Ahead of its time? Reassessing what is core content in Visual Arts in the New South Wales Curriculum

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the extent to which Visual Arts syllabus content currently known as the ‘Conceptual Framework’ represents core concepts and principles for learning in Visual Arts K-12 in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Set within the context of the NSW Curriculum Review, Nurturing wonder and igniting passion: designs for a new school curriculum (NESA, 2020), and in the absence of regular cyclic curriculum evaluation or reform of the Visual Arts syllabuses for over 21 years, this investigation evaluates the fit between existing curriculum content and requirements for new syllabuses in the revised curriculum. Drawing on theoretical and empirical research in Visual Arts education, this article examines how the conceptual framework and the principles underlying its function provide the conceptual foundations of understanding in art making and art interpretation as primary forms of practice in K-12. Discussion then examines how the framework meets the requirements for new syllabuses in the NSW Curriculum Review. It is argued that the conceptual framework (1) represents core concepts and principles for learning, (2) supports the development of praxis-oriented learning, and (3) sustains stable content over years of schooling which supports students to develop deep understandings of practice in art. The article concludes that the conceptual framework should be retained in the revised Visual Arts curriculum as it represents a conceptual core and principles for learning that are essential to teaching and learning in Visual Arts K-12 in NSW.