Art and Craft Pedagogy
Studying art and crafts pedagogy at Nyckelviksskolan can open up many opportunities! The art and crafts pedagogy program is a unique two-year education that combines practical work in arts and crafts with pedagogical reflection and application. The work of an arts and crafts tutor is about creating opportunities for communication and human relations – through work with arts and crafts in different materials and techniques.
The essence of the art and crafts tutor profession is that a person’s work with arts and crafts can contribute to personal development and health as well as to promote people’s creativity and socialization.
The two year program provide knowledge in working with wood, textiles, ceramics, sculpture, drawing and painting, and it is based on a pedagogical perspective. Within the program, the practical courses are interspersed with theoretical courses that include studies in pedagogy, methodology and practical exercises, group work, study visits and workshops. The education also includes project work and a longer internship period where your practical experiences and theoretical knowledge are linked together.
If you want to educate yourself within art and crafts pedagogy, it is good if you have experience from working life and are curious to broaden your knowledge. At Nyckelviksskolan you get the tools you need. The teachers on the art and crafts pedagogy program are themselves practicing craftspeople, artists, designers and pedagogues. We also bring in guest teachers with special expertise.
The education at Nyckelvikskolan is full-time with a high work rate and teacher presence, which means you spend a lot of time at the school. Conversation, communication, sharing of idea and work process are important parts of the education, as is learning in groups. Parts of the training will require your ability to work independently, for example when reading text or working on your own projects.
The structure of the program
During the first academic year of the program, you learn the basics in the various subjects: the techniques and equipment of the various workshops are reviewed, the specific crafts and the possibilities of the materials are examined, while the artistic processes are given ample space. Within the theory area, a platform is created for joint learning, about the methods of craft pedagogy and the role of art and craft in society. Through study visits to workplaces and through the participation of guest teachers, awareness is created about the possibilities of the profession.
The second academic year revolves around deepening – of the craft, artistic processes and the professional role. Already during the autumn semester, the focus is on the upcoming project and internship period, through leadership training, project planning, writing exercises and in-depth studies in the artistic and craft area. During the second academic year, an individually designed project is carried out where art, craft and pedagogy meet. It also includes professional practice where the students are given the opportunity to try professional roles, methods, materials and exercises. In connection with project work and professional practice, a report is written in which the project and its implementation are described and analyzed.

About the profession
The art and crafts pedagogy program at Nyckelviksskolan can be the start of a new career path for you. It can also mean an increase in skills within your current professional role.
Art and crafts tutors can be found in many different areas of society, for example in rehabilitation, in daily activities for disabled persons, in elderly care, in integration projects or in psychiatry such as in women’s shelters or in social psychiatry. An arts and crafts educator can also work at schools of the arts, at after-school centers or at museums.
The target group can be people who, for various reasons, want or need to express themselves in other ways than through the spoken and written word. It can also be people who, in various ways, through craft and art, are given the opportunity for community and participation in society.
The job market in Sweden has broadened in recent years as more clients have opened their eyes to the profession. Several municipalities, for example, have chosen to invest in craft pedagogy as a way of developing social activities and strengthening the educational mission at museums and art galleries.
As an art and crafts tutor you are in demand in various areas of society, we welcome a diversity of experiences in those who apply. The important thing is that you have a curiosity about and an interest in people.
faq
- How's the job market and future prospects for someone who works with art and craft pedagogy?
- It is not well-known as a profession, even though it’s potential and usefulness is quite big. Therefore, it takes quite a lot of your own initiative to find your dream job. On the other hand, as a someone who works with Art and Craft Pedagogy, you can work in so many different workplaces, for example in daily activities, care for the elderly, care, psychiatry, correctional facilities, leisure centers and museums. Much of social research and medical research points to the benefit in creative activities and also pure physical well-being, and therefore we believe that the future prospects are good. But we also believe that a strong engine is needed in all of us who work with art, culture and people.
- What eligibility do I need to have in order to apply for your programs?
- We have no formal eligibility requirements for grades. Our supervisory authority Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education leaves this matter of eligibility requirements very open. We have formulated ourselves fairly openly based on the interpretation of the authority’s directive: In order to apply for course entrance at Nyckelviksskolan, the applicant must have upper secondary school qualifications (high school education), equivalent education or have gained a certain amount of work experience.
- Are your courses eligible for student aid?
- Study funds are granted for the one-year programs at what CSN calls post-upper secondary level. Our educations are categorized as Arts and Culture courses by CSN. The quota for study funds for studies at so-called post-upper secondary level is a total of two years (80 weeks) if you have a three-year upper secondary education or the equivalent previously. The total number of weeks you have to apply for student funding applies to both grants and student loans. This means that even if you do not take out a loan for all the weeks, but only take the grant, the weeks are counted as used. For studies at university level, the maximum period for study support is 240 weeks. This quota applies to those who apply to the two-year Specialist Craft Tutor program. The Specialist Craft Tutor program is also categorized as Arts and Culture course though. For the academic year 2023-24, you who are a student and born in 2004 or later can choose for yourself whether you want to take study aid (right now it is a small grant – SEK 1,250/month) or whether you want to apply for study funds with grants and loans. If you take study aid, you can also apply for extra supplements and / or boarding supplements via CSN.
- Do you have accommodation at the school, boarding school?
- The school does not have boarding, but we receive many offers on available rooms and apartments, especially on Lidingö, and are happy to pass them on to interested students. We send out housing ads and give tips on how our students can most easily find somewhere to live. Nyckelviksskolan’s student union is connected to Stockholm’s students’ central organization (SSCO) and you can get help arranging accommodation through SSCO. All students are connected to Nyckelviksskolan’s student union. This gives them the right to live in student apartments that Stockholm Student Housing (SSSB) has. Read more: www.sssb.se. Everyone who studies in art and culture education has the right to live in Kista Studentbostäder, which is mediated by Stockholms Bostadsförmedling. However, some other student housing managers do not approve our type of education to live there.
- Do you have to pay tuition fees or semester fees for your programs?
- Many Arts and Culture courses are only partially financed with state grants. The student must pay tuition fees (or semester fees). The semester fee for the academic year 2022-23 is SEK 17,500, i.e. SEK 35,000 for the entire academic year. The sum includes, among other things, the material that you work with in the training. The fee is paid semesterly. If you are applying for a full student loan, you can also apply for an additional cost loan for the tuition fee if necessary. Additional cost loans are only granted for the part of the semester fee that does not refer to teaching materials. During 2022-23, you can be granted a maximum of SEK 14,000 per semester.
- How are your programs categorized?
- We are between high school and university. Nyckelviksskolan provides one-year university preparation programs (40 weeks) in art, crafts, architecture and design as well as a two-year vocational Specialist Craft Tutor program (80 weeks). Our programs are formally called Arts and Culture courses (Konst- och kulturutbildningar) and we are under the supervision of the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education. Please note that the vocational Specialist Craft Tutor program is not a higher vocational education (YH), but an Arts and Culture course (Konst- och kulturutbildning).
Subjects and materials
- Art and craft pedagogy – pedagogy, art and craft pedagogical work, social pedagogy, special pedagogy 10.8 weeks
- Three-dimensional techniques – wood, ceramics, sculpture, textile form, re-make and material studies 18 weeks
- Two-dimensional techniques – textile techniques, drawing and painting, graphic techniques 14.4 weeks
- Digital tools – photo, film, image processing, layout and editing 7.2 weeks
- Material immersion 8.4 weeks
- Project work 10.8 weeks
- Professional internship 7.2 weeks
- Group dynamics 1.6 weeks
- Lectures in art and design 1.6 weeks
During the program, you often go on field trips to museums, galleries and workshops.