Forms of artistic practice
A combination of three forms of artistic practice is ideal for art education in schools:

• active: practising an artistic discipline yourself such as making music, writing, dancing, making films.
• receptive: attending art events such as concerts, cinemas and music theatre, reading, etc. You can go further if you know about the concepts and terms and can recognise styles, currents and context.
• reflective: critical reflection on active or passive artistic practice. This may bear on your own experience of art or the work or art of others.

Primary education
Pupils in primary and secondary education come into contact with art and culture through the artistic subjects. The emphasis is increasingly on familiarisation with professional forms of artistic expression. Not all schools have a clear picture of what is available. That is one of the reasons why the course to become a Culture Coordinator has been set up.

The course is intended for teachers in primary education and staff of art education institutions. It is aimed at developing a policy on culture in the school. The focus is on the encounter between education and the cultural field. The course offers guidance to promote that cooperation.

External providers of art education
There are dozens of support institutions, for example SEP and Kunstgras, for teachers that mediate in the supply of school concerts, educational exhibitions, dance and theatre performances, and video and film productions. They make a selection on the basis of educational and artistic criteria. Schools receive a manageable programme and have the booking arranged. There is often a long-term cooperation with primary schools. The art education institution supplies art menus that offer the pupils in every year a varied range of artistic encounters.

There are also art magnet schools that want to profile themselves in the field of art and culture. Children are given extra art lessons in school hours. Community schools also offer courses after school hours. The local government funds these initiatives.

Next to the art magnet schools there are cultural profile schools. The difference is that cultural profile school manifest themselves more strongly as an educational institution with special attention for cultural education. They attract talented children. These children are taught a lot of different art disciplines that are connected to other subjects. And there are a lot of extra-mural activities.

Secondary education
Secondary education also pays increasing attention to art and culture via the subjects Cultural and Artistic Education (CKV) and General Art. There are schools with a cultural profile that specialise in the field of art and culture.

Teachers
Artist-teachers are increasingly asked to teach the expressive subjects or to give guest classes connected with performances and concerts. The course Beroepkunstenaars in de klas responds to this demand. After completing the course, professional artists can offer their projects and implement them in schools.