Research in Visual Arts Education - The National Society for ...

BETWEEN VISUAL ARTS AND
VISUAL CULTURE
Themes in Danish Studies 1995–2008
Helene Illeris
Introduction
Since the beginning of the new millennium the Danish educational system
has been undergoing a series of important reforms with consequences
for all levels of study from preschool to doctoral programmes. The political
goal of these reforms is to make the system more efficient and competitive
compared to international standards, both in terms of expenses and in
terms of the “production” of a qualified workforce for the globalised labour
market. Assessments through national tests and a meticulous description of
the aims, goals and content of each school subject have been introduced in
a neo-liberal showdown with traditional child-centred and project-oriented
Danish educational values.
In this situation the visual arts, conceived as a separate discipline of education
and educational research, is experiencing increased marginalisation.
In upper secondary school Visual Arts lost its status as a compulsory subject
in August 2006, in teacher training the specialisation in Visual Arts Education
is under pressure due to a new reform, which has been implemented in
2007, and at the university the M.A. and Ph.D. programmes in Visual Arts
Education were closed in 2002. In line with other “small” subjects such as
Music, German, French, Biology and Handicrafts, the subject of visual arts
has been cut back, while the political interest and goodwill is concentrated
on “core subjects” such as Danish, Mathematics, English and Science.
Fortunately, in spite of the political situation, Danish art teachers and researchers
have managed to develop quite strong platforms, from which their
professional interests can be maintained, a fact which is proved by the long
list of publications in this volume. The more than 80 M.A.’s and the five
Ph.D.’s that were awarded in Visual Arts Education before the programme
was closed down play a key role in the introduction of new and experimental
theoretical and practical approaches. In particular the development and
80 NORDIC VISUAL ARTS EDUCATION IN TRANSITION