CULTURE OR BEING CULTURAL? CONTENT IN DESIGN IN GENERAL EDUCATION
Year: 2018
Editor: Erik Bohemia, Ahmed Kovacevic, Lyndon Buck, Peter Childs, Stephen Green, Ashley Hall, Aran Dasan
Author: Digranes, Ingvild
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Western Norway University College of Applied Sciences, Norway
Section: Ethics and Social Issues in Design and Engineering Education
Page(s): 326-331
ISBN: 978-1-912254-02-6
Abstract
Some of the changes in justification for design education seen at university level are mirrored in changes at the primary and secondary school levels in Norway. The country is shifting away from seeing design as mere form and function toward viewing it as a societal building stone for universal, ethical and environmental solutions based in practical studio work. This focus is being tested by the introduction of externally led ’culture and creativity’ programmes at these lower educational levels. These ‘artist led’ programmes mostly focus on ‘fine art’ and the individual pupil’s experience of art. This paper pinpoints several challenges evident after introducing two ‘owners’ – external artists and Art and Design teachers – deciding the content in art and design education and student learning outcomes in these programmes. After introducing the concepts involved, the paper addresses the challenges for art and design teachers, and the ‘bump signs’ in the professional boundaries, by examining the outsourcing of design education in primary and lower secondary schools through the use of a Norwegian case study. The question then asked is: Can the programme, in its current form, be justified by the learning outcomes of the pupils involved, and what ideas has the change in content focus added or supplanted?
Keywords: Cultural education, civic oriented design, general design education, design education