Several years ago, I enrolled in a graduate course on educational research that focused on closing the achievement gap for African-American children. The course was structured to explore issues, causes and concerns for the achievement gap. Studying different educational outcomes, reading books and articles, we regularly shared our insights about some leading causes. Most importantly, we were instructed to stay within our subject areas when finding any contributions to that gap. In my attempt to complete the assignment of researching possible causes, in my discipline of art education, I found myself frustrated and angry. Why? There were no research studies exploring how art education was a part of the equation leading to solutions in closing the gap. In addition, there were no basic instructions or curricula designed to make connections to the art student to develop critical thinking skills or to incorporate the use of students’ life experiences for learning. Furthermore, I felt that art education was used as a testing ground in urban schools, like the Chicago Public Schools using Teaching Artists to teach art with no teaching certification or teaching qualifications (Booth, 2003). The purpose of this approach was to use their knowledge and practices of art to influence change in students’ learning. This kind of experiment branched away from any real effort to integrate art education and truly recognize it as a viable core subject area. While conducting research for the course, I found that researchers defined the achievement gap between white and African-American students solely in terms of the four core subjects of math, science, social studies, and language arts, with no attention given to art education (e.g., Berlak, 2001, Honig, 2001, Limn, 2000, Sacks, 2000). A study by the National Black Caucus entitled Closing the Achievement Gap: Improving Education Outcomes for African American Children (November, 2001) reports: Make improving the literacy skills of students a top priority. Students who cannot read will experience little success in school. Reading is the key to academic achievement in every subject, ranging from math and English to science and history. We must put reading first by finding initiatives and programs designed to strengthen the reading skills of students, particularly low-performing students. Again, there was no mention of art. As both an African-American and an art teacher, I found it very disturbing that the recommendations of many national and local art educational organizations and schools failed to address the importance of teaching art education in African-American urban school settings. My dissertation research ultimately arose from this concern.
I am an art teacher. For the past 15 years, I have taught middle school students in an urban school district in metropolitan Detroit. My students learn how to draw, sketch, paint, and sculpt in a variety of media, ranging from pencils, to crayons, to water color, to clay, to fabric, to jewelry. They also learn important art concepts such as shape, pattern, texture, balance, symmetry, proximity, and closure. My students learn a lot about art in my class, and I enjoy teaching them. However, there is one thing about being an art teacher that has always frustrated me. Art does not receive the same respect as the other school subjects. Whenever budgets are tight, the art program is considered expendable. It is typically viewed by parents and educators as mere “enrichment” rather than a viable and essential part of the school curriculum. Groups such as the National Art Education Association (NAEA) advocate for the importance of art by treating it as another core subject area that should be valued as highly as science, math, social studies, and language arts. While I generally agree with this stance, I think they are missing a critical argument for the value of art. By framing art as a stand-along core subject area, they neglect the essential connections among art and the other disciplines. In this dissertation, I argue that art is not only important for its own sake, but is also a fundamental means through which students can learn the core subjects. As an art teacher, I teach more than “just” art. I also integrate math, science, social studies, and language arts into my art lesson plans in meaningful ways. Unlike any other art teachers whom I have encountered throughout my career, I actually align my lessons with the standards for the core subjects taken from the Michigan Curriculum Framework, and I also regularly communicate with my students’ teachers in the core subjects in order to achieve curricular continuity in my classroom. The purpose of this dissertation, which is framed as a qualitative autobiographical self-study, is to explore my own development as an art teacher and show how my unique approach to art education evolved from my personal experiences. Through telling my story, I hope to influence the decisions of policy makers regarding art education, in order to strengthen the position of art within the school community. I also hope to enlighten the practices of other art teachers who face the same kinds of frustrations and constraints that I have experienced. Background of My Journey Several years ago, I enrolled in a graduate course on educational research that focused on closing the achievement gap for African-American children. The course was structured to explore issues, causes and concerns for the achievement gap. Studying different educational outcomes, reading books and articles, we regularly shared our insights about some leading causes. Most importantly, we were instructed to stay within our subject areas when finding any contributions to that gap. In my attempt to complete the assignment of researching possible causes, in my discipline of art education, I found myself frustrated and angry. Why? There were no research studies exploring how art education was a part of the equation leading to solutions in closing the gap. In addition, there were no basic instructions or curricula designed to make connections to the art student to develop critical thinking skills or to incorporate the use of students’ life experiences for learning. Furthermore, I felt that art education was used as a testing ground in urban schools, like the Chicago Public Schools using Teaching Artists to teach art with no teaching certification or teaching qualifications (Booth, 2003). The purpose of this approach was to use their knowledge and practices of art to influence change in students’ learning. This kind of experiment branched away from any real effort to integrate art education and truly recognize it as a viable core subject area. While conducting research for the course, I found that researchers defined the achievement gap between white and African-American students solely in terms of the four core subjects of math, science, social studies, and language arts, with no attention given to art education (e.g., Berlak, 2001, Honig, 2001, Limn, 2000, Sacks, 2000). A study by the National Black Caucus entitled Closing the Achievement Gap: Improving Education Outcomes for African American Children (November, 2001) reports: Make improving the literacy skills of students a top priority. Students who cannot read will experience little success in school. Reading is the key to academic achievement in every subject, ranging from math and English to science and history. We must put reading first by finding initiatives and programs designed to strengthen the reading skills of students, particularly low-performing students. Again, there was no mention of art. As both an African-American and an art teacher, I found it very disturbing that the recommendations of many national and local art educational organizations and schools failed to address the importance of teaching art education in African-American urban school settings. My dissertation research ultimately arose from this concern.