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Art Education in Zimbabwe
Author(s) -
Abraham Rachel
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
international journal of art and design education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.312
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1476-8070
pISSN - 1476-8062
DOI - 10.1111/1468-5949.00306
Subject(s) - mainstream , visual arts education , government (linguistics) , subject (documents) , independence (probability theory) , colonialism , sculpture , tourism , handicraft , sociology , economic growth , political science , visual arts , the arts , art , law , economics , philosophy , linguistics , statistics , mathematics , library science , computer science
Art education in Zimbabwe has a rather negative image which dates back to the colonial era. Art was usually confined to wealthy urban schools and taught mostly to white students. The subject was often used as a dumping ground for nonachievers and girls (who had few career options available to them outside of marriage). As a result art was considered an expensive and non‐academic subject in former Rhodesia. The situation did not improve after independence. Art still retains a poor image and has not expanded into mainstream education. However, the country has a rich artistic heritage and informal art education has developed to provide sculptures and crafts for the tourist industry. The government made art compulsory in primary education but have been unable to provide the necessary financial backing to implement the scheme. Only about 80 of the 1548 (5%) schools who have students sitting ‘O’ level examinations offer art as a subject. Third level education has been hindered by the lack of a degree course in art and design, and financial difficulties are again a concern.