Why is it important to study the History and Philosophy of Art Education?

Since Henry Cole initiated the Victorian National Course of Instruction in 1853 (the first art 'National Curriculum', arguing for the economic importance of training in art and design for the nation's well-being, art and design education has been subject to a variety of theories or models. Art Education has been influenced by the development of education by individual thinkers, practitioners and Acts of Parliament (Hughes, Stanley et al. 1990 p.13) .

Some have stressed utilitarian justification, while others have argued for a liberal educational role. Put more simply, art education can be seen as an economic necessity or, conversely, as a 'disinterested' study for its own sake contributing to the cultural well-being of individuals and collectively to the nation. (Thistlewood 1992 p.8) .

This fundamental difference of belief between the liberal and utilitarian view of education also has a relationship with other important orientations such as:

- whether to teach systematically or allow development through free exploration and expression;
- a child-centered (learning from experience) or subject-centered view of the subject (learning from example);
- an expressive view of (fine) art or emphasis on the useful and functional role of design;
- a conservative (knowledge to fit one for society) or radical emphasis (knowledge to question society).
- and finally, as a result of the 'demise of the art object, and the rise of fine art as transient event (happening) or ephemeral experience', between a focus on the object / artifact and conceptual experience (op.cit., p.9).

As can be seen from the last example art education is also influenced by developments in art which can be divided into three traditions:

- professional art
- art as a cultural and leisure pursuit
- art as skill training

Both Art and Art Education have their own 'public traditions', inheritance and community which can be seen and analysed from a sociologist's point of view as sub-cultures with powerful hierarchies, rewards and sanctions.

All of these contradictory orientations are interwoven in and through the history of art and design education and have given rise to a wide variety of practices and conceptions of what the art curriculum is for. Some individuals have developed theories of art education which have influenced others through philosophical argument while others have enjoyed direct influence in designing practical curricula or spreading ideas by example through exhibitions, training and publications.

The most convincing argument for study of these developments is that they provide a store of concepts and models (paradigms) which can guide us in contemporary practice. The key issues, the contradictory orientations, referred to above are always with us. The practices and debates of the past provide us with valuable evidence with which to confront our present practice, in order to locate it, and provide a critical conceptual framework for evaluation and possibly as a springboard into the future.

Exploring art education as a whole may seem irrelevant to students training to be primary teachers, even if they are taking art as a specialist subject-study. Much of the development in art education has been 'top down' in that ideas and approaches aimed at training or educating adults have gradually filtered down through teacher training into secondary school and consequently into primary education. Examples of this can be found both in the development of William Dyce's programmes of drawing for school children in the nineteenth century (Macdonald 1970 pp.79 and 153) and today in the development of critical and contextual studies through AT2 of the art National Curriculum.

There has, however, also been a strong 'bottom-up' movement where the child-centered, primary cross-curricular model, allowed to develop relatively freely until recently without the constriction of national testing or examination, has influenced secondary and tertiary education through an 'education through art' orientation and a questioning of the 'subject-centered' curriculum. There is also considerable continuing interest among some sections of the educational community with child-centered approaches to education, subject to evaluation and development, as a model for education through all phases and at all ages.

Personal Reading and Research Project (introduced week 11)

Working in pairs you are asked to create a Web page about a particularly important movement or figure in the development of Art Education. We will divide out the list below between the group. You then need to research your subject. You will need to write a short introduction / review about your chosen focus identifying key facts and concepts ­ for example, who? what? when and where? why? key ideas; influence; etc. Please also find (or create) between one and three images which can be scanned in to illustrate your text (72dpi, no more than 300 pixels in any direction). You will be taught the relevant ICT skills during the advanced pedagogy course but you should have the text already typed on disk (Text file) so you can cut and paste into Pagemill, the web-authoring program we will be using.

Deadline Thursday 22nd March 2001, 4.00pm

National Course of Instruction. 1852. Henry Cole, William Dyce. Victoria & Albert Museum.

Child Art:

Interested in Child Art - Froebel 1782-1852. Sully 1842-1923.
Steiner 1861-1925

Child Art: Britain
Herbert Spencer 1820-1903. Ebenezer Cooke 1838-1913. Thomas Ablett 1848-1945
Catterson Smith 1848-1938. Tomlinson 1885-1978. Herbert Read 1893-1968.
Barclay Russell 1900-1980. Marion Richardson 1930s

Child Art: Austria
Frank Cizek 1865-1946 Wilhelm Viola lectured 1934 onwards

Bauhaus: Itten Klee Kandinsky
Basic Design: 1950s- 1960s Maurice de Sausmarez

Stage Theory: Victor Lowenfeld 1903-1960
Rhoda Kellogg John Matthews Nancy R Smith

Visual Education Schools Council Publications. Maurice Rubens, Mary Newland MBE
Elliot Eisner USA, DBAE - Discipline Based Art Education.
Brian Alison UK

Critical & Contextual Studies - AT2
John Berger Judith Williams Rod Taylor

Multicultural Art Education
Rachel Mason Amric Vakalis
Graeme Chalmers

Gender Issues in Art/Education
Germaine Greer, Rosika Parker and Griselda Pollock, Linda Nochlin
Woman's Art Library

Post-Modern approaches to Art Education
Swift & Steers (Manifesto) JADE (1999) Vol 18, No.1.
Efland, Freedman & Stuhr

Bibliography

Hughes, A., N. Stanley, et al. (1990). The Art Machine. Wilts, NSEAD.
Macdonald, S. (1970). The History and Philosophy of Art Education. London, University of London Press Ltd.
Thistlewood, D. (1992). Histories of Art and Design Education - Cole to Coldstream, Longman/NSEAD.