ABSTRACT

One of the terms that causes consternation in arts education is aesthetics. The reason for this concern is never entirely clear, at least to us. Yet the mystification that surrounds it has meant that the term often does not enter into discourses relating to arts and education or, if it does, it does so with an air of mystery. One of the objectives of the research detailed in this book has been to engage with an understanding of what might constitute high-quality learning in arts education and necessarily the issue of aesthetic learning must be a critical part of that discussion.