Why does it matter? A literature review on the functions of school arts education in China 2001–2022

With the educational reform and increasing government emphasis on cultural creativity and arts education, Chinese national educational policies have prioritised arts education in schools and reconsidered its value and function. To better understand the current status of this matter, this paper addresses the research question: How is the function of school arts education considered in Chinese research? Following the PRISMA statement, this qualitative systematic review examines 50 peer-reviewed educational research samples from 2001 to 2022 in China. Using inductive grounded theory, this review synthesises findings and reveals three key aspects: (1) multiple orientations to create an intertwined framework for the functions of school arts education. Amongst the functions, aesthetic cultivation and moral education are the heavily emphasised but controversial ones. This review then highlights (2) varying emphases at different school levels and illustrates issues in school practice, such as utilitarianism, the pursuit of scientism in education, and inherent problems within the art curriculum. Furthermore, this review explored (3) the theoretical basis behind the reported studies, identifying two primary strands which are (a) the aesthetics represented by Confucian aesthetics and the 20th-century Chinese aesthetics and (b) the Western aesthetics represented by Schiller’s aesthetics and Marx’s theory on the development of well-rounded human beings.