ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to generate new knowledge on how the professional artistic and cultural encounters provided by the Cultural Schoolbag (DKS) with focus on dance, may stimulate and enhance learning processes and learning outcomes in primary level education. In cooperation with Kulturtanken – Arts for Young Audiences Norway – the agency that holds national responsibility for DKS – the project will develop knowledge of high quality and relevance for the development and practice of DKS. A central hypothesis in the project is that by including DKS as a component in the teacher education programmes, the student teachers will be better equipped to integrate DKS projects in their pedagogical practice. Previous research on DKS has shown that the teachers’ involvement in preparing the pupils for DKS activities, as well as following-up on them after the meeting, is often critical in order to release the art projects’ possibilities to meaningfully communicate and interact with the school’s curriculum (Breivik & Christophersen, 2013). For DKS to reach its full potential as a contributing partner providing alternative, new and innovative ways to fulfil some of the goals in the national curriculum, the teacher’s level of competence, interest in and familiarity with art and artistic processes is vital.
