Approaches to Multiculturalism in Art Education Curriculum Products: Business as Usual

Abstract

- The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between multicultural art education theory and multicultural art education curriculum products. The current proliferation of multicultural art prints, books, videos, audiocassettes, slides, transparencies, postcards, packaged lessons, and other instructional materials signals industry response to our growing interest in multicultural art education. Despite extensive work in multicultural art education theory development, research, curricular recommendations, and advocacy, serious problems persist in the curriculum products industry. As this article indicates, many educational products appear to be advocating multicultural art education practices that may not be supportable, perpetuating stereotypical misconceptions, reinforcing monocultural myths, and miseducating students about art and artists. Multicultural Theory and Research in Art Education Theoretical and historical writings dealing with multicultural art education reflect varying interests. A review of these writings reveals commonalities worth noting: (a) a call for greater diversity of artists considered in programs of study and for an effort to engage students in historical/contextua1 inquiry, (b) a need to expand and revise central notions in art history, criticism, and aesthetics and the manner in which we study the artistic exemplars of diverse cultural groups, and (c) a concern for the underlying frameworks that perpetuate patterns of social injustice.' The following discussion highlights these commonalities.