Classroom Design as a Way of Motivating Students for Artistic Activities

Authors

Janja Batič
University of Maribor, Faculty of Education
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2045-5442
Petra Lebar Kac
Primary School Janko Padežnik Maribor

Synopsis

In this chapter, we present the results of a case study that we conducted to discover how the equipment and space of a design in a universal classroom can encourage students’ spontaneous artistic expression. The study included fifth-grade students and their generalist teacher. In the 2022–2023 school year, pupils were offered an art station that included various art materials and art challenges. We aimed to determine how students would utilize the space for artistic expression, their approach to selecting art materials, and their attitude toward art activities outside of art classes. Data were collected by analysing the teacher’s observation diary, photographs of the art works, and student surveys. The results showed that the art station was very well received by the students and that the most popular material for modelling was clay. Spending free time with friends was also a very important aspect of the art station.

Author Biographies

Janja Batič, University of Maribor, Faculty of Education

Janja Batič, PhD  is an assistant professor for art education at the Faculty of Education at the University of Maribor, Slovenia.  She has more than eighteen years of experiences working with future classroom teachers. Since 2019, Janja Batič has been educating future art teachers at the Department of Fine Arts. Her research area includes art education, visual literacy, multimodal literacy and picture books research.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: janja.batic@um.si

Petra Lebar Kac, Primary School Janko Padežnik Maribor

Mag. Petra Lebar Kac completed her Master’s degree in Education at the primary level at the Faculty of Education in Maribor and graduated in Pedagogy from the Faculty of Arts in Maribor. She works as a classroom teacher and educator at Janko Padežnik Primary School in Maribor. She is active in several areas, such as preparing the curriculum for visual arts, working with Roma and foreign students, and exploring various aspects of classroom activity, including formative assessment and creating a safe and supportive learning environment.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: petra.lebar-kac@guest.arnes.si 

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Volume

Selected Contemporary Research on Special Needs, Giftedness, and Talent in Slovenia

Pages

245-270

Published

June 13, 2025

Categories

Copyright (c) 2025 University of Maribor, University of Maribor Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Batič, J., & Lebar Kac, P. (2025). Classroom Design as a Way of Motivating Students for Artistic Activities. In B. Kovačič (Ed.), Selected Contemporary Research on Special Needs, Giftedness, and Talent in Slovenia (pp. 245-270). University of Maribor Press. https://press.um.si/index.php/ump/catalog/book/976/chapter/652