An analysis of the history of art section in the 2008-2010 MATSEC advanced level Art syllabus

Abstract

The study proposes to analyse the changes that took place in the History of Art section of the 2008-2010 MATSEC Advanced Level Art syllabus. The candidates sitting for this exam are expected to have a broad knowledge of History of Art, having to study different styles in particular periods, as well as a pre-selected list of eighty works. The dissertation will study whether Section I in this syllabus gives a broad and balanced perspective on the discipline to students studying Art at Advanced level, some of whom may have the intention of furthering their studies at undergraduate level. The analysis also covers the following aspects which relate to Section I: artists' gender, nationality and timeline. The author carried out a qualitative study which involved a number of face-to-face interviews with History of Art lecturers and their students. This research has been used by the author to analyse the three aspects mentioned above and others that were pointed out by the interviewees. The findings of this study show that MATSEC may need to reconsider having a list of eighty works of art which would be implemented within an Art syllabus since this presents a biased and a very partial account of artistic expression. Finally, the study also suggests that MATSEC should also examine new models of assessment which would help the students to create a stronger link between what they learn during History of Art lectures to what they create in their personal art work.