This presentation discusses and problematizes the use of teaching materials in the subject of visual arts from a historical perspective and relation to the contemporary. In visual arts, teaching materials are disparate since visual art teachers use published teaching materials combined with self-produced dito, which potentially creates a problem regarding equivalence (SOU 2021:70). Also, a recurring challenge in art education is the visual arts teachers' ambivalence towards linguistics in relation to the visual, non-formulated aspects of the teaching (Karlsson Häikiö, 2021), which affects the use of teaching materials.
In traditional art education in the 19th century, images and models were used to describe and explain phenomena concerning the outside world. This demonstrative teaching through instructive materials continued through television and video tapes in the 1960s to today's multimedia programs and digital images (Eriksson, 2004). A paradigm shift from technical drawing at the beginning of the century to visual arts guided by artistic values in the 1930s led to a new era in teaching materials influencing the subject from a more aestheticized perspective (Åsén, 2006).
The subject of visual arts is today considered part of a broader research field, visual culture, using multimodal ways of knowing (Buhl, Flensborg & Illeris, 2003). Visual competence has formerly been highlighted as an aspect of knowledge connected to seeing in the syllabus for visual arts (Curriculum Lgr22; Wagner & Schönau, 2016). This is where teaching materials can play a role.
Until 1991, Sweden had state control of teaching materials to ensure their quality. After the abolition of state control, the professionalism of teachers and an open market in teaching materials would ensure the quality of the teaching materials (Långström, 1997). At the same time, digitization took off, and teachers can use different sources in their teaching. It is now common for teachers to combine published teaching materials with open sources, free materials, and self-produced teaching materials.
After nearly 20 years of no government control of teaching materials, the Swedish government released a report (SOU 2021:70) on teaching materials in schools. The report promotes teaching materials and highlights their benefits. Similar sentiments are heard from both teachers and politicians. The report (SOU 2021:70) has been analyzed in the research project with policy analysis based on Bacchi's What's the problem represented to be? (WPR) (2009), and the results will be presented at the conference.
2023.
Mapping International Art Education Histories, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, USA, November 30 - December 2, 2023