A Study for Determining the Requirements for Integration of Visual Culture Studies in Fine Arts High Schools on the Basis of Teachers’ Opinions

This study is intended to present teacher opinions on inclusion of visual culture into the curriculum of fine arts high schools, and was conducted by qualitative research method. Among the purposive sampling methods, the method of typical case sampling was used in determining the sample of the research. The research participants comprised six art teachers that taught during the first semester of the school year 2014-2015. Research data were collected by semi- structured interview. Descriptive analysis based on the qualitative research method was used to analyze the data obtained in the research. In this context, the analysis of the research data was conducted in three stages within the framework of the research questions and conceptual framework of the research. In the first stage, the data obtained from the semi-structured interviews with the teachers were dokumentation and analyzed. In the second stage, the teachers’ opinions were analyzed on the basis of the themes identified within the context of the theoretical framework of the research. In the third stage, the findings were interpreted following the analysis. Some conclusions reached on the basis of the research findings were as follows: It was found that visual culture education is important for raising more conscious individuals in that it supports their critical thinking, creativity, visual literacy and communication. Particularly in this era, when we are intensely bombarded with images due to the developments in technology, students spend more time on social media and accept everything they see there as true, without questioning. This is why it was concluded that visual culture education would be effective in improving their skills, such as communication, critical thinking, creativity, cultural continuity and self-expression.