Cookies on GOV.

UK
We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK,
remember your settings and improve government services.

We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their
services.

Accept additional cookies

Reject additional cookies

View cookies

GOV.UK Menu

Home Education, training and skills Inspections and performance of education providers Inspection and performance of schools
Research review series: art and design

Research and analysis

Research review series: art and design
Published 22 February 2023

Applies to England

Contents
Introduction
Introduction
Context The study of art enables pupils to understand, appreciate and contribute to a
Curriculum dimension of life that taps into and expresses human innovation, imagination and
Pedagogy thought.[footnote 1] In this review, we use the term ‘art’ to include the traditions of art,
Assessment craft and design.
Systems, culture and policies
At an individual level, a high-quality art education can build pupils’ ability to ‘appreciate
Conclusion
and interpret what they observe, communicate what they think and feel, or make what
they imagine and invent’.[footnote 2] At its best, the subject is both intellectually
Print this page
challenging and creatively demanding.

As a subject studied in school, art includes a range of practices, as well as

theoretical and philosophical ideas and interests. The building blocks of the subject
enable pupils to see, to know and to experience art. Pupils learn how to view, discuss
and make art in its multifaceted, complex and contested forms.
This review explores some factors that contribute to a high-quality art education. Art
and traditions of art education are broad and diverse. There is no single way to
provide a high-quality education in the subject. In this review, we emphasise the
curriculum, which is the ‘substance’ of what pupils learn.[footnote 3] This connects the
review to our inspection methodology.[footnote 4] Further details about the purpose of
this and other reviews can be found in ‘Principles behind Ofsted research reviews
and subject reports’.[footnote 5]

In this review, we:

explain the national context of art and design

summarise our review of research into factors that can affect the quality of
education in art and design
consider curriculum progression in art and design, pedagogy and assessment,
and the impact of school leaders’ decisions on the provision

We draw on a range of sources, including our ‘Education inspection framework:

overview of research’ and the 3 phases of our curriculum research.[footnote 6] We also
draw on research into art education, specifically sources that explore art curriculums
in schools. Through this work, we hope to contribute to raising the quality of art
education for all young people.

Context

The nature of art, craft and design

Art is a rich and varied set of practices central to human civilisation. Art itself is not
static, and its purposes, materials and methods are always evolving. Historically, it
has served a range of purposes, including representing nature, expressing feelings,
embodying formal beauty, and preserving or criticising social norms. Major art forms
include painting, sculpture, drawing and printmaking. Since the early 20th century, art
has broadened to include photography, performance, installation and new digital
media. Art is closely related to design and craft in graphics, typography, textiles and
ceramics. It is not easy to draw a clear line between art, craft and design, because
the boundaries between them have changed over time; these fields continue to
inform and enrich each other. Together, they are the basis of art education in
schools.

Art, craft and design are practical in nature, and are partly based on studio practices.
They are also informed by related academic disciplines, including the history of art,
aesthetics and art criticism. The school subject of art draws on concepts and ideas
from all of these traditions. The possible content is vast and subject leaders and
curriculum designers need to be selective in what they include in their art curriculums.

Just as art, craft and design are wide-ranging, so too are the ideas, perspectives and
approaches to art education. Art education concerns why pupils are learning the
subject, what they might be taught, and how to teach and assess them. It is beyond
the scope of this review to explore every tradition of art education, and we recognise
that there are various and sometimes competing ideas about it.[footnote 7] This is to be
expected in a subject where both the content of the curriculum and the tradition of art
education itself are influenced by cultural, social, economic and political factors.

The education inspection framework states that a high-quality education includes an

ambitious curriculum that gives pupils ‘the knowledge and cultural capital they need to
succeed in life’.[footnote 8] Our review considers the nature of an art curriculum that
achieves the aims of the national curriculum (see ‘Curriculum’ section). We do not
explore wider ideas about the indirect uses or benefits of art education, such as the
idea of art as a ‘playground for experimentation’ or as a way of promoting self-
esteem and well-being.[footnote 9] These areas of research may be valuable, but they
are beyond the scope of this discussion about what pupils learn in art.

The national context

Art makes an important contribution to pupils’ overall education. Schools must offer a
broad and balanced curriculum, according to the law.[footnote 10] This expectation is
reflected in the national curriculum and is at the heart of our education inspection
framework, which states that a high-quality education consists of pupils being taught
‘a full range of subjects for as long as possible’.[footnote 11]

Early education and primary schools

Children first encounter art and design in the early years foundation stage (EYFS). In
the EYFS statutory guidance, ‘expressive arts and design’ is a specific area of
learning and development.[footnote 12] The guidance says it is important for children to
engage with the arts regularly and to explore a range of materials and media.[footnote
13] This helps them to work towards the early learning goals, such as safely using and

exploring a variety of materials, tools and techniques. High-quality practice in the early
years stimulates children’s interest and imagination in the materials and media they
encounter, and provides the necessary foundations for future learning.

In the national curriculum, art and design is a compulsory subject at key stages 1 and
2.[footnote 14] A report has highlighted a decline in both the quality and quantity of art
education in primary schools.[footnote 15] There may be a range of reasons for this,
including:

a decline in real-terms funding, so pupils have less access to specialist resources

and support[footnote 16]
schools focus more on core subjects and less on foundation subjects[footnote 17]
primary teachers lack the skills, training and experience to teach a high-quality art
curriculum[footnote 18]

Secondary schools
In secondary schools, art is often a separate subject in the timetabled curriculum.
This is the first time that many pupils are taught art by a specialist teacher. The key
stage 3 curriculum is important for a variety of reasons. Key stage 3 may be the last
opportunity for a pupil to engage critically and creatively with art during their
education. It is the time when pupils build on the knowledge they learned at primary
school, and when teachers address gaps in pupils’ subject knowledge. The key
stage 3 curriculum also needs to give pupils the breadth and depth of knowledge
necessary for them to be successful at key stage 4 and beyond. An art curriculum
that significantly limits the amount of time given to the subject is unlikely to benefit
pupils.

In 2021, the Department for Education reported that there were 1,040 fewer art and
design teachers in 2020 than there had been in 2010. This equated to a decline of
about 8%.[footnote 19] There was no change between 2019 and 2020.[footnote 20] A
report by a subject association also suggested that pupils were taught fewer hours of
art and design at secondary level in 2020 than in 2010.[footnote 21]

At key stages 4 and 5, pupils have the opportunity to study art both for its own sake
and to further their career aspirations. They can gain both depth and breadth of
knowledge, which enables them to pursue a range of artistic interests and specialist
pathways. Data from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) suggests there were
more entries for GCSE art and design in 2022 than in 2010.[footnote 22] However,
compared with 2002, the number of entries for GCSE art and design in 2022 were at
a similar level.[footnote 23] Notably, the number of entries for other arts-based subjects,
such as design and technology, fell significantly over the same period.[footnote 24] For
some pupils, the art and design curriculum is the only subject available to them that
aligns closely with future training, education and work opportunities within the creative
industries. In 2019, the creative industries made a significant contribution (£115.9
billion) to the UK economy.[footnote 25] Many roles in these industries require a
qualification in art and design.[footnote 26]

Curriculum

Summary
 The art and design curriculum in schools sets out how pupils can ‘get better’ at the
subject.

Pupils can develop practical knowledge of how to create art, craft and design, for
example by learning the methods and techniques that artists, craft-makers and
designers use.

They can also build theoretical knowledge of the tools, materials and history of art,
craft and design.

In addition, pupils can acquire disciplinary knowledge of the concept of art itself,
such as the ways it is judged, valued and evaluated.

Pupils make progress in the art curriculum when they build practical, theoretical
and disciplinary knowledge (which we define below) and learn the connections
between them. A high-quality art and design curriculum sequences the knowledge
that pupils learn. This helps pupils to get better as they move through early years,
primary and secondary education.

The national curriculum and the school art

curriculum
There is an important distinction between the national curriculum and the school
subject curriculum in art. The national curriculum sets out the aims of the subject and
an outline of the content pupils should study. Our discussion of quality in art
education uses these aims and considers what pupils need to learn, over time, to
achieve them. However, the national curriculum does not set out the exact range and
depth of the content, concepts and practices that pupils need to learn. This means
that teachers, subject leaders, and curriculum designers are able to select content. In
this section on curriculum, we consider what high-quality art curriculums might look
like. We focus on the content that they might include to meet the aims of the national
curriculum.

All pupils in maintained schools are expected to study the national curriculum. This
includes the requirements for art and design in key stages 1 to 3.[footnote 27]
Academies are expected to offer pupils a broad curriculum that should be ‘similar in
breadth and ambition to the national curriculum’.[footnote 28]

The current national curriculum states that the aims of art and design are to make
sure that all pupils:[footnote 29]

produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design
techniques
evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
know about great artists, craft-makers and designers, and understand the historical
and cultural development of their art forms

The national curriculum does not set out how to sequence the content that pupils
study in art.[footnote 30] Some art educators have commented that the national
curriculum does not include detail about how schools should build on each stage of
development.[footnote 31] Therefore, in this review, we will consider how schools might
sequence the content in the art curriculum. The national curriculum also does not go
into detail about the content that pupils should learn. This means subject leaders and
curriculum planners need to have some sort of idea of what might be ‘cumulatively
sufficient’ or ‘collectively enough’ content for the curriculum to be high quality.[footnote
32]

Domains of knowledge
There are many ways of ‘carving up’ domains of knowledge in art education. The
subject literature uses a range of terms for the domains. In this review, we suggest 3
domains:

‘practical knowledge’, which is about developing technical proficiency

‘theoretical knowledge’, which is the cultural and contextual content that pupils learn
about artists and artwork[footnote 33]
‘disciplinary knowledge’, which is what pupils learn about how art is studied,
discussed and judged

These terms are helpful for discussing the different types of knowledge that pupils
build in art, and for describing good-quality art education. We do not expect schools
to use this terminology.

The 3 domains build on the different ways that knowledge about art has been
discussed in recent research. For instance, some researchers put forward
‘foundational art disciplines’, which include art production, art history, art criticism and
aesthetics. They suggest that pupils build knowledge in these domains when they
study art.[footnote 34] Some literature refers to ‘productive’, ‘critical’ and ‘cultural’
domains in art education.[footnote 35] Other approaches refer to the types of knowledge
that pupils learn when they learn ‘about’ art, ‘with’ art, ‘in’ art and ‘through’ art.[footnote 36]
Although these approaches use different words from the ones we have chosen, they
all recognise that it is important to be clear that there are subject-specific forms of
knowledge in art. The terms we have used (practical, theoretical and disciplinary)
incorporate many of these ideas, as we go on to explain. We have chosen them
because, first, they align with the aims of the national curriculum for art and design
and, second, they link to wider traditions in art education.

Our education inspection framework prioritises the knowledge that pupils learn in the
curriculum.[footnote 37] Some researchers have expressed concern about focusing on
‘knowledge’ in arts education, when the meaning of the term is limited to
accumulating disconnected facts.[footnote 38] Our school inspection handbook
highlights problems with pupils ‘memorising disconnected facts’.[footnote 39] The
definition of knowledge in our review is broader than this. We use the term to refer to
what pupils learn in art (sometimes called the ‘curriculum objects’), including
concepts and/or principles.[footnote 40] When pupils learn this subject knowledge, they
build the capacity to appreciate and create art. There are a range of capacities and
competencies that pupils could develop from learning the art curriculum. However,
they depend on the smaller building blocks of art knowledge that pupils will learn.
Various art educators and theorists have used terms such as ‘qualitative intelligence’,
‘visual literacy’, ‘aesthetic literacy’, ‘visual aesthetic literacy’ and ‘enlightened
cherishing’ to describe such capacities.[footnote 41]

The forms of knowledge that we will explore are types of expertise that pupils can
build over time. This expertise is both productive (pupils becoming proficient in the
aspects of art or producing art) and receptive (pupils learning about aspects of art).
The national curriculum for art and design gives examples of both of these types of
expertise.[footnote 42] This suggests that each of the 3 domains of knowledge include
receptive and productive elements. For example, within the domain of practical
knowledge, pupils may ‘develop proficiency in drawing, painting, sculpture and other
areas of making’ (productive expertise). This is because they learn about methods
and techniques used in drawing, painting, sculpture and other areas of making
(receptive expertise).[footnote 43] Both forms of expertise are essential to the traditions
of art education. This is because, while the knowledge that pupils need to learn must
be clear, what they do with that knowledge may be unexpected, unpredictable or
unanticipated.[footnote 44] It is important for leaders and teachers to recognise that
defining the knowledge that pupils need to learn through the curriculum is not the
same as restricting or prescribing the artwork they produce.[footnote 45]

In summary, there are 3 subject-specific forms of knowledge that subject leaders

and curriculum designers might plan and sequence in the art curriculum.[footnote 46]

Practical knowledge
Pupils develop practical knowledge through the art and design curriculum. This
knowledge is necessary for when they make and create art. Practical knowledge
allows pupils to make choices based on what they know about the limits and
possibilities of materials and media. This practical knowledge is specific to ways of
creating art. The National Society for Education in Art and Design recognises 12
different ‘areas of making’.[footnote 47] These include:

drawing
painting
printmaking
sculpture
ceramics
creative craft
collage
textiles
photography and lens-based media
installation and site-specific work
digital and new media
design and graphic design

Of these areas of making, 3 (drawing, painting and sculpture) are specified in the
national curriculum.[footnote 48] The national curriculum also refers to ‘other art, craft
and design techniques’. This suggests that schools will include areas of making
beyond these 3.[footnote 49] There is therefore a broad range of content for subject
leaders and curriculum designers to choose from. A school art curriculum is unlikely
to be able to cover all the areas of making in sufficient depth for pupils to engage
meaningfully with them. Therefore, subject leaders and curriculum designers need to
choose which areas to include. Schools may achieve the aims of the national
curriculum in different ways. For example, in addition to drawing, painting and
sculpture:

primary schools may teach:

collage, because they have included ‘pop art’ in their curriculum and think this is
the most suitable way to teach it, and because a range of everyday items are
available for pupils to use
ceramics, because they may have access to particular equipment, such as a kiln
oven
secondary schools may teach:
textiles, to give pupils the opportunity to visit and see the work of contemporary
artists and craft-makers, and to get a glimpse of career pathways such as
fashion and textile design
photography, so that pupils learn a form of artistic visual representation

Subject leaders and curriculum designers should have a sound rationale for why the
combination of areas of making they include in the curriculum is cumulatively
sufficient (together these areas provide pupils with a coherent understanding of art).
They will need to have a rationale for which areas of making they teach and revisit
over time, and which areas they will not teach. This prevents the art curriculum from
collapsing into a superficial tour of different areas of making. Once subject leaders
and curriculum designers have made these choices, they can broaden the curriculum
by exploring in detail the various ways that artists, craft-makers and designers have
expressed these areas of making.

Although the different areas of making sometimes overlap and have similarities, each
has its own materials, media and technical language as part of a specialist tradition.
For this reason, subject leaders and curriculum designers need to be clear about
which materials, media and technical terms they want pupils to learn. For instance,
when the following areas of making are taught, teachers will want to plan for pupils to
learn foundational aspects of that area of making:

In drawing: concepts such as line, shape and form; the use of different media such
as pencil, ink or pastels; technical terms and phrases, such as ‘observational
drawing,’ ‘outer edges’ and ‘where lines intersect’, which help pupils to draw what
they are seeing, rather than what they imagine they see; and drawing media other
than pencils, brushes and pens, such as wire or string
In painting: concepts such as colour mixing; the associations between mixed
colours, meanings and emotions; and different media, such as watercolour (a
translucent paint), gouache (an opaque paint) and/or acrylic oil paint
In sculpture: concepts such as form and space; and key terms pupils need to
know when they manipulate clay, such as ‘slabbing’, ‘coiling’ and ‘pinching’
In photography: concepts such as light, dark, balance and ‘the rule of thirds’; key
terms about photographic processes such as film, print, slide, transfer; and key
terms about digital photographic processes such as ‘manipulation’ and ‘resolution’
In textiles: concepts such as texture and appliqué; different fabrics, such as woven
and felted textiles; and terms such as ‘threads’ and ‘cords’

Practical knowledge also includes the various components of artistic practice. These
are the elements of practical knowledge that give pupils the ability to represent
physically whatever they have envisaged. These skills, techniques and practices
learned in the art curriculum are underpinned by specialist and subject-specific
knowledge.[footnote 50]

Practical knowledge can have both receptive and productive sides. In each area of
making, pupils learn about materials and techniques, the vocabulary to identify them
(a kind of receptive expertise), and how they themselves can use those materials and
put those techniques into practice (a kind of productive expertise). The distinction
that can be made between receptive and productive expertise is illustrated below:

In drawing, pupils learn drawing-specific meanings for line, colour, form and shape
(receptive expertise), and how to create lines using pencils, brushes, pens, wires
or string. They learn how to use colour, generate form and depict shape for
themselves (productive expertise)
In painting, pupils learn elements such as shape, colour (including ‘cold’ colours
and ‘warm’ colours), form and value (receptive expertise). They learn how to mix
colours, to use complementary or contrasting colours and value to give the illusion
of light, and to create shape and form (productive expertise)
In sculpture, pupils learn the meaning of shape and form, the way 3-dimensional
forms occupy their space (receptive expertise), and how to manipulate materials
such as clay into 3 dimensions to create form. At the early stages of sculpture in
particular, they also learn how to join elements and how to carve or incise surface
detail (productive expertise)
In photography, pupils learn about elements such as light, focus and repetition,
specific compositional tools, and how photographers use equipment and materials
(receptive expertise). They also learn how to select an image, how to use light and
 exposure, how to apply compositional tools such as the rule of thirds (and, where
appropriate, to break rules) and depth of field (productive expertise)
In textiles, pupils learn about techniques such as appliqué, beadwork and sewing
stitches, and how craft-makers use machinery (receptive expertise). They also
learn how to create 2- or 3-dimensional, abstract or figurative works using a range
of techniques (productive expertise)

Practical knowledge includes sensory aspects that are linked to areas of artistic
practice. For example, pupils learn sensory aspects of drawing when they use
different mediums and techniques (such as fine-liner pens or brushstrokes) to affect
the ‘quality of line’. There is a tradition in art education that reflects on the idea of ‘tacit
knowledge’ or ‘intuitive knowledge’ gained through the senses.[footnote 51] One writer
described this as ‘unspoken and uncodified words, that [occur in artistic practice] and
[become] a matter of habit’ and the ‘thousand little everyday moves that add up in
sum to a practice’.[footnote 52] All areas of making also have spoken and codified
components that pupils need to ‘get better at’. Subject leaders and curriculum
designers can identify these for teaching.

Drawing is central to art and design curriculums at primary and secondary level.
[footnote 53] The national curriculum mentions drawing specifically as a ‘way of making’.
[footnote 54] Research on the teaching of drawing gives some examples of

components:

Components of drawing Examples of components that

pupils can practise at appropriate
stages of the curriculum

Fine motor control[footnote 55] Pencil grip

Range of marks
Series of lines (for example in cross-
hatching)
Applying pressure to affect tone
Shading to suggest form

Repertoire of lines and shapes,[footnote Simple marks

56] which become symbolic systems or Dots
semiotic codes[footnote 57] Vertical lines
Horizontal lines
Lines that enclose spaces
Circles

Knowledge of elements of art[footnote 58] How light and dark can be represented
by pencil control
Orientation of drawings

Knowledge of art language, such as Accurate use of art-specific words

spatial language[footnote 59] such as shape, line and colour

Techniques or methods[footnote 60] Hatching

Cross-hatching
Stippling
Finger blend

These are examples of components that are part of the curriculum. Pupils can learn
and practise them. Some literature identifies other factors that can support the
teaching of drawing:

conditions that help pupils to think and concentrate[footnote 61]

tuition and modelling[footnote 62]
 recursive encounters over time[footnote 63]

While important, these other factors are concerned with pedagogy. They are different
from components of drawing on which teachers can focus their teaching.

Curriculum planners do not need to prioritise traditional expressions of art. Once

pupils have learned the components of drawing, they can gain further knowledge and
explore creative possibilities. For example, if a curriculum focuses on drawing, it
would be appropriate for leaders or curriculum designers to select content taken
from the whole history of drawing and the different traditions within it.[footnote 64] Pupils
might be taught content, methods and techniques, and do practical work, from this
range of traditions. For example, pupils may be taught:

the use of the sketch and the development of preliminary ideas in Italian
Renaissance art
the use of line drawing during the Japanese Nihonga period

This applies to other areas of making. For example, in painting, children in the early
years and pupils at key stage 1 may begin to develop forms of control by being
taught:

the form of control that gives the appearance of distinct dots of colour in the
traditions of pointillist styles of painting
the form of control that gives the appearance of distinct dots of colour in the
traditions of indigenous Australian art

Pupils at key stage 2 might be taught the use of bold colour in 2 different traditions,
such as in:

Indian Madhubani paintings that depict religious and cultural events, and that
include geometric and floral patterns
Fauvist art that uses strong colour and gestural paint strokes

In sculpture, pupils may be taught:

abstractions of the human form in Western art (used by sculptors such as Barbara
Hepworth and Henry Moore)
abstractions of the human form in prehistoric art

In these ways, the curriculum can be broad while also concentrating in enough depth
on specific areas of making, to ensure that pupils gain some proficiency in that area.
The breadth of the practices within an area of making are important. This is because,
over the course of the curriculum, the methods, techniques and styles taught help
pupils to build up knowledge of the diversity of drawing or painting or sculpture (or
any other area of making). Theories of cognitive science highlight how knowledge of
concepts is sustained by the range of examples that we have of them.[footnote 65]
While pupils will not be able to engage meaningfully in each tradition if the curriculum
is ‘a mile wide and an inch deep’, the various components that pupils are taught
through the curriculum are, nonetheless, what give them a broad and accurate
conception of drawing, painting, sculpture and so on. Pupils therefore build up
different examples of the diversity of art, craft and design traditions. They go on to
construct and produce their own art within this framework.

Theoretical knowledge
The second domain of knowledge in the art and design curriculum is theoretical
knowledge. This enables pupils to make connections between art’s past, present and
future.
The national curriculum states that pupils should know about great artists, craft-
makers and designers. They should also understand the historical and cultural
development of their art forms. The theoretical knowledge, including art history, that
pupils gain is not simply knowing dates or facts about artists and their artwork. It is the
knowledge pupils learn about:

meaning and interpretations

materials and processes
journeys and connections through time

Pupils’ theoretical knowledge puts into context much of the practical knowledge that
they learn in the art and design curriculum. In making artistic decisions, artists
themselves draw on personal experiences, and the work of their contemporaries and
artistic predecessors. However, art educators have not always recognised the
important interplay between practical and theoretical knowledge, or seen it as
essential to curriculum design. Some researchers have commented that art
education focuses on ‘practical skills’, sometimes at the expense of learning
theoretical knowledge.[footnote 66]

When pupils learn theoretical knowledge about art, craft and design, they learn about
themes and diverse connections that have existed over time and in different places.
One writer has described this as pupils recognising the way that art and art practices
are ‘embedded’ in ‘socio-cultural matrices’.[footnote 67] The meaning of images,
objects and artefacts can also change over time. Art takes place within cultures,
societies and history. If teachers do not contextualise art, craft, and design traditions,
pupils can build profound misconceptions about the ways that humans make and
understand art.[footnote 68]

High-quality art curriculums should plan for pupils to develop sufficient knowledge to
make sense of artists, artwork and art traditions. For example, primary schools often
teach pupils about Vincent Van Gogh. Pupils can make sense of Van Gogh as an
artist and his work when they are taught, for example:

about the post-impressionism movement

how this movement emerged and its purposes
the influence of Japanese woodblock printing on his style and work
how Van Gogh used tools and techniques, particularly his brushwork and use of
colour
the themes and meaning in his work

The broad range of curriculum content, beyond a single painting, helps pupils to
avoid simplistic or narrow perspectives such as ‘Van Gogh worked in the field of
impressionism and painted sunflowers’.

A sculptor sometimes studied in primary schools is Andy Goldsworthy. Pupils can

make sense of him and his work when they are taught, for example:

how he uses natural materials to create sculptures

about the tools and techniques he uses with natural materials
about the relationship between the artist and the movement of ‘environmental art’
how his works fit into the natural and urban environments they are positioned in and
how this can change how the viewer perceives the work
why he has chosen different shapes and forms

It is important not to confuse theoretical knowledge about the historical and cultural
development of art forms with a focus on a very narrow group of artists and artwork.
[footnote 69] In high-quality art curriculums, pupils build an accurate impression of the

range of art, craft and design work that humans have produced. This will include
Western and non-Western traditions of art, craft and design. Subject leaders and
curriculum designers should think carefully about the examples and case studies they
include in the curriculum to illustrate the variety of established, contested and
neglected stories of art. High-quality art curriculums will give examples of the diversity
of art in different areas of making by including, for instance:

art, craft, design work produced outside Europe

artists, craft-makers and designers from diverse communities
traditional and contemporary forms of art, craft and design

For example, primary curriculums might include:

geometric and natural forms expressed through patterns in Islamic art, when
teaching theoretical knowledge in ceramics or painting
flat planes of colour or pattern, and strong line, as used in Japanese ukiyo-e prints,
when teaching theoretical knowledge in printmaking

It is important for leaders and curriculum designers to carefully plan the theoretical
knowledge pupils should learn in the art curriculum. It helps pupils understand that art
is a product of human culture, and is affected by human culture.[footnote 70] Subject
leaders need to make sure they identify and teach this type of knowledge. It would be
‘unreasonable’ and ‘a fallacy’ to assume that pupils will acquire it simply by learning
practical knowledge.[footnote 71]

When introducing case studies or examples, subject leaders and curriculum

designers should think carefully about which components pupils need to know to
make sense of them. For example, in a secondary school curriculum, subject leaders
might include the study of Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s ‘If There is No Struggle,
There is No Progress – Uprisings’ (1981). For pupils to make sense of this piece,
they will need to know about:[footnote 72]

the materials and techniques the artist has used in printing, such as etching and
lithography
the processes the artist has used, such as layering and fragmenting, to convey
meaning
ideas such as conflict, racial discrimination and social justice in relation to the
piece
ideas such as inclusion and ‘visibility in relation to artist identity
social and political knowledge to contextualise the references to unrest and
protest, such as historical knowledge of the Thatcher government and the unrest
and protests in the UK in the summer of 1981
broader historical context, such as ‘the Windrush generation’ or ‘colonialism’ to
foreground the themes in the artist’s work

A secondary curriculum may include design work by the architect David Adjaye, such
as his ‘Gwangu River Reading Room’. The theoretical knowledge pupils would need
might include:[footnote 73]

the materials and techniques used in the construction of the building, such as
concrete and timber
design-specific concepts such as ‘shape’ and ‘form’
context-specific concepts such as ‘revolt’, ‘memory’ and ‘storytelling’
the social, political and historical context of the Gwangju Revolt
concepts such as ‘monument’ and ‘landmark’

These examples show how curriculum designers and subject leaders can identify
important component knowledge when introducing pupils to complex art, craft and
design content. There is a vast range of art and artists that teachers and curriculum
designers can choose from. This means the component knowledge that teachers
include may differ greatly from school to school. However, in all cases, the
component knowledge acts as building blocks to allow pupils to build in-depth
theoretical knowledge.

Theoretical knowledge also helps pupils to develop their practical art-making. Subject
leaders and curriculum designers can link theoretical and practical knowledge in a
variety of ways, including to:

improve pupils’ command of practical knowledge; for example, pupils can use
knowledge of the forms and conventions of past art to reflect on their own drawing
techniques or craft skills
frame discussions about pupils’ ‘personal style’; for example, pupils can explain
their own artistic influences
develop a common classroom language for discussing, comparing and contrasting
artwork
build pupils’ knowledge of cultural norms, conventions and categories, such as
authorship, artwork and exhibition space
help pupils to understand current issues for artists, craft-makers and designers,
such as sustainability in design projects

Disciplinary knowledge
The domain of disciplinary knowledge is very broad. It captures the idea that, through
the curriculum, pupils learn:

how aesthetic judgements are formed and claimed

how art is studied
how to participate in the discourses of artists, scholars and critics

It is important for pupils to learn disciplinary knowledge because art is not fixed. It is
fluid and dynamic. It changes through encounters and exchanges with new
technologies, new ways of thinking and new opportunities. When pupils learn
disciplinary knowledge’, they participate in discussions about big ideas in art. They
explore, among other things, concepts of quality, value and purpose.[footnote 74]

Disciplinary knowledge is central to recent developments in art education which focus

on the formal and substantial teaching of art. Some art educators have explained how
disciplinary knowledge should inform the art curriculum, such as basing it on
‘foundational art disciplines’.[footnote 75] This review does not advocate any specific
disciplinary approach. Instead, we emphasise the importance of knowledge that
helps pupils to make sense of what the subject is and how it came to be.

Disciplinary knowledge relates to theoretical knowledge, but is different. Theoretical

knowledge is about specific forms or works of art (including their medium, origins,
provenance and production). By contrast, disciplinary knowledge is not bound to a
specific ‘way of making’. Instead, it transcends different areas of making, and
focuses on the norms, products and purposes of art. It is about how art itself is
thought of as a discipline. This knowledge contributes to pupils’ capacities to
interpret art.[footnote 76] Some commentators have suggested that art education is
weak or incomplete if it does not give pupils the knowledge to discuss contentious
issues.[footnote 77] For these reasons, it is important for curriculum designers and
subject leaders to include disciplinary knowledge content. There are many ways that
they can do this. For example, they can include content about:

disciplinary questions, such as ‘how is art made?’, ‘what is art?’, ‘how is art
judged?’, ‘what is the purpose of art?’, ‘how does design affect the lives of users?’,
and ‘how does design affect human environments?’
what artists have done across cultures and throughout history to draw attention to
 the influences of art
different pathways, practices and industries linked to art, craft and design
how commentators and critics judge and evaluate art
concepts such as ‘aesthetic judgement’ and ‘value’
age-appropriate content that explores how thinkers have drawn attention to aspects
of art that shape the stories humans tell through art (‘art histories’), including their
perspectives on social, political and moral issues[footnote 78]
artistic approaches in other areas of making that pupils do not study in depth, or in
new and emerging technology such as in film, sound and photography
the different ways of working in the disciplinary field, such as the roles of
illustrators, critics, commentators and curators

When pupils learn this type of content in the art curriculum, they can begin to make
sense of, interpret and judge claims and propositions that are sometimes made
about art. They can join in conversations about the nature of art, drawing on the
disciplinary concepts and examples of theoretical knowledge they have learned.
Pupils might then analyse playful claims and tentative propositions about art, such as:

‘the value of art cannot be measured by money alone’

‘all art is equal in value’
‘art can never be separated from the artist’
‘artists build on the work of previous artists; artists subvert the work of previous
artists’
‘artists create images for the purpose of being seen’

Statements like these can be helpful to curriculum designers and subject leaders
when they are choosing practical and theoretical knowledge to include in the
curriculum. This is because, if pupils are to build up sufficient knowledge about these
abstract ideas, they will need curriculum content that is well-selected and diverse,
and includes a range of forms and cultures. The content should illustrate the plurality
of art, craft, design and associated traditions. When pupils are familiar with this
content, they can learn disciplinary knowledge about art.

Disciplinary knowledge is important as it enables pupils to see how (what might

appear to be) contradictory ideas can co-exist and be connected within the traditions
of art. At the same time, it can give teachers a useful planning tool. They can ground
their curriculum content in the kinds of questions that artists, critics and scholars ask.
When leaders and teachers include disciplinary knowledge in their art and design
curriculums, they induct pupils into the ‘manner of thinking and acting’ found in
communities of artistic practice and analysis.[footnote 79]

Curriculum progression
Our definition of progression is that pupils know more and remember more of the
planned curriculum, and that they are therefore able to do more with the subject-
specific knowledge that they learn. This is what we mean by the phrase ‘the
curriculum is the progression model’. As we have said above, knowledge that is
learned and remembered should not be understood just as disconnected facts or
prescribed processes.[footnote 80] It should be understood in nuanced, subject-
specific terms.

As pupils move through an art curriculum, they should build the 3 forms of knowledge
that we discussed above. When pupils ‘know more’, they can develop latent
capacities to ‘do more’ in art, and so develop their expertise.[footnote 81] When we talk
about ‘developing expertise’ in art in this review, we do not mean that we expect
pupils to become experts or masters of art, craft and design, although some may do
so. But it is an aim of the national curriculum that pupils become ‘proficient’ in
different areas of making.[footnote 82] So, ‘developing expertise’ means that pupils
build sufficient knowledge and skills that could enable them to achieve high degrees
of specialism and proficiency in art.

Progression, or ‘getting better’, in subjects is complex, as it is a ‘process of

qualitative change as well as cumulative acquisition’.[footnote 83] Subject leaders and
curriculum designers have to think carefully about the content that they include in the
curriculum. They need to make sure it is sequenced so that it brings about this
qualitative change in pupils and helps them to achieve the subject-specific goals of
the curriculum. They also need to help pupils become familiar with procedures for
gaining and validating new knowledge in different subjects.[footnote 84] Curriculum
designers and subject leaders can explore these further in the following sections.

Sequencing art and design content towards end points

High-quality curriculums build on what pupils already know and prepare them for what
is to come.[footnote 85] This is important because it is pupils’ breadth of knowledge that
they draw on to make sense of new content or engage in new ideas.[footnote 86] Pupils’
cognitive development depends on, among other things, having the knowledge
necessary for the next stage of learning.[footnote 87]

In art, ‘sequence pertains to the organisation of activities so that they [the activities]
challenge, develop, and build upon the ideas and skills that students have previously
acquired’.[footnote 88] When sequencing learning, curriculum designers need to
consider what pupils already know.[footnote 89] This principle can be applied across
lessons, schemes of work or schooling phases. For example:

In terms of practical knowledge, when pupils know colour theory, they are better
equipped to use colour to communicate a particular mood and suggest meaning
In terms of theoretical knowledge, when pupils know about the diverse ways that
artists have explored the theme of ‘identity’, they are better equipped to create an
original response, drawing on approaches used by artists, designers and
craftspeople across time and cultures

Some curriculums in art, craft and design have very high-level ideas as end goals.
These might include ‘the way artists represent places and spaces’ or ‘the way artists
represent nature in art’. There are different approaches to designing the art
curriculum to achieve these goals. One is a thematic approach that organises (mainly
theoretical) content according to themes such as ‘places and spaces’ or ‘art and
nature’. Another is to consider relevant traditions in art, craft and design history
(theoretical knowledge) when studying particular techniques. Whichever curriculum
structure teachers choose, they will need to make sure pupils gain a sufficient
combination of practical, theoretical and disciplinary knowledge to achieve the
curriculum goals. Pupils will need this to appreciate works connected with the
themes, and to develop the ability to produce their own work around the themes.

Building towards divergent and convergent end points in the curriculum

When leaders set ambitious end goals for the curriculum, it is important that they do
not confuse the content pupils need to know with the artwork that they create. As in
other subjects that promote original thought, when pupils study art and design, they
will make interesting and unexpected connections between content and generate
their own creative ideas. The curriculum sets out what pupils need to know. It may or
may not also specify ways for them to use that knowledge or to perform with it.
Sometimes the work that pupils do is static or fixed, for example all pupils:

practise mixing secondary and tertiary colours

follow the same steps to become competent in making reduction prints

At other times, pupils may create artwork that is diverse and radically different from
other pupils’ work. For example, they may produce work where they have:

used different materials

applied different techniques
created a single object, while other pupils have created multiple objects

The first examples are outcomes that have been prescribed so that pupils learn a
specific curriculum object. In the second examples, pupils use what they have
learned as well as drawing on their personal and creative thoughts and feelings to
produce individual work.[footnote 90]

The distinction above draws on research in art and design that considers both the
convergent (more prescribed) and divergent (less prescribed) goals of the art
curriculum.[footnote 91] Sometimes, art educators also use the language of pupils
learning ‘about’, ‘with’, ‘in’, and ‘through’ art.[footnote 92] When pupils achieve
convergent goals in art education, we describe them as learning ‘about’ and ‘with’ art.
When pupils achieve divergent goals, we describe them as learning ‘in’ and ‘through’
art. Subject leaders and curriculum designers may need to be clear about which type
of goal the art curriculum is building towards. We will briefly explore convergent
goals, and then divergent goals.

First, pupils can acquire knowledge to achieve a convergent goal. This is when we
are aware of how pupils will apply this information, which may be specific to a certain
context. The national curriculum mentions more prescribed outcomes (convergent
goals) in its reference to proficiency in art, craft and design techniques.[footnote 93] For
example, pupils may learn:

colour theory and knowing that mixing red and yellow makes orange
specific techniques to command a particular skill

Second, pupils can acquire knowledge to achieve a divergent goal. This is when we
do not know how pupils will use the knowledge. In such cases, pupils draw on the
knowledge to create their own artwork, combining what they know in sometimes
experimental contexts. The national curriculum mentions this in its reference to
producing creative work.[footnote 94] For example, pupils may learn how:

colour can depict and change the mood of art

the use of different media or visual cues can convey a personal style

In high-quality art and design curriculums, subject leaders and curriculum designers
structure the content in 2 ways:

At some points of the curriculum, it is important for pupils to work towards

‘convergent’ points (such as specifying the crucial concepts that they need to learn
at a particular point of the curriculum)
At some points of the curriculum, it is important for pupils to work towards
‘divergent’ points (such as ensuring that they have enough knowledge to draw on
when forming their own particular slant or style)[footnote 95]

In the second way, pupils’ own understanding of the world contributes to what they
produce or learn. This is because it interacts with what they have learned about how
art and design knowledge is formed and used.[footnote 96]

Leaders of art and design should think carefully about which end points of the
curriculum need to be convergent, and which should be divergent. The rationale for
this choice is important. It will depend on the nature of the content and the point in the
sequence of the curriculum. High-quality art and design curriculums identify pertinent
and useful knowledge that pupils need in order to make or view particular kinds of art.

Building in practice along the way

Practice is vital if pupils are to achieve the goals of the curriculum. It is often
associated with pedagogical approaches to teaching particular aspects of art in
lessons (see ‘Teaching the curriculum’ section). However, it is important for subject
leaders and curriculum planners to recognise that practice needs to be ‘built in’ to the
curriculum.

The structure of the curriculum should enable pupils to achieve particular goals. This
is not the same as planning activities in steps to produce a particular creative product
(such as recording initial ideas, then developing a response to an artist, and then
experimenting with different media). Important as that kind of sequencing is, it is not
the same as sequencing that makes sure sufficient practice is built in. Instead,
‘sequencing for practice’ occurs when subject leaders give pupils enough regular
opportunities to work with related content to help them learn that content in the long
term.

One example is learning how to use watercolours. For pupils to understand this, they
need to be taught that the traditional transparent technique involves layering colour
washes. To build their control and confidence, they may practise adding and
removing washes and glaze with one type of tool (such as a brush) until that
technique is secure. They then try a range of tools (such as adding or removing water
with a sponge, or tissue). Next, they may practise mixing primary colours by
overlaying washes. This prepares them to go on to experiment with the effects of
watercolour to achieve their goals.

Pupils can build expertise in this way through the planned curriculum, and by having
time and instruction to practise and master content ‘in the moment’ in lessons. Given
the richness of art and design, it is perfectly possible to structure the curriculum so
that pupils can re-encounter subject components in different contexts.

‘Sequencing for practice’ in art and design is the process of thinking through how to
support pupils’ learning by breaking down the main components that they need to
practise. These components of art, craft and design are then sequenced, with links
highlighted between practical knowledge, theoretical knowledge and disciplinary
knowledge. This enables pupils to become knowledgeable about art. Their own
expressive works also become examples of the knowledge they have learned.[footnote
97]

Creativity
‘Creativity’ is a word frequently associated with the arts, including art, craft and
design. In this section, we explore 2 ideas about the concept of ‘creativity’ that may
be helpful when applied to the art curriculum:

The casual use of the term ‘creativity’ is unhelpfully broad. It is too general to be
functionally useful in determining curriculum content and how art is taught.
A subject-specific use of the term ‘creativity’ includes the central idea that pupils
can make creative contributions in art, craft and design if their knowledge and skills
in a particular area (domain) are sufficiently developed.

Often, the term ‘creativity’ is used in a non-specific way. For example, national
curriculum documents for various subjects, including art and design, design and
technology, mathematics and computing contain references to ‘creativity’ or ‘creative
outcomes’.[footnote 98] Art and design educators have made the point that the subject
of art should not be confused or conflated with creativity.[footnote 99] Some reviewers
of art, craft and design literature claim that the non-specific, casual use of the word
‘creativity’ in the subject literature is generally ‘under-theorised’.[footnote 100] ‘Creativity’
is therefore less helpful when establishing subject-specific goals of the art
curriculum. For these reasons, in the previous sections on the art curriculum, we have
explored subject-specific forms of progression and end points.

Nevertheless, a subject-specific conception of creativity may be useful when

describing the kinds of outputs, dispositions and aptitudes that emerge as pupils
journey through the art curriculum. In 2019, the Durham Commission described
creativity as the ‘capacity to imagine, conceive, express, or make something that was
not there before’.[footnote 101] This builds on a definition from the National Advisory
Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE) 2 decades before.[footnote
102] It is important to move beyond everyday assumptions about creativity in art and

recognise that, when pupils generate ‘creative contributions’, they draw on the
knowledge and skills they have developed within the domain they are learning.[footnote
103] It is also important to note that, just as the kinds of practical knowledge that pupils

build through the art curriculum relate to multiple areas of making (such as printing,
sculpture, photography, textiles and drawing), so each area has its own conception of
what constitutes creativity within that tradition.[footnote 104] Creativity is therefore most
usefully thought of in subject-specific terms, and particularly in relation to specific
traditions in areas of making. It is the practical, theoretical and disciplinary knowledge
that pupils build through the curriculum that provides them with the capacities to
create in art, craft and design in a variety of ways.

Based on the above, high-quality art and design

education may have the following features:
Curriculum content is chosen specifically to enable pupils to build practical,
theoretical and disciplinary subject-specific knowledge
Curriculum content includes different ways of making and together these
choices are cumulatively sufficient and provide pupils with a coherent
understanding of art
The curriculum concentrates in enough depth on chosen areas of making
for pupils to gain proficiency in those areas
Curriculum content includes practical knowledge about the methods,
techniques, and styles related to these ways of making
Curriculum content enables pupils to understand the journey of art
throughout history and culture, including established, contested and
neglected stories of art (theoretical knowledge)
Curriculum content is grounded in the kinds of questions that artists, critics
and scholars ask (disciplinary knowledge)
The curriculum sequences knowledge components to help pupils work
towards more complex, subject-specific end goals
There are identified points in the curriculum where it is clear whether pupils
are working towards ‘convergent’ or ‘divergent’ goals
Practice is built in throughout the curriculum and is sufficient to ensure
pupils learn a curriculum that will build receptive and productive expertise
as intended
Pedagogy

Summary

Effective pedagogical choices help to develop pupils’ subject expertise, in

practical, theoretical and disciplinary domains, over time. Pupils need many
opportunities to practise, to receive feedback and to revisit previous knowledge in
contexts that are fresh, but connected. When teachers model work effectively,
provide clear explanations and point out connections between content, they
support pupils, including pupils who need the most support, to learn the curriculum
in the long term.

Teaching the curriculum

In this section on pedagogy, we explore teaching methods, approaches and means
of teaching art and design. We consider which principles help pupils to learn and to
remember the art and design curriculum.

Research on art and design education often blends the areas of curriculum (what
pupils learn) and pedagogy (how the curriculum is taught). For instance, some
literature discusses curriculum and pedagogy as a single integrated learning
process.[footnote 105] Our education inspection framework recognises that, although
curriculum and pedagogy (and also assessment) are clearly connected, they each
have distinctive roles.[footnote 106] Art educators have emphasised the importance of
making sure pupils’ learning experiences have real educative value that extends
beyond engagement or interest.[footnote 107] One approach involves teachers making
pedagogical choices that follow from the curriculum content they want pupils to learn.
This helps them to avoid choices that focus on pupils being superficially engaged,
but do not actually help them to learn crucial subject knowledge in the long-term.

In high-quality art and design education, teachers recognise that the curriculum
content related to practical, theoretical and disciplinary domains is interconnected.
[footnote 108]

Consider these examples:

Pupils are exploring the concept of ‘movement’ in their painting work. This requires
teachers to think carefully about the kind of pedagogical activity that would develop
pupils’ capacities in this aspect of practical knowledge. Teachers have also
planned for pupils to learn about relevant materials and processes, and to learn
about artists’ intentions by studying Op Artists such as Bridget Riley. This second
type of knowledge-building (in this case theoretical knowledge) may require
teachers to make different pedagogical choices about the content they want pupils
to learn.
Pupils are studying the Dada art movement. Teachers introduce them to content
such as Marcel Duchamp’s ‘ready-mades’. The pedagogical choices made to help
pupils remember this type of theoretical (in this case, art history) knowledge may
be different from the pedagogical choices made to develop, challenge and shape
their emerging aesthetic judgements (a form of disciplinary knowledge).

When leaders recognise that different domains are involved in teaching content, they
can see that pedagogical approaches should be well calibrated to the type of
knowledge taught. In high-quality art education, teachers recognise that specific
pedagogies will be necessary to teach different forms of subject knowledge
(practical, theoretical and disciplinary).

Pedagogical considerations when teaching practical

knowledge
When teachers make pedagogical decisions, they should be clear about what they
want pupils to learn (the curriculum object). They should also make sure that pupils
practise the building blocks of subject knowledge along the way. Just as pupils need
to have sufficient repeated encounters with concepts, they also need sufficient
practice ‘in the moment’ when learning practical knowledge. Teachers can support
this through their pedagogical choices, drawing on insights from cognitive science
about how humans learn.

Pupils need opportunities to practise techniques in order to become proficient. In art,

craft and design, any technique is only one part of what pupils need to learn to
develop their capacities in an area of making.[footnote 109] For instance, teachers may
have planned for pupils to become proficient in art, craft and design techniques (such
as in painting, drawing and sculpture, which are outlined in the national curriculum).
[footnote 110] They will have thought carefully about which aspects of those techniques

they need to teach in the curriculum. Teachers might choose pedagogical activities
that are more likely to give pupils the chance to get used to that technique, by
automating the motor operations needed for it.[footnote 111] This process can be
thought of as purposeful, deliberate practice.[footnote 112] Teachers should plan
activities that do not vary much, particularly when introducing new techniques for the
first time. For example, pupils may:

repeat particular shading techniques, such as producing tonal scales for graphite,
pencil and ink
repeat and reinforce the sequences of steps required to edit images with
computer software
use sewing machines to practise the same stitch techniques repeatedly

Teachers may adopt other pedagogical approaches to support pupils who are in the
early stages of acquiring practical knowledge in art, craft and design. For example,
they could provide:
 more guided instruction by breaking down tasks into smaller parts
worked examples that model and exemplify key techniques or aspects of
techniques
more structured tasks, for example by limiting the choice of materials, or confining
practice to the production of maquettes (preliminary models or sketches) rather
than ‘finished’ final outcomes

Activities that isolate the technique that pupils are in the early stages of learning are
especially important. People can only deal with between 4 and 7 pieces of new
information at one time.[footnote 113] Research from cognitive science also highlights
the importance of learning some knowledge to the point of ‘automaticity’. This
knowledge can be recalled quickly and easily. This is especially important when
pupils are learning new content and/or carrying out more complex tasks.[footnote 114]
These insights draw on theories of cognitive load, which consider the limitations of
mental efforts required to perform operations and tasks.[footnote 115] If pupils in the
early stages of learning a technique are given an activity that requires them to use too
many aspects of the technique that have not been learned to automaticity, they will
experience cognitive overload and will be unlikely to succeed.[footnote 116]

However, as pupils get better at techniques over time, this kind of deliberate practice
may no longer be enough to help them improve further.[footnote 117] Some literature
suggests that pupils with greater expertise can benefit from varied practice. This
helps them to build a ‘broad schema’ that is connected, ‘building more rounded,
deep and durable learning’.[footnote 118] Examples might include:

activities that begin by focusing on what pupils already know before gradually
including newer knowledge. For example, an activity may start by revisiting pupils’
knowledge of a technique. The teacher then focuses pupils’ attention on the
relationship between the technique and the media or material[footnote 119]
a series of activities in which pupils use variants of the same technique in a range
of media. For example, they might apply a particular drawing technique with a pen,
with light and with wire. This helps them to learn both the limits and possibilities of
using the same technique with different media
a series of practice tasks that gradually increase pupils’ independence. For
example, a teacher might demonstrate a sequence of steps in a process. The
pupils then practise those steps repeatedly with some guidance, and then
independently with less guidance

When pupils have developed greater expertise, teachers may use pedagogical
activities that reflect this. Pupils who have developed sufficient expertise may benefit
from:

seeing examples of unfinished work, and suggesting how to resolve them

tasks that encourage them to draw on other forms of knowledge built through the
curriculum, to consider how to demonstrate a personal response by applying a
combination of techniques, media or material
longer tasks and projects that allow pupils to apply their knowledge of practical
techniques to come to artistic conclusions
tasks and projects that require pupils to apply specific techniques but with
undetermined end points or outcomes (see ‘Building towards divergent and
convergent points in the curriculum’ section)[footnote 120]

Teachers can help pupils to become more autonomous by choosing pedagogical

activities that build their competency and security in practical knowledge early in the
curriculum.

Pedagogical considerations when teaching theoretical

knowledge
The theoretical knowledge that pupils learn in the subject (including the history of art,
craft and design) is vast, abstract and nuanced. This means that when teachers
design and plan activities, they need to be clear about the knowledge want pupils to
learn. Teachers should use the teaching methods that will best enable pupils to know
and remember this content in the long term.

Teachers need to consider which approaches will focus pupils’ attention on the
ideas, concepts and principles they want them to learn. Directing pupils’ attention in
this way makes it more likely that pupils will learn the important ideas in the theoretical
domain.[footnote 121] Some approaches that may help teachers to focus pupils’
attention include:

using technology to isolate portions of the art, craft or design work that illustrate the
content they want pupils to learn. For example, when teaching knowledge about
pointillist styles of painting, the teacher could use technology to select the distinct
dots of colour in Paul Signac’s ‘Femmes au Puits’ (1892) and contrast these with
the pixels and subpixels of colour on a computer monitor
highlighting connections, similarities and conflicts in art, craft or design work that
may not be immediately apparent to pupils. For example, teachers in key stage 2
or 3 may explain the connections between artefacts from Baule and Guro cultures
of what is today Côte d’Ivoire, and the work of European artists such as Amedeo
Modigliani. Teachers may highlight that the ‘intentions’ of the objects in their
indigenous context differ from the ‘intention’ of the European artwork, even though
the former has influenced the latter
juxtaposing 2 pieces of art in a deliberate way, explaining and asking pupils about
their similarities and differences. For example, teachers at key stage 3 might
juxtapose 2 pieces by Bridget Riley, such as ‘Pink Landscape’ (1960) and ‘Kiss’
(1961). They could then show how Riley’s art shifted from using small patches of
colour to represent tonal shift in her earlier work, to using stark contrasting shapes
in her later work
using analogies or stories to draw pupils’ attention to specific developments in
technology, materials and processes that have been used by artists, designers,
and craft-makers. For example, teachers might use stories about the origins of 2
different examples of textiles, such as the Bayeux Tapestry and Grayson Perry’s
tapestry series ‘The Vanity of Small Differences’. Teachers can use these stories
to focus pupils’ attention on how each piece was created. For example, they might
emphasise the way Perry used computer-controlled machines to create his
tapestry work

Pedagogical considerations when teaching

disciplinary knowledge
While theoretical knowledge is about specific forms and works of art, disciplinary
knowledge is about the way that art conceives of itself as a discipline (see
‘Disciplinary knowledge’ section. This means that disciplinary knowledge is not bound
to specific artworks, media or areas of making. As discussed in the curriculum
section, to learn disciplinary knowledge, pupils must already have secure knowledge
of enough concrete examples to support knowledge of more abstract concepts.
Insights from cognitive science highlight the way that pupils’ rich and diverse
schemas lay the groundwork for their future learning. When pupils learn something
new, or carry out complex operations, they draw on these webs of knowledge.[footnote
122] When teachers plan a classroom activity to teach disciplinary knowledge, for

example, a discussion about the nature of art, they need to be very clear about which
concrete examples they require pupils to use. It is likely that pupils will have learned
these concrete examples earlier in the curriculum.
When teachers want pupils to learn disciplinary knowledge about art, craft and
design, they may wish to take them on trips and to events. This will show pupils what
kind of art, craft and design work is currently being created and celebrated in
galleries, industry and the fields of new and emergent technology. Teachers may
therefore plan alternative sites for learning, such as galleries, exhibitions, community
projects and/or the studios of practising artists, designers and craft-makers.[footnote
123] They may also plan activities that teach pupils about the ‘real-life’ roles, jobs and

work of critics, commentators and curators. These sorts of activities give pupils a
broader appreciation of contemporary art, craft and design, to help them overcome
misconceptions about the subject. However, they rely on pupils already having the
knowledge necessary to make sense of the experience.

As discussed previously, disciplinary knowledge also develops pupils’ capacity to

interpret art.[footnote 124] Although disciplinary knowledge includes some of the most
abstract concepts in the subject, it is also closely related to the human condition and
to human experiences. Once teachers have planned the concepts in the curriculum
that they want pupils to learn, they can choose explanations and activities that
connect these concepts to pupils’ own experiences. In this way, pupils’ everyday
knowledge, ideas, representations of the world and experiences can help them to
learn concepts in the subject. The activities are effective because they help pupils
remember this important content by explicitly connecting it to the experiences they
have in their everyday lives.[footnote 125] For instance:

Teachers can use ‘in the moment’ questioning to draw out examples of pupils’
experiences of abstract concepts. They can then choose the best examples to
illustrate aspects of the concept being taught. For example, teachers could ask
pupils studying Kehinde Wiley’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ series of paintings to bring
examples of family photographs. The pupils could then see how these compare
and contrast with traditional forms of portraiture, to consider the concept of
portraiture in Wiley’s paintings.
Teachers may use examples of curriculum content that pupils have remembered
from other areas of the curriculum, such as history, religious education (RE) and
geography, to explain connections that might exist across different places, periods
of time, traditions of thought and human practices. For example, teachers may
refer to curriculum content from history and/or RE that explores concepts of
‘church’, ‘state’ and ‘society’ when studying Bruegel’s ‘The Fight Between Carnival
and Lent’.
Teachers may find out about pupils’ own values and assumptions about worth,
value and richness when exploring how artists, craft-makers and designers
incorporate other ideas about worth, value and richness in their work. For example,
teachers may compare Andy Warhol’s ‘Dollar Sign’ series of prints (which
communicate that the owner of the work literally has money) with Holbein’s ‘The
Ambassadors’ (which, in addition to the trappings of wealth, uses images of a
globe, lute and scientific equipment to communicate wealth of culture and
education). Pupils can then use these examples to reflect on what they associate
with wealth and success.
Teachers may ask pupils to reflect on their own interests, passions and
experiences so that they can incorporate these into their personal responses. This
is likely to happen at the point in the curriculum journey when teachers are helping
pupils to work towards divergent end points. For example, at key stage 4, teachers
may use a textiles activity to illustrate how folds, ways of joining fabrics, or leaving
fabrics unattached could be used to express pupils’ own experiences of concepts
in a theme such as ‘apart or together’.

These examples show how teachers can draw on pupils’ experiences and
knowledge when choosing appropriate activities to teach disciplinary knowledge. In
doing so, teachers’ ‘in the moment’ classroom teaching enables pupils to make
further connections between complex and abstract subject ideas, and to see how
they may fit within the entangled relationship between art and human life.
Supporting pupils with special educational needs
and/or disabilities
Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is an umbrella term, and the
needs and/or disabilities of individual pupils can differ significantly. It would be
inappropriate to adopt a single, generic approach to SEND in the art classroom.
Nevertheless, it is important that the art curriculum is ambitious for all children and
pupils. Pupils with the most complex needs may require curricular goals to be
adapted for them. But the aims and specified end points set out in the national
curriculum apply to all.

The general principles from research into effective teaching outlined in this review
are just as relevant for pupils with SEND, whether they are learning art and design or
any other subject. Research shows that pupils with SEND do not generally benefit
from differentiated teaching, activities or resources to achieve a curriculum goal.
[footnote 126] Differentiation is not the same as targeted teaching to break down or

reinforce aspects of the curriculum, for example repetition of important knowledge.

Some pupils may therefore need to learn and practise different components of the
curriculum when studying the same content areas.

It is particularly important for teachers to be mindful of theories of cognitive load

when working with pupils who have additional needs or face barriers to learning.
[footnote 127] Our previous research highlighted how children struggle to retain

knowledge and develop schemas if their working memory is overloaded.[footnote 128] It

may be useful for teachers to isolate the important aspects of a piece of work when
teaching the works of artists, craft-makers and designers.[footnote 129]

Sometimes, teachers unnecessarily lower their expectations for pupils with SEND.
For example, they remove parts of the art curriculum instead of adapting them so that
pupils with SEND can study the same areas as other pupils. Art educators have
suggested that, when introducing pupils to the works of contemporary artists, it can
be useful to start with works that have identifiable subject matter rather than less
concrete imagery.[footnote 130] This supports pupils who struggle to make sense of
abstract ideas, while enabling them to study the same works of contemporary artists
as their peers.

Teachers should think carefully about which teaching approaches and activities are
both subject-specific and will enable all pupils, including pupils with SEND, to learn
and to remember what they have been taught in the long term.[footnote 131] For
example:

teachers can consider the most appropriate medium for exploring and recording
pupils’ ideas about specific content, such as in written, photographic, film or sound
form. In all cases, when teachers choose the medium, they need to make sure that
the medium itself does not require excessive additional (and perhaps untaught)
knowledge about how it works, which would distract pupils from the task
teachers may provide an alternative, quieter space for some pupils with specific
sensory needs to complete expressive tasks such as a complex painting
teachers may provide pupils who work from wheelchairs or other modified seating
with a vertical easel, so that they are able to access their artwork easily
[straightforwardly]
when teaching painting with acrylics, teachers can adapt tasks for pupils with visual
impairments, such as getting them to touch and feel the paint to help them learn
the specific properties of acrylic paints

Recent research has drawn attention to the idea of ‘ability’ in art education, and what it
means for teachers and educators.[footnote 132] Much of the discussion considers the
implications of words such as ‘disability’ and ‘ableism’ for teacher practice. As a
related matter, some writers have also noted that it is important for all pupils to have a
range of positive role models included in the curriculum. As discussed previously
(see ‘Curriculum’ section’), pupils should learn about as broad a range of artists as
possible. Leaders of art may consider including specific artists such as Yinka
Shonibare, Nnena Kalu or Linda Bell in the curriculum.[footnote 133]

Based on the above, high-quality art and design

education may have the following features:
pedagogical choices are designed to develop the particular practical,
theoretical and disciplinary knowledge intended in each lesson
classroom activities are clear about what is to be learned (the curriculum
object) and enable pupils to practise it
teaching approaches take account of pupils’ level of expertise
when pupils learn techniques for the first time, teachers make sure they
have enough opportunities to practise crucial components of these
techniques
as pupils become more proficient in areas of practical knowledge,
classroom activities become increasingly varied and open ended
teachers direct pupils’ attention to the main concepts, themes and ideas
that they are exploring
when learning in other locations, such as galleries, pupils have enough
prior knowledge to make these experiences meaningful
teachers make subject-specific adaptations to activities for pupils with
SEND, where appropriate, instead of excessive adaptations to the
curriculum or lowering expectations

Assessment

Summary
 High-quality assessment in art and design uses different types of assessment for
different purposes. Formative assessment provides important feedback to
teachers so that they can adapt their teaching if necessary. Summative
assessment checks how much of the art and design curriculum pupils have
learned. To make sure their assessments are valid, teachers need to be clear
about what they are assessing and why they are assessing it. Effective
assessment in art and design uses various forms of information (products) and
provides feedback to pupils in the moment (process). Teachers need to be
mindful of the limitations of summative assessment, especially when making
evaluative judgements about artistic outcomes.

Assessment in art and design

Assessment can be a contentious issue for art educators.[footnote 134] Many have
found that the nature of art and design presents unique challenges.[footnote 135] For
example, if assessment is based on aesthetic judgement, this raises questions about
the basis of those judgements (how valid the assessment judgement is) and the
extent to which those judgements reflect the likes or dislikes of an individual (how
reliable the assessment judgement is). It is important that teachers design
assessment approaches that are sensitive to the nature of subject, but remain both
sufficiently valid and reliable.[footnote 136] It is important to note that there is no
absolute validity and reliability, not least because, in art and design, issues about
subjectivity can challenge both the validity and reliability of assessment practices.
Aspects of art such as ‘creativity’, ‘authenticity’ and ‘personal responses’ are often
associated with ‘inner processes’. As a result, many teachers feel that assessing
these is counterintuitive or overly difficult.[footnote 137] What is most important is that
the assessment fulfils its purpose.

Formative assessment
Formative assessment, sometimes known as assessment for learning, plays an
important role in providing feedback to pupils and teachers.[footnote 138] It helps
teachers to assess whether pupils know what has been taught, and tells pupils what
they could improve. Formative assessment approaches that are based around
dialogue between teachers and pupils is particularly beneficial when pupils learn
practical knowledge.[footnote 139] This type of feedback focuses on improvement in the
immediate task. It identifies ways that pupils can modify and refine the way they are
applying component knowledge. Effective dialogue between teachers and pupils is
likely to be timely, frequent and bite size.[footnote 140]

Importantly, the form or type of assessment has to be appropriate for checking

whether pupils have learned the components of the art, craft and design curriculum.
The form of knowledge can determine whether the assessment type is appropriate.
[footnote 141] For instance:

at primary level, teachers could check pupils’ written work to see if they have used
the words for formal elements of art correctly (practical knowledge). They might
also use formative assessment of pupils’ knowledge when re-showing images of
artworks previously studied in the curriculum, to check whether pupils remember
the artists (theoretical knowledge)
at secondary level, low-stakes quizzing can help teachers to establish whether
pupils can correctly identify a particular type of stitch (practical knowledge), or
know elements of art history (theoretical knowledge). The same assessment
technique would be less appropriate for checking pupils’ grasp of aesthetic value
 and judgement (disciplinary knowledge)

There are a variety of subject-specific ways that teachers can check whether pupils
have grasped individual components of practical knowledge in the art, craft and
design curriculum. This assessment does not have to be limited to producing a ‘final
piece’.[footnote 142] Some of the ways teachers can check whether pupils have learned
components include:[footnote 143]

explanatory notes
excerpts from sketchbooks
vignettes from portfolios
observations of the pupils practising the component
explanations from pupils about practising the component

Teachers can make better inferences about whether pupils have learned
components of the curriculum by aggregating insights from a range of sources. This
also gives them a wider range of opportunities to give feedback to help pupils
improve.

Summative assessment
Assessment can be used for summative purposes (assessment of learning) in art,
craft and design. This serves a different purpose from formative assessment.[footnote
144] The purpose of summative assessment, broadly, is for teachers to determine

how well pupils have learned, over time, what teachers have planned for them to
learn. When pupils have learned the expanding ‘domain’ of the curriculum, they have
made progress. This is what we mean by ‘the curriculum is the progression model’.
[footnote 145]

High-quality assessment in art, craft and design is well calibrated to the content of the
curriculum.[footnote 146] High-quality art curriculums contain practical, theoretical and
disciplinary knowledge. To be effective, summative assessment needs to be able to
determine how well pupils have learned and remembered these different strands of
knowledge over time.

Often, summative assessment in art is linked to a complex final output. When

teachers use these pieces of work for assessment, it is important that they are clear
about what is being assessed.[footnote 147] They must consider how well the pupils
have remembered, and put into practice, the knowledge that is being applied in the
piece.[footnote 148] Teachers can use final pieces to identify which aspects of the
curriculum the pupils have remembered and applied. For example, they can assess:

the elements of practical knowledge applied to the piece, such as texture, colour,
line and tone
the artistic processes used to create the piece, such as how it has been
assembled, the materials, processes and techniques used, and whether these
choices were appropriate
how well the pupil has communicated meaning, for example whether there are
clear links between the methods used and the interests or problems that are the
focus of commentary, or the extent to which the piece conveys insights or
emotions

When pupils complete final pieces, they will also draw on the theoretical and
disciplinary knowledge they have learned in the art, craft and design curriculum.
These forms of knowledge can also be assessed summatively. Sometimes they will
be integrated into portfolio examples alongside the final piece. For example, pupils
may explain their choices by referring to a range of historical or current creators of
art, craft or design.
Teachers can use more simple assessment tasks, such as multiple-choice
questions, to isolate specific aspects of pupils’ knowledge. These might include
vocabulary, particular processes or techniques, or particular pieces (or portions of
pieces) of art, craft or design work. However, these simpler approaches to
assessment may sometimes be a blunter instrument when used to assess more
complex knowledge, for example theoretical knowledge (such as the interpretation of
individual art, craft and design pieces) or disciplinary knowledge (such as exploring
questions about value in art, craft and design).

When the curriculum is treated as the progression model, teachers use summative
assessments to determine how much of the curriculum pupils know and remember.
They can do this by sampling from the knowledge that they expect pupils to retain
through the curriculum journey. Teachers may construct summative assessments that
use a mixture of assessment techniques to identify how much of the art curriculum
pupils have remembered overall. It is important that summative assessments take
place at sufficiently long intervals to allow time for enough curriculum content to be
taught and learned.[footnote 149]

Based on the above, high-quality art and design

education may have the following features
Formative assessment approaches help teachers to check and accurately
identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge of specific content
Summative assessment is used judiciously and is clear about the forms of
knowledge being assessed

Systems, culture and policies

Summary
 Various factors affect the quality of education in art and design in schools. Some
of these are determined by the culture, systems and policies in that particular
institution. Leaders should be aware of the impact of whole-school policies and
how well they promote high-quality art and design. There are 2 specific areas of
the subject that leaders’ actions can affect significantly. First, school leaders
determine the scope of art and design education, including whether there is an
appropriate amount of art taught in the curriculum. Second, they can promote or
hinder high-quality art and design through the extent to which they develop
teachers’ professional knowledge about the subject. This is important, especially
given the extent to which choices about the content of the art curriculum depend
on teachers’ discretion and expertise.

Do leaders’ actions support art and design through

subject-specificity?
The school’s systems and policies can have a negative effect on art and design
education if they do not take into account the aspects of subject education that are
specific to art and design. For example, whole-school teaching strategies or
assessment practices are likely to be too generic to capture the forms of knowledge
that pupils build through the art and design curriculum. In some cases, the models
underpinning these approaches are based on core subjects. They use pedagogical
or assessment approaches that are incompatible (or less compatible) with the forms
of progress in art and design.[footnote 150]

Leaders can avoid this issue by ensuring that their curriculum, pedagogy and
assessment policies, procedures and practices can be adapted to specific subjects.
This allows subject leaders to apply their subject knowledge to the school context.
School leaders can also avoid this issue by making sure they understand how pupils
make progress in art and design. This will help to inform subject-specific discussions
with subject leaders.

Do leaders prioritise art and design sufficiently?

School leaders who want to develop an ambitious art, craft and design curriculum
need to consider whether they have allowed enough time for the subject. This is
important if pupils are to learn a school curriculum that at least meets the high-level
outcomes of the national curriculum. Concerns about the amount of curriculum time
given to art, craft and design are not unwarranted. Research has found that a majority
of primary school teachers think there is insufficient emphasis on the arts.[footnote 151]

School leaders in primary and secondary schools have to balance many subjects in
the timetabled curriculum. Whether they choose to teach art discretely or integrate it
with other subject areas, leaders can make informed decisions when they recognise
that:

they must plan adequate time for art, craft and design. This will give pupils the
opportunity to encounter and re-encounter key learning across the subject
curriculum
content in primary school art, craft and design is often linked and connected with
content from other subjects, such as mathematics, religious education and history.
In secondary schools, art, craft and design might be blended into work around
well-being in personal, social and health education. A well-sequenced curriculum
can help pupils make links and connections between different subject areas. But
there are risks to the quality of art, craft and design when they are taught in
carousel or lumped together with all content in the visual and performance
 curriculum
lengthier blocks of time given over to art and design can make up for the teaching
time given over to ‘housekeeping’, such as cleaning, organising and maintaining
equipment
removing art from the timetabled curriculum and teaching it optionally through after-
school clubs does not give all pupils an equal opportunity to learn a full art, craft
and design curriculum. This risks giving pupils a narrow curriculum

Do leaders ensure that there is sufficient support for

teachers, including non-specialists?
Subject knowledge is important. Research has explored the development of
teachers’ subject knowledge about art, craft and design, particularly in primary
education.[footnote 152] Many art and design teachers may be practising artists. This
enriches and supports their work as teachers and continually promotes their own
learning. However, school leaders need to ensure that they give teachers and subject
leaders enough time and support to develop their subject content knowledge and
pedagogical content knowledge. If teachers lack this knowledge, they will struggle to
provide a rich, subject-specific curriculum that develops pupils’ knowledge and
capacities.[footnote 153]

Challenges at primary level include teachers’ confidence levels. Some research

suggests that around two thirds of primary trainees did not feel confident about
teaching arts subjects.[footnote 154] Other research has highlighted limitations in initial
teacher education provision to help trainees develop the subject-specific content and
pedagogical content knowledge they need for art teaching.[footnote 155]

Based on the above, high-quality art and design

education may have the following features
School leaders understand how pupils make progress in art and design.
This enables them to offer art teachers appropriate challenge and support
School policies are not unnecessarily generic. They enable leaders to
match the curriculum, pedagogical practice, and assessment to the
subject. This makes sure pupils can learn the subject-specific forms of
knowledge in art and design
Teachers have enough professional development opportunities to acquire
a wide range of knowledge about art education that will inform ongoing
curriculum development. They also have opportunities to improve their
pedagogical content knowledge about ways of making and teaching art and
design
There is enough time in the timetable for teachers to teach an ambitious
curriculum that empowers pupils to build broad, rich and detailed
knowledge in art and design

Conclusion
In this review, we have shown that the content of the curriculum really matters, just as
much as the pedagogical approaches to teaching it and the experiences of pupils
learning it. The content of the curriculum affects the quality of art, craft and design
education. By making sure the art, craft and design curriculum has sufficient scope,
coherence and rigour, educators and curriculum designers can improve the quality of
subject education in this area.

This review rests on the assumption that there are both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons
for studying art and design. We have explored the inherent value in studying art and
design, and the belief that all children are better for having studied the subject. We
also recognise that the art, craft and design curriculum enables pupils who may move
into a professional contexts, and how this is supported by a well-sequenced
curriculum that builds towards complexity.

High-quality art, craft and design curriculums work towards end goals that are defined
clearly. These end goals are ambitious when they reflect the complexity and diversity
of the subject matter. School leaders can support teachers and subject leaders with
sufficient training and support that is appropriately attuned to the curriculum. A high-
quality curriculum in art, craft and design, together with teachers who have sufficient
expertise to teach it well, enables pupils to develop sophisticated knowledge about
subject content, as well as love of a subject that is genuinely fascinating and a source
of inspiration.

The vastness, plurality and richness of the subject can sometimes present
challenges for subject leaders and curriculum planners. Leaders can mitigate these
challenges by making clear decisions, based on subject-specific reasons, about
what to include in the curriculum. In art and design curriculums of the highest quality,
leaders will engage intellectually with complexities at the heart of the subject, and, on
that basis, will make thoughtful and sensitive decisions about curriculum construction.

This review sets out a broad conception of curriculum quality that draws on art
education research, as well as traditions and associated pedagogies from art history,
art criticism, aesthetics and art practice. We hope that the way that we have shown
how these elements can come together in high-quality subject education will be
useful to curriculum leaders and designers who are thinking through what is
necessary to achieve high-quality art, craft and design education.

1. In this research review, we use the term ‘art’ to refer collectively to the curriculum
content and related pedagogy that could be used in teaching ‘art and design’ and
‘art, craft and design’ as school subjects. Our starting point for what constitutes this
subject is the national curriculum in England. It also relates to all phases of learning
from the early years to post-16 study of the subject. This broad, collective and
inclusive use of the term also reflects the way that teachers differently interpret
official definitions of the subject and that teachers’ understanding of the subject
may be seen to be ‘fluid and vernacular’. See P Thompson and L Maloy, ‘The
benefits of art, craft and design education in schools: a rapid evidence review’,
National Society for Education in Art and Design, February 2022, page 10.↩
2. ‘Making a mark’, Ofsted, March 2012.↩
3. ‘Amanda Spielman’s speech at the 2022 ASCL Annual Conference’, Ofsted,
March 2022.↩
4. ‘School inspection handbook’, Ofsted, July 2022.↩
5. ‘Principles behind Ofsted’s research reviews and subject reports’, Ofsted, March
2021.↩
6. ‘Education inspection framework: overview of research’, Ofsted, January 2019;
‘Curriculum research: assessing intent, implementation and impact’, Ofsted,
December 2018, ‘HMCI commentary: curriculum and the new education inspection
framework’, Ofsted, September 2018; ‘HMCI’s commentary: recent primary and
secondary curriculum research’ Ofsted, October 2017.↩
7. N Walton, ‘There are no formal elements’, in ‘Debates in Art and Design
Education’, edited by N Addison and L Burgess, Routledge, 2020, page 77.↩
8. ‘Education inspection framework (EIF)’, Ofsted, May 2019.↩
 9. M Szpakowski, ‘On art and knowledge’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design
Education’, Volume 38, Issue 1, 2019, page 10. Note also that Lindström explores
the purpose of art education and argues that the importance of the subject goes
beyond generic skills and character development, for example art as therapy. See
L Lindström, ‘Art education for understanding: Goodman, Arts PROPEL, and
DBAE’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 13, Issue 2,
1994, pages 189 to 201.↩
10. Education Act 2002 and Academies Act 2010.↩
11. ‘Education inspection framework (EIF)’, Ofsted, May 2019.↩
12. ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’, Department for
Education, September 2021, page 8.↩
13. ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’, Department for
Education, September 2021, page 10.↩
14. See ‘National curriculum’, Department for Education.↩
15. Cooper’s 2018 report for the Fabian Society highlighted the overall decrease in
arts education (where the ‘arts’ were understood to include art (and design), music,
drama and dance). The report suggested that there was insufficient emphasis on
the subject: ‘a majority of teachers in England (59 percent) believe their school
does not give enough emphasis to the arts’. See B Cooper, ‘Primary colours: the
decline of arts education in primary schools and how it can be reversed’, Fabian
Society Report, 2018. See also P Thompson and L Maloy, ‘The benefits of art,
craft and design education in schools: a rapid evidence review’, National Society
for Education in Art and Design, February 2022, p.14↩
16. C Farquharson, L Sibieta, I Tahir and B Waltman, ‘Annual report on education
spending in England’, Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2021.↩
17. Our own research highlighted the problem of curriculum narrowing, especially in
upper key stage 2, with lessons disproportionately focused on English and
mathematics. See ‘HMCI commentary: curriculum and the new education
inspection framework’, Ofsted, September 2018. See also P Thompson and L
Maloy, ‘The benefits of art, craft and design education in schools: a rapid evidence
review’, National Society for Education in Art and Design, February 2022, p.14↩
18. B Cooper, ‘Primary colours: the decline of arts education in primary schools and
how it can be reversed’, Fabian Society Report, 2018, page 11.↩
19. ‘School workforce in England, reporting year 2021’, Department for Education,
June 2022. Notably, in this data set, teachers were counted once against each
subject and key stage they taught, irrespective of the time spent teaching.
Therefore, teachers may be counted against multiple subjects and key stages so
sums of these categories will be greater than the number of secondary school
teachers. See also a report by the Cultural Learning Alliance that cited headcount
of teachers in art and design as 13,200 in 2021 and 12,160 in 2020: ‘Hours of arts
teaching and number of arts teachers in England’s secondary schools continue
stable after years of decline’, Cultural Learning Alliance, June 2021.↩
20. ‘School workforce in England, reporting year 2021’, Department for Education,
June 2022.↩
21. A report by the Cultural Learning Alliance cited the number of recorded hours in
the November of 2010 as 159,800 and the number of recorded hours in
November of 2020 as 138,136. This reflected a percentage change of -14%
between 2010 and 2020. The report also noted a slight increase of +2% between
2019 and 2020. ‘Hours of arts teaching and number of arts teachers in England’s
secondary schools continue stable after years of decline’, Cultural Learning
Alliance, June 2021.↩
22. ‘GCSE, applied GCSE and entry level certificate results summer 2010’, Joint
Council for Qualifications, August 2010, page 38; ‘Provisional GCSE (full course)
results – summer 2022’, Joint Council for Qualifications, June 2022. Notably, JCQ
 caveats this provisional data with this statement: ‘Comparisons to previous years
should be approached with caution’.↩
23. ‘GCSE, Entry Level, GNVQ Results Summer 2002’, Joint Council for
Qualifications, Summer 2002, p.37.↩
24. ‘GCSE, Entry Level, GNVQ Results Summer 2002’, Joint Council for
Qualifications, Summer 2002, p.37; ‘GCSE, applied GCSE and entry level
certificate results summer 2010’, Joint Council for Qualifications, August 2010,
page 38; ‘Provisional GCSE (full course) results – summer 2022’, Joint Council for
Qualifications, June 2022. Notably, JCQ caveats this provisional data with this
statement: ‘Comparisons to previous years should be approached with caution’.↩
25. ‘DCMS economic estimates 2019 (provisions): gross value added’, Department
for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, December 2020.↩
26. ‘Employability and enterprise: briefing paper 2’, Cultural Learning Alliance, 2018,
page 2.↩
27. ‘School inspection handbook’, Ofsted, July 2022.↩
28. ‘School inspection handbook’, Ofsted, July 2022, paragraph 203.↩
29. ‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department
for Education, September 2013.↩
30. For instance, it does not set out how key stage 1 content (for example, ‘use a
range of materials creatively to design and make products’) connects and builds to
key stage 2 content (for example, ‘develop their techniques, including their control
and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation, and an increasing
awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design’), to culminate in key stage 3
study (for example, ‘develop their creativity and ideas, and increase proficiency in
their execution. They should develop a critical understanding of artists, architects,
and designers, expressing reasoned judgements that can inform their own work’).
See ‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’,
Department for Education, September 2013.↩
31. Ross, for instance, highlights that a lack of understanding of what is being taught
makes it challenging to ‘identify where they might be on a sequence, as it does not
easily translate into a criterion for achievement or attainment’. M Ross, ‘National
curriculum art and music’, National Society for Education in Art and Design, 1995.↩
32. The EIF considers a curriculum that contain sufficient knowledge and skills that
would amount to a high standards of subject education, given that it is impossible
to cover everything, it has implication for the specific content and concepts which
are taught in art and design. See ‘Education inspection framework: overview of
research’, Ofsted, January 2019.↩
33. B Green ‘Revisiting the conceptual domain’, in International Journal of Art & Design
Education 2021↩
34. Reference to discipline-based art education: see G A Clark, ‘Examining discipline-
based art education as a curriculum construct’, ERIC Clearinghouse, 1991. See
also M Day, ‘Discipline-based art education secondary classrooms’, in ‘Studies in
Art Education’, Volume 28, Issue 4, 1987, pages 234 to 242. See also W D
Greer, ‘Discipline-based art education: approaching art as a subject of study’, in
‘Studies in Art Education’, Volume 25, Issue 4, 1984, pages 212 to 218.↩
35. For instance, Elliot Eisner’s work highlights the importance of 3 domains of
learning in art education (productive, critical and cultural) which overlap in many
ways with the domains of the practical, theoretical and disciplinary that we have
highlighted. See E Eisner ‘Educating artistic vision’, Macmillan, 1997, page 65.↩
36. L Lindström, ‘Aesthetic learning about, in, with and through the arts: a curriculum
study’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 31, Issue 2,
2012, pages 166 to 179.↩
37. ‘Education inspection framework (EIF)’, Ofsted, May 2019.↩
38. M Londesborough, ‘Knowledge: a dirty word in arts education ?’, Royal Society for
Arts, 2018.↩
39. ‘School inspection handbook’, Ofsted, July 2022, paragraph 222.↩
40. R A Smith, ‘The changing image of art education: theoretical antecedents of
discipline-based art education’, in ‘Journal of Aesthetic Education’, Volume 21,
Issue 2, 1987, pages 3 to 34.↩
41. R A Smith, ‘The changing image of art education: theoretical antecedents of
discipline-based art education’, in ‘Journal of Aesthetic Education’, Volume 21,
Issue 2, 1987, pages 3 to 34.↩
42. ‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department
for Education, September 2013.↩
43. ‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department
for Education, September 2013.↩
44. L Lindström makes a distinction between convergent and divergent goals in art
education. His work is influenced by Guildford’s theory of creativity which envisions
that multiple solutions to a problem lay at the core of creativity. Lindström suggests
that when pupils possess some knowledge, it can lead to goals that are ‘already
known’, such as knowing that mixing red and yellow makes orange. These are
known as ‘convergent’ goals. Other goals are ‘divergent’, where knowledge is
acquired for unknown results, such as how colour can depict and change mood.
See L Lindström, ‘Aesthetic learning about, in, with and through the arts: a
curriculum study’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 31,
Issue 2, 2012, pages 166 to 179.↩
45. Lonsdale explains that ‘school is not interested in preserving the child’s ability to
express herself in the way she already can, but in providing the dexterity, the
vocabulary, the knowledge with which she might go beyond instinct, accident and
play and be expressive in ways that can resonate more deeply with others’. M
Londesborough, ‘Knowledge: a dirty word in arts education?’, Royal Society for
Arts, 2018.↩
46. Green highlights that ‘If art students, too, are to stand on the shoulders of giants,
they must have access to the reservoir of knowledge that organises their
discipline. This kind of organised knowledge cannot be acquired piecemeal by, for
example, browsing the Internet, it requires a structure like a school curriculum’.
See B Green, ‘Revisiting the conceptual domain’, in ‘International Journal of Art &
Design Education’, Volume 40, Issue 2, 2021, pages 436 to 448.↩
47. The National Society for Education in Art and Design sets out more detailed
guidance to accompany the Department for Education’s art and design national
curriculum. See ‘Parallel curriculum’, National Society for Education in Art and
Design, 2019.↩
48. ‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department
for Education, September 2013.↩
49. ‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department
for Education, September 2013.↩
50. In their review of subject literature, Thompson and Maloy’s review of over 400
pieces of literature in the field of art, craft and design education included the claim
that ‘all skills are underpinned by specialist knowledges, although these may be
tacit or not systematically codified’. See P Thompson and L Maloy, ‘The benefits
of art, craft and design education in schools: a rapid evidence review’, National
Society for Education in Art and Design, February 2022, pages 22 to 23.↩
51. The phrase originates from the scientist and philosopher Michael Polanyi, who
refers to this idea through the phrase ‘we know more than we can tell’. This
corresponds to the assumption that corporal senses and experiences are crucial
for the development and use of tacit knowledge. M Polanyi, ‘The tacit dimension’,
University of Chicago Press, 1983, page 4. See also R Sennett, ‘The craftsman’,
 Yale University Press, 2008, page 178. See also P Thompson and L Maloy, ‘The
benefits of art, craft and design education in schools: a rapid evidence review’,
National Society for Education in Art and Design, February 2022, pages 22 to 23.↩
52. Sennett R. The Craftsman. Yale University Press. 2008 p. 77.↩
53. ‘Making a mark’, Ofsted, March 2012.↩
54. ‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department
for Education, September 2013.↩
55. An international example might be the work of Jolley and Zhang, who explore how
pencil grip to aid controlled lines is an important aspect of the development of fine
motor skills. See R Jolley and Z Zhang, ‘How drawing is taught in Chinese infant
schools’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 31, Issue 1,
2012, pages 30 to 43.↩
56. A range of researchers and theorists suggest that mark making can be intentionally
acquired by children. They claim that when toddlers learn to draw, they proceed
through a sequence of dynamic circles, dynamic verticals and enclosed space
‘shapes’. See C Athey, ‘Extending thought in young children: a parent teacher
partnership’, SAGE Publications, 1990, pages 61 to 63.↩
57. Anning highlights the crucial shift that children make from random marks to using
marks and symbolic systems and semiotic codes as a result of feedback and
recognition: See A Anning, ‘Learning to draw and drawing to learn’, in ‘International
Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 18, Issue 2, 1999, pages 163 to
172.↩
58. Elements and principles of art and design. Arthur Dow is originally cited for having
introduced such specific principles into the teaching of art, which influenced
modernist approaches to teaching throughout the twentieth century. See A Dow,
‘Composition’, Dover Publications, 1913.↩
59. M Cox, D Griffin and G Cooke, ‘Teaching children to draw in the infants’,
International Journal of Art & Design Education, Volume 14, Issue 2, 1995, pages
153 to 163. The study suggests that pupils need language of shape, scale,
placement and orientation to adequately engage in teacher–child interaction, such
as discussing the process of drawing, making judgements or evaluating, and
providing or receiving tuition.↩
60. Eisner highlights that while techniques are a kind of habitual motor skill, we also
must acknowledge that technical skills do not operate independently. Pupils’
repertoire of techniques is broadened as a result of them learning about the
‘qualitative relationships of materials which can be guided by aesthetic
considerations. See E Eisner, ‘The arts and the creation of the mind’, Yale
University Press, 2002, pages 109 to 110.↩
61. Willingham highlights that in order for anything to be remembered, it requires
effortful thought and attention be given to it. Therefore, in order for pupils to
acquire the components of an art curriculum, pupils attention is a necessary
condition. D Willingham, ‘What will improve a students memory?’, American
Educator, 2008.↩
62. M Cox, D Griffin and G Cooke, ‘Teaching children to draw in the infants’,
International Journal of Art & Design Education, Volume 14, Issue 2, 1995, pages
153 to 163. This article suggests the importance of tuition for all children, as
drawing a skill not naturally acquired. The article highlights that even those
recognised as great artists required tuition and instruction to get to ‘grips with basic
drawing techniques to give expression’. Also see B Edwards, ‘Drawing on the right
side of the brain’, HarperCollins, 1979, page 3.↩
63. Research shows that in China, 3 hours a week was dedicated to art and design in
infant school. See R Jolley and Z Zhang, ‘How drawing is taught in Chinese infant
schools’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 31, Issue 1,
2012, pages 30 to 43. This differs to studies that highlight significantly less
teaching time, highlighting the constraint it places on teaching the curriculum. See
 E W Eisner and M D Day (editors), ‘Handbook of research and policy in Art
Education’, Routledge, 2004, page 478. See also E Eisner, ‘Educating artistic
vision’, Macmillan, 1997, page 159.↩
64. Some art educators, for instance, make distinctions within drawing traditions in the
following way: traditional (drawing as skilful copying of nature or pre-established
models), modern (drawing as experimentation with formal elements and the
development of an individual expressive style) and contemporary (drawing as a
performance or social activity which questions the boundaries of art and non-art).
Here, the term ‘contemporary’ is not intended to be used in its ordinary, literal
sense, but is used here to mark out an approach to art which calls into question
received artistic conventions and institutional frames. In drawing, examples might
include drawing as performance or as a collaborative act beyond the confines of a
classroom or gallery. For the 3-fold distinction of traditional, modern and
contemporary, see N Walton, ‘There are no formal elements’, in ‘Debates in art
education’, edited by N Addison and L Burgess, Routledge, 2020, page 72.↩
65. R Glaser, ‘Thoughts on expertise’, ERIC Clearinghouse, 1985.↩
66. Concerning the way that artists ‘draw on personal experience and on the work of
colleagues and predecessors and make creative decisions based on a wealth of
expertise and conceptual understanding’, Bridget Green comments that ‘art
education in schools has become divorced from this knowledge-rich tradition and
tends to emphasise practical skills over declarative knowledge in ways that mystify
practice, maintain misconceptions and exclude many students from accessing this
realm’. See B Green, ‘Revisiting the conceptual domain’, in ‘International Journal of
Art & Design Education’, Volume 40, Issue 2, 2021, pages 436 to 448.↩
67. L Cunliffe, ‘Forms of knowledge in art education and the corollary of authenticity in
the teaching and assessment of such forms of knowledge’, in ‘International Journal
of Art & Design Education’, Volume 24, Issue 2, 2005, pages 199 to 208.↩
68. Cunliffe comments: ‘As art is always part of a historically specific community, art
education needs to engage with the way art practices are embedded in socio-
cultural matrices constituted by ‘knowing how’ and ‘knowing that’. Anything less than
this approach will have the tendency to lead art education back to the dualistic
thinking and essentialism that has been responsible for misrepresenting the way
human beings make and understand art.’ L Cunliffe, ‘Forms of knowledge in art
education and the corollary of authenticity in the teaching and assessment of such
forms of knowledge’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume
24, Issue 2, 2005, pages 199 to 208.↩
69. For instance, research found that in art-rich schools (in contrast to the findings in a
random selection of schools) the curriculum included a wide range of art forms,
including by female and global artists. By contrast, findings from a random
selection of schools suggested the art curriculum mainly focused on male,
European artists with little content on contemporary art. See D Downing and R
Watson, ‘School art. What’s in it? Exploring visual art in secondary schools’,
National Foundation for Educational Research, 2004, page 25.↩
70. E Eisner, ‘Educating artistic vision’, Macmillan, 1972, pages 64 to 71.↩
71. E Eisner, ‘Educating artistic vision’, Macmillan, 1972, pages 67 to 68.↩
72. Chila Kumari Singh Burman, ‘If There is No Struggle, There is No Progress –
Uprisings’ (etching, lithograph and paint on paper), Tate Archive, 1981 © Chila
Kumari Burman.↩
73. David Adjaye, ‘Gwangju River Reading Room’, Adjaye Associates, 2013.↩
74. This highlights one key difference between theoretical and disciplinary knowledge
in art, craft and design. Theoretical knowledge in art, as we have defined it, is
mainly linked to ‘knowledge and understanding of the artform and its context’.
However, disciplinary knowledge as we have defined it is more concerned with ‘the
development of pupils’ ability to view and understand an artistic product’. In
particular, disciplinary knowledge refers ‘specifically to the growth in capacities to
 interpret or ‘decode’ artistic products’. J Harland, K Kinder, P Lord, A Stott, I
Schagen, J Haynes and others, ‘Arts education in secondary schools: effects and
effectiveness’, National Foundation for Educational Research, 2000, pages 40 and
51.↩
75. Greer suggests that art education ‘is grounded in a number of disciplines, namely,
the disciplines of artistic creation, the history of art, art criticism, and aesthetics’. W
Greer, ‘A discipline-based view of art education: approaching art as a subject of
study’, in ‘Studies in Art Education’, Volume 25, Issue 4, 1984, pages 212 to
218.↩
76. See J Harland, K Kinder, P Lord, A Stott, I Schagen, J Haynes and others, ‘Arts
education in secondary schools: effects and effectiveness’, National Foundation
for Educational Research, 2000, page 51.↩
77. For instance, Allison and Hausman comment that although the inclusion of
theoretical content in art education is well established in the UK and US, there are
limitations to approaches which only seek to find ‘fixed, all-encompassing
generalisations’. They say that art theories should ‘balance their coherence with a
multiplicity of competing emphases and differing circumstances’. B Allison and J
Hausman, ‘The limits of theory in art education’, in ‘International Journal of Art &
Design Education’, Volume 17, Issue 2, 1998, page 126. Content that prompts
pupils to wrestle with contested and debated ideas in art is precisely what
disciplinary knowledge is all about.↩
78. Walton states that teachers ‘need a critical awareness of the historicity of the
subject, to be aware of blind spots, biases and exclusions’ because this is itself
essential to understanding the subject. See N Walton, ‘There are no formal
elements’, in ‘Debates in art and design education’, edited by N Addison and L
Burgess, Routledge, 2020.↩
79. Greer says, ‘The notions about a discipline embodied in practice within particular
roles do not refer to particular people or models, but instead to the manner of
thinking and acting generally ascribed to the prototypical aesthetician, artist, art
historian, and art critic.’ W Greer, ‘Discipline-based art education: approaching art
as a subject of study’, in national art education association, Volume 25, Issue 4,
1984, page 214.↩
80. ‘School inspection handbook’, Ofsted, July 2022, paragraph 222.↩
81. Our education inspection framework draws upon the insights of cognitive science.
The development of expertise is considered to be made possible because pupils
draw on the rich and complex schemas (interconnected webs of knowledge) in
their long-term memory. See ‘Education inspection framework: overview of
research’, Ofsted, January 2019.↩
82. The second aim outlined in the national curriculum is to ‘become proficient in
drawing, painting and sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques’.
‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department
for Education, September 2013.↩
83. B Green, ‘Revisiting the conceptual domain’, in ‘International Journal of Art &
Design Education’, Volume 40, Issue 2, 2021, pages 436 to 448. See also J
Muller, ‘ On the shoulders of giants: verticality of knowledge and the school
curriculum’, in ‘Knowledge, power and educational reform: applying the sociology
of Basil Bernstein’, edited by R Moore, M Arnot, J Beck and H Daniels, Routledge,
2006, pages 11 to 27.↩
84. C Winch, ‘Curriculum design and epistemic ascent’, in ‘Journal of Philosophy in
Education’, Volume 47, Issue 1, 2013, pages 128 to 46↩
85. A key idea explored in the book and a grounding principle for learning is that ‘all
new learning requires a foundation of prior knowledge’. P Brown, H Roediger and
M McDaniel, ‘Make it stick: the science of successful learning, Harvard University
Press, 2014, pages 5 and 100.↩
86. J Bruner, ‘The process of education’, Harvard University Press, 1960, pages 17 to
 32.↩
87. J Bruner The process of education’, Harvard University Press, 1960, pages 31 to
32.↩
88. E Eisner, ‘Structure and magic in discipline-based art education’, in ‘Journal of Art
and Design Education’, Volume 7, Issue 2, 1988, page 192.↩
89. W Greer, ‘Discipline-based art education: approaching art as a subject of study’, in
‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 25, Issue 4, 1984, pages
212 to 218.↩
90. On the idea of pupils’ own personal and reflexive creativity, see E Eisner, ‘The arts
and the creation of the mind’, Yale University Press, 2002, pages 46 to 69.↩
91. L Lindström, ‘Aesthetic learning about, in, with and through the arts: a curriculum
study’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 31, Issue 2,
2012, pages 166 to 179.↩
92. L Lindström, ‘Aesthetic learning about, in, with and through the arts: a curriculum
study’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 31, Issue 2,
2012, pages 166 to 179. See also R Hickman ‘Critical studies in art and design’,
Intellect, 2005, page 25. See also M Barkan, ‘Transition in art education: changing
conceptions of curriculum content and curriculum’, in ‘Art Education’, Volume 15,
Issue 7, 1962, pages 12 to 18.↩
93. The second aim outlined in the national curriculum is to ‘become proficient in
drawing, painting and sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques’ ‘National
curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department for
Education, September 2013.↩
94. The first aim outlined in the national curriculum is to ‘produce creative work,
exploring their ideas and recording their experiences’. ‘National curriculum in
England: art and design programmes of study’, Department for Education,
September 2013.↩
95. When pupils undertake more complex creative tasks on an informed basis
because of the knowledge they have learned in the art and design curriculum, they
can do so with confidence. Addison refers to this as the creative action that is
made possible as a result of the gradual knowledge of and immersion in the field
of art, craft and design. See N Addison ‘Developing creative potential’, in
‘Understanding art education: engaging reflexively in practice’, by N Addison, L
Burgess, J Steers and J Trowell, Taylor and Francis, 2010, pages 3 to 64. In
addition, Eisner also states, ‘Children who feel a sense of mastery seldom need to
be motivated by a teacher.’ See E Eisner ‘Educating artistic vision’, Macmillan,
1997, page 161.↩
96. Eisner refers to the different forms of representation that children hold about the
world that make meaning possible. See E Eisner, ‘Curriculum and cognition’,
Teachers College Press, 1994, pages 87 to 89.↩
97. Making the case for a discipline-based approach to the subject, Greer states,
‘Activities and skills presented in sequence produce an evolution from naive
(untutored) to a sophisticated (knowledgeable) understanding of art, taking into
account children’s level of maturation and tasks ordered from simple to complex…
The art works of children become examples of concepts learned, in addition to
being expressive efforts.’ W Greer, ‘Discipline-based art education: approaching
art as a subject of study’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’,
Volume 25, Issue 4, 1984, pages 212 to 218. See also W Soep ‘Visualizing
judgement: Self-assessment and peer assessment in arts education’, in E W
Eisner and M D Day (editors), ‘Handbook of research and policy in Art Education’,
Routledge, 2004, pages 667 to 691.↩
98. ‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department
for Education, September 2013. The national curriculum programmes of study for
design and technology, mathematics, music and computing all make reference to
creativity or the creative discipline within the purpose or aims of the subject.
 ‘National curriculum’, Department for Education, October 2013.↩
99. Thompson and Maloy assert, ‘Creativity is often associated with the arts but it is not
the same as the arts.’ They also state, ‘Creative education is a separate field of
research and political activity.’ P Thompson and L Maloy, ‘The benefits of art, craft
and design education in schools: a rapid evidence review’, National Society for
Education in Art and Design, February 2022, page 11. It is particularly important to
recognise when it is clear that various traditions in art problematise or reject certain
dimensions of creativity. For instance, some traditions in art are built around
scepticism about novelty and creativity, such as in some traditions of Islamic art.
Put simply, it would be a misconception to assert that creativity is always and in
every case the goal of art, craft and design.↩
100. P Thompson and L Maloy, ‘The benefits of art, craft and design education in
schools: a rapid evidence review’, National Society for Education in Art and
Design, February 2022, page 11.↩
101. National Advisory Committee on Creative, Cultural Education, Great Britain. Dept.
for Education, Employment, Great Britain. Dept. for Culture, Media and Sport,
1999. All our futures: Creativity, culture & education, page 3.↩
102. ‘Imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcome that are both original and
of value’ National Advisory Committee on Creative, Cultural Education, Great
Britain. Dept. for Education, Employment, Great Britain. Dept. for Culture, Media
and Sport, 1999. All our futures: Creativity, culture & education, pages 31 to 33.
Interestingly, the more recent Durham Commission definition of ‘capacity to
imagine, conceive, express, or make something that was not there before’ picks
up 3 features of the NACCCE’s conception of creativity (using imagination,
pursuing purposes and being original, which it broadly sees as generative modes
of thought), but not the fourth (judging value, which it sees as a ‘reciprocal’ and
‘evaluative’ mode of thought). In this review, pupils’ subject-specific capacities for
evaluating, judging and determining value are considered through the ‘disciplinary’
form of knowledge that pupils build in high-quality art curriculums.↩
103. ‘To gain the knowledge one needs to make creative contributions, one must
develop knowledge and skills within a particular domain in which one is to make
one’s creative contribution.’ J Kaufman, and R Sternberg, ‘The International
Handbook of Creativity’, Cambridge University Press, 2006, page 2. There are of
course proponents on both sides of a much wider debate on whether creativity is
more domain-general or more domain-specific. See, for instance, J Plucker, M
Runco and C Hegarty, ‘Enhancement of creativity’, in ‘Encyclopaedia of creativity’,
Elsevier, 2011, pages 456 to 460; J Baer, ‘The importance of domain-specific
expertise in creativity’, in ‘Roeper Review’, Volume 37, Issue 3, 2015, pages 165
to 178.↩
104. For instance, Tillander writing on art, technology and creativity, reflects on the idea
that creative acts, ideas and products can change existing domains into new
entities. Newer and emerging domains will have, accompanying them, newer
practices that are themselves considered creative: ‘Information technology is
forming a powerful alliance with creative practices in the arts and design to
establish new domains in information technology and creative practices.’ M
Tillander, ‘Creativity, technology, art and pedagogical practices’, in ‘Art Education’,
Volume 64, Issue 1, 2015, page 40.↩
105. N Addison and L Burgess, ‘Learning to teach art and design in the secondary
school: second edition: a companion to school experience’, 2015.↩
106. ‘Education inspection framework: overview of research’, Ofsted, January 2019.↩
107. E Eisner, ‘Structure and magic in discipline-based art education’, in ‘Journal of Art
and Design Education’, Volume 7, Issue 2, 1988, pages 185 to 196.↩
108. Beyond just superficial connections, Eisner notes that the incorporation of art
disciplines in the curriculum can be done in such a way as to ‘illuminate the
relationships between concepts, skills and generalisations’. E Eisner, ‘Structure
and magic in discipline-based art education’, in ‘Journal of Art and Design
 Education’, Volume 7, Issue 2, 1988, pages 185 to 196.↩
109. Anderson writes, ‘Intelligence is the simple accrual of and tuning of many small
units of knowledge that in total produce complex cognition. The whole is no more
than the sum of its parts, but it has a lot of parts.’ See J Anderson ‘A simple theory
of complex cognition’, in ‘American Psychologist’, Volume 51, Issue 4, 1996,
pages 355 to 365.↩
110. ‘National curriculum in England: art and design programmes of study’, Department
for Education, September 2013.↩
111. In their book, Addison and his co-authors note that in school art, creative work is
underpinned by ‘teaching technical procedures and by providing opportunities for
students to imitate, rehearse and consolidate practice through repetition and
limited variation; creative work does not mean that technical competence can be
ignored or overruled in the name of “freedom”’. N Addison, L Burgess, J Steers
and J Trowell, ‘Understanding art education: engaging reflexively with practice’,
Taylor and Francis, 2010, page 45.↩
112. The phrase ‘deliberate practice’ refers to the work of K Ericsson. See K Ericsson,
‘The influence of experience and deliberate practice on the development of
superior expert performance’, in ‘The Cambridge handbook of expertise and
expert performance’, edited by K Ericsson, N Charness, P Feltovich and R
Hoffman, Cambridge University Press, 2012, pages 683 to 704.↩
113. G Miller, ‘The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our
capacity for processing information’, in ‘Psychological Review’, Volume 63, Issue
2, 1956, pages 81 to 97; N Cowan, ‘The magical number 4 in short-term memory:
a reconsideration of mental storage capacity’, in ‘Behavioral and Brain Sciences’,
Volume 24, Issue 1, 2001, pages 87 to 114.↩
114. S Dehaene, ‘How we learn: the new science of education and the brain’, Penguin,
2020↩
115. A Baddeley, ‘Oxford psychology series, No. 11. Working memory’, Clarendon
Press/Oxford University Press, 1986; N Cowan, ‘The magical number 4 in short-
term memory: a reconsideration of mental storage capacity’, in ‘Behavioral and
Brain Sciences’, Volume 24, Issue 1, 2001, pages 87 to 114; K Ericsson and W
Kintsch, ‘Long-term working memory’, in ‘Psychological Review’, Volume 102,
Issue 2, 1995, pages 211 to 245.↩
116. J Sweller and P Chandler, ‘Why some material is difficult to learn’, in ‘Cognition and
Instruction’, Volume 12, Issue 3, 1994, pages 185 to 233.↩
117. Didau and Rose note that by repeatedly practising procedures, pupils will become
competent in a skill. However, to move on to new levels of mastery they must
engage in purposeful practice, preferably in a variety of conditions. See D Didau
and N Rose, ‘What every teacher needs to know about psychology’, John Catt
Educational Limited, 2016, pages 71 to 72.↩
118. P Brown, H Roediger and M McDaniel, ‘Make it stick: The science of successful
learning’, Harvard University Press, 2014, page 65.↩
119. L Lindström, ‘Aesthetic learning about, in, with and through the arts: a curriculum
study’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 31, Issue 2,
2012, pages 166 to 179.↩
120. L Lindström, ‘Aesthetic learning about, in, with and through the arts: a curriculum
study’, in ‘International Journal of Art & Design Education’, Volume 31, Issue 2,
2012, pages 166 to 179.↩
121. B Rosenshine, ‘Principles of instruction: research-based strategies that all
teachers should know’, in ‘American Educator’, 2012, pages 12 to 20.↩
122. K Ericsson and W Kintsch, ‘Long-term working memory’, in ‘Psychological
Review’, Volume 102, Issue 2, 1995, pages 211 to 245; S Dehaene, ‘How we
learn’, Penguin, 2020.↩
123. For example, J Adams, K Wormwood, D Atkinson, P Dash, S Herne and T Page,
 ‘Teaching through contemporary art’, Tate Publishing, 2008, pages 38 to 39.
Downing and Watson point out that, for the teachers they interviewed, galleries and
artistic studios were seen as ‘key resources’. Some interviewees experienced
restrictions, such as shortage of funding to access to them. Others, however,
suggested that resources did not impede taking pupils to galleries and artists’
studios. D Downing and R Watson ‘School Art: What’s in it?’, in ‘Research in art
and design education: issues and exemplars’, Intellect Books, 2008, page 63.↩
124. See J Harland, K Kinder, P Lord, A Stott, I Schagen, J Haynes and others, ‘Arts
education in secondary schools: effects and effectiveness’, National Foundation
for Educational Research, 2000, page 51.↩
125. For recent discussions on how knowledge by acquaintance might connect with
other forms of knowledge in the curriculum, see C Winch, ‘Curriculum Design and
the epistemic ascent’, in ‘Journal of Philosophy of Education’, Volume 47, 2013,
pages 128 to 146.↩
126. J Hattie, ‘Visible learning: a synthesis of meta-analysis relating to achievement’,
Routledge, 2009; J Scheerens and R Bosker, ‘The foundations of educational
effectiveness’, Pergamon, 1997.↩
127. A Baddeley, ‘Oxford psychology series, No. 11. Working memory’, Clarendon
Press/Oxford University Press, 1986; N Cowan, ‘The magical number 4 in short-
term memory: a reconsideration of mental storage capacity’, in ‘Behavioral and
Brain Sciences’, Volume 24, Issue 1, 2001, pages 87 to 114; K Ericsson and W
Kintsch, ‘Long-term working memory’, in ‘Psychological Review’, Volume 102,
Issue 2, 1995, pages 211 to 245.↩
128. ‘Education inspection framework: overview of research’, Ofsted, January 2019.↩
129. For example, work with pre-service teachers in the USA included the development
of instructional tools to support pupils with certain presentations of SEND in the
classroom. For example, cutting out aspects of the artwork ‘help[s] the students
focus on the key elements of the piece’. J Dorff , ‘The importance of collaboration
in art classrooms for success of students with special needs’, in ‘The intersection
of arts education and special education: exemplary programs and approaches’,
Kennedy Center, 2012, p.16.↩
130. Educators who have suggested this include P. Yenawine, ‘Jump-starting visual
literacy: thoughts on image selection’, in ‘Art Education’, Volume 56, Issue 1,
2003, pages 6 to 12. Dorff applies this in a SEND context. See J Dorff, ‘The
importance of collaboration in art classrooms for success of students with special
needs’, in ‘The intersection of arts education and special education: exemplary
programs and approaches’, Kennedy Center, 2012, page 14.↩
131. This could also have implications for curriculum choices. Concerning curriculum,
teachers may wish to include specific content about how disability features in the
history of art, as part of the art curriculum, in order to build pupils’ knowledge of
how art develops and changes over time. They may also wish to include ‘broader
experiential art forms within contemporary art’. See J Adams, K Wormwood, D
Atkinson, P Dash, S Herne and T Page, ‘Teaching through contemporary art’, Tate
Publishing, 2008, page 28. For further discussion about the content of the
curriculum, see the ‘Curriculum’ section.↩
132. See, for example, C Penketh, ‘Towards a vital pedagogy: learning from anti-ableist
practice in art education’, in ‘International Journal of Education Through Art’,
Volume 16, Issue 1, 2020, pages 13–27.↩
133. P Morrow, ‘Contemporary art practice and anti-ableist pedagogy’, in ‘AD Magazine’,
Issue 35, 2022, pages 13 and 14. Morrow discusses looking at art and artists
through an ‘anti-ableist’ lens.↩
134. N Addison, ‘Assessment and learning’, in ‘Understanding art education: engaging
reflexively with practice’, by N Addison, L Burgess, J Steers and J Trowell, Taylor
& Francis, 2010. See also M Fleming, ‘Assessment’, in ‘The arts in education’,
Taylor and Francis, 2012.↩
135. M Fleming, ‘Assessment’, in ‘The arts in education’, Taylor and Francis, 2012. See
also M Ross, ‘The creative arts’, Heinemann, 1978, pages 258 to 268.↩
136. M Fleming, ‘ Assessment’, in ‘The arts in education’, Taylor and Francis, 2012,
pages 86 to 95. See also E Eisner, ‘The arts and the creation of the mind’, Yale
University Press, 2002, pages 178 to 195.↩
137. M Fleming, ‘Assessment’, in ‘The arts in education’, Taylor and Francis, 2012.↩
138. M Fleming, ‘Assessment’, in ‘The arts in education’, Taylor and Francis, 2012. See
also ‘Assessment for learning’, Assessment Reform Group, 2002. See also D
Wiliam, ‘What is assessment for learning?’, in ‘Studies in Educational Evaluation’,
Volume 37, Issue 1, 2011, pages 3 to 14.↩
139. N Addison, ‘Assessment and learning’, in ‘Understanding art education: engaging
reflexively with practice’, by N Addison, L Burgess, J Steers and J Trowell, Taylor
and Francis, 2010, page 93.↩
140. T Ericsson, R Krampe and C Tesch-Romer, ‘The role of deliberate practice in the
acquisition of expert performance’, in ‘Psychological Review, Volume 100, 1993,
pages 363 to 406.↩
141. L Cunliffe, ‘Forms of knowledge in art education and the corollary of authenticity in
the teaching and assessment of such forms of knowledge’, in ‘International Journal
of Art & Design Education’, Volume 24, Issue 2, 2005, pages 199–208.↩
142. M Fleming, ‘Assessment’, in ‘The arts in education’, Taylor and Francis, 2012.↩
143. Boughton, Doug. “Assessing art learning in changing contexts: High-stakes
accountability, international standards and changing conceptions of artistic
development.” in E W Eisner and M D Day (editors), ‘Handbook of research and
policy in Art Education’, Routledge, 2004, page 589.↩
144. M Fleming, ‘Assessment’, in ‘The arts in education’, Taylor and Francis, 2012.↩
145. ‘HMCI commentary: curriculum and the new education inspection framework’,
Ofsted, September 2018.↩
146. When assessment practices are insufficiently related to the curriculum content,
then inferences about pupils’ artistic abilities from summative assessments are not
well founded. Boughton, writing in the context of standardised tests in the USA,
comments that using standardised knowledge tests, without due consideration to
forms of knowledge such as practical knowledge and without sufficient thinking
about what pupils are building up over time, can lead to a ‘point where assessment
information gathered is virtually meaningless’. See D Boughton, ‘Assessing art
learning in changing contexts’ in E W Eisner and M D Day (editors), ‘Handbook of
research and policy in Art Education’, Routledge, 2004, page 587.↩
147. Research into effective practices in art education has highlighted a perceived
problem associated with summative assessment, such as common concerns
about the ‘subjectivity of marks and grades’ in art. Harland et., ‘Arts education in
secondary schools’, p. 372.↩
148. In a higher education context, some have asserted that when ‘the quality of
learning output’ is used ‘as the measure’ of success, then effective assessment
requires clarity about ‘what quality learning consists in and how it can be achieved’.
Students can only improve in their subject-specific abilities ‘if they understand what
progression means and looks like’. See A Davies, ‘Effective Assessment in Art
and Design: writing learning outcomes and assessment criteria in art and design’,
University of the Arts London, 2000, page 8; The report goes on to explore how
criterion-referenced approaches are preferable to norm-referenced approaches,
because they are more precise about what the given strands of progress would
mean for students.↩
149. Art educators have recognised that the overuse of summative assessment is
unhelpful. See B Allison, ‘Some aspects of assessment in art and design
education’, in ‘Assessment in arts education: a necessary discipline or a loss of
happiness?’, edited by M Ross, Pergamon, 1986, pages 113 to 128.↩
 150. For example, a report on arts education in primary schools suggests that non-
specialists may struggle to plan and to teach for subject-specific progression. B.
Cooper, ‘Primary colours: the decline of arts education in primary schools and how
it can be reversed’, Fabian Society, 2018, page 17.↩
151. Cooper’s 2018 report for the Fabian Society highlighted the overall decrease in
arts education, where the ‘arts’ were understood to include art (and design), music,
drama, and dance. The report suggested that there was insufficient emphasis on
the subject, and said ‘a majority of teachers in England (59%) believe their school
does not give enough emphasis to the arts’. See B Cooper, ‘Primary colours: the
decline of arts education in primary schools and how it can be reversed’, Fabian
Society, 2018.↩
152. For example, see: D Downing and R Watson, ‘The STAR project and initial teacher
training : an evaluation’, National Foundation for Educational Research, 2004, page
11.↩
153. Teachers do not feel prepared to teach. B Cooper, ‘Primary colours: the decline of
arts education in primary schools and how it can be reversed’, Fabian Society,
2018. In addition, schools are needing to adopt different ways to tackle this issue,
see T Hatfield, ‘Who teaches art? What is learned?’ in ‘Arts Education Policy
Review’, Volume 108, Issue 5, 2007.↩
154. L Green and R Mitchel, ‘The effectiveness of an initial teacher training partnership
in preparing students to teach art in the primary school’, in ‘Journal of Art & Design
Education’, Volume 17, Issue 3, 2002, pages 245 to 254. More recent research
on the place of foundation subjects in initial teacher education may suggest that
this situation has not changed significantly. See ‘Building great teachers? Initial
teacher education curriculum research: phase 2’, Ofsted, January 2020.↩
155. ‘Building great teachers? Initial teacher education curriculum research: phase 2’,
Ofsted, January 2020.↩

Back to top

Is this page useful?

Yes

No

Report a problem with this page

Topics Government activity

Benefits Departments

Births, death, marriages and care News

Business and self-employed Guidance and regulation

Childcare and parenting Research and statistics

Citizenship and living in the UK Policy papers and consultations

Crime, justice and the law Transparency

Disabled people How government works

Driving and transport Get involved

Education and learning

Employing people

Environment and countryside

Housing and local services

Money and tax

Passports, travel and living abroad

Visas and immigration

Working, jobs and pensions

Help Privacy Cookies Accessibility statement Contact Terms and conditions Rhestr o Wasanaethau Cymraeg
Government Digital Service

All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated

© Crown copyright