Art education in schools

Pupils in primary and secondary education come into contact with art and culture through artistic subjects in various forms. We also call this cultural education. Cultural education is general education in art, heritage and media.

Art subjects

Art education includes the following art subjects: visual arts, music, theater, dance, film, literature, poetry and architecture. This is not only about offering art forms in traditional form, but also about looking for crossovers between disciplines and applied forms, such as design, fashion, media art.

Forms of artistic practice

A combination of three forms of artistic practice is ideal for art education in schools: active, receptive and reflective. In other words, making art, experiencing it and giving it meaning.

  • Active: practising an artistic discipline and going through a creative process. Such as making music, writing, dancing and/or making films.
  • Receptive: learning by experiencing art visits, such as a concert, cinema and/or musical theater visit. Deepening can take place by understanding concepts and terms, recognising styles and currents and understanding context.
  • Reflective: discussing and thinking about the meaning of art in active or receptive art practice. This may bear on the own experience of art or the work/art of others.

Primary education

Cultural education is compulsory in primary education. Schools are allowed to define their own goals and give shape to their cultural education. Often a teacher has been trained as an ICC'er, Internal Culture Coordinator. This person has the responsibility to design, create and implement the cultural policy plan for the school in collaboration with the school team or together with cultural providers in the area surrounding the school. Together they determine how the cultural education offering can best fit in with the educational vision of the school and with the core objectives for art and culture of the SLO (Foundation Curriculum Developement, Stichting Curriculum Ontwikkeling). Instead of short, one-off projects, schools are increasingly developing a thorough cultural education curriculum, which is why a trained ICC teacher in the team of teachers is of great (added) value.

There is a course for ICC students that is intended for primary school teachers and employees of art educational institutions, aimed at developing cultural policy within the school. There are also cultural coaches, who are art teachers who form a bridge between schools and cultural institutions.

External providers of art education

In the implementation of the cultural education schools cooperate with culture providers and mediators. There are dozens of institutions that support teachers and mediate in the provision of school concerts, educational exhibitions, dance and theatre, video and film productions, such Mocca and Sep in Amsterdam. They make a selection based on educational and artistic criteria. Schools receive a manageable programme and have the booking arranged or enter into a more intensive collaboration to make the cultural policy in the school more sustainable. The cultural institution provides 'art menus' that offer students a varied package of art encounters throughout the school year. Schools themselves are becoming increasingly aware of the cultural baggage they want to impart to students, which is why they often approach the cultural institution with a clear question.

Secondary education

Secondary education also pays attention to art and culture via the subjects Cultural and Artistic Education (CKV) and General Art (KUA). At many schools, art subjects are offered as separate subjects in the first two years, such as visual arts and music. Whether other arts subjects such as theatre, dance or film are also offered, varies per school.

There are schools with a so called 'cultural profile' that specialise in the field of art and culture. Cultural profile schools manifest themselves more strongly as educational institutions with special attention for cultural education. They attract talented children. These children are getting educated in different art disciplines that are also connected to other subjects. And there are a lot of extra-mural activities.

Cultural coaches from cultural institutions are increasingly present in schools to inspire schools and think about the school's cultural policy. The culture coach often works at a cultural institution and is present in education from this institution to bring parties together. Cultural institutions have a wide range of options for secondary education.

'Beroepskunstenaars in de klas' course

Beroepskunstenaars in de klas (Professional artists in the classroom, BIK) is an annual post-hbo-course intended for artists who want to offer arts education projects in schools besides their professional practice. Artists can work on projects in primary education after this training without needing a diploma for teachers.