In Memoriam: Elliot Eisner from Inside the Academy

Abstract

When you do things long enough and thoughtful enough,you change yourself. In fact, the role of education might be conceived of as the invention of yourself.-Elliot Eisner (2012)Dr. Elliot Eisner-distinguished artist, scholar, and professor emeritus at Stanford University-passed away in January 2014 at the age of 80.Through his profound contributions to arts education, curriculum studies, and evaluation, Eisner passionately advocated for and eloquently articulated the important role of the Arts in education beyond simply cultivating children's creativity and developing their critical thinking skills. He dedicated his life and work to the realization of a new vision of arts education in America's public schools, and also around the world, inspiring generations of teachers to see their schools, classrooms, and professional practices anew. Eisner, recently honored on Inside the Academy' (Amrein-Beardsley, 2012) for his distinguished contributions as an artist, educational researcher, and visionary, will be remembered as one of the academy's finest.Widely appreciated for his pioneering work in qualitative research methods, most notably in educational connoisseurship and criticism, he challenged the oft-narrow educational focus on instructional outcomes and procedural view of professional practice, emphasizing the need to examine what actually happens in schools and class- rooms (Uhrmacher, 2001). Describing inquiry in education as an attempt to broaden our own views about what it means to know, Eisner (1998) taught others the importance of seeing through an enlightened eye as opposed to merely looking as central to making meaning. Encouraging educators to see their own schools, classrooms, and teaching practices anew, Eisner not only shared his talent as an artist with generations of teachers and students, but also dedicated his career to the realization of a profound vision for arts education.A Past President of the National Art Education Association, the International Society for Education through Art, the American Educational Research Association, and the John Dewey Society, Eisner displayed considerable artistic talent-even as a young child,first studying painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago while in elementary school. He continued his studies, receiving multiple degrees in art and education from Roosevelt University (1954), the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology (1955), and the University of Chicago (1958, 1962). First as a high school art teacher and then as a distinguished member of the faculty at Stanford University since 1965, Eisner devoted his career as a teacher, lecturer, and writer, advancing appreciation for the Arts. Through his involvement in the Kettering Project (since 1967) and lateras a member of the board of the Getty Center for Education in the Arts (since 1982), Eisner worked on several curriculum initiatives, providing materials to new elementary teachers and advancing discipline-based art education (DBAE)-an art curriculum model adopted by NAEA and used almost universally in the United States, as well as Australia and the United Kingdom (Uhrmacher, 2001).In recognition of his unwavering support for arts education, Eisner received numerous national and international awards and honors including the Harold McGraw Prize in Education, the Brock International Prize in Education, and the Grawemeyer Award in 2005 (for his book The Arts and the Creation of the Mind, 2002) as well as election to the National Academy of Education, the Institute of Education of the University of London, the Royal Society of Art in the United Kingdom, and the Royal Norwegian Society of Arts and Sciences. Also renowned for his extensive scholarly publications, Eisner authored or edited an average of seven published works per year since 1970 including: Educating Artistic Vision (1972), The Educational Imagination (1979, 1985b, 1994), Cognition and Curriculum (1982), The Art of Educational Evaluation (1985a), The Enlightened Eye (1991, 1998), and The Kind of Schools We Need (1998) (Uhrmacher, 2001 ). …