Digitalisation in visual arts education

Digitalisation has become a central part of the development of Swedish schools and places increasing demands on teachers´ professional competence. In arts education, these issues are widely discussed in relation to how digital tools can affect the deign of education, the teacher´s role and the subject´s legitimacy. The purpose of this literature review is to examine whether different factors influence how effectively teachers implement digital tools and techniques in arts education. The study is conducted as a systematic literarture review based on eight peer-reviewed research articles, which are presented through three categories: (i) How digitalisation affects the legitimacy art subjects, (ii) Art teachers´ approaches to digitalisation in practice and (iii) Teachers´ professional digital competence. Following the presentation of the articles, the findings are discussed in relation to the research question “ What affects teachers´ implementing of digital tools and techniques in art education?”. Data was collected through a structured search for research in the databases ERIC, ERC and SwePub, complemented by a snowballsearch. The collected material was analysed thematically. The result shows that digitalisation in arts education is characterised by a tension between possibilities and limitations. Central factors such as a lack of institutionalised support, unclear policy documents and insufficient professional development have led to the responsibility for digitalisation being placed on individual teachers. At the same time, the studies demonstrate that digital tools can enhance students´ learning and visual competence when integrated with a clear pedagogical purpose. In conclusion, the study indicates that targeted and long-term competence development is crucial for achieving meaningful and sustainable digitalisation in arts education.