Arts education providers for primary schools in Singapore: case studies on art outreach and Esplanade
Art curriculum in primary schools were traditionally based on basic drawing and painting activities, and teachers were accustomed to conducting these art lessons. Art was not seen as a core subject in school, but efforts have been made to incorporate more inquiry-based learning into the current arts education curriculum in Singapore. This research paper will analyse the development of the arts education landscape over the past 20 years and to what degree arts policies can make a change to the syllabus by Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE). In view of the nature of this research, a qualitative method will be adopted for data collection. Literature review on arts policies will also define how the MOE (Ministry of Education), National Arts Council (NAC) and arts organisations are interrelated. This research will refer to the case studies from Art Outreach and The Esplanade as arts education providers. Interviews were further conducted to study how the National Arts Council Arts Education Programmes (NAC-AEP) offered can demonstrate the importance of acquiring knowledge through visual learning, apart from learning through textbooks.