The art curriculum: what is it, where does it come from, where is it going
Houghton, Nicholas (2008) The art curriculum: what is it, where does it come from, where is it going. In: Enhancing Curricula: using reserch and enquiry to inform student learning in the disciplines. The Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design, University of the Arts, London, pp. 322-336. ISBN 978-0-9560382-0-3
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This paper outlines what is taught in higher education fine art courses and attempts to understand why. For many, fine art education is uncertain about itself and what should be taught. To help us understand fine art education now, this paper proposes six curricula that have been successively introduced since the start of formal art education: apprenticeship; traditional; formalist; romantic; conceptual; professional. The present-day curriculum is explained in terms of de-skilling and a continued belief in romantic notions of art for art's sake. These are often implicit and form a hidden curriculum that has a considerable impact on teaching and assessment. These romantic notions need to be better understood and challenged. Moreover, the curriculum is now both too full and too narrow. A solution to this might be found if it were presumed that the curriculum is for learning about art, rather than learning to be artists.
Article presented as a paper at the cltad 4th International Conference in New York City in 2008
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