INTERPRETATION OF VISUAL INPUTS AS A TOOL FOR MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FINE ARTS EDUCATION WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE DISCIPLINES OF THEORY AND ART HISTORY

The paper deals with the problem of visual literacy of university students - the future Fine arts teachers, in relation to their critical thinking systematically developing during their pregradual preparation within the disciplines focused on theory and history of Fine arts at the Department of Creative Arts and Art Education at the Faculty of Education at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. The paper looks into students' competencies of given area via questionnaire, focusing on interpretation of visual inputs based on triadic semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce known as an icon (Likeness, etc.) - index (Sign) - symbol (General sign). The author explores the problem in relation to project goals supported by Slovak Research and Development Agency, according to Act No. APVV-15 - 0368 in context of present requirements of teacher training program in the area of critical thinking and creativity.