Serving Talented Art Students: Different Cultures, Different Strokes

International Handbook of Research in Arts Education

Visual arts education must outline a defensible vision for our discipline that acknowledges the arts are White property. In this article, I argue that visual art itself should be recognized as a racializing technology contributing to the production and ranking of human difference. I show how a previous iteration of visual arts education—visual culture art education—also called into question the role of visual art in producing the cultural superiority of the Enlightenment subject, who was key to the historical emergence of whiteness itself. However, this approach to art education was more concerned with the political ontology of the image rather than the human. Drawing on Al-An deSouza’s studio practice, negotiated refusal, I begin to outline a vision for visual arts education that recognizes the arts as White property, and yet does not give up on either fine art or the human.

Contents: E.W. Eisner, M.D. Day, Introduction to Handbook of Research and Policy in Art Education. Part I:Historical Currents in Art Education. F.G. Chalmers, Learning From Histories of Art Education: An Overview of Research and Issues. M.A. Stankiewicz, P.M. Amburgy, P.E. Bolin, Questioning the Past: Contexts, Functions, and Stakeholders in 19th-Century Art Education. J.H. White, 20th-Century Art Education: A Historical Perspective. Part II:Policy Perspectives Impacting the Teaching of Art. R.A. Smith, Policy and Arts Education. S. Hope, Art Education in a World of Cross-Purposes. C.B. Gee, Spirit, Mind, and Body: Arts Education the Redeemer. L. Hetland, E. Winner, Cognitive Transfer From Arts Education to Non-Arts Outcomes: Research Evidence and Policy Implications. R.A. Smith, Aesthetic Education: Questions and Issues. H.G. Blocker, Varieties of Multicultural Art Education: Some Policy Issues. E.L. Lankford, K. Scheffer, Museum Education and Controversial Art: Living on a Fault Line. Part III:Learning in the Visual Arts. A.M. Kindler, Introduction: Development and Learning in Art. A.M. Kindler, Researching Impossible? Models of Artistic Development Reconsidered. J. Matthews, The Art of Infancy. B. Wilson, Child Art After Modernism: Visual Culture and New Narratives. C. Golomb, Sculpture: Representational Development in a Three-Dimensional Medium. N.H. Freeman, Aesthetic Judgment and Reasoning. D. Pariser, E. Zimmerman, Learning in the Visual Arts: Characteristics of Gifted and Talented Individuals. Part IV:Teaching and Teacher Education. E. Zimmerman, Introduction to Teaching and Teacher Education. L. Galbraith, K. Grauer, State of the Field: Demographics and Art Teacher Education. M. Stokrocki, Contexts for Teaching Art. M. Erickson, Interaction of Teachers and Curriculum. F. Thurber, Teacher Education as a Field of Study in Art Education: A Comprehensive Overview of Methodology and Methods Used in Research About Art Teacher Education. F.R. Sabol, An Overview of Art Teacher Recruitment, Certification, and Retention. J.M. Burton, The Practice of Teaching in K-12 Schools: Devices and Desires. Part V:Forms of Assessment in Art Education. E. Soep, Assessment and Visual Arts Education. D. Boughton, Assessing Art Learning in Changing Contexts: High-Stakes Accountability, International Standards and Changing Conceptions of Artistic Development. H. Persky, The NAEP Arts Assessment: Pushing the Boundaries of Large-Scale Performance Assessment. C.M. Myford, A. Sims-Gunzenhauser, The Evolution of Large-Scale Assessment Programs in the Visual Arts. E. Soep, Visualizing Judgment: Self-Assessment and Peer Assessment in Arts Education. Part VI:Emerging Visions of the Field. A.D. Efland, Emerging Visions of Art Education. S.M. Dobbs, Discipline-Based Art Education. T. Barrett, Investigating Art Criticism in Education: An Autobiographical Narrative. A.D. Efland, Art Education as Imaginative Cognition. M. Parsons, Art and Integrated Curriculum. G. Sullivan, Studio Art as Research Practice. K. Freedman, P. Stuhr, Curriculum Change for the 21st Century: Visual Culture in Art Education.

There is a rich heritage of visual art education research, which inquires into how visual art enriches and gives aesthetic meaning to peoples’ private and public lives and experiences. Researchers explore the studio art-making process; examine how people teach and learn within the related disciplines of aesthetics, art criticism, and art history; and grapple with a variety of theoretical and practical issues that are related, for example, to child development, visual perception, diversity, culture, multiculturalism, social perspectives, gender (including sexual orientation), controversial issues, and technology. They conduct their research using philosophical, quantitative, and qualitative forms of inquiry that are often derived from related disciplines such as sociology, history, anthropology, psychology, and curriculum theory. Essentially, researchers in visual art education confront the exciting challenges-new and old-that visual art provides artists, teachers, and learners within a postmodern world. The content for this chapter is based on an analysis of research findings in visual art education. Research was examined from the following sources: important research published in journals during the last 20 years (for example, Journal of Aesthetic Education; Journal of Multicultural and Cross-Cultural Studies in Art Education; Studies in Art Education; Visual Arts Research); the Dissertation Abstracts database; selected doctoral dissertations; existing research analyses (Allison, 1986; Burton, 1991, 1998; Da­ vis, 1977; Hamblen, 1989; Jones & McPhee, 1986; La Pierre & Zimmerman, 1997; La Pierre, Stokrocki, & Zimmerman, 2000); and significant monographs, books, and reports (for example, Smith, 2000). Other sources included the various publications of the National Art Education Association’s (NAEA) Research Commission (National Arts Education Association [NAEA], 1994, 1996, 1998). In addition, international journals were examined (for example, Canadian Review of Art Education; and the United Kingdom’s Journal of Art and Design Education), given that visual art education research has a long history in other parts of the world.

Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna notkun snjalltækja í listgreinum. Í ljósi aukinnar notkunar snjalltækja í skólastarfi og mikilvægis skapandi hugsunar er leitast við að kanna hvernig slík tæki eru notuð í myndmenntakennslu. Jafnframt er markmiðið að kanna notkunarmöguleika tækninnar í myndmennt og tækifæri til sköpunar. Í rannsókninni var notuð eigindleg rannsóknaraðferð og tekin hálfopin viðtöl við fjóra myndmenntakennara og einn margmiðlunarkennara sem starfa í grunnskólum á höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Tilgangurinn var að svara eftirfarandi rannsóknarspurningum: Hver er tilgangurinn með notkun snjalltækja í myndmennt, hvernig nota kennarar tækin í kennslu og hver eru tækifærin til sköpunar? Í þessari grein eru skoðuð viðhorf kennara til tækninnar og snjalltæki sem verkfæri skoðuð. Niðurstöður leiddu í ljós að snjalltæki eru notuð sem tiltekin verkfæri í myndmenntakennslu en þau nýtast nemendum við upplýsingaleit, hugmyndavinnu og efnisleit. Notkun snjalltækja kemur ekki í staðinn fyrir hefðbundnar aðferðir í myndmennt heldur er meginhlutverk þeirra að styðja vinnuferli og verkefni nemenda. Þrátt fyrir takmarkaða notkun snjalltækja í myndmennt og ólík viðhorf kennara til notkunar tækninnar í greininni gefa niðurstöður til kynna að upplýsingatækni og gagnvirkir miðlar geti ef lt skapandi hugsun nemenda. Færni nemenda til sköpunar og þekking þeirra á tækninni gegnir þar stóru hlutverki. Í myndmennt geta skapast tækifæri fyrir kennara til að breyta kennsluháttum sínum með því að nýta snjalltæki á virkan hátt við ný verkefni sem annars væru óframkvæmanleg. Þannig getur tæknin bæði nýst til að breyta nálgun og stutt hefðbundnar aðferðir.

Visual Art has been a part of Australian education for decades; however, in an increasingly globalized visual world where individuals are inundated with media images the need for students to develop the skills to deconstruct and reconstruct images has become vital. And yet the notions that Visual Art is simply a God-given gift, frill or busy-work activity remain prevalent within our society and the skills that are taught become optional for students at the end of their middle school years. Therefore, educators and researchers alike have the added responsibility to determine students’ understanding of the benefits of Visual Art and identify ways in which to encourage continued appreciation and involvement in their Visual Art Education. The purpose of this thesis is to identify possible perceptions Year 7 students at a private college have on Visual Art, the influences that effect student subject selection and the ways their attitudes can inform future planning. The context of the study was an elite independent college in Victoria, Australia. This school currently allows students at the end of Year 7 to discontinue their Visual Art studies in Year 8. This study approached Year 7 students with the intention of determining whether or not they enjoyed and valued Visual Art in addition to seeking insight into their attitudes surrounding their Visual Art classroom learning activities. The study furthermore sought insight into student attitudes concerning the role parents, self-efficacy, peers or dreams for the future played in their decision to continue or discontinue specific subjects. This paper also endeavoured to add to the mounting body of literature on student perceptions by investigating student’s beliefs within a Visual Art classroom context. It similarly aimed to add to current arts educational research through addressing the gaps that exist in Visual Art Educational studies, specifically the lack of student opinions. The study attempted this through collating data on Year 7 perceptions from three different instruments. Forty-one students volunteered to participate in an online questionnaire, during their timetabled art class, and provided their thoughts on their classroom experiences, subject selection influences and dreams for the future. Eleven students, who completed the surveys, then offered to attend one of four focus groups interviews that were conducted. These 30-minute interviews involved the interviewer asking semi-structured questions and prompting discussion with visual stimuli. Four students within the focus group interviews also illustrated how they saw themselves within their Visual Art classroom. Multiple instruments were created to encourage students to answer honestly and be able to offer in-depth insight into their opinions as well as allow the researcher to triangulate data and increase the validity of the information gathered. It became apparent within the questionnaire, focus group interviews and drawing instruments that students enjoyed Visual Art, looked forward to their Visual Art class learning experiences and it was a favourite among many. The key struggle students’ highlighted during their classroom experiences concerned time-management. However the data, while suggesting that students liked Visual Art, also noted that the majority of students had dated notions of the purpose of Visual Art subjects and illustrated that further discussions on the aims of Visual Art Education in accordance to the new ACARA (2011) documents might be beneficial to implementing the national curriculum. The findings also clarified that Visual Art was not perceived as an important class and the minority of student participants saw a future in the creative industries. By identifying through the findings and literature framework the role that goals, self-efficacy and mindsets play within subject selection and motivation, as well as the significance of parent influence, the study was able to highlight the growing need for parental involvement in promoting Visual Art Education, developing a growth mindset and student self-efficacy. The study also implicated the necessity for teachers to promote career pathways in our global and creative economy that are benefited by Visual Art studies. As a whole the study provides insight into potential actions Visual Art teachers at a Private College might explore to improve motivation in the Visual Art classroom and encourage students to elect to continue their studies in Visual Art in the future.

The relationship between arts education, museum education and drama education in elementary education

In this study, the researcher investigated visual arts teacher preparation programs at universities in Louisiana with particular emphasis on the curriculum component. The research was designed to survey teacher training programs and to compare the findings with delineated National Art Education Association standards. This study included only public institutions of higher education in Louisiana with visual arts education teacher preparation programs. The researcher conducted interviews at each of the 13 universities. Two of the universities worked together in a joint art education program. An interview guide was prepared and used to facilitate the interviewing process. Records and documents were also examined to collect data about each of the programs. The researcher used the data collected to prepare profiles for the universities. Each of the programs was then compared to delineated standards to determine discrepancies in the programs. Important findings of the study included: (a) the curricula in the 12 art education programs varied significantly in the major content area, (b) each of the visual arts teacher training programs had discrepancies in their art requirements when compared to the National Art Education Association standards, (c) Louisiana state guidelines for visual arts teacher preparation programs varied from delineated National Art Education Association standards, (d) the number of visual arts education graduates in the past decade varied substantially from the number of visual arts education students being certified, and (e) the number of visual arts education students has declined in the past ten years. After examining the data and findings, the researcher recommended that visual arts teacher preparation programs in Louisiana work to comply with the National Art Education Association standards. It was also recommended that programs address the specific shortcomings in course requirements, course offerings, and faculty competencies.

Competence-Based Education has emerged as a transformative framework within Uganda’s educational landscape, emphasising practical skills, critical thinking, and learner-centred pedagogies. This research investigated the practices, requirements, and challenges associated with implementing competence-based education in Visual Arts across selected secondary schools in Mbarara City, Uganda. Anchored in Constructivist Learning Theory and the Taba Curriculum Model, the study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 Visual Arts educators, 6 school administrators, and 2 curriculum coordinators from secondary schools in Mbarara City, Southwestern Uganda. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework for thematic analysis was employed to investigate classroom, institutional, and curriculum perspectives concerning the implementation of Competence-Based Education (CBE) in Visual Arts. This methodology offered a comprehensive overview of the efforts and experiences of the participants. The findings revealed that although teachers frequently implement project-based and experiential learning strategies aligned with CBE principles, significant gaps persist in professional training, instructional resources, and institutional support. Major challenges identified included insufficient teaching materials, limited opportunities for professional development, large class sizes, and inadequate integration of CBE-aligned assessment strategies. The study concludes that the successful implementation of CBE in Visual Arts education necessitates continuous teacher training, improved resource allocation, and strong policy support. Recommendations entail targeted capacity-building initiatives, the provision of specialised instructional materials, and the establishment of institutional frameworks to monitor and promote the consistent adoption of CBE practices within Visual Arts classrooms.

The integration of digital assessment tools into the educational process emphasized the significance of assessing the knowledge and skills of teachers and teacher candidates in designing, utilizing, and benefiting from these tools. Therefore, it is very important to analyze the competencies of final-year teacher candidates who will serve as teachers in visual arts education, an essential area within education. This study aims to reveal the experiences of senior visual arts teacher candidates in designing digital assessment tools. Designed as a case study, which is one of the qualitative research methods, the present study employs a single-case design. Participants were selected through criterion sampling, a purposive sampling method. The criteria for participation included being a senior undergraduate student, volunteering to participate, and having completed the courses “Visual Arts Education Programs”, “Material Design in Visual Arts Teaching”, and “Assessment and Evaluation in Education” within their degree program. This study was carried out with 26 visual arts teacher candidates (21 female and 5 male) studying in the Department of Art Education at a state university in Türkiye. Data collection was performed using digital assessment tools designed by the participants, besides the structured interview forms. Before the application, participants received an introductory briefing on the identified digital assessment tools and their integration into visual arts education, based on a review of the literature. Participants were given the freedom to choose the digital platform they would use and were tasked with designing a digital assessment tool. After a three-week preparation period, the visual arts teacher candidates who had designed digital assessment tools were asked, “Would you use digital assessment tools in Visual Arts lessons when you become a teacher? Why?” The collected data were categorized under specific themes and subcodes, with participants coded as K1, K2, K3, …. Data analysis was conducted using the qualitative data analysis software MAXQDA, resulting in tabular, visual, and descriptive interpretations. It was observed that participants designed digital assessment tools aligned with the learning areas and achievements of the Visual Arts Course Curriculum. It was found that participants predominantly preferred 5th-grade middle school level in their digital assessment tool designs. Among the learning areas in the Visual Arts Course Curriculum, the most frequently addressed achievements were related to “Cultural Heritage”, and the Wordwall digital platform was the most commonly utilized tool. Grouping was the preferred question type for the assessment tools. All participating visual arts teacher candidates expressed their intention to use digital assessment tools as teachers but noted facing challenges due to a lack of technical knowledge during the preparation process. This research highlights the need for similar studies involving larger groups and deeper investigations. Accordingly, the present study recommends conducting long-term studies to monitor the development of a higher number of participants, investigating the challenges visual arts teacher candidates face in technology usage, and exploring additional digital application examples for use in visual arts education.

Visual arts education is important in developing students’ creativity, critical thinking, and cultural awareness. However, in Ghana, visual arts subjects at the secondary school level often need help with challenges such as lack of resources, large class sizes, and misconceptions about the value of art education. This study aimed to explore innovative approaches and interventions that could address misconceptions and promote effective visual arts education in Ghana’s secondary schools. A qualitative document analysis and thematic analysis were conducted. Relevant policy documents, national curriculum frameworks, and previous research studies related to visual arts education in Ghana were analyzed to identify existing challenges, opportunities, and recommendations. Key emerging themes included misconceptions about visual arts subjects, lack of resources, training for art teachers and large class sizes that do not augur well for hands-on learning. The analysis also identified recommendations such as integrating visual arts across the curriculum, promoting art exhibitions, and leveraging community resources and partnerships to support visual arts programmes. This study provides insights into existing challenges in visual arts education in Ghana’s secondary schools and highlights innovative approaches that could help address misconceptions and strengthen visual arts programmes. Integrating visual arts across subject areas, promoting art exhibitions, improving teacher training, and leveraging community partnerships may help promote effective visual arts education.

This study investigates the potential to encompass questions about transgender and gender fluid identity in the school subject visual art in compulsory school years 7-9. A qualitative semi-structured focus group interview was made with five visual art teachers who discuss visual art in relation to its potential to support personal development, exploration of identity and gender orientation in art education. The article discusses in what way visual art as a school subject can function as communicative support for pupils with gender fluid identity and in what way transgender individuals and individuals with gender fluid identity can be included in the art education in school. The results show that the visual art teachers believe that the subject visual art is a significant tool for pupils in communicating an inner dialogue with an external world. The results also show that multimodal methods give pupils the opportunity to be exploratory and uncertain as well as support them in communicating what is unsaid and unwritten when exploring ongoing changes in gender identity. Visual arts can thus be a forum for pupils to talk about questions concerning transgender and gender fluid identification and serve as a democratic tool to counteract exclusion.

This paper examined instructional strategies for teaching visual arts in a Basic School in Ghana to ascertain the readiness of teachers for the implementation of the new curriculum. In doing so, the paper examines and discusses some best pedagogical practices in developed countries in a contextual analysis through which suggestions were made to help breed agile arts teachers in Ghanaian basic schools. It situates in a case study inquiry through unobtrusive observation by examining instructional pedagogies of visual arts lessons in a selected basic school. Results indicate that pedagogy was mostly teacher-centred than enacting competencies in learners. Blended learning strategies were scarce whereas a focus-group interview with learners revealed their obsession with smartphones but cannot harmonize it with their learning. It is feared that Ghana will be unable to bridge the gap between visual art education and the industry given the ineffective instructional strategies used by creative art teachers. The paper recommends that creative art teachers join professional associations to indulge in personal continuous professional development. A school-based professional development training for creative art teachers is suggested. Whereas policymakers are entreated to develop regulatory policies that would enable both learners and teachers to explore the use of smartphones to expedite learning. Keywords: Agile facilitator, Art education, Blended strategies, Curriculum, Visual art teacher DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-20-07 Publication date: July 31 st 2022

Visual Art educators are keenly aware of the significant contribution art can make to the growth and development of young children as it provides unique opportunities for personal expression and creativity. However, while it is acknowledged that art contributes to the development of the whole child, the link between thought and practice is often tenuous. Hence the question needs to be asked, what do student teachers really think about art and art education. This longitudinal study aimed at an exploration of student teachers prior experiences, existing knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, perceptions and interest in the visual arts. One hundred and ten B.Ed. (Primary) students enrolled in two compulsory Visual Arts Education units of study were surveyed in March 1999 and then in October 2001 to ascertain how they interpreted the term visual arts; how this related to visual arts education (if, in fact it did); where they would position visual arts amongst the other five key learning areas of the primary curriculum; and ultimately how they felt about the prospect of teaching visual arts in a primary school context. The findings of the research revealed a number of significant differences between the initial data (March 1999) and the final data (October 2001).

ABSTRACTThis article addresses the standards of technology in the visual arts, arguing the standards function as de facto policy, the guidelines that shape what teachers teach. In this study, we investigate how art education standards approach technology as a teaching tool and artmaking medium, analyzing the current National Visual Arts Standards, the 21st Century Skills, the National Art Education Association (NAEA) Standards for Art Teacher Preparation, the NAEA Professional Standards for Visual Arts Educators, and how 26 university art education programs teach technology. Because a new set of digital standards were developed as media arts, separate from the visual arts, we believe that media arts should be considered a subset of the larger umbrella of visual arts, seeing visual art educators are the best equipped to address the new digital media arts standards and forms of making. Finally the article makes suggestions about how university art teacher preparation programs can redirect their courses to better relate to contemporary art practices, current educational uses of technology, and the world of ubiquitous computing.