Abstract
Using historical documents, this paper discusses and clarifies the commencement of art education in the Republic of Maldives, which was a developing country at the time this education was introduced.
In 1984, the first unified National Curriculum was introduced in the Maldives, bringing art into school education. The curriculum’s stipulations concerning art indicate that art education during the early period regarded child-centred drawing activities and specific techniques for representation as important, which shows an influence from the art-education practices of foreign countries. On the other hand, the curriculum concurrently reveals that art education was also assigned the role of transmitting traditional culture, including the study of traditional arts and crafts such as building materials and household goods made from coconut palms.
