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There is a growing interest in cognitive science and its implications for learning at the policy level, a trend evident in recent Swedish government inquiries into school and teacher education (e.g., SOU 2024:81,  SOU 2025:19). These reports underscore the importance of evidence-based pedagogical approaches, advocating for teaching and teacher training to be guided by principles and insights from cognitive science. This policy shift gives greater prominence to research-driven perspectives on cognition and learning within the education system and in teacher professional development. Despite this development, the practical implications for specific curriculum subjects—such as Art—remain underexplored, motivating further study in this area, particularly in understanding how cognitive science can contribute to knowledge about how students' practical image-making aligns with knowledge requirements and goals in Art education. This research addresses this gap by examining the extent to which cognitive processes and mechanisms are manifest in the structure and content of the Swedish Art curriculum, with an emphasis on students' image-making activities. The following questions guide the study:

What knowledge domains in the Art subject are most closely associated with image creation in the Swedish curriculum?Which cognitive processes and mechanisms are identified as central to students' image-making?How does the interaction between these domains and processes support the development of image-based knowledge and skills in art education? 

A qualitative document analysis was conducted, focusing on the formulation of learning goals, subject content, and competence descriptions in the national curriculum for Art for compulsory school. Particular attention was paid to how knowledge of cognitive processes such as visual perception, memory, and higher cognitive functions including sequential planning and realization of artistic intent had been discussed and considered in pedagogical activities in arts education. The findings reveal that image creation invoke a broad spectrum of cognitive abilities, suggesting a rich interplay between creative practice and cognitive development.

By mapping these domains and linking them to current perspectives from cognitive science, the study advances understanding of how Art education based on cognitive science can foster subject-specific competencies. The results highlight the significance of an integrated approach to curriculum design, where cognitive science and the arts mutually inform pedagogical practice, thereby enriching students' image-based knowledge development and overall learning experience.