This study aims to analyse artistic understanding in primary and secondary education and the relationship between this understanding and motivational characteristics such as goal orientation, engagement in art activities and attitude to art education at school, which determine (according to prior research) learners' academic achievement, in…

This article traces the development of a new National Curriculum in England following the general election of 2010. The prevailing political ideology of an approach based on securing "core knowledge" in a limited range of preferred "academic" subjects and its deleterious impact on the arts in schools is described. The vigorous…

This article traces the historical evolution of instructional methods in art and design education in Britain to identify the influences that inform current practices and compare the latter against recent debates on what are design education and designer in the context of the global economy and the widespread use of information and communication…

Research concerning the basic course known as Foundations of Art and Design strengthens the pedagogical approach for K-16 art and design education. The version of Foundations introduced to America by Josef Albers, although hardly changed, is shown to have continued, timeless relevance. Next, a sequential, implicit logic is revealed in linking the…

Ideas and issues based contemporary art is often seen as something to be avoided in schools, as the controversial subjects that it broaches are often perceived as problematic and inappropriate. However, by censoring education, it can be seen that educators are missing vital opportunities to confront the relevant personal, social, political and…

This article examines a case study of an A-Level student's work and how the inclusion and integration of my own practice as artist-teacher into the classroom has changed the teacher-student relationship, resulting in a more collaborative environment. It investigates how the mutual sharing of practice supports opportunities for pupils to discuss…

This article deals with the forms and contents of self-initiated art works: the kind of learning that takes place in the production of self-initiated art works as well as the relationships with school art. We interviewed 52 Dutch students (aged between 10 and 14) from different schools of primary and secondary education, and their art teachers.…

Art teachers are renowned for their claims that the creative properties of their senior secondary pupils' artworks occur as a result of the realisation of a creative process. Drawing on my recent ethnographic studies in senior art classrooms in Sydney, Australia, and Illinois, USA, I uncover a sociological, rather than a psychological explanation…

This article focuses on current examples of project or design-based learning at the secondary school level in the context of the increasing importance of creativity and innovative thinking in the twenty-first century. The authors argue that students today learn more effectively in pedagogical practices that emphasise holistic thinking, active…

The purpose of the Taking Design Thinking to Schools Research Project was to extend the knowledge base that contributes to an improved understanding of the role of design thinking in K-12 classrooms. The ethnographic qualitative study focused on the implementation of an interdisciplinary design curriculum by a team of university instructors in a…

Craft education in Finland is, in many aspects, in a state of change. This concerns the independent position of craft as a school subject, the content of the compulsory craft courses containing textiles and technical work, the implementation of the new concept of a holistic craft process in the National Core Curriculum and so on. This bears…

This article reports on an evaluation to interrogate the efficacy of a Scottish Government sponsored initiative to introduce an arts-infused education model to primary (elementary) and secondary (high) schools called Arts Across the Curriculum. Between April 2005 and December 2007 the evaluation team gathered data about this three-year pilot…

There is a resurgence of interest in the powerful concept of emotion in current educational policy and practice. This article calls for the recognition and conceptualisation of a triadic schema for theorising the location of emotion within a creative educational experience. The schema represents emotion within three domains within current…

This article discusses the ways in which a fine art department has successfully enabled pupils, staff and the local community to gain access to exciting and wide-ranging art experiences. Through the creation of temporary installations and exhibitions the art department at Trinity School regularly becomes a gallery resource centre for part of the…

The Education Departments of Tate Modern and Goldsmiths College collaborated with a group of teachers to find out what they understood by the term "contemporary art" and to discover the conditions that enable contemporary art practices in the classroom. We explored questions with eleven teachers, from both primary and secondary schools, during the…