The role of sensibility in education has gained increasing attention. Korean education has traditionally been oriented toward cognition, and in reflection of this limitation, the Ministry of Education designated aesthetic sensibility competency as one...
The role of sensibility in education has gained increasing attention. Korean education has traditionally been oriented toward cognition, and in reflection of this limitation, the Ministry of Education designated aesthetic sensibility competency as one of six core competencies across all curriculum areas. However, due to the artistic connotations inherent in its nomenclature and the conceptual ambiguity surrounding the term, it has not received significant attention in general subject areas outside of arts education. Nevertheless, as interest in the expanded educational meaning of aesthetic sensibility competency has grown in recent years, attempts to interpret and integrate aesthetic sensibility competency in ways appropriate to disciplinary contexts have increased.
In geography education, various discussions concerning sensibility—including sense of place, environmental sensitivity, and ecological sensitivity—have been conducted; however, discussions on aesthetic sensibility competency have remained largely at the discursive level. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an instructional program through geography education that cultivates aesthetic sensibility competency and to verify its educational effectiveness.
In this study, land art was selected as the pedagogical material for an instructional program designed to develop aesthetic sensibility competency. Land art is not merely the creation of massive imagery on earth, but rather site-specific art that produces works grounded in the geographical characteristics of a particular place. Because the characteristics of a place determine the features of a land art work, the meaning of place and the meaning of artwork are inseparable. Land artists transform a place itself into a work of art, enabling aesthetic sensibility to be experienced from the place. Consequently, in geography education, land art can be meaningfully utilized as pedagogical material for cultivating aesthetic sensibility toward place.
The instructional program in this research was designed according to cognitive apprenticeship learning processes. Students cultivate aesthetic sensibility competency by engaging in activities that design land art works based on the geographical characteristics of places. The designed instruction was implemented with a total of 30 students from a general high school located in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province. Data were collected through activity worksheets, reflective journals, and in-depth interviews, and results were derived through thematic analysis.
Analysis results confirmed that the instruction in this study had positive effects on cultivating aesthetic sensibility competency among high school students. Participating students became aware that geography and art could be connected, and they developed the ability to discover aesthetic elements from nature. Furthermore, students became capable of creating and expressing the aesthetic elements they discovered through land art works, and moreover, they were able to empathize with both the beauty of nature and the poignancy of disappearing natural beauty. Students who had empathized with the beauty of nature ultimately demonstrated increased motivation for environmental action.
This research holds the following significance. First, it has demonstrated that cultivation of aesthetic sensibility competency is possible through geography education. Second, it has developed land art as a novel learning subject matter in geography education. Third, it has provided meaningful place experiences through an aesthetic approach in geography education. This research is expected to contribute to expanding the horizons of geography education in a context where cross-curricular interest in aesthetic sensibility competency continues to grow.