Competencies of Higher Education Art Instructors: Its Implications to College Teaching and Learning

This study was conducted to describe the competencies of sample higher education instructors who were teaching visual arts either as a single subject area or as component subject of the Humanities and to identify the challenges they have experienced in teaching art lessons. It utilized the descriptive research design in gathering and interpreting data. The main instrument of the study was a survey-questionnaire that was adopted from NASAD standard competencies for art teachers, as categorized into: art and design competencies, teaching competencies, general competencies, and desirable personal qualities. Interview with sample participants was also conducted to supplement and validate the results. The responses of art instructors were guided and interpreted using a 5-point scale. The mean and standard deviation results revealed that the instructor-participants were either highly, or very highly competent in all four areas. The lack of materials and lack of experiential learning in 3-dimensional art forms were the major challenges that art instructors had been facing. Implications of the results toward the implementation of the art curriculum were presented.

Keywords: competencies, higher education, art instructors, curriculum implementation