149 VI 2 (2) pp. 149–162 Intellect Limited 2013 Visual Inquiry: Learning & Teaching Art Volume 2 Number 2 © 2013 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/vi.2.2.149_1 Victoria PaVlou Frederick University Cyprus teaching ar t with artworks: Pre-service primary teachers’ aesthetic preferences abStract In many countries, generalist teachers and not art specialists teach art in primary education. This article examines the range of pre-service primary school teachers’ aesthetic preference and explores what kind of artworks they would most likely choose for organizing learning activities for children, as well as reasons that influ- ence their choices. The kind of artworks they choose will likely have an effect on their pupils’ understandings of art. A mixed methodology research study was carried out with 91 pre-service primary school teachers in Cyprus. The data indicate that the participants had a rather limited understanding of art and reflected a narrow range of ideas and values. Although many participants did not perform non- reflective judgments about artworks, their strong attraction to colours and notions of realism entwine with expression implied that popular culture ideas and modernism ideas about art would be largely reflected in their teaching, thus denying children with encounters with other forms of art. introduction In a world that is increasingly more visual, there is a greater need to educate children to understand and respond to the visual images around them. Visual arts education has a special role to play in this as it is the subject that deals directly with visual images and has specific aims towards art understanding KeywordS generalist teachers primary education aesthetic preferences repertoires artworks appreciation skills