Analysis of the Role of Aesthetic Experience in Children's Education

According to the views of education experts, aesthetic experience and understanding of art is a vital part of a flourishing life. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the role of aesthetic experience in children's education. To achieve this goal, the first step is to defend the necessity of aesthetic education for children based on the analysis of existing philosophical justifications. For this purpose, the descriptive-analytical research method has been used. Several philosophical justifications have been proposed for the necessity of aesthetic education, whose critical evaluation shows that the only answer is based on aesthetic experience, which makes it possible to defend art based on its distinctive value. Therefore, aesthetic education for children can be taken as justifiable and necessary independent of art's contribution to expression and its role in moral promotion. This is because the aesthetic experience and understanding of art is a vital component in flourishing life, and being exposed to the aesthetic experience opens up ways for human growth that no other type of experience can do. The findings of this research indicate that even if art education does not lead to innovation and improved skills that can be measured with quantitative methods, it should have an important place in schools and curricula. A curriculum without aesthetic training and proper appreciation for the arts ignores our goal of raising flourishing human beings worthy of meaningful aesthetic experiences. Also, aesthetic education should not be limited to people and subject-matters, but should cover the entire curriculum.