Cave paintings and designs etched on seashells from tens to hundreds of thousands of years ago [Page 811]suggest that the visual arts have long been a part of the human experience. And humans have been creating visual art ever since, typically without the auspices of formal art education. Learning to create and appreciate visual art forms has a long and varied history outside schools. In more recent history, through opportunities in museums, community art centers, collectives, galleries, open studios, and through use of how-to books and other media resources as well as more self-directed arts creation and consumption with family and friends, people independently and with others regularly craft visual arts education outside schools.

Visual arts learning is often considered to have two broad dimensions: (1) ...