An Historical Review of Doctoral Program Growth and Dissertation Research in Art Education 1893-1974

Abstract

For any discipline maintaining and supporting research efforts it is necessary to periodically gain an historical perspective on where its investigative efforts have focused. Historical illumination serves at least two purposes. The first is that of presenting a responsive mirror against which members of that profession may actively search for signs of atrophy in research. The second purpose is that of obtaining a spring board for future directions in systematic inquiry. Assessment of the growth schema associated with dissertation research and doctoral program expansion may illuminate substantial trends in the geographic apportionment of doctoral programs and rate of growth in dissertation research. This paper presents an overview of the growth of doctoral dissertation research in art education, showing areas of interest, and the expansion of institutions offering doctoral studies by rate of growth and geographic area for the period 1893-1974.