Internalizing Creativity: Student- Centered Art Education for Personal Expression

Abstract Book of the 10th International Conference on Teaching, Learning and Education

Year: 2025

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Internalizing Creativity: Student- Centered Art Education for Personal Expression

Hatice Burcu Yanar

ABSTRACT:

Creativity, critical thinking, and personal expression are central to art education. The adoption of student-centered learning in art education has gained momentum, promoting autonomy and self-reflection while challenging traditional instructional methods. The internalization of creativity is a crucial factor in students’ ability to engage deeply with artistic concepts and express their personal artistic identities. This literature review synthesizes research from 2015 to 2025 on student-centered art education, focusing on its role in fostering creativity and personal expression. The review methodology involved six key search terms: ‘Student-Centered Art Education’, ‘Internalization of Creativity in Art’, ‘Autonomy in Art Learning’, ‘Inquiry-Based Learning in Art’, ‘Art Education and Personal Expression’, and ‘Creative Thinking in Art Education’. Studies were filtered based on relevance, empirical rigor, and recent contributions to the field. The primary databases used in this review include JSTOR, ProQuest, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and the National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education. The findings indicate that student-centered art education enhances students’ engagement, motivation, and originality by allowing for exploration and critical reflection. However, the full extent of its impact is still being studied, and there remains a need for further research to address gaps in understanding, particularly regarding long-term effects on artistic development. Additionally, challenges such as the balance between structure and autonomy, teacher preparedness, and alternative assessment methods persist. This study concludes with recommendations for integrating reflective practices, choice-based curricula, and autonomy-supportive environments to strengthen the role of student-centered learning in art education, while emphasizing the need for more empirical studies to validate these approaches.

Keywords: Autonomy in Art Learning, Creativity, Inquiry-Based Learning, Internalization of Personal Artistic Expression, Student-Centered Art Education