The Relationship Between Conceptions of Teaching and Approaches To Teaching

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The relationship between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching
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DOI: 10.1080/13540600601029744
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Teachers and Teaching
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The relationship between conceptions of teaching

and approaches to teaching
Bick‐Har Lam & David Kember
To cite this article: Bick‐Har Lam & David Kember (2006) The relationship between
conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching, Teachers and Teaching, 12:6, 693-713
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Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice,
Vol. 12, No. 6, December 2006, pp. 693–713
The relationship between conceptions of

teaching and approaches to teaching
Bick-Har Lama* and David Kemberb
aHongKong Institute of Education, Hong Kong; bChinese University of Hong Kong,
Downloaded by [Hong Kong Institute of Education] at 18:41 19 May 2016
Hong Kong
Teachers
10.1080/13540600601029744
CTAT_A_202880.sgm
1354-0602
Original
Taylor
602006
12
bhlam@ied.edu.hk
Bick-harLam
00000December
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& Article
and
Francis
(print)/1470-1278
Francis
Training:
2006
Ltd Theory(online)
and Practice
The relationship between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching was explored in a study
of 18 secondary school art teachers in Hong Kong. Conceptions of teaching approaches were fitted
to a four-category model. Each of the categories was distinguished by reference to six relevant dimen-
sions. As is the case in higher education, approaches to teaching lower forms, with little pressure
from external examinations or school ethos, followed logically from conceptions of teaching. There
was also evidence that contextual influences, if they were sufficiently strong, could play a part in
teachers’ approaches to teaching in the lower forms. For senior forms, the most marked contextual
influence on approaches to teaching came from the external examination syllabus. Of the 13 teachers
who taught senior form students, eight reported using approaches to teaching that were significantly
different from those they used for lower forms. The remaining four used essentially the same approach
for junior and senior forms because these were consistent with the orientation of examinations that
measure skill and knowledge acquisition. Finally, the data suggest that both the educational back-
ground of the teachers and the banding levels (designation of the school as high or low achieving)
of the schools they were teaching in were related to the combined conceptions and approaches. The
influence of banding levels could be due either to teachers choosing a type of school consistent with
their beliefs or the environment of the school influencing teachers’ beliefs and practices.
Keywords: Art education; Approaches to teaching; Conceptions of teaching; Teacher beliefs
Introduction
This study explores the relationship between conceptions of teaching and approaches to
teaching with reference to one content area: art. Pratt (1992) is one of few who have
researched conceptions to give a definition.
Conceptions are specific meanings attached to phenomena which then mediate our
response to situations involving those phenomena. We form conceptions of virtually every
*Corresponding author. Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Hong Kong Institute of

Education, 10 Lo Ping Rd, Tai Po, Hong Kong. Email: bhlam@ied.edu.hk
ISSN 1354-0602 (print)/ISSN 1470-1278 (online)/06/060693–21

© 2006 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/13540600601029744
694 B.-H. Lam and D. Kember
aspect of our perceived world, and in doing so, use those abstract representations to
delimit something from, and relate it to, other aspects of our world. In effect, we view the
world through the lenses of our conceptions, interpreting and acting in accordance with
our understanding of the world. (Pratt, 1992, p. 204)
Conceptions of teaching can be seen, therefore, as the beliefs about teaching that
guide a teacher’s perception of a situation and will shape actions. Approaches to
teaching are the way beliefs are put into practice. Our aim is to bring greater clarity
to this area of research in the school sector by providing a more careful definition of
the constructs. This applies to the conceptions and approaches to teaching and also
to categories of these.
Conceptions of and approaches to learning

Deep and surface approaches to learning must be among the most widely used
constructs in education (Marton & Säljö, 1976; Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983; Biggs,
1987). A five-category set of descriptors for conceptions of learning was described by
Säljö (1979). In hierarchical order the categories were: learning as the quantitative
increase in knowledge; learning as memorizing; learning as acquisition of facts, proce-
dures, etc, which can be retained and/or utilized in practice; learning as the abstrac-
tion of meaning; and learning as an interpretative process aimed at the understanding
of reality. Marton, Dall’Alba and Beaty (1993) subsequently identified the same five
conceptions and added a sixth, namely, changing as a person, which applies more
particularly to adult students.
Students’ approaches to studying have been shown to be influenced by their
conceptions of learning (e.g., Van Rossum & Schenk, 1984). According to Säljö’s
(1979) research, the first three conceptions are more commonly associated with
reproductive approaches to learning tasks. For a meaningful approach to learning to
be employed, holding a conception of learning above the third in Säljö’s (1979) hier-
archy can be viewed almost as a prerequisite.
Bringing together conceptions of and approaches to teaching

Research into these has often sought a parallel between conceptions of and
approaches to teaching and conceptions and approaches to learning. Entwistle et al.
(2000) have argued that the research into teachers’ beliefs or conceptions of teaching
can be divided into two largely separate literatures relating to higher and secondary
education. The former has concentrated upon categorizing conceptions of teaching
with wide agreement upon contrasting student-centred/learning-oriented and
teacher-centred/content-oriented orientations (Kember, 1997). The school teaching
research has examined the beliefs and knowledge which underpins teachers’ actions.
It takes a wider perspective but is more difficult to summarize as there has been
limited agreement over terminology and diverse research strategies (Pajares, 1992).
In higher education two studies have shown a strong and logical relationship
between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching (Trigwell & Prosser,
Conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching 695
1996a, b; Kember & Kwan, 2000). In both studies it was reasonable to draw the
conclusion that university teachers adopted approaches to teaching which were
consistent with their beliefs about teaching. Trigwell et al. (1996) found evidence of
teaching approaches in interviews with 24 science lecturers. The teaching approaches
were characterized by four categories of intention and three of strategy. Only logical
combinations of intention and strategy were found, so the result was five teaching
approaches that ranged from teacher- to student-focused poles (Trigwell & Prosser,
1996a). In a later paper, Trigwell and Prosser (1996a) argued that qualitative catego-
ries of conceptions of teaching were related to those for approaches to teaching.
Trigwell and Prosser (1996b) then developed a questionnaire that contained scales
corresponding to the teaching approaches identified in their qualitative study
(1996a). Use of the questionnaire confirmed the intention/strategy relationship found

in their earlier work (1996a). However, Trigwell and Prosser’s own labels show an
almost tautological relationship between the category descriptors for conceptions and
approaches. The highest level of conception of teaching, for example, is called ‘teach-
ing as helping students to change conceptions’ while that for approaches is labelled ‘a
student-focused strategy aimed at students changing their conceptions’. It could,
therefore, be argued that what they have called a strategy could be closely equated to
what others have incorporated within conceptions or beliefs.
An alternative and more detailed characterization of an approach to teaching in
higher education was described by Kember and Kwan (2000). They noted the paral-
lel to approaches to learning, so they used motive and strategy components to charac-
terize approaches to teaching. Motive was categorized by whether the teacher
accepted responsibility for motivating the students. The strategy component was
described in terms of five aspects: instruction, focus, assessment, direction of adapta-
tion, and source of experience or knowledge. Each of the motive and strategy compo-
nents was identified as continua between these two poles. The approaches were
shown to be logically related to conceptions of teaching.
In the school teaching literature, there has been greater reference to the construct
of approach to teaching, but it has not always been carefully operationalized by
researchers who have used it. The term has often been used in the educational liter-
ature in a very general way to represent the whole philosophy of teaching that guides
teachers to make sense of their planning, action, and reaction in teaching. It is
common to see terms such as ‘constructivist approach’ to teaching, ‘problem-based
approach’ to teaching, and ‘discovery approach’ to teaching in the literature. The
mention of an approach to teaching in this way connotes both the why (the
intention) and the how (the implementation) perspectives of a particular teaching
philosophy.
Other related constructs such as ‘practice of teaching’ (Gallagher, 1991), ‘imple-
mentation of teaching’ (Woods, 1991), ‘instructional practice’ (Thompson, 1984)
have been used in similar research designs to explore the relationship between school-
teachers’ conceptions of teaching and their practice of teaching. While the meaning
of these constructs was not defined, researchers have commonly focused on strate-
gies, tasks, materials, and objectives.
While the studies in higher education have shown that approaches to teaching
follow logically from conceptions, in the school sector the evidence is mixed. Some
studies have shown that conceptions of teaching usually govern approaches to teach-
ing (Thompson, 1984; Gallagher, 1991; Woods, 1991). Other studies indicated that
contextual factors, such as school policies, external examinations and specified
curricula, influenced teachers’ practice (Clandinin, 1986; Sapon-Shevin, 1991;
Beach, 1994).
It therefore seems worthwhile to further investigate the relationship between
conceptions of and approaches to teaching in the school sector. If the two do not show
the close predictable relationship found in higher education, the reasons are worthy
of investigation.
Conceptions of teaching art

Analysis of the data from this study showed that conceptions of teaching art were
divided into five categories. Each category was distinguished from the others by defin-
ing them against six dimensions developed in prior research by Lam and Kember
(2004). They are aim, nature of art knowledge, art ability, skill and creativity, concep-
tion about process and product and expected learning outcomes. Greater detail about
the analysis and characterization of conceptions is given in Lam and Kember (2004).
A schematic representation of this work appears in Table 1.
In Table 1, the categories are placed between essentialist and contextualist poles—
two concepts introduced by Eisner (1972) to describe alternative orientations to
teaching art. The essentialist orientation encompasses those teaching conceptions that
are solely serving the purpose of art; this is art for art’s sake. At the other extreme, the
contextualist justification of art teaching subsumes those conceptions that carry
instrumental values and serve the needs of students and society; this is art for life’s sake
Approaches to teaching art

An analysis by Lam and Kember (submitted) showed that there were four catego-
ries of approaches to teaching art. As in their 2004 study, Lam and Kember used
six dimensions to define each category. The dimensions were: what to achieve,
content of art teaching, role of teacher, role of student, teaching methods, and
assessment orientation. The categories of approaches to teaching vis-à-vis concep-
tions of teaching art are shown in Table 2. The table shows that approaches to
teaching ranged between subject- and student-centred poles. Greater detail about
the analysis and characterization of approaches is given in Lam and Kember
(submitted).
In this study, we follow on both of our earlier studies (Lam & Kember, 2004,
submitted) to examine the relationship between conceptions of teaching and
approaches to teaching art in the school sector. Our aim is to bring greater clarity to
this area of research in the school sector by more careful definition of the
constructs.
Table 1. Profile of art teachers who participated in the study
Sample
profile General information
Sample code Sex/Age/Years of teaching/School type/Education
01 M 56 34 Government grammar 1963, mathematics

school, Band 1 1976 (completed
advanced certificate),
art
02 M 54 33 Government grammar 1964, art
school, Band IV to V
03 F 45 24 Aided grammar 1971, art 1994, B.Ed. in art
school, Band I 1980, art education

04 M 36 11 Aided grammar 1984, art
school, Band I
05 M 36 10 Aided grammar 1985, art 1995, BA in art and
school, Band I design in education
06 F 34 7 Aided grammar 1989, art 1996, BA in art and
school, Band I 1991, art design in education
07 M 28 6 Aided grammar 1993, art 1996, BA in art and
school, Band II design in education
08 F 25 1 Aided grammar 1995, art
school, Band I
09 M 46 23 Aided grammar 1975, art
school, between Band 1979, art
II to Band III
10 M 37 13 Aided grammar 1986, physical 1995, B.Ed. with art
school, Band III education education as graduated
study
11 F 34 11 Aided grammar 1985, art B.Ed. in art education
school, Band II
12 F 33 8 Aided grammar 1991, art 1993, B.Ed. in art
school, Band III education
13 F 37 10 Aided grammar 1986, science 1994, B.Ed. in art
school, Band III education, 1996, BA in
art and design in
education
14 F 47 23 Government technical 1974, art
school, Band IV
15 F 43 17 Aided grammar 1979, art 1996, BA in art and
school, Band IV to V design in education
16 M 40 15 Government technical 1983, art 1994, BA in fine art,
school, Band V 1990, diploma in
printmaking and
ceramics
17 F 33 9 Government technical 1986, art 1996, BA in art and
school, Band V design in education
18 F 30 6 Aided grammar school 1993, art 1996, BA in art and
design in education
Table 2. Four approaches to teaching art defined by six dimensions

Approaches to teaching art
dimensions Instructional Discipline inquiry Social interactive Personal
What to achieve Subject-oriented: Subject-oriented: Student-oriented: Subject-oriented

Art knowledge and skill Comprehensive understanding of Think and learn together in a social Engage students in creative
art discipline interactive context expression to release emotions
Content of art teaching Objective knowledge: Partially objective, partially Is contextual: Flexible, personal interpretation:
Skill and technique, visual inventive: Art phenomena of different Forms of human expression major art
grammar Aesthetics, visual analysis, art cultures forms, contextual studies
history, criticism, production, etc.
Role of teacher Effective delivery of teaching Provide knowledge and facilitation: Provide context and guidance: Encourage expression and assist personal
materials: Design tasks for students to apply Organize learning to develop target to be met:
Communicate art knowledge and and generate knowledge culture for social learning Provide psychological context to
skill effectively to ensure learning engage students in learning based on
to be gained by students personal orientation

Role of student Gaining knowledge: Apply knowledge and make Learning together and active Ready to learn and improve:
Gain knowledge from teacher innovation: participation Willing to develop themselves and be
Try to understand knowledge and Participate actively in learning by involved in individual based learning
make use of it to embark on exchanging views and perspectives
individual study with peers and teacher
Teaching methods Instructive: ensure learning Academic: inquiry into disciplinary Social interactive: learning together: Personal exploration: enhance personal
effectively knowledge: Introduce cross-cultural topical interest
Skill-oriented goals structured in Teacher-designed thematic studies and problem-solving task Stress on emotional function
task-based or problem-solving project study structured by clear Learning with peers and teacher Open task format for exploration
exercise objectives Promote discussion and encourage Breakthrough skill orientation
Objective-governed lessons Student research and exploration evaluative judgement Introduce experimental work
managed to achieve particular facilitated by systematic Encourage sense of respect and Increase exposure to community and
learning focus effectively instruction promote equality world art
Sequential planning of Synthesis of broader content Utilization of community resources
curriculum to enable students to Teacher facilitation and student to increase exposure
widen and deepen learning initiation are essential to the
learning process
Assessment orientation Achievement-oriented: Achievement-oriented and personal Evaluate learning experience: Evaluate learning experience in terms of
Examine achievement of students innovation: Validate learning experience, and personal target:
in regard to some common goal Examine achievement of students to inform what students have learnt Examine achievement of individual
of learning in regard to some common goal and understood based on particular goal, discover potential to confirm or
and individual goal of learning task redefine individual target
Orientation Subject-centred Student-centred
Source: Adapted from Lam and Kember (submitted).

Method
We focused on 18 art teachers in Hong Kong. Eight of the 18 were men. The sample
was chosen to represent a spectrum of age, experience, and training. The teachers
ranged in age from 25 to 56 years, and, with the exception of one first year teacher,
their teaching experience ranged from 6 to 34 years. All but two had degrees in art—
nine in art education (see Table 3). The schools in which the teachers taught were
representative of the band structure used to classify the academic status of schools in
Hong Kong.
The schools in Hong Kong are generally categorized into five categories with regard
to academic standing. A range of bands of Band I to Band V is used to indicate the
variation in academic standing, with Band I being the highest category. The banding
of the school is based on the average academic result of the intakes of each year. The
norm of the banding is adjusted by area, so there will be slight variation in the stan-
dard of the same banding for different areas.
Exploring the relationship between teachers’ conceptions of and approaches

to teaching art
Each of the 18 teachers was interviewed about their beliefs and practices in art teach-
ing. We used an open, loosely structured interview format. This was accomplished by
inviting teachers to talk about their practical experience in response to open-ended,
prompting questions. The interview questions focused upon teachers’ aims in teach-
ing, perception of art knowledge, and learning outcomes. As the interviews took place
in the school setting and were quite lengthy, it was also possible to examine teaching
materials and, in some cases, to observe practices. This provided a check on the
compatibility between what the interviewees did and what they said they did.
Some sample interview questions are listed below:
● What is your aim in teaching art?
● What do you consider as art knowledge?
● Is there anything particular you are looking for as learning outcomes?
● What do you expect students to achieve through the lesson?
● What content do you teach in the lesson?
● How do you define your role in teaching art?
● What do you expect for students as their role and responsibility in art lessons?
● What methods most reveal your teaching?
● What particular feature can you tell me about the strategies you used for teaching?
● What is the basic concern for assessment?
Grounded theory was used for the analysis of the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
The method centres upon a theory building process with the condition of ‘sensitive
theorizing’ in data collection and analysis (Glaser, 1978). The data analysis included
three stages. Initially, individual interview reports were read carefully. Units or
dimensions were identified based on the broad interview schedule for each report. In
Table 3. Conceptions of teaching art as defined by six dimensions

Conceptions Aesthetic development in Aesthetic development in art / Expression and therapy through
Dimensions Moral development in art art / instructional discipline inquiry Intellectual development through art art
Orientation Essentialist Contextualist
Direction in art through art
Aim Development based on the subject: Development based on Development based on the subject: Development of the person: Development of the person:
The nature of art can function the subject: Develop aesthetic ability to reach Through art learning students can Art is a channel for expression
in the moral aspect of humans Develop general sophisticated, higher level develop independent thinking and social through which humans can
in developing character and aesthetic ability for understanding of art ability which is useful for living in the release emotions that would lead
enhancing good qualities leisure and living social world to emotional stability
Nature of art Rule-governed, absolute: Rule-governed and Rule-governed and inventive: Not certain, is contextual: Not certain, flexible:
knowledge The skill and technique of inventive: Conceived as a discipline which Different methods and ways of dealing Individual interpretation
making different forms of art Conceived as theory, has a logic to govern, comprises with art at different time and space Any art expression made by
concepts and basic aesthetics, criticism, art history, people
skills, design oriented and production

Art ability Stress on training: Stress on training Stress on development: Stress on interaction: Stress on interest:
To be trained Needs effort to be Needs conscious effort to be Subject to environmental and cultural Need a supportive environment
acquired cultivated influence to encourage
Skill and Skill-oriented: Co-existed: Co-existed: Inseparable, in harmony: Promote creative expression:
creativity Skill is important for achieving Both skill and personal Skill and creativity are Skill is inventive Skill is the technical means
final outcome or creative ideas are interrelated and cannot be judged Skill is not just technical but to be Creative idea reflects experience
Creativity is another element integrated into the separately in the creative process considered with the content as a whole and is the main concern
concerned about content and final form of work to Encourage personal style
ideas give impressive impact
They are judged separately
Conception Viewed from achievement: Viewed from Viewed from achievement and Viewed from experience: Viewed from personal orientation:
about process Process represents effort achievement and participation: Are the whole experience of art Process is important as an
and product Product reflects standard of participation: Stress interactivity between the The process is important as it brings experience for the individual
work Process shows the maker and the art work during the meaning that is unique to the person Process should be understood as
Both effort and standards are effort creative process Failure in final product is not important, it carries individual ideas
counted in making art Process leads to final Teacher guidance and student learning has been succeeded through the Only judging the final product is
product involvement facilitate the process process meaningless
and therefore the product Evaluation is more important than
outcome
Expected Knowledge achievement and Enhance quality of life: Enhance quality of life: Intellectual thinking: Personal development:
learning moral development: Know to appreciate by Gain art experience from learning Able to handle problems in life Develop art as a means of leisure
outcomes Ability to perform art with good applying aesthetic art Have independent thinking and critical or a vocation
skill judgement to life Develop aesthetic ability to higher judgement Achieve emotional stability
Morally disciplined person phenomena realm
Source: Adapted from Lam and Kember (2004).

the second stage, codes were used to characterize themes which emerged within and
across individual reports (Strauss, 1982). The data were then further sorted by
dimensions, discovered from clusters of codes, which related to teaching conceptions
and approaches. Finally, the relationship between conceptions and approaches to
teaching was examined by cross-tabulating the teaching conceptions of individual
teachers with their approaches to teaching (see Table 4).
The matrix in Table 4 shows the combination of conceptions and approaches of
the teachers. The vertical column represents the categories of conceptions held by the
18 teachers, and the horizontal column represents the categories of approaches
adopted by them. The code numbers represent particular teachers and the combina-
tion of their conceptions and approaches. The cross-tabulation indicates that there
are six categories of combinations of conceptions and approaches. These are indi-
cated by roman numerals. The significant features of the six resulting categories of
conceptions and approaches to teaching art are described below.
Moral development in art/instructional

The two most experienced teachers in our sample (34 and 33 years respectively) fit
into Category I—moral development in art/instruction (see Tables 3 and 4). The 34-
year veteran had an advanced teacher certificate in art; the 33-year veteran had a
general teacher certificate in art. Both taught in schools in Band I. These teachers
were concerned about teaching art to achieve moral development. To bring about
moral discipline in students, teachers adopted the instructional approach to teaching,
aiming to deliver knowledge and skill efficiently. This pattern shows a strong subject-
oriented view to teaching driven by a belief that developing art knowledge can help
achieve moral development. This category matches an essentialist orientation to
teaching with a strong subject teaching approach.
Table 4. Cross-tabulation of conceptions and approaches to teaching
Subject-centred Student-centred
Social
Approaches Conceptions Instructional Discipline-inquiry interactive Personal
Moral development in art 01, 02

I
Aesthetic development in 03, 08, 09, 10, 11
art: leisure and living II
Aesthetic development in 04, 06 12
art: academic III IV
Intellectual development 05, 07, 13
through art V
Expression and therapy 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
through art VI
Aesthetic development in art: leisure and living/instructional

Four experienced teachers and the first year teacher were placed in this category (see
Tables 3 and 4). The new teacher, a male veteran of 23 years, and a female veteran
of 11 years had teacher certificates in art. The other two teachers—one a female
veteran of 24 years, the other a male veteran of 13 years—had bachelor degrees in
art education (see Table 3). They taught in schools in Bands I or II (see Table 3).
Teachers in this category subscribe to the idea that art can help achieve life experience
that is unique to the subject. The development of aesthetic taste or ability becomes
the aim of teaching. As in the previous category, art is perceived as an important
subject to help achieve development. It is taught using an instructional approach that
emphasizes art knowledge. Art is subject to formalist analysis, and strong emphasis is
put on manipulation of art skill. This category equates the acquisition of knowledge
to the cultivation of other aspects of a person, i.e., aesthetic development. The teach-
ing methodology suggests a strong subject training perspective. This pattern again
indicates the essentialist conception matched with a strong subject-centred approach.
Aesthetic development in art: academic/discipline inquiry

Two moderately experienced teachers—11 (male) and 7 years (female)—fitted in this
category (see Tables 3 and 4). Both had BA degrees in art. Both taught in schools in
Band I. Teachers in this category aimed to develop the aesthetic ability of students so
that their perception can be sharpened to help them gain a rich quality of experience.
Students are expected to develop a sophisticated standard of understanding art. Art
is considered as a comprehensive field of study composed of aesthetic, criticism, art
history, and art production. The discipline inquiry approach expects students to
develop the discipline system of art knowledge through effort made in independent
study of particular themes or interests pertaining to a deeper understanding of the
discipline. This pattern also suggests an essentialist conception with a subject-centred
approach. Its orientation to both the essentialist and subject-centred orientation is
seen as moderate compared with the above two categories.
Aesthetic development in art: academic/social interactive

A female teacher with eight years experience, a B.Ed. in art, teaching in a Band IV
school fitted in this category (see Tables 3 and 4). She subscribed to a belief that
aesthetic perception is essential to art teaching. Art knowledge is defined as a discipline
comprised of aesthetic judgement, criticism, art history, and art production. Similar
to the former pattern, teachers in this category expect students to achieve high stan-
dards of aesthetic judgement. Art knowledge is conceived as a specific discipline area.
Teachers who fit this category advocate learning together. Learning is governed less
by the discipline knowledge and more on how the learner makes sense of the content
materials that relate to art. Contextual analysis of art knowledge is employed while
discipline knowledge is considered through learning. It is this quality that distinguishes
this category from the former. This pattern suggests an essentialist conception of teach-
ing that is implemented through a student-centred approach to teaching.
Intellectual development through art/social interactive

Three teachers—a male and a female with 10 years of experience and a male with six
years of experience—fitted this category (see Tables 3 and 4). Two of the three had
BA degrees in art and taught in schools in Band II; the third held a B.Ed. in art and
taught in a Band III school. Teachers who fit this pattern do not consider subject
knowledge development as important. Art teaching is only a means to develop intel-
lectual thinking of the person. Art knowledge is contextually defined. The anthropo-
logical and societal perspectives of art are greatly emphasized. The social interactive
method is possibly most effective in achieving intellectual development, because it
allows students to engage in critical thinking and promotes the use of evaluative
judgement. Learning is perceived as understanding. This pattern suggests a contex-
tualist conception that is matched with a student-centred approach to teaching.
Expression and therapy through art/personal

The range of experience for the five teachers in this category was from 6 to 23 years
(see Tables 3 and 4). All five held BA degrees in art, and taught in Bands IV or V.
Teachers in this category considered art as a means for human expression and therapy
which can lead to emotional well-being. Art knowledge is believed to be flexible and
definable according to individual interpretation. A personal approach to teaching is
advocated by teachers who fit in this category. This approach is essentially focused on
student-centred inquiry, with freedom of choice for individual students regarding
content, skills and area of development. The expected outcome of learning is focused
towards the experience gained from the learning process. This experience is believed
to be useful to the overall emotional, intellectual and social growth of students. This
category suggests a contextualist orientation to teaching which is matched with a
strong student-centred methodology of teaching.
Framework for conceptions and approaches to teaching

A general pattern appeared in our data that related the category of conception to the
approach category. Teachers who worked from an essentialist conception were found
to be attached to subject-centred approaches to teaching. Those who worked from
contextualist conceptions were found to link with student-centred approaches to
teaching. This framework is shown as two intersecting continua (see Figure 1). The
horizontal axis portrays the approach to teaching art in a continuum ranging from
subject-centred to student-centred. The vertical axis portrays the conception of
teaching art in a continuum ranging from the essentialist to the contextualist. The
categories of combined conception and approach can then be defined at points along
the respective axes. These are shown in Figure 1.
Essentialist
(I)
x
(II)
x
(III) (IV)
x x
Subject-Centred Student-Centred
(V)
x
(VI)
x
Contextualist
Figure 1. Categories of combined conception and approach in the framework.
Categories I, II and III match essentialist conceptions with a subject-centred orien-

Figure 1. Categories of combined conception and approach in the framework
tation. A contextualist conception is matched with a student-centred orientation for

Categories V and VI. Category IV is an exception; it combined an essentialist concep-
tion with a student-centred approach. This combination appeared towards the centre
of each continuum, rather than near the poles, which means that it was not a radical
exception.
Two contrasting cases

Two mini cases are included to illustrate Category I and Category VI when concep-
tion of and approach to teaching are considered together simultaneously. They are
seen as two contrasting categories, running towards the two poles of the essentialist
and contextualist conceptions, as well as the subject-centred and student-centred
approaches to art teaching.
Teacher 01: moral development in art/instructional

Teacher 01, a veteran of 34 years of teaching with an advanced certificate in art (see
Table 3), believed that the purpose of art education is to develop positive values and
fine moral qualities in a person. These qualities can be developed from learning the
skills and techniques of art. He argued that art learning should be subject to rules that
govern the nature of art.
Learning how to handle a skill in art, like drawing a picture, can develop the internal moral
principle within them. The students can acquire a sense of stability within themselves by
working with art materials. This is something valuable in art, and all people need art in this
sense. I trust that this subject is unique in cultivating a person and this is my philosophy
of working as an art teacher for these many years. (01)
They need basic skills to create, so they have to learn the skill and technique in making art.
Every art form requires particular skills, like painting, clay making, calligraphy, etc. When
they can master the skill, they can then make. They can make use of the skills to create
their own work and to enjoy the satisfaction. (01)
To effectively learn the skill, the lesson should be planned with well defined, skill-
based objectives. The importance of guiding and narrowing students’ learning
towards the objectives set for the lesson was suggested.
We are rather boring as we mainly talk, show them some work, and tell them the key
points, and let them try. We use the instructional approach, except some experimental
kinds, then we would teach them the theory, and tell them what they can do. But we
normally confine them in a narrower field, instead of going too far. (01)
Task-based assignments are the usual activity pattern of Teacher 01.

There are different methods of handling a lesson. In Form 2, I start to teach them drawing,
which is not like drawing cartoon. I demonstrated how I use the drawing pencil and draw
with heavy and light stroke to represent a simple object. I asked them to do a picture on
any object they found from their pencil cases in the way I handle it. The objective of the
lesson is to learn to use pencil to draw and represent the object. I showed them some exam-
ple done by other students on that exercise, too. (01)
He thought assessment is to check on how much students have achieved according

to the criteria of learning set by teachers. The criteria referred largely to skill.
I: What do you consider as the main assessment criteria of art?
A: The skill is important, the learning of skill needs some patience. If students can handle
it, it means they have spent some time on it so they deserve higher grades.
Teacher 17: expression and therapy through art/personal

Teacher 17 with nine years of teaching experience and a BA in art (see Table 3)
thought that being able to achieve a stable psychological state of mind by using art as
a means to reflect unhappy feelings and emotions should be the aim of art education.
In contrast, she did not think skill-development is the content of learning.
I focused on helping students to establish themselves in the way that they can appreciate
and develop their own potential. That enables them to live on with a life goal that maximizes
their potential. With the helping hand of teachers, students can develop in positive ways.
This might be critical to their life. (17)
She suggested that her views about handling art were based on individual beliefs
and interpretation. The interpretation should then be free.
Many forms of art have appeared in history. They are the sources of inspiration. And it is
usual that old ways of dealing with art will reappear in modern times. There may be some
common perception, expression for art. It is logical since art is human communication and
expression of ideas. So the nature of knowledge of art can be said as what humans do for
the sake of expression and communication. The scope is very wide, but it can be further
differentiated if you want to categorize the nature of the different art made by people. (17)
Frankly, I haven’t followed the syllabus tightly. But what I am teaching is not beyond
that since the content is wide. I rearrange the content in my own way to suit my students’
abilities. The content, mainly basic drawing, design, three-dimensional work, and art
history will be integrated into drawing and painting. All the topics were taught and I try
to allow more space for students to explore the media with their ideas. … As long as they
can express something and do something for art, I don’t stick to traditional rules very
much. (17)
She would set affective objectives for the lesson, and allow free expression of ideas
and exploration of skills. To her, skill is not to learn, but to explore. The outcome of
the work would be experimental, and usually not in standard format.
I would introduce some skill to them, for example, to introduce how to make a draft for
printmaking and the skill of printing it. I would demonstrate and students will then be
given a chance to try it with the draft they make. I would ask them to keep the prints they
made and do some analysis of the outcome. Then, they can have the chance to discern the
better ones and those less satisfactory ones. In this way, they can be able to discover ways
of handling printmaking. (17)
To her, the aim of assessment was not intended to grade or label achievement.
The assessment is to let students see their work accomplished after a session of learning.
It is a conclusion, rather than a mechanism for grading. (17)
Relating qualifications to teaching conception and approach

As we looked at our data and the portraits of the two teachers who were at either pole,
it seemed to us that teachers’ beliefs about what constitutes appropriate art content
may be due to the orientation to knowledge about art gained from their art training
programme. The relationship between the above categories and art education thus
becomes a focus to be examined.
Art is a core subject that is taught under the formal curriculum in schools
(Education Department, 1997). As with other subject teachers in secondary schools,
art teachers are supposed to be trained for teaching the subject. For teaching to levels
higher than Form 3, teachers are usually required to obtain an advanced certificate or
a degree. Two major types of qualification were identified for teachers in this study.
They were teachers who received an art teaching qualification from the Institute of
Education, and those who had completed or were finishing an art related degree in a
university. Training in the Institute of Education puts the stress on the pedagogical
practice of the subject and skill training for those areas included in the school syllabus.
Degree studies in art education or fine art focused mainly on academic knowledge of
art or art education.
As Table 5 shows, teachers educated at the Institute of Education are clustered
within teaching Categories I and II. Teachers with degrees are scattered across
Categories II to VI. The trend is perhaps not a strong one, but it does suggest that
the type of course offered by the Institute of Education is likely to produce teachers
who take an instructional approach to teaching art knowledge and skill. Teachers
with degrees were found to have greater diversity in their combined beliefs and
approaches. It is noteworthy, though, that 8 of the 13 were clustered in Categories
V and VI. These are the two categories that incorporate contextualist beliefs.
Taking a degree in fine art is perhaps more likely to lead to contextualist rather than
essentialist beliefs.
Academic standing of the school

The band of the school in which our sample of teachers taught seems also to have had
an impact on their conceptions of and approaches to teaching art. Table 6 shows the
relationship between the combined category for conception of and approach to teach-
ing against the band level of the school in which the teacher taught. The numbers in
the cells are the codes for the interviewees. As the cross-tabulation shows, there seems
to be a trend for those teaching in schools with higher banding to equate academic
achievement with knowledge acquisition and skill development. Those teaching in
schools with lower banding seem to focus more on personal development.
Teachers in Band I schools are found to teach by Categories I, II, and III. These
are teachers with a strong focus on knowledge or discipline structure of art in teach-
ing. Band I schools advocate academic pursuits; so the categories that emphasize
knowledge acquisition are most compatible.
Schools of Band IV and V seem to have teachers whose conceptions and approaches
fall into categories that focus on personal development but not knowledge. This is
Table 5. Relating teaching qualifications to categories of teaching conception and approach
Categories of conception and approach
I II III IV V VI
Moral Aesthetic Aesthetic Aesthetic Intellectual Expression
development development development in development development and therapy
Types of teacher in art/ in art/ art/discipline in art/social through art/ through art/
qualifications instructional instructional inquiry interactive social interactive personal
Teacher certificate, 01, 02 08, 09, 11

and or advanced
certificate
Art related bachelor 03, 10 04, 06 12 05, 07, 13 14, 15, 16,
degrees (B.Ed., BA) 17, 18
Table 6. Relating school banding to categories of teaching conceptions and approaches
Conceptions
III IV V VI
Academic I II Aesthetic Aesthetic Intellectual Expression and
standing of Moral Aesthetic development in development in development therapy
schools of development in development in art/discipline art/social through art/ through art/
teachers art/instructional art/instructional inquiry interactive social interactive personal
Band 1 01, 02 03, 08 04, 06

Band 2 09, 11 12 05, 07
Band 3 10 13
Band 4 14, 17
Band 5 15, 16, 18
reasonable as students of low banding schools may not be interested in knowledge and
skill learning. To teach knowledge as a starting point may lead to poor outcomes.
Also, students with low academic results may need attention to their overall develop-
ment, especially psychologically, making the emotional and expressive features of art
a suitable emphasis. Art education may work on the Band V students in a way to help
them release emotion and gain understanding and confidence which is educationally
beneficial.
Allowing more freedom in teaching with the use of a student-centred orientation
seems to be suitable for teaching low band students. It can promote a closer relation-
ship between teacher and students. Furthermore, students with low academic results
may also have emotional and behavioural problems, so the use of a traditional
approach may be rejected by these students.
There are two possible explanations for the reasonable level of consistency between
conceptions, approaches, and the banding of the school. One is that teachers choose
to work in schools that they think will allow them to teach in a manner consistent with
their beliefs and preferred practices. The other is that teachers’ conceptions and
approaches to teaching become modified as a result of contextual pressures from the
school. Our data do not provide a clear indication of which mechanism predominates.
It is possible to speculate that both might apply. Teachers with essentialist beliefs and
a preference for subject-centred teaching might prefer to teach in higher band
schools. They would know that they would then be in an environment that supported
their conceptions of art and approaches to teaching and the pupils would be more
likely to respond well to their accustomed teaching practice.
Some of the teachers with contextualist beliefs may have held those beliefs before
starting work in the lower band schools. They could have deliberately chosen to work
in such schools because they felt they would gain satisfaction from putting their
philosophies into practice and impacting upon the personal development of their
students. Others may have held essentialist beliefs at the outset but found that the
subject-oriented approaches consistent with those beliefs were not appropriate for the
lower band schools. Over time both beliefs and practices may have changed.
Kember’s (1997) review of teaching conceptions in higher education suggested

evidence of some teachers developmentally progressing from teacher- to student-
centred beliefs. It is possible that the number of teachers with contextualist beliefs in
lower band schools may be evidence of a similar trend: change in beliefs is not easy
but can occur through evidence of the incompatibility of existing beliefs. Teachers
who initially held essentialist beliefs may have found their teaching unsuitable for the
lower band pupils. Over time their beliefs and practices might then have changed.
Influence of the examination system

In Hong Kong schools, teaching and curricula are formally under the control of the
Special Administrative Region Government’s Education and Manpower Bureau

(EMB). However, public examinations are set by the Hong Kong Examinations
Authority, which is financially autonomous and independent of the EMB. As Hong
Kong schools are highly examination driven, this means that in practice the examina-
tions determine the curriculum content and the nature of teaching.
The secondary school system in Hong Kong has seven forms. At the end of Form
5 students take the certificate education examination. This decides entry to Forms 6
and 7, for which there were only places for about one-third of each cohort at the year
the research was undertaken (Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, 2004).
The art examination assesses candidates’ work on various dimensions, including orig-
inal thinking, ideas, skills, techniques and creativity. The proportion of marks allo-
cated to each criterion is not clearly specified. The perceptions of the interviewed
teachers were that skills and techniques displayed in a piece of artwork may impress
the assessors because they are easier to judge.
It was the examination taken by students in Form 5 and the externally set syllabus
for it which seems to have influenced teaching orientation in senior forms. The teach-
ers’ conceptions of teaching art reported earlier in this study were derived from
reports of teaching in junior forms. Included in the sample were some teachers who
did not teach senior forms and several who claimed that their teaching was consistent
between junior and senior forms.
In the interviews that we had with them, the teachers suggested that the view they
held about teaching the junior forms, i.e., Forms 1 to 3, was not necessarily imple-
mented for teaching senior forms, i.e., Forms 4 to 5. The approach to junior forms
was likely to represent teachers’ own conceptions of teaching art as at these levels, as
they had a considerable degree of freedom in deciding curriculum design, teaching
methods, and achievement targets. Policies set by school administration for matters
such as basic syllabus requirements and general classroom discipline did not seem to
restrain them from developing teaching consistent with their own will or conception.
The following quotations are typical of teachers who used one approach for Forms 1
to 3 and a different one in Forms 4 and 5.
Cert. exam is a constraint, so there’s not much to be done in F4. You just have to train
them. While F1 to 3 is very free for us. We don’t give them choices. In F4, we try our best
to teach five fields (drawing, painting, graphic design, Chinese and western calligraphy,
and history of art), as long as we are able to. This is hard as we have to teach 5 fields, and
ask them to do more at home. So, F4 and 5 teaching is affected greatly by the syllabus, but
not F1 to 3. (Teacher 10)
My expectation for the F1 pupils is lower because the level is low. As long as they have
tried it is OK. But for F4 and 5 pupils, since they have to follow the rules of the HKCEE,
they have certain skills to follow. (Teacher 14)
It is a different matter to teach in junior and senior classes. For me it is more enjoyable to
teach lower forms. I can try to lot of things with them that can broaden their view to art.
This is something I think students should do for art. Whereas in F4 and 5 I have to teach
to the syllabus, I have to teach to guarantee student results. That standard is not up to my
expectation or personal ideal. Examination syllabus becomes the blueprint of my teaching
(in this situation). So if you ask my teaching philosophy I can tell you what I am doing
cannot represent my own idea. (Teacher 13)
Of the 18 teachers in the study, four teachers (01, 02, 03, 11) suggested that they
used a similar approach to teaching across senior and junior forms, although they
made some adjustments to bring their teaching in line with the syllabus of the certif-
icate examination. These teachers taught in a subject-centred, instructional approach
that was consistent with the examination orientation. The fact that they were able to
adopt the same approach for both senior and junior forms might have reinforced their
belief that it was an appropriate teaching approach. Of the remaining 13 teachers, five
(08, 05, 07, 09, 10) were not influenced by the examination pressure since they did
not teach senior forms. The other eight (04, 06, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18) shifted
their approach in a manner consistent with the quotations above.
Relationship between beliefs and practices

Logical relationships
Studies by Kember and Kwan (2000) and Trigwell and Prosser (1996a, b) show that
in higher education, it was reasonable to draw the conclusion that university teachers
adopted approaches to teaching which were consistent with their beliefs about teach-
ing. There, teachers seem to have limited external influences on what and how they
teach compared to the school sector. The traditions of academic freedom, internal
assessment, self-accreditation of courses, and relatively unobtrusive quality assurance
procedures combine to allow the individual teacher in higher education a great deal
of latitude. It is, therefore, not surprising that their approaches to teaching are guided
by their deep-seated beliefs.
As we noted in the initial literature review, studies in the school sector have not been
as consistent. Some have shown the same logical relationship between conceptions
and approaches, while others like that by Kember and Kwan (2000) have indicated
inconsistency. Our own results here show both consistency and inconsistency. The
cross-tabulation of conceptions and approaches described by our interviewees and
depicted in Table 4 results in just six combinations out of the 20 possibilities. Sixteen
of the 18 interviewees showed combinations of conceptions and approaches that
matched essentialist conceptions with subject-centred approaches and contextualist
conceptions to subject-centred approaches. Two teachers showed a combination

which did not fit this match; both were close to the mid-point of both continua (see
Figure 1).
It is noteworthy that the analysis of the conceptions and approaches was based on
the interviewees’ reports of their teaching to junior forms. In their teaching to the
lower level forms, the teachers said they were not significantly influenced by school
policies or the external examination syllabus, thus, their approaches to teaching could
follow logically from their beliefs.
Contextual influences on practice

As well as showing a logical relationship between conceptions of and approaches to

teaching for lower form teaching, our study also shows evidence of contextual influ-
ences including the educational backgrounds of the teachers and the climate and
organization of the schools in which they taught.
The educational background of the teachers seems to have been related to the
teachers’ combined conceptions and approaches. This was an interesting finding as
reviews of research into teacher education programmes have shown that they usually
have a limited impact upon the beliefs about teaching of their students (Wideen
et al., 1998). In this case, the outcomes of the two types of educational backgrounds
were markedly different. Graduates of a teacher preparation course in a college of
education were among the most experienced teachers and seemed less likely to be at
the extremes of our scale. They taught in Band I, II and III schools—the high
performing schools. Those teachers with a degree in art from a university seemed
more likely to embrace conceptions of teaching that are highly student centred. With
the exception of Teacher 6, they taught in the lower band schools. Possibly, this
marked distinction in preparation was sufficient to influence the beliefs of the teach-
ers. It is also possible that the beliefs about teaching influenced the teachers’ choice
of training.
The influence of the examination syllabus on approaches to teaching on the combi-
nation of beliefs and approaches for senior form teaching was very marked. Thirteen
teachers taught senior forms. Of these, four did not adapt their teaching markedly
from junior to senior classes. These all held beliefs and used approaches compatible
with the skill- or knowledge-based approach set in the examination syllabus. The
remaining eight teachers used quite different approaches for senior classes, which
were not consistent with their beliefs. Thus, it is clear that the external examination
syllabus has a very strong influence which cannot be ignored. To explain this finding
around teachers’ conceptions and practice is difficult. It is possible that either the
schools’ ethos and practices influenced the beliefs of the teachers or the teachers
chose schools they thought would be more compatible with their beliefs and preferred
practice.
These findings contrast markedly with our review of research around conceptions
of and approaches to teaching on the part of university faculty. There does not
appear to be any evidence of the beliefs of university teachers being influenced by
educational background. This is undoubtedly because few university teachers have

formal qualifications in teaching. The prime influence on their beliefs about teaching
is probably the many hours of experience of being taught in their discipline.
Conclusion
Our earlier work (Lam & Kember, 2004, submitted) focused on the relationship
between conceptions of teaching art and approaches to teaching in the junior school
years. This study took our work into the secondary school. Conceptions of teaching
were described by a five-category model, with four categories of approaches. Of the
possible combinations only six were found, all of which were logically related. In
teaching the lower forms, with little contextual constraints, the relationship between
conceptions and approaches, therefore, mirrored that found in higher education. The
teachers’ approaches to teaching followed from their beliefs.
However, contextual influences were noted. The six combinations were reasonably
related to the teachers’ art teaching qualification. There was a definite trend when the
combinations were plotted against the five banding levels for schools in Hong Kong.
There were also reports of marked shifts in teaching approach for the senior forms to
cater to the external examination syllabus.
It would appear that when teachers have limited contextual influence on the way
they teach, as happens in higher education and in art teaching in lower forms in
schools, the approaches to teaching follow logically from teachers’ conceptions of
teaching. As the contextual influences grow, they start to influence the ways in which
teachers teach. Very strong contextual influences, such as external examination
syllabi, can lead to a complete divorce between conceptions and approaches.
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The relationship between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching

Article in Teachers and Teaching · December 2006

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ISSN: 1354-0602 (Print) 1470-1278 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ctat20

The relationship between conceptions of teaching

Bick‐Har Lam & David Kember

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13540600601029744

Published online: 24 Jan 2007.

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The relationship between conceptions of

Keywords: Art education; Approaches to teaching; Conceptions of teaching; Teacher beliefs

*Corresponding author. Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Hong Kong Institute of

ISSN 1354-0602 (print)/ISSN 1470-1278 (online)/06/060693–21

Conceptions of and approaches to learning

Bringing together conceptions of and approaches to teaching

(1996a). Use of the questionnaire confirmed the intention/strategy relationship found

Conceptions of teaching art

Approaches to teaching art

Table 1. Profile of art teachers who participated in the study

Sample code Sex/Age/Years of teaching/School type/Education

01 M 56 34 Government grammar 1963, mathematics

school, Band I 1980, art education

Table 2. Four approaches to teaching art defined by six dimensions

What to achieve Subject-oriented: Subject-oriented: Student-oriented: Subject-oriented

to be gained by students personal orientation

Source: Adapted from Lam and Kember (submitted).

Exploring the relationship between teachers’ conceptions of and approaches

Table 3. Conceptions of teaching art as defined by six dimensions

skills, design oriented and production

Source: Adapted from Lam and Kember (2004).

Moral development in art/instructional

Table 4. Cross-tabulation of conceptions and approaches to teaching

Moral development in art 01, 02

Aesthetic development in art: leisure and living/instructional

Aesthetic development in art: academic/discipline inquiry

Aesthetic development in art: academic/social interactive

Intellectual development through art/social interactive

Expression and therapy through art/personal

Framework for conceptions and approaches to teaching

Categories I, II and III match essentialist conceptions with a subject-centred orien-

tation. A contextualist conception is matched with a student-centred orientation for

Two contrasting cases

Teacher 01: moral development in art/instructional

Task-based assignments are the usual activity pattern of Teacher 01.

He thought assessment is to check on how much students have achieved according

Teacher 17: expression and therapy through art/personal

Relating qualifications to teaching conception and approach

Academic standing of the school

Table 5. Relating teaching qualifications to categories of teaching conception and approach

Categories of conception and approach

Teacher certificate, 01, 02 08, 09, 11

Table 6. Relating school banding to categories of teaching conceptions and approaches

Band 1 01, 02 03, 08 04, 06

Band 5 15, 16, 18

Kember’s (1997) review of teaching conceptions in higher education suggested

Influence of the examination system

Special Administrative Region Government’s Education and Manpower Bureau

cannot represent my own idea. (Teacher 13)