Teacher's Views of Art Education in Primary Schools in Scotland

The majority of art education research in the United Kingdom originates from England; however, the devolved nations each have responsibility for education resulting in four different curricula working concurrently across Great Britain. It can be argued that in comparison to England, art and design education research in Scotland is an under-researched area though one that is increasingly garnering interest. This paper contributes to the field by presenting and discussing some of the findings from a survey of teachers focused on art and design education in Scottish primary schools in 2022. A total of 110 teachers participated and the survey examined the value of the subject, the current delivery in schools, the future of the subject and support for teachers. A wealth of data were gathered so this paper focuses particularly on the value of the subject among staff, confidence levels regarding delivery and the role of training and professional learning. The paper concludes that while the value of the subject among staff is strong, confidence levels with regard to teaching the subject are not. Staff felt that training had left them unprepared to teach the subject, and there was limited awareness of professional learning opportunities in their geographical area.

Automated summary

This paper examines the current situation and challenges of art and design education in Scottish primary schools. The survey results show that while there is high recognition of the value of the subject among staff, there is a lack of confidence in teaching it. Staff feel that training is insufficient and there is limited awareness of professional learning opportunities.