This article has highlighted the problem of cultural mismatch in creative
education and the implications for arts education practices. Cultural mismatch
may occur between home and school culture, the individual and peers, western
and eastern culture, traditional and popular/prosumer culture, the culture
of competition and assessment and culture of creative learning. Children’s
learning progress would be hindered when their learning environment
harbours mismatches of any kind.
Education for sustainable development has been advocated as an approach
to addressing the challenge of cultural mismatches; people’s values, worldviews,
knowledge and creativity – which are inextricably linked to culture – are
central to sustainable development (UNESCO 2012). Education for sustainable
development recognizes cultural diversity as a ‘rich source of innovation,
human experience and knowledge exchange which can assist communities
and societies to move to more sustainable futures’. It also acknowledges the
importance of cultural diversity ‘as a means to build a culture of peace, tolerance,
non-violence and human fulfillment’ (Tilbury and Mulà 2009: 2).
The realization of education for sustainable development requires the
positive engagement of young people with the cultural diversity and complexity
of social values and ways of life while harnessing their creative capacities
for innovative problem solving and actions that help resolve the social and
cultural challenges facing today’s world. Arts education, which should involve
the teaching and learning of different forms of cultural and artistic expressions,
can be integrated into education systems for appropriating the potential
of the arts to enhance children’s intellectual and social development, improve
the quality of education, and at the same time augment young people’s creative
and innovative capacities and contribute to the safeguarding of cultural
diversity (UNESCO Office Bangkok and Regional Bureau for Education in
Asia and the Pacific 2013).
Arts education should embark on its role in sustainable education with
vigor and wisdom, refining its pedagogies and seeking engaging ways to raise
people’s awareness of the value of cultural heritage and legacies found in the
arts, as well as increase its impact on individuals and societies. Arts education
should celebrate its achievements while refining educational strategies that
forge a creative and cultural future devoid of cultural mismatches. Finally, arts
education should be mindful that the future is now