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Art Education And Disability: Re-Envisioning Educational Efficiency, Michelle Kraft

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

The value of efficiency has long been an ideal of educational policy in the United States (Guthrie, 1980). Where the education-and especially the art education-of students who are experiencing disabilities is concerned, traditional notions of efficiency (which are primarily rooted in economic standards of measure) may prove inflexible and inadequate in assessing educational outcomes. Guthrie (1980) equates efficiency in the schools with productivity. He explains that a number of factors may affect productivity, including availability of resources and students' environment and social background; likewise, students' varying (dis)abilities can be added to these factors. Indeed, traditional educational efficiency emphasizes autonomy and …