Explanation of the Visual Arts Teacher Competencies Based on Multicultural Education

Proving the impact of art education on the quality of life and overall development of children and adolescents has led the world's mainstream education systems to consider art education as one of the key issues in the student curriculum. In Iran, too, the "Arts and Culture" course is foreseen in the first and second high school curricula, with the major part devoted to teaching visual arts. Undoubtedly, in order to achieve the high goals of art education and the proper implementation of visual arts education in schools, knowledgeable, specialized teachers armed with up-to-date knowledge, attitudes and skills are indispensable. Determining the appropriate educational approach for the training of art teachers is particularly important, as the chosen approach can overshadow all areas of the curriculum, including goal setting, content, methodology and evaluation.
Iran is a multicultural and ethnically diverse country; therefore, in this text the multicultural education approach is cited as one of the most prominent educational approaches. The goal of this type of education is to achieve justice, friendship, peace and a peaceful living among the community. Describing the desired abilities or expected competences of the Visual Arts Teacher in the light of the aforementioned approach will help us to determine the appropriate path in the education of teachers and, consequently, the education of students. Visual arts teachers can have a significant impact on achieving multicultural education goals in schools across the country, but the optimal use of art in this process requires that teachers have the necessary multicultural competencies. The main question is, what are the competencies of a high school visual arts teacher in Iran regarding multicultural education? Due to the lack of applied research in this field, the present paper has attempted to determine the limits and limitations of these competencies.
This is an applied study being descriptive-analytic in terms of nature. Data collection was done through library and field study (semi-structured interview) and qualitative content analysis (inductive) method was used for data analysis. The statistical population of interviewees included Visual Arts Eeducation faculty members of Farhangian university(Tehran branch) with a sample size of 12. The library resources were also purposely selected, targeted and cited.
The results of the study show that having the following 5 competences categories are essential for a high school visual arts teacher with respect to the goals of multicultural education:
1) knowing the cultural/ethnic diversity: (-knowing the art and visual artists of their local peoples and other ethnicities and regions of Iran; -Ability to create visual artworks based on the language, customs, symbols and cultural and artistic motifs of his/her region or folk and other regions/ethnicities; -the ability to create appropriate and diverse learning opportunities to introduce students to the culture, art and visual arts of their folk/region and other regions/ethnicities, etc.)
2) Developing critical thinking:(-Ability to criticize and analyze the impact of the culture and visual arts of different ethnicities or regions in shaping and enhancing Iran's national culture and art; -Ability to criticize and analyze the contexts and trends of the visual arts in their own and other regions. Being able to Compare the Visual Arts of their Native or Folk Art with the Works of Other Regions and Ethnicities comparatively and anlyticaly; - The ability to guide students to analyze the process of the formation of visual arts in their own and other localities; etc.)
3) Having effective communication and collaboration with other cultures/ethnicities: (-Participating in visual arts group activities to know and explore his/her own or other ethnic and indigenous art and culture;- Ability to create group artworks based on the arts of different ethnicities; - Ability to apply group and participatory teaching methods for teaching ethnic or indigenous visual arts to students; -The ability to create learning opportunities for group artwork by students from different ethnicities/regions; etc.)
4) Acceptance and appreciation of cultural/ethnic diversity and pay respect to it:(- Perceiving the beauty of the visual arts in different regions of Iran and appreciating them; -Appreciation and respecting the art and artists of their own folk or region and other groups or ethnicities; - the willingness to interact with their own people or ethnic artists and those of other cultures; - Ability to apply appropriate educational strategies to create a positive attitude in students towards the cultural and artistic diversity of ethnics and regions; etc.)
5) Justice orientation Avoiding discrimination and prejudice and justice based art education: (-Ability to use the language of art to promote justice; eliminate discrimination and reduce ethnic or native prejudice; - Lack of ethnocentrism and avoiding the destruction of the culture and art of other tribes or native; -Ability to withstand dissenting views toward his/her own folk /region visual arts; - Ability to localize some of the learning opportunities in visual arts education, depending on the ethnicity or locality of students; etc.)