A Comparative Study of Primary Education Art Curriculum Goals in Brazil, Greece, Iran and South Korea

The purpose of this study was to compare main goals of art curriculum in primary education in Brazil, Greece, Iran and South Korea. The qualitative comparative research method used and data were collected through upstream and national education documents, research reports and articles in scientific journals. In addition to Iran, Brazil, Greece, and South Korea were purposefully selected as the sample of the study. For analyzing and comparing the data, a four-step model of Bereday (description, interpretation, juxtaposition and comparison) was used. The results show that the four countries have similarities in areas such as development of creative thinking, acquaintance with famous artists and their works, recognizing the beauty of nature, developing handicraft skills, using artistic materials and tools, expressing emotion and expression through art. The differences between these countries are in the areas of how students participate in artistic experimentation, particular attention on visual arts and art as a intercultural exchange tool.