Introducing the curriculum
The Victorian Curriculum Arts includes six disciplines: Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music, Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design (7-10). Each Arts discipline in the Victorian Curriculum has content descriptions and achievement standards, focusing on its own practices, terminology and unique ways of looking at the world.
The inclusion of the Visual Communication Design Levels 7–10 reflects a particular Victorian approach to the Arts, ensuring students have the necessary content and skills to pursue further study in this discipline in senior secondary years.
The Victorian Curriculum Arts is based on two overarching principles, students learn:
- as artist and as audience
- through making and responding.
A four strand structure has been applied to each of the Arts disciplines. For Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts the four strands are Explore and Express Ideas, Practices, Present and Perform, and Respond and Interpret. For Media Arts and Visual Communication Design the four strands are Explore and Represent Ideas, Practices, Present and Perform, and Respond and Interpret.
To view the Arts curriculum, please go to the
Victorian Curriculum F–10 website.
Performing Arts mapping templates
These mapping templates combine the Arts learning areas Dance, Drama and Music up to Level 6.
Levels A to D (students with disabilities):
Level A
Level B
Level C
Level D
Foundation to Level 6:
Foundation
Levels 1 and 2
Levels 3 and 4
Levels 5 and 6
Visual Arts mapping templates
These mapping templates combine the Arts learning areas Media Arts, Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design up to Level 6.
Levels A to D (students with disabilities):
Level A
Level B
Level C
Level D
Foundation to Level 6:
Foundation
Levels 1 and 2
Levels 3 and 4
Levels 5 and 6
Contact
Contact the Curriculum Manager - Performing Arts
Contact the Curriculum Manager - Visual Arts
Frequently asked questions
These frequently asked questions apply generally to The Arts.
What are the central concepts that underpin The Arts learning area in the Victorian Curriculum?
Each Arts discipline in Victorian Curriculum is based on two overarching principles:
- students learn as artist and as audience
- students learn through making and responding.
The four strands within each Arts discipline are intrinsically connected. Together they provide students with knowledge, understanding and skills as artists and audience. As students make they consider both the audience and their own response to their work and as they respond they draw on the knowledge, understanding and skills acquired through their experiences in making work and as audiences of other artists' work.
Do schools have to teach every Arts discipline every year?
Schools are required to develop a whole school teaching and learning plan that enables the content of the curriculum to be delivered. How schools approach the development teaching and learning programs depends on local needs, priorities and resources. For example schools may choose to deliver intensive programs in a semester or term within a two year cycle for each discipline, and/or could choose to offer an integrated Arts program incorporating each discipline and this is delivered every week of the year.
The
Victorian Curriculum F-10 revised curriculum planning and reporting guidelines outlines the use of stages of schooling as the basis for curriculum planning and indicates that schools should provide a learning program that:
- pays substantial attention to The Arts for Prep to Year 2
- includes all five Arts disciplines across Years 3-4
- consists of at least two Arts disciplines, one from the Performing Arts and one from the Visual Arts at Years 5-6 and 7-8
- includes at least one Arts discipline in Years 9-10.
Can schools use specialist and/or classroom teachers to deliver the Arts curriculum?
The delivery of the curriculum is determined by the school and will draw upon the resources that are available.
The Arts subject associations provide a range of resources to support classroom teachers to develop and deliver Arts teaching and learning programs. Many cultural organisations also provide resources including online materials, professional learning programs, incursion, excursion and residency opportunities to support schools to deliver high-quality Arts learning programs. Refer to the external resources listed on this page and for each Arts discipline.
What is the time allocation for The Arts?
There is no mandated time allocated for delivery of the Arts curriculum. Schools can choose to make the Arts the central component of the learning program, provide continuous learning in one or more Arts discipline supported by shorter programs in other disciplines or to use a combination of incursion, excursion, online and/or artist-in-residence resources to deliver the curriculum.
What are 'viewpoints'?
The term 'viewpoints' is explained in the discipline specific 'Learning in' sections on the Victorian Curriculum website.
Viewpoints enable students to understand that meanings in artworks can be generated from different perspectives. These are based on the experience, values and beliefs of the viewer and the artist as well as the context in which art works are located. Meanings are informed by the contexts of societies, histories and cultures where artworks are made and exhibited. The questions that students use to make informed and critical judgements about artworks are informed by viewpoints.