‘That Tricky Subject’: The Integration of Contextual Studies in pre-Degree Art and Design Education

Rintoul, Jenny; James, David

Abstract

© 2016 The Authors. iJADE © 2016 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd Contextual studies (CS), ‘theory’, ‘visual culture’ or ‘art history’ (amongst other labels) refer to a regular and often compulsory feature in art and design education. However, this takes many forms and can sit in a variety of relationships with the practical elements of such courses. This article is based on mixed method research on CS in the BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design, a course that makes up a substantial proportion of pre-degree provision in the UK. We describe aspects of the wider study then draw on two cases to illustrate and discuss the implications of different approaches to the curriculum and its integration. Our analysis suggests that a seemingly progressive flight from a discrete CS towards a designed form of integration can have unintended negative consequences, and in the light of this we suggest some ways in which course teams might reflect on their practices.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 1, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jun 28, 2016
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Apr 25, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 25, 2019
• Journal: International Journal of Art and Design Education
• Print ISSN: 1476-8062
• Electronic ISSN: 1476-8070
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 215-225
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jade.12077
• Keywords: integration, art and design, contextual studies, art history, extended diploma
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/910601
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jade.12077
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Rintoul, J. and James, D. (2016) 'That tricky subject': The integration of contextual studies in pre-degree art and design education. International Journal of Art and Design Education, 36 (2). pp. 215-225. ISSN 1476-8062, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jade.12077. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
• Contract Date: Apr 25, 2019