Art meets education: is there space on the verandah?

Abstract

Ambivalence in art teaching has become institutionalised. The notion, for instance, that art is so relative and so exclusive that individuals should be left to figure it out for themselves, has powerful and persistent influence on the shaping of practice in many early childhood settings. Current efforts to reconceptualsie understandings of how art in early childhood can be practised and understood have included advocacy for the Artist in Schools program. This chapter is a report on a study of the work of one artist, working the early years (Yrs 1-3) in a primary school, as part of the Artists in Schools program. The study aims to look beyond the dominant assumptions in the field, with a view to problematising the issue of the artists in schools program, and whether this approach addresses the marginalisation of the arts or whether it indeed contributes further to the marginalisation of the arts.