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Edexcel 60% Coursework 40% Examination
Length of Examination: 10 hours with eight school weeks preparation time
Art and design plays an extremely broad rôle in the education of young people. In addition to developing literacy, oracy and numeracy, it is vital that young people become visually aware if they are to become discriminating and critical in respect of the world about them. The growth of confidence and skills in art and design can lead to students becoming familiar and comfortable in dealing with their own feelings and intuitions and in empathising with the conditions of others.
Moral, ethical and social issues
In chosen coursework themes, teachers and their students often explore issue-based topics. Any study of the history of art will reveal the concerns of artists and designers on social and moral issues as fundamental as war and peace, the family and society, multi-cultural issues, sexuality and the rôle of men and women as artists and as subjects.
Students might, for example, study work by Goya, Picasso or Kollwitz on the horrors of war and develop a personal response to war and peace, perhaps related to a contemporary world issue. Such a study might lead to outcomes in painting or sculpture.
Many students will be developing personal attitudes to moral, ethical and social issues, for example, homelessness, hunting, environmental pollution and personal freedom. These concerns may lead to graphic design or photography outcomes campaigning for such causes.
Art and design education is concerned with making decisions, as well as with making things, and students are continually required to assess and evaluate based on evidence. They become familiar with the processes of making judgements and develop confidence in their abilities to discriminate and to articulate their decisions. They become aware that things are rarely to be seen in simplistic terms and develop skills in arriving at difficult conclusions and in recognising that alternative conclusions may carry equal weight.
Spiritual issues
Much of the information communicated about the world’s religions and attitudes to spirituality has been through art and design. Images of deities, religious artefacts and calligraphy all express the spiritual longings of people throughout time and space. In the modern world a knowledge of such imagery may inform students’ own growing awareness of spiritual and religious issues, and a study of these beliefs and traditions may inspire students’ practical outcomes. More importantly, the practice of art and design can prove personally uplifting for students and can provide them with deep and moving experiences which go far beyond the skills, knowledge and understanding associated with learning in this and many other areas of the curriculum.
Cultural issues
Art and design provides us with access to the cultural identities of societies other than our own and raises students’ awareness of the richness and variety of world culture. Emphasis on the importance of investigating the history, tradition and skills of other societies can play an important rôle in valuing these cultures and appreciating their differences.
In both ceramics and textiles, for example, much inspiration can be gained from an investigation of the cultures and traditions of Africa and Asia. For sculpture and printmaking students might research a subject from the culture of Australian Aborigines or prehistoric art.
There are two units of coursework spread over the two year course, each unit covering a broad range of disciplines. This amounts to 60% of the marks awarded.
At the end of the course there is a ten hour practical exam, with eight school weeks preparation time, which accounts for the remaining 40%.
This is a tremendously enriching, stimulating and rewarding subject to study at GCSE. It is also a demanding one, and students should be aware of the level of commitment required regarding use of their own time.
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