Art pedagogy as a means of humanizing the educational environment in a higher education institution

Abstract

Modern transformations in Ukraine’s higher education system necessitate the provision of a high-quality educational standard, developing creative potential, independence, professional worldview, and the ability to make prompt decisions. One of the key tasks of contemporary psychological and pedagogical science remains the development of practical approaches to humanizing the educational environment. In this regard, innovative artistic and pedagogical approaches, particularly art pedagogy, play a significant role and are actively integrated into the educational space. Purpose. The goal is to investigate the methods influencing art pedagogy in creating a humanized educational environment in higher education institutions. Methods. The methodological basis of the research includes the principles of humanistic pedagogy, the theory of art pedagogy, the psychology of creativity, and aesthetic education. A set of empirical and theoretical methods was employed: content analysis of scientific sources, comparative-historical method, observation of educational art practices, and modeling of pedagogical situations with the inclusion of artistic components. Results. The study revealed that implementing art pedagogy contributes to developing emotional intelligence, empathy, critical thinking, and teamwork skills and fosters an atmosphere of creative freedom and mutual respect in the educational environment. The effectiveness of integrating various art forms (visual arts, music, theater, literary creativity) into lectures, seminars, and extracurricular formats was demonstrated. This integration creates an open, psychologically comfortable, and tolerant educational space. Conclusions. Art pedagogy proves to be an effective means of transforming the educational environment of higher education institutions toward humanization and personal development of students as full participants in the educational process. Promising directions for further research include the development of tools for evaluating the effectiveness of art practices in higher education and the creation of methodological models for the interdisciplinary integration of art pedagogy with other educational technologies.