Education Commons^™

Enacting Place: A Comparative Case Study, Anna Grosch

Theses and Dissertations

As a community-based art educator, I advocate for an arts-based educational environment that embraces postmodern tenets and encourages individuals to reflect on self and society in relation to the places in which they dwell and learn. This thesis is a dialogue on emplaced community-based art education. Issues of urban education, social justice, and critical pedagogy are considered in relation to participants’ enactments of place within two distinct community-based educational settings. In order to investigate the connections between a culture of place, place-based education, and the community-based programs of each site, the role of art and artifacts was carefully considered in …

Interdisciplinary Connections Between Science & Theatre, Jessica N. Dotson

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SCIENCE & THEATRE

Jessica Nicole Dotson

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015.

Major Director: Dr. Noreen C. Barnes, Director of Graduate Studies, Associate Professor of Theatre

In the 1990s, astronomer Peter Usher was searching for new ways to teach his introductory astronomy class at Pennsylvania State University. He began to engage his students by searching for astronomical connections from other disciplines. His focus was turned to the arts, especially the works of William Shakespeare. Usher found, while …

Sankofa Art Education: A Cultural Basis For Ghanaian Art Education, Esi Sam Annan

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a curriculum research project that focuses on teaching the traditional arts of Ghana and enduring artistic ideas to Ghanaian basic school students. It has been designed based on data from a survey conducted with experts in Ghana arts history and on the traditional arts of Ghana. The curriculum covers the major arts practiced by the traditional artists. It also recognizes some contemporary Ghanaian artists and their artworks.

This study offers insights into Ghanaian basic school art teachers’ philosophies and experience with their traditional arts. Through analysis of the findings, the major themes that emerged were changes in …