This article examines forms of activism in which artistic expression features as a means of raising awareness and catalyzing progressive change on matters of equality, diversity, inclusion and social justice. Focusing in particular on anti-racist and decolonial activism within the context of art museums, experimental project spaces and collections…

The National Arts Education Archive (NAEA) is housed and maintained by the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP), and managed by YSP coordinators and educators with a well-established volunteer programme. This year, 2017, as part of the celebrations of the YSP's 40th anniversary, the Archive will hold its own exhibition entitled "Treasures…

In this article, we explore the cognitive process and resources drawn upon when moderating artwork. The cognitive processes involved in the external moderation of non-exam assessments has received little attention; the few research studies that exist investigated moderation where the candidates' submissions were in mostly written form. No studies…

Contextual studies (CS), "theory", "visual culture" or "art history" (amongst other labels) refer to a regular and often compulsory feature in art and design education. However, this takes many forms and can sit in a variety of relationships with the practical elements of such courses. This article is based on mixed…

This study describes the concepts, historical precedents, language and fundamental experiences of artivism. It shows the research activities from two main universities (Complutense de Madrid in Spain and Nottingham Trent in UK) as well as other cultural institutions (Élan Interculturel from France and Artemiszio from Hungary), which have explored…

Almost every educational system in the world regards numeracy and literacy as more important than the arts. In the UK arts interest groups and politicians have, for years, asked for arts education to be accorded the same priority arguing that arts contribute to learning and development of useful skills. It is not clear if these claims were based…

The widespread use of iPads in higher education brings to the forefront questions about the contribution of these computer tablets towards teaching and learning. However, there is a noticeable gap in research on the educational potential of iPads in higher education. This article describes the second stage of a research project on the use of iPads…

This paper focuses on how wise humanising creativity (WHC) is manifested within early years interdisciplinary arts education. It draws on Arts Council-funded participatory research by Devon Carousel Project and University of Exeter's Graduate School of Education. It is grounded in previous AHRC-funded research, which conceptualised WHC in the face…

Failure forms an important dimension of art and design and is inherent in creative endeavours. This article explores current literature on failure in the art and design context and offers a contribution through qualitative research drawing upon interviews with lecturing staff in a UK art school. The findings from this research emphasise the…

In disciplines with long histories in higher education, academic literacies, including writing practices, are less contested than in newer academic fields such as art and design. The relatively recent incorporation of such fields and schools into the university sector has required these fields to create academic writing practices consistent with…

This paper describes a programme I have led on behalf of Tate Britain over the last five years, and sets out some initial thoughts about the impact on it of a range of different, sometimes conflicting, influences and pressures. The programme is "Nahnou-Together," which translates from the Arabic as "we together" and, in this…

This book will be an original and indispensable resource for all who believe in the importance of art in the wider educational realm. Framing the recent "educational turn" in the arts within a broad historical and social context, this anthology raises fundamental questions about how and what should be taught in an era of distributive…

This article takes its lead from Iris Murdoch's argument that an education in beauty can be a training in the love of virtue. Yet the word "beauty" is seldom used in contemporary educational discourse, even within the arts disciplines, where aesthetic considerations are integral to the learning process. I begin, therefore, with an…

This article advocates an approach for teaching critical and contextual studies in secondary art education based on Wittgenstein's philosophy of language in relationship to meaning as use, custom, rule following, and physiognomy. The references to meaning form four metaphorical points on a compass for directing the will for making judgments about…

This article explores the contrasting arguments for the place of the arts in education made by the two distinguished arts educators--the American Elliot Eisner and British dance and physical education theorist Graham McFee. Both scholars begin with the premise that the arts should be central to a liberal education and then diverge. McFee argues,…