Art Education Commons^™

Journey Of Becoming: Risk And Self-Determination In The Story Of Self For Adults With Intellectual, Developmental, And Learning Disabilities A Phenomenological Case Study Employing Narrative Inquiry And Thematic Analysis, Christopher R. J. Worth

Dissertations

This phenomenological case study, employing narrative inquiry and thematic analysis, captured the first-person voice of emerging adults (ages 20–28) with intellectual, developmental, and learning disabilities to explore how experiences of risk and self-determination shaped their personal narratives, or story of self. Guided by Critical Disability Theory, Foucault’s concept of relational power, and Shogren’s Causal Agency Theory, the study challenged the systemic bubble-wrapping that denies this population the "dignity of risk" (Perske, 1972). Data were collected from six participants through semi-structured interviews, adapted photovoice submissions, and participant selfreflections. The findings revealed that the phenomenon of becoming, catalyzed by intellectual adaptive risk-taking, …

An Application Of Vocal Pedagogy For Thai Singers, Phitchaya Klimov

Dissertations

Vocal pedagogy incorporates diverse techniques and methodologies that aim to maintain longevity of the voice and to improve vocal performance, range, and tone. While vocal pedagogy has been extensively studied in Western music traditions, its application in the context of Thai singers remains unfamiliar. This dissertation will investigate the application of vocal pedagogy for Thai singers, with a focus on understanding the unique challenges faced by them. It will outline pedagogical approaches to address these challenges and will therefore lead to more authentic performances. “Complete mastery of the voice as an instrument is an idea toward which every singer must …

Reimagining Pedagogies Of The Prison Yard: Using Ethnotheatre To Embody Transcarceral Conocimiento, Mabelle Reynoso

Dissertations

Latinxs make up 40% of California's population but account for 45% of the prison population and 47% of the jail population (Sawyer, 2023). Their overrepresentation in carceral custody not only impacts the individual but also affects families and communities by limiting access to social, political, and educational capital and agency. In response to gaps in research specific to the collateral impact, this interdisciplinary arts-based qualitative study highlights the experiences of five formerly incarcerated Latino men who participated in an Arts in Corrections playwriting class during their time in a California state prison. This study foregrounds their knowledge as cuentistas (storytellers), …

Examining The Creative Process Of Visual Artists: A Phenomenological Study, Filiberto Vargas

Dissertations

Creativity fuels problem solving and innovation, driving both economic growth and individual success. Yet, many schools and organizations fail to nurture it. Today, there is a decline in creativity scores among U.S. students. This is concerning since many of these students will be the future leaders of organizations and communities. For this reason, this dissertation explores the creative process of visual artists to better understand how creativity can be cultivated. Visual artists' perspectives and sense-and-meaning-making processes offer a unique view of innovation and creativity. However, there is limited research on the creative processes of contemporary visual artists from culturally diverse …

The Value Of Mentorship For Black Ballerinas, Anna Dunn

Dissertations

Much research has been done in other fields about the relationship of gender and race to the success of mentors to increase student confidence to pursue additional training or a career in certain fields. The purpose of this study was to articulate formally the importance of the relationship between Black ballet students and a mentor who has lived a similar life experience, having navigated the ballet industry as a Black ballerina. This research sought to answer the questions of what value do Black ballet students perceive in having a Black ballerina as a mentor and how white ballet teachers can …

Talking Back To The Elpac: Resilient Resistance And (Re)Imagining Through Ypart, Zulema Reynoso

Dissertations

Policies that label and track students based on language and race dismiss the voices and lived experiences of English learners (ELs) through forced fits and ideologies that devalue multiple languaging and ways of knowing. This qualitative study explores how an educator and 20 seventh-grade bi/multilingual Latinx students labeled long-term English learners (LTELs) reimagined how language is perceived, taught, and assessed across traditional schooling contexts and language policy landscapes. Drawing from LatCrit theory, Latina/Chicana feminisms, and dimensions of youth participatory action research (YPAR), this study centered both LTELs as jóvenes educados (dignified youth) and a conceptualized taller (studio space) to affirm …

Administrative Leaders' Viewpoints About The Significance Of Art Education In Schools, Jennifer Luckett

Dissertations

The value of art education and people’s perspective of its value have been subjects of research throughout the years. Art programs are usually the first to be eliminated when there are budget cuts in the public-school systems. This study examines policy, history, and teachers’, parents’, and students’ viewpoints of the value of art education. It also analyzes the researched value that an art education provides. As there is little to no research on administrative leaders’ viewpoints, this research study utilized Q-methodology to determine administrators’ viewpoints on their personal value of art education. The main goal of this research was to …

K-12 Teachers’ Retention Of Arts Integrated Professional Development, Roxane Mcwilliams

Dissertations

Arts integration is an interdisciplinary teaching model in which the arts become a conduit for the contextualization and understanding of non-arts content. Research has shown this approach increases academic engagement and content retention (Rinne et al., 2011). The use of arts integration also provides gains for teachers. Teachers perceive their practice more innovative and better able to reach the needs of diverse learners (Bellisario & Donovan, 2012). For the benefits of arts integrated learning to be achieved, teachers must acquire the knowledge and techniques of this teaching model. This requires knowledge in both arts content as well as the pedagogical …

The Integration Of Art: A Multiple Case Study Of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, And Math (Steam) Schools In Three Schools In Southern California, Reyna Esther Smith

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to describe and analyze how schools that implement a STEAM program include the arts in their integrated program. The study focused on 3 K-12 schools in Southern California that are located in the Antelope Valley high desert region of the state. This multi-case study analyzed an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school that are in different districts in the area.

Methodology: This multi-case study used qualitative data to analyze the research questions regarding art infusion in STEAM programs and teacher and leader perspectives. Drawing from interviews of teachers …

Equity And Ability Grouping: A Study Of Whole-School Practices And Reflections On Vocal Music Education, Daniel Glossenger, Andrew Cowell

Dissertations

This co-authored dissertation is a macro-level case study of a public high school tracking system and a micro-level autoethnography from a music educator about vocal music placement practices. The case study sought to comprehensively describe and analyze the characteristics of a tracking system in all core subjects at a single school, including the extent of differentiation of levels, placement practices, student mobility, teacher tracking, and inclusiveness by race, class, and gender. It also used network analysis software to map more than 75,000 connections among students created by their course-taking; it used this to quantitatively identify student communities, which then were …

Exploring The Characteristic Triad Of Resilience: Personal Disposition, Family Support And The Environment Within The Cultural Context Of Quality Mariachi Academies In The Impoverished Central Valley Of California, Lucia Vazquez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study, was to explore through the lens of the Characteristic Triad of Resilience: personal disposition, family support and environment, how participation in community-based Quality Mariachi Academies (QMA) in impoverished counties contribute to educational resilience.

Methodology: This qualitative multi-case study explored the lived experience of ten resilient students in the impoverished San Joaquin Valley of Central California, utilizing the Characteristic Triad of Resilience as the framework in the context of Quality Mariachi Academies. Data collected from resilient students was triangulated with data from parents, grandparents and site staff.

Findings: Community-based Quality Mariachi Academies …

Do After-School Performing Arts Programs Impact Student Attendance?, Robert G. Hubbird

Dissertations

This three-part dissertation concentrates on student attendance. It is clear that we have a student attendance problem in our nation, particularly in urban school districts. There have been other studies, discussions, and debates on how to improve student attendance, but identifying a single policy, program, incentive, and/or intervention to positively impact absenteeism is difficult. Student absenteeism has and will continue to be a national problem. Many factors play a role in student attendance, to a certain degree, some are controllable and others are extremely difficult to affect.

Part I of this dissertation is a Program Evaluation focusing on the correlation …

Attendance Matters! We Must Decrease Student Truancy And Absenteeism, Robert G. Hubbird

Dissertations

This three-part dissertation concentrates on student attendance. It is clear that we have a student attendance problem in our nation, particularly in urban school districts. There have been other studies, discussions, and debates on how to improve student attendance, but identifying a single policy, program, incentive, and/or intervention to positively impact absenteeism is difficult. Student absenteeism has and will continue to be a national problem. Many factors play a role in student attendance, to a certain degree, some are controllable and others are extremely difficult to affect.

Part II of this dissertation is a Changed Leadership Plan focusing on a …

Attendance Matters! A Policy Advocacy Document, Robert G. Hubbird

Dissertations

This three-part dissertation concentrates on student attendance. It is clear that we have a student attendance problem in our nation, particularly in urban school districts. There have been other studies, discussions, and debates on how to improve student attendance, but identifying a single policy, program, incentive, and/or intervention to positively impact absenteeism is difficult. Student absenteeism has and will continue to be a national problem. Many factors play a role in student attendance, to a certain degree, some are controllable and others are extremely difficult to affect.

This Part III of the dissertation is a Policy Advocacy for absenteeism at …

Cognitive Function And The Administration Of A Writing Strategy Compendium Incorporating Autobiographical Recall And Art, Jonnie Sue Cleveland

Dissertations

The ability to write is vital in many academic areas (U.S. Department of Education, 2011). Roughly 70 percent of U. S. students in a representative sampling during 2010 (grades 8 and 12) scored only at the Basic (fractional grasp of prerequisite information and abilities) level and below (U.S. Department of Education, 2011).

Fifty-four percent of students in the eighth grade and 52 percent of students in the twelfth grade in the United States scored at the Basic level. Another 20 percent of students in the eight grade and 21percent of students in the twelfth grade scored below the Basic level. …

Attitudinal Factors Of Teachers Regarding Arts Integration, Sara Elston Williams

Dissertations

The integration of the arts provides an enriched learning and teaching environment where teachers become facilitators of meaningful and engaging activities and lessons that increase student achievement. This study examined the attitudinal factors possessed by educators in schools who participate in the Whole Schools Initiative and those who do not. This study also reported the perceptions of arts integration by classroom teachers who participate in the Whole Schools Initiative and those who do not participate in the Whole Schools Initiative. The Teaching With the Arts Survey (TWAS) was used to determine if statistically significant differences exist on teacher attitudes, self-efficacy, …

K-1 Teachers’ Visual Arts Beliefs And Their Role In The Early Childhood Classroom, Blythe Annette Goodman-Schanz

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the visual arts beliefs and practices of eight K-1 teachers in four schools and in two different school districts in a southern state. Using a phenomenological framework (Creswell, 2007; Leedy & Ormrod, 2005), the research revealed the teachers’ understandings of beliefs and how they applied them to their early childhood classrooms. Data were collected consisting of formal and informal interviews with the eight teachers. Interview data were analyzed using triangulation in phenomenological reflection suggested by van Manen (1990). The analysis yielded three major themes and three sub-themes. The first …

In Quest Of Walter Smith: The Past, Present, And Future Impact Of Visual Art In Adult Education, Meredith Amanda Cole

Dissertations

Walter Smith is a relatively unknown historical figure in the art world, but he is essential to defining adult education's past, present, and future in the area of visual art. His artistic endeavors in America sparked facets of the way art education is practiced today. However, along the way we have lost the tenets of social change which he sought but never accomplished. In chapter one, I introduce the purpose of the research. In chapter two, I explain the position Walter Smith entered when coming to America. I also detail Smith's Herculean social reform efforts for adult education and why …

How Can Art Education Enhance The Content Subject Area In An Urban School Setting?, Lonnie Ford

Dissertations

Parents and educators have traditionally viewed it as mere "enrichment" rather than a viable and essential part of the school curriculum. To address this issue, professional groups such as the National Art Education Association (NAEA) have consistently advocated for the importance of art by framing it as another core subject area that should be valued as highly as science, math, social studies, and language arts. Unfortunately, such a stance ignores another critical argument for the value of art. When it is framed as a stand-alone core subject area, essential connections among art and the other disciplines are neglected.

In this …

Self-Criticism As Experienced By Performing Artists A Phenomenological Study, Rosemary Hakes

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and document the essence of the experience of self-criticism for performing artists with the aim of providing recommendations for educational and therapeutic purposes. Moustakas (1994) defines essence as “that which is common or universal, the condition or quality without which a thing would not be what it is” (p. 100). In this study a phenomenological research paradigm was used. Each step in the data reduction process built directly toward revelation of essence through synthesis.

The central question guiding this research was: What is the essence of self-criticism as it is experienced by …