Lecturers’ perceptions of knowledge integration within art and design university curricula

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how Art and Design lecturers perceived knowledge integration when teaching and training Art and Design to students at a Higher Learning Institution. Concentrating on individual subjects without integrating knowledge generates a certain type of person who is conditioned to think in a specific way, making it difficult for them to think beyond the box. Tertiary education is designed to provide students with the skills and abilities required to compete in the labour market (Mbataru, 2015). Students face various hurdles in transitioning from a student to working-class individuals with critical thinking and quick decision-making abilities. This could be due to a lack of knowledge integration, and they may suffer considerably, particularly in terms of diversified thinking. Data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews with Arts and Design discipline lecturers from University X. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that participants displayed divergent views of what the principle of knowledge integration entails at the Art and Design department of University X. Some participants favoured the Arts discipline to reside within the department, suggesting that disciplinary knowledge should be kept pure while other participants showed a keen interest on pursuing knowledge integration between disciplines offered in the department of Arts and Design. In addition, others suggesting knowledge mix between disciplines offered in the Faculty of Humanities at University X. If subject specialisation instead of hybridization of knowledge is pursued, graduates produced would not meet the current changing market and technological development because they are mostly geared to think in one specific dimension. The study concluded that there was some knowledge integration among participants at University X. To some extent, lecturers in Art and Design at University X required knowledge integration in Art and Design disciplines to enhance a broader application within their department and other subject offerings in the Faculty of Humanities at University X. It was recommended that lecturers in Art and Design should be proactive in knowledge integration if they are to produce graduates suitable for the existing job market driven by new technological needs. This study could be used as a springboard for further research to achieve curriculum transformation at South Africa’s HEIs to support knowledge integration.