Art and Intercultural Education with Signs of Tolerance, Acceptance from the Perspective of Future Teachers

Abstract

Art education is present at all levels of education. Its purpose is to enable students and individuals to interpret the arts, to be aware of their own cultural identity, and also to be able to accept others’ values of culture and art. It is essential to cultivate respect for one’s own cultures and traditions, as well as the acceptance and tolerance for other cultures. All this is an integral part of teacher training. It is especially important at this level as the educator shapes the thinking, education, and attitude of the representatives of future generations. These aspects are given special attention at the Faculty of Education of J. Selye University.   J. Selye University is a minority tertiary institution in Slovakia. The diverse elements of art and art education, the branches and trends of art – chosen and preferred based on the subjective approach –, the peculiarity and diversity of the minority environment all meet here along with their interactions and connection points in the spirit of tolerance, understanding, acceptance in the 21st-century approach. In this study, we examine the views, opinions, and experiences of the university students of the Faculty of Education at J. Selye University with regard to the outlined aspects, and then, as a result, we present some remarkable results, drawing the necessary conclusions.