| The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate how four preservice elementary teachers experienced a cross-cultural teacher education art class involving Chinese floral art. The primary research question was "What are the perspectives of preservice elementary teachers as they learned in a Chinese floral art class?" This study specifically looked at how these hands-on activities and lessons functioned as a vehicle to increase understanding and appreciation of another culture as well as their own culture, to encourage cultural understanding, and to influence the preservice elementary teachers' aesthetic perceptions and experiences. This study looked at how the thematic approach worked and observed the range of interactions that were involved in the learning process as participants were creating their Chinese floral arrangements.; A significant shift in the subjects' knowledge and attitudes toward the Chinese floral art/culture resulted after the class. The participants' knowledge and attitudes toward the Chinese floral art/culture moved from having no prior knowledge to one of extreme interest and a strong respect for it. The themes that emerged from the study highlighted the potential of hands-on aesthetic activities as a curricular tool that can shape subjects' knowledge, skills, aesthetic experiences, and cultural consciousness.; Seven aspects (perspectives, tension, interactions, artistic domain, cross-cultural awareness through art, cultural consciousness, and cultural understanding) emerged as forces that contributed to the overall experiences of the participants and results corroborated results of studies in the literature review. Through their experiences participating in the Chinese floral art class, along with their personal reflections, these participants progressed towards cultural understanding through experiencing the cycle of transformation---awareness, critical awareness, and focus on change. As participants developed an understanding of the cultural art form, their respect, appreciation, and acceptance of another culture as well as their own culture increased. Thus aesthetic perceptions and experiences reciprocally affected each other and together caused the participants to gain increased cultural consciousness. Participants' perspectives also gave evidence of intentions to practice more culturally informed pedagogy as participants described their future teaching plans. |
