Waste to Art Pedagogy as an Educational Model for Strengthening Practical Skills

Practical materials and resources are a challenge faced by fine art department at Bawku Technical Institute (BATI), despite the importance of practical skills to the students. The purpose of the study is to improve practical skills of fine art students using solid waste materials produced within the institute. A mixed methods approach was employed where descriptive and project-based research designs were used for the study. The sample size of eighty-two (82) respondents comprising students and teachers from the fine art department were sampled using simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques. The study used Likert scale questionnaire, observation and interview as a data collection instruments. The findings revealed that there is lack of resources and practical materials at BATI which had negative impacts on the practical skills of students and development of the department. It is recommended that fine art department could systematically integrate the use of solid waste materials such as plastics, wood, metal, and other unconventional materials into the curriculum, as a component of the students' routine practical exercises.