn't under-stand it, but I think they understood more after having experienced itthan they did before."

A trip to the new Wexner Center for the Visual Arts at The OhioState University to view a contemporary art exhibit proved to be aninteresting experience. Mary comments,

Actually, what happened after we came back the following day wasprobably more interesting than what happened that day. . . . When weleft there was all this hubbub about that stuff is "bizarre and pointlessand I don't understand any of it. How could they spend millions andmillions of dollars for that kind of stuff?" The next day I walked intothe room and there was a roll of paper towels, it was kind of cascadingdown the wall and across the floor and one of the seniors had taken afelt marker and signed his name. . . . When I walked in he said, "Mary,what do you think?" I looked at him for a few minutes and said . . .two months ago we went to the gallery and you looked at some of theclassic artwork, and I have yet to see one of those Rembrandts repro-duced here . . . today you took an effort to come up with some symbol-ism from that show you had seen, so whatever else, that image thereaffected you.

When asked why she continued to work with older adults, eventhough she could be teaching anywhere else, Mary replied,

When I leave here and I go home, I am totally relaxed . . . I am full ofenergy . . . working with older people opens up my mind and my hori-zons every day, through their senior reflections . . . they feed to me asmuch as I feed to them, if not more in the world of knowledge, and wecan do it at our own pace . . .

Mary noted that these people "have an advantage over all of us be-

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cause they have been living a longer time and therefore have somuch more to offer . . . "

Mary stated that the seniors often discuss their grandchildren,share health problems, and exchange humor. The art experience isthe reason for being here initially, but it has done so much to rein-force their lives. As a people, they become, "a very tight bondedgroup . . . " Mary attributes the popularity of the class to its relaxednature:

It is so homelike . . . Everybody just comes in here and lives together.They are here four hours, five hours, and it is like the whole family ishere. And there in no place in the world to learn more, to feel betterabout life, than it is with the family.

Even though the atmosphere of the class is relaxed, Mary states thatshe uses vocabulary and techniques with the seniors that she woulduse in a regular art studio setting. The only difference, notes Mary, isthe setting for her seniors " . . . is a lot more laid back."

THE STUDENTS

The students in a typical art class for older adults are mostlywomen—in good health, well educated, and interested in new experi-ences (Davisson, Rush, & Fitzner, 1982). The class selected for thisstudy fits that pattern. The learners, six women and one man, havean average age of 74. Four of the seven were born in the Midwest,two were born in the South, and one participant was born in Cuba.Among the group were three married members, two widows, and twomembers who had never been married. Most of the married individu-als had children. All seven individuals had been employed and arenow retired. One member is active in volunteer work. Their educa-tional backgrounds are diverse: all have attended high school, andthree members have gone to college, but only one, the male memberof the class, has a bachelor's degree.

The majority of the participants became aware of the oil paintingclass through friends. For many of them, the motivation to join theclass exceeded mere leisure. Painting for many of the class membersis the fulfillment of a childhood dream, and as such it represents aconsiderable personal challenge, especially for those who have neverpainted before.

Many, initially, approached the activity with a mixture of doubtand hope. As Edith said: "I always would look at paintings and wish Icould do them, but I never thought I'd be able to . . . I like to try new

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things, so I had the nerve to try." Edith is a believer in the adage"You're never too old to learn," and would remind others that "youcan do anything that you set your mind to, no matter what it is, ifyou're really determined." Edith views herself as a determined per-son and would urge others to try and not to give up too quickly. Theresults of Edith's determination are evident in her comment, "I'velearned to do more than I ever thought I could" (Long, 1990).

When choosing the image or theme of a painting, the class selectsfrom calendars, postcards, magazines, and catalogs. Hilda, for in-stance, is using the catalog Flowers From the Wilds of Missouri as areference for completing her painting of Irises (Dalton, 1990). Atother times, she uses photographs—some her own (she carries hercamera in order to capture these "perfect scenes"). In addition tothese sources, there are also books specifically devoted to painting.These are shared in the classroom, some supplied by the instructorand others brought by the students themselves. The students eitherallow the material to inspire them, choosing an appealing image toreproduce, or sometimes, they search through the material for a spe-cific image they have in mind. Beyond all this, some students watch aSaturday TV program called Joy of Painting (Ippolito, 1990).

Once an image is chosen as the basis for a painting, the studentsfeel free in their interpretations, to make modification. These altera-tions are done consciously, in order to personalize the idea. Maria, forexample, explained how in copying a sunset from a magazine photo-graph, she "painted a beach in Cuba where the sand is black, and[she] painted the palm, the coconut trees, and some boats. It is abeautiful day—all blue—but the sand is black" (Constable, 1990). Inher reproduction, she dips into her memories and paints the blackbeach of her place of origin. Hilda offered another example of onemember of the class copying a flower vase from the corner of a Re-noir jigsaw puzzle.

Most of the painting themes are of nature, reminiscent of an ideal-ized past. Landscapes predominate, such as winter scenes, barns,clouds, trees, and mountains. Maria, for example, expresses througha personal meaningful history: "I want to express the beauty of na-ture. I am more attracted to that, than to painting houses. I paint alot of seascapes because I am from an island. The city I was born inwas a seaport" (Constable, 1990). Likewise, Hilda states, "I will al-ways be concerned with things that meant something to me" (Dalton,1990).

The description of the paintings provided by the participants con-firms what had been seen in a drying rack the day of the participa-tion observation. There were 11 paintings, all of them were in oil,

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some on stretched canvas and some on canvas panels. Most were 16by 20 inches, though some were smaller. All but one were horizontalrectangles. Only one was a portrait. The majority of the students donot paint people. Hilda, nevertheless, pointed out that she would like"to be able to paint a face, to get expression out of a face. That's realart" (Dalton, 1990). In the drying rack, there were also floral stilllifes, and seven were landscapes. Only one landscape, a mountainand a lake, had no "old-timey" inclusions (Dalton, 1990). Some paint-ings were very delicately detailed. In some, color was strictly adheredto blues, greens, and browns. In others the colors were more pastel,especially in the somewhat romantic skies (Dalton, 1990).

Brushwork ranged from a thinly painted and tightly controlled ap-plication, to an impasto and more virtuoso handling of the medium(Dalton, 1990). Despite these differences, the works were all repre-sentational. According to Mary, the students are not interested indoing nonrepresentational work. However, during the interviews,two students made specific remarks about modern art. Betty said shelikes modern paintings, especially the ones with bright colors. AtMary's insistence, Betty entered one of her own works in the 42ndAnnual Golden Age Hobby Show, where artworks from senior citi-zens were displayed (Ippolito, 1990). For Edith, modern art is alsoenjoyable because of the bright colors and the fact that "anythingand everything goes." She painted a modern piece once, and it ishanging in her living room where "the more [she] looks at it, thebetter [she] likes it." Edith's modern artwork came about as a resultof a teacher's assignment. One day, Mary asked her students to paintnonobjectively, using color and line. She wanted them to show "theexcitement of line and the energy of color." Edith worked on herabstract painting about three weeks and explains the process of cre-ating it:

every time . . . somebody had some paint they wanted to clean off theboard, I'd say, 'Don't throw that away; I'm gonna use it!' So I just puteverything on it I could think of . . . different colors . . . with theknife, not the brush . . . and I had never done anything with the knife(Long, 1990).

The time needed to complete a picture varies. For instance, Ruthstated that she usually devotes an average of six Tuesdays to com-plete a painting and added, smiling, "you never know when youstart." Betty, on the contrary, admires her classmate Sam who "canpaint a picture in a day" (Ippolito, 1990).

Upon completion, the paintings are usually given to the artists'

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children. At some points, though, the idea of self as audience beginsto emerge. Helen, for example, wants to occasionally keep some ofher paintings for herself (Harris, 1990). In discussing their products,many of the seniors mentioned that giving the paintings to their chil-dren allowed the paintings to pass to the next generation. Ruth ex-plained that recently one of her daughters came to her house with acamera and took close-ups of all the pictures hanging on the wall, inorder to make an album that will eventually be given to one of thechildren or grandchildren.

When asked about the process of painting itself, the students re-veal a good understanding of the technique of painting. They canexplain in detail the progression of drawing to sketching, of paintingfrom dark to light, of progressing from the background to the fore-ground, and so forth. The married women acknowledge the contribu-tion of their husbands in the making of frames and easels. Manystress that the process of learning is unlimited. "I enjoy every minuteof it" (Long, 1990).

During the class, conversation covers a range of topics, from dis-cussions about painting techniques to items such as finances andgrandchildren. In the context of their painting, each member of theclass has a ready-made audience, which is sympathetic in addition tobeing critical. Thus, the members develop a strong sense of loyalty. Infact, in all interviews, the members of the groups often refer to eachother as family. As in real families, they are protective of each otherand take genuine pride in each others' accomplishments. For exam-ple, when one of the members was photographed in the newspaper,posing beside her award-winning painting of a lighthouse, the clip-ping was displayed on the wall (Dalton, 1990).

STUDENT-INSTRUCTOR INTERACTION

The participants are extremely complimentary of Mary. In particular,they admire her talent. According to the students, Mary is "a won-derful teacher," "a real artist, she can do anything," and "alwaysinterested in what we are doing." They continue, stating that Mary,"knows exactly when you have a problem," and "always has ideasabout how to improve the appearance of a picture."

One student, Edith, credits her positive attitude about painting toMary: "She starts you with 'You can do it! You can do it! And shemore or less leaves you to do your own thing'" (Long, 1990). Severalnoted that Mary will step in when students ask for help, but she firstrequires an explanation of what the student is trying to do, otherwiseshe does not intrude (Long, 1990; Ippolito, 1990; Dalton, 1990). Edith

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further observes that Mary wants them to do as much as possible ontheir own, because if "she comes in and takes the brush and does therest of it, then you're really not learning" (Long, 1990).

Hilda, another participant, notes that Mary treats the class mem-bers like "real people. Just because we're in our sixties and seven-ties, doesn't mean we don't have some common sense" (Dalton,1990). Another participant, Ruth, believes their teacher understandsthe reality of elderly people. According to Ruth, Mary "seems to un-derstand older people, like when we cannot remember, not that wehave any big problems, but you know . . . ."

The older adults also comment on the relaxed atmosphere, the per-vasive use of humor, and the concern each member has for the other.Many refer to their experience in the class as being "family." It wasobvious, during the observation, that Mary has a special relationshipwith her students, hugging many as they arrived. Mary acknowledgesthat "these people are very personal experiences for me, and I feelvery sensitive to their health and the rest of their family . . . "

FINDINGS

The following analysis shows how this art class for older adults prac-ticed the principles for facilitating learning, as described by Brook-field (1986).

Voluntary Participation

This class, like most programs for older adults and virtually all artsprograms, is voluntary. For these reasons, art education for olderadults may be uniquely well suited for applying adult education prin-ciples, as illustrated by the rest of these findings.

Mutual Respect and Support

The numerous comments about the family atmosphere of this groupdemonstrates the high level of respect and support among the partici-pants. Although some instructors of older adults evince condescend-ing or patronizing attitudes that inadvertently discourage creativity(Miller, 1982), Mary teaches her older students the same skills shewould use with any group. As one art student observed, she treatsthem like "real people."

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Collaborative Learning

The art students set their own goals and objectives. Most of the olderadults want to paint realistic, representational scenes of the past orquiet landscapes, so that becomes the curriculum. However, they alsorespect and participate in Mary's attempts to introduce other ways oflooking at, thinking about, and creating art. Mary alternates betweenindividuals and group instruction according to the students' needsand preferences. Students come and go as they see fit—they deter-mine when they are ready to paint and when they are ready to dosomething else. All of these variations occur without disruption ofthe learning environment.

Praxis

Mary regularly schedules group demonstrations and visits to other artcenters to facilitate reflection. For example, the paper towel parodyof a modern sculpture illustrates activity based on reflection that fol-lowed another activity, the visit to a university's contemporary artcenter. Although some facilitators would have been offended by theapparent mockery in such behavior, Mary's comments turned the dis-play into a positive learning experience. The instructor's questioningstrategy helps the artists think about what they are trying to achieve,while the critique sessions elicit consideration of what has beenachieved already. In this manner, the learners link action and reflec-tion. Furthermore, Mary says the older adults' reflections guide heras much as she tries to guide them.

Critical Thinking

The students eagerly solicit feedback from the instructor and class-mates, who respond freely. This critical rapport demonstrates un-usual ability to both give and receive constructive criticism (Leptak,1989). Mary's responses to student inquiries gently stimulate indepen-dent thinking. Although the older students' aesthetic preferences re-main fairly traditional, two of the students had learned to appreciateand even create "modern" art, indicating a change in thinking inde-pendent of their peers.

Self-direction

The students choose the subject, style, and method. Mary helps stu-dents identify options, but the choices are always theirs. Many of the

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students supplement the class with readings or television instruction.Entering paintings in exhibitions takes the work out of the class andinto the community, extending the learning experience. Above all,Mary helps her students achieve their own objectives by teachingthem how to learn painting through reflection and practice.

MARY-THE SYIMERGETIC LINK

Unlike many educational settings that feature the teacher, as author-ity, and the students, as empty vessels, this oil painting class is basedon cooperation that can best be described as synergetic. Central tothis synergism is the instructor, Mary, who possesses a high expertisein art, a sound mastery of andragogy, and a solid understanding andlove for the older population.

Although the three elements: art, older adults, and andragogy maybe viewed as separate forces, it is clear from the interviews that thesynergism of these three forces constitutes the uniqueness of thisprogram. For example, Mary has the ability to take a varied task,such as a picnic or a trip to an art gallery, and transform it into asignificant learning experience. Her ability to respond to the emo-tional and cognitive characteristics of the learners is evident in herflexible teaching methods; she is equally at ease with a one-on-oneteaching situation as well as conducting group sessions. She is adeptat engaging the older adults in rigorous thinking and problem-solvingin the creation of artwork.

Both the subject matter and the class format reflect an opennesson the part of Mary to a multiplicity of doing and being. Students aregiven choices: they may choose the theme and mood of their paint-ings as well as the colors to be used. Independence is also fostered bythe flexibility of the structure of the program. For example, studentsare free to come and go according to their personal needs. The sensi-tivity on the part of the instructor to be student-centered, ratherthan product-oriented, allows the emergence of a "family" atmo-sphere, which is based on reciprocal respect.

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