自本世紀初以來，科技、社會與文化變遷深深衝撃著教育體系與教學方法 的價値。面對這股挑戰，藝術教育界必須思索與重新釐清自己的根源與對未來 的展望。
本文首先認定西方藝術教育的基礎源自古希臘羅馬文化傳統。這個概念 可追溯至希臘文的Skol6 (休閒）與拉丁文的Otium兩種體制，年輕人在 這些體制中培養生活習慣與公民文化，以及如何作個自由人。然而，在教育 界奉行這些哲學達數百年之後，筆者不僅質疑，這套體制是否適用於當前社 會情境。本文並非提倡一般藝術教育價値，而是企圖1)從歷史觀點檢視西 方藝術與文化教育；2)批判當前教育體制，包括教育目標與具體實踐之間 的落差、互相矛盾的目標設定以及前後不連貫的教育價値與目標；最後，3) 提出値得進一步思辨與探討的問題與爭議，等待藝術教育同仁共同思考以面 對數位時代的挑戰。

Since the beginning of this century, the values of the educational system and the teaching methods have been greatly confronted by the profound technological, social and cultural changes. Facing this challenge, the field of art education must search and redefine the origin of its own foundations and its perspectives for the future.
This article begins with the assumption that the foundations of Western art education are a heritage from the ancient Greeks and Romans cultures. This idea derives especially from the institutions of the Skole and Otium, where young people were prepared for the lifestyle, culture of citizen, and freemen. However, after centuries of practicing these philosophies in the field of education, the author questions their relevance within the contemporary society. Far from being a conventional advocacy of art education, this article intends to 1) provide an historical insight about Western art and culture education; 2) critique the current educational system including its incoherence of goal and practices, its contradictory objectives, and its inconsistency of values and goals for education; and finally, 3) propose a set of questions and controversies that deserve to be debated and explored to prepare the field of arts education to reflect and meet the demands of the digital age.
Key words: Art, art education, art of life, Otium, Schole