Education Commons^™

Teaching On The Möbius: Exploring The Inner And Outer Landscapes Of Teacher Practice, Barth A. Quenzer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The practice of teaching takes on renewed significance in today’s changing educational landscape. In the quest for transformative teaching and learning, there are both familiar and unfamiliar paths to be traversed. While significant contributions are being made by culturally responsive pedagogies, less is understood about the inner life of teachers as they navigate the outer systems of their practice. To address this area of research opportunity, the author used the conceptual framework of humanizing pedagogy and deep pedagogy to explore the inner and outer landscapes of teacher practice. As a method of inquiry, educational criticism afforded a qualitative approach for …

What A Way To Spend The Day: A Curated Multiple-Case Study Of College Counselors And Their Guidance Of Prospective Music Majors, Stephen Campbell

Higher Education: Doctoral Research Projects

In the increasingly complex world of college choice, high school counselors are an important resource for college-bound students, yet the environment these counselors find themselves in is one that focuses on questions of value and return on investment, resulting in the elevation of some academic disciplines over others. Using a multiple-case study design and Eisner’s criticism and connoisseurship method, this qualitative study seek to describe how college counselors at Arizona School for the Arts guide prospective music major through college and major choice by exploring how counselors’ backgrounds predisposed them to guiding students through college and major choice, their perception …

Multicultural Perceptions Of Creativity, Abby Noel Winterbrook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multicultural Perceptions of Creativity examined perceptions of creativity among eight creatively gifted adults from diverse backgrounds who have a profession in an arts related field. This study examined what the phenomenon of creativity is and how it is experienced. The beliefs that inform perceptions of creativity were explored. The experiences that inform perceptions of creativity were described. The interactions among beliefs and experiences were considered. The data collected revealed that creativity is an instinct that each person possesses and can activate within themselves. Creativity can be nurtured based on environment and through personal, educational, professional, and cultural experiences. Creativity involves …

Creating Life-Long Relationships With The Arts: A Caring Philosophical Approach, Jennifer Sparkman Bartee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is important to understand how performing and visual arts teachers make their classes personally relevant for students. This study examines what the intentions of elementary performing and visual arts teachers who chose to teach with additional affective content. Four research questions were addressed in this study: 1) What are the instructional intentions of care-oriented elementary arts teachers? 2) What are the affective intentions of care-oriented elementary arts teachers? 3) How are these intentions actualized (or not actualized) within elementary arts classrooms? 4) What is the significance of these findings for elementary schools throughout the country?

To respond to these …

The Impact Of A High School Theatre Arts Program On Students’ Academic And Non-Academic Learning Outcomes: A Case Study, Grant H. Goble

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that theatre arts participation benefits students’ academic and non-academic learning outcomes. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the impact of a theatre arts program on academic and non-academic for high school students by addressing the following overarching research question: How does student participation in a theatre arts program impact students’ learning outcomes? The subquestions are: (a) how do students describe the impact of a theatre arts program in relation to academic learning outcomes?, (b) how do students describe the impact of a theatre arts program in relation to non-academic learning outcomes? The study follows …

Symmetry Identified In 2-Dimensional Artwork Compositions Using Visuospatial Ability, Theresa Ferg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the John Langdon Down Foundation A.C. in the La Escuela Mexicana de Arte Down school in Mexico City D.F., Mexico, art students with Trisomy 21 display the use of a mathematical construct in the painting compositions of their artworks. The mathematical construct is a type of symmetry and it carries a positive affect. This is important because there have been no studies that have investigated the use of the symmetry in the artwork compositions of persons with Down syndrome. The geometric construction of the artwork compositions follows the artistic principle of the Rule of Three and the division of …

The Abc's Of Art Teacher Professional Identity: An A/R/Tographic Investigation Into The Interstitial Spaces, Sarabeth G. Berk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are more than teachers, however, they do not often discuss, define or identify their multiple professional identities they possess. Likewise, society narrowly perceives and categorizes the conception of teacher, and disregards practices teachers perform that do not fit neatly into established constructs within the profession. This research study explores the multiple professional identities of teachers, specifically art teachers, to understand how they perceive themselves as professionals, and furthermore, to investigate what happens when professional identities intersect, overlap, and create hybrid spaces. Teacher professional identity, multiple identity, intersectionality, and developmental evolution of self are key constructs within this research.

To …

Engaging Young Children In The Art Museum: An Educational Criticism Of An Art Museum Summer Class, Kristina N. Mahoney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project serves to identify a set of conditions leading to engagement for four- and five-year-old students in an art museum summer class. Utilizing Eisner’s theory on qualitative research, educational criticism and connoisseurship (1998), the researcher interviewed, observed, and received responses to a questionnaire in order to describe, interpret, and analyze the educational event of the summer class. By identifying the intentions of the class, the report describes a set of three objectives acting as a foundation for the classes’ implementation - comfort, empowerment, and connection to collection. Based on analysis of the implementation of these aims, as seen …

Visual Arts Assessment In The Age Of Educational Accountability, Donna Jackson Goodwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Art teachers have, in some manner, always assessed student learning and progress. However, many art teachers do not have the training in assessment to be able to describe and defend their process, nor has there been research to support the effectiveness of how art teachers assess student learning. This study examines the ways six visual art teachers from five districts teaching in traditional public schools at the elementary, middle, and high school levels assess visual art. It demonstrates how they are using information gathered from assessments and whether their philosophies of art education influence their actions. Parents and administrators were …

The Pedagogical Role Of Reggio-Inspired Studios In Early Childhood Education, Laura Ann Ganus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The influence of the Reggio Emilia philosophy has been present in early childhood programs across the United States for decades, with many programs attempting to adapt the philosophy's concept of a studio, but few studies have examined them. This study describes, interprets, and appraises two Reggio-inspired studios in the United States in order to provide an in-depth analysis and shed new light on such practices.

Four questions guided this study: 1) What is the role of a studio in a Reggio-inspired school? 2) What is happening in the studio? 3) What are children learning in this environment? 4) How does …

An Exploratory Comparative Study Of Students' Thinking In Arts Classrooms, Delane Ingalls Vanada

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To be successfully intelligent in the 21st century, students must be able to think well in at least three ways: creatively, critically, and practically, with complexity and wisdom. The purpose of this research was to explore the differences in middle school students' quality of thinking in arts classrooms that are designed to be learner centered to a greater or lesser degree. Classroom environments which foster balanced intelligence in analytical, creative, and practical ways toward depth of understanding were the focus of this study. A better understanding of the impact of learner-centered environments on students' perceptions of their learning and understanding …

Closer To The Heart: An Exploration Of Caring And Creative Visual Arts Classrooms, Juli B. Kramer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study demonstrates how caring and creative secondary level visual arts classes facilitate the development of learning environments that enliven and expect the best of students; help them develop as autonomous and creative learners; provide them opportunities to care for others and the world around them; and keep them connected to their schools and education. It highlights how the intentions and operations of teachers impact student learning, creative risk taking, and interpersonal relations within and beyond the classroom. It also uncovers novel ways of thinking about arts education as a means to enhance positive individual and social development and vividly …

Teacher Artistry And The Not-So-Still Life Of Arts-Centered School Reform, Cassandra Andres Trousas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite a current climate that often undervalues the arts in education, arts-centered schools and school reform continue to proliferate. This study describes, interprets and evaluates arts-centered school reform which is defined within this study as the comprehensive and intentional restructuring and re-culturing of schools using the theories and practices of the arts and arts-learning as the primary basis for educational change decisions to uncover its aims, practices and significance.

Four research questions guided this study: 1) What are the aims of arts-centered school reformers in the two schools studied? 2) What does arts-centered school reform look like in practice? 3) …