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Questions Asked in Art-museum Education Research

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Elizabeth Vallance 2

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Vallance, E. (2007). Questions Asked in Art-museum Education Research. In: Bresler, L. (eds) International Handbook of Research in Arts Education. Springer International Handbook of Research in Arts Education, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3052-9_47

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Article contents

Arts education research.

Benjamin Jörissen , Benjamin Jörissen Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg
Leopold Klepacki Leopold Klepacki Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg
and Ernst Wagner Ernst Wagner Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.31
Published online: 24 May 2018

Research in arts education is characterized by a tension between presupposed theoretical concepts about “arts” and “education,” on the one hand, and the global field of untheorized arts education practices, on the other hand. This complexity is greatly magnified by the various historical and cultural understandings that characterize both the institutionalization of the arts as well as arts education itself. The fact that research traditions are themselves closely connected to a particular field of arts education adds an additional dimension to this complex question: according to our meta-studies relating to arts education-research, it is particularly evident that (1) Western and Eurocentric biases are quite dominant in this research field and that (2) well-established (Western, highbrow) art genres are dominating the research landscape, tying specific research styles, research interests, and objectives toghether.

To avoid normative and potentially hegemonial biases resulting from this situation, we analyze various arts education research approaches according to their the ontological, epistemological, and methodological anchorings. Based upon this, we develop a general meta-model of arts education research, combining a typology of perspectives defining arts education research and a set of dispositive dichotomies constitutive for this field.

arts education
aesthetic education
arts education research

Introduction

Writing an overview of a research field from an international perspective means deciding about one’s intentions: Does one strive for an inventory of current relevant studies? Does one intend to present contemporary guidelines and prospects of research? Or is it supposed to be an international comparison of research approaches, research goals, ways of understanding research and research topics according to specific, selected criteria? In this article we take a meta-analytical perspective on research in arts education.

First, we examine the research in a structural and strictly theoretical general sense and attempt to generate a basic epistemological understanding of research in arts education. Second, we examine its various international forms and the empirical, historical, and discourse-analytical nature of the research. We aim to make visible different examples of scientific discourse and traditions, ways of understanding, and practices of what is internationally postulated and practiced as research in the field of arts education.

As it would be impossible to make a comprehensive analysis of the entire discourse on the subject, we can only proceed by making reference to a selected field of discourse exemplified by a limited corpus of texts. In this respect, we refer to contemporary compilations, handbooks, and yearbooks in the English language that address an international audience.

In order to develop such a meta-analytical view, it is important to clarify at the outset the premises and perspectives underlying our approach to the topic under discussion. We therefore enquire what preconceptions underpin the topic in question and which factors influence these preconceptions. Furthermore, since arts education is a matter of practice, we suppose that it exists independently from any research, but at the same time we need to acknowledge that research practices themselves participate in, and are influenced by, certain cultural, social, institutional, and professional phenomena.

Indeed, we suggest that research and practices are (onto-)logically independent from one another but, at the same time, praxeologically interwoven. We furthermore suppose that arts education exists as a field of educational practice characterized by widely different ideas about culture, arts, education, and learning. Accordingly, arts education must be understood to be a multi-level and pluralist field, and it must be assumed that there is not one kind of arts education and that there may be no such thing as one concept of arts education. Indeed, in terms of defining arts education it seems obvious to assume an “umbrella principle” rather than a systematically defined phenomenon or field.

From this general consideration, and before any defining statement can be formulated on research in arts education, we can establish a perspective that will serve to structure the relevant considerations. That is to say, given the heterogeneous inter- or trans-disciplinary nature and the complex phenomenality of the practical field, research in arts education cannot be based on a uniform research principle. Considering the variety of scientific methods, methodologies, and paradigms involved, it is necessary to employ a meta-analytical approach in order to discover how the research field is structured, what research logics and research practices are pursued, and what research perspectives on arts education can be identified.

Accordingly, this text supports the thesis that, in the context of the various research approaches and perspectives, arts education is not only researched but also construed in different ways. The kind of research referred to by the term “research in arts education” can only be grasped appropriately by examining the socio-cultural and historical influences, the subject-related influences, as well as the politico-normative influences, patterns, and guidelines both of the social scientists involved and of their analytical practices.

In this sense, this text does not evaluate the research in question so much as describe and classify its findings. In the course of this article we will approach the field of research in arts education from three distinct perspectives.

Concept and discourse theory . Here we identify the conceptual framework underpinning the scientific discourse on research in “arts education” or “arts and education.” We also investigate how certain types of scientific discourse regarding arts education operate and what rationale they suggest.

Ontology, epistemology, and methodology . Here we identify the connection between scientific definitions or topic constructions, scientific epistemic interests, and scientific methodological procedures in arts education research.

Research perspectives, procedures, and basic attitudes . Here we identify any approaches in the field of arts education research that could be regarded as typical.

Following on from these three considerations, we further examine possible international scientific perspectives, perceived gaps in the research, and possible points of interest for the future.

Concepts of Arts Education and Their Discourse Dimensions

Research in arts education can only be described by examining, at the outset, which horizons of meaning will be opened up by the terms “research,” “art(s),” and “education,” by enquiring how these terms and concepts are used, which traditions they reflect, and which practices and phenomena they exemplify.

In this context, the connection between phenomenon and term is of double relevance, in so far as the term “arts education” denotes the phenomenon of arts education, while at the same time, however, it is the practices of, and scientific discourse surrounding, arts education that bestow semantic meaning on the term “arts education” in a multi-leveled way. This happens both contextually—in a historical, social, and cultural way—and separately—in a discipline- and field-related way. Although the field appears to be shaped by pedagogy, a variety of sciences contribute to its research. The range covers almost all fields of social and cultural sciences, art studies, as well as the natural sciences. Thus, different practices and sciences create different concepts, and different definitions of concepts create different perceptions and ideas of what arts education is or may be. In other words, the structures and logic of the scientific field of “research in arts education” can be described only if, at the same time, we consider both the practical fields of arts education and the mechanisms of the respective ways of developing the umbrella term “arts education” (Bresler, 2007 , p. xvii) in the sciences and in practical work. The analysis of “convergences, shifts or discrepancies in the relation between concept and factual circumstance” (Koselleck, 2006 , p. 99, our translation) is no academic end in itself but a crucial approach to understanding “arts education.” This understanding also concerns cultural and political dimensions, advocacy, and policy in the practical field of arts education. A conceptual perspective, understood as a process of making visible, defines a topic of public discourse as this topic. In this sense, what follows concerns relating concepts and phenomena in such a way as to show the topic-related and phenomenon-related interpretational power of conceptualization and how understanding concepts is an irreducible factor in the grasping or understanding of realities (Koselleck, 2006 , p. 99).

This is of great significance because the discourses on “research” in arts education, which are parallel to the development of the discourses and “practices” of arts education, have been of an interdisciplinary and cross-border nature. “Crossing borders is not a new phenomenon in arts education” (Bresler, 2007 , p. xviii); against the background of cultural and economic globalization, traditionally separate fields have moved closer to each other. Thus a “softening of boundaries” (Bresler, 2007 , p. xvii), for the purpose of establishing connections, allowing for interdisciplinary inspiration, and initiating dialogue or polylogues, is a programmatic feature of this field of research. In this respect, arts education research aims to cultivate “an awareness among the various arts education communities about compelling, relevant literatures in their ‘sister’ disciplines, and to foster communication and dialogue among these communities in order to enrich knowledge and informed practice” (Bresler, 2007 , p. xix).

With respect to an increasing international and intercultural polylogue on arts education and its research, the scientific discourse mirrors an awareness both of the necessity and fruitfulness of the openness and plurality of the field as well as its attendant challenges, obstacles, and limitations in terms of scientific research (Keuchel, 2015 ). See, for example, the results of the first and second UNESCO World Conferences of Arts Education in Lisbon in 2006 and in Seoul in 2010 .

It is therefore to be expected that the mapping of both arts education and arts education research will develop as a major effort of international and transnational research (Knol, 2014 ). Any evaluation of the situation is relevant in discursive terms simply because, given the complexity and heterogeneity of the field, it is impossible to achieve global systematization. In this context, the collecting of approaches, ideas, and concepts should take place in the most open way, so that the cultural and social features of the various perspectives and ways of understanding may appear as authentic as possible.

This approach, which is pursued, for example, in the Third International Yearbook for Research in Arts Education (Schonmann, 2015 ), aims at generating a “corpus of wisdom by the Many” [sic] (Schonmann, 2015 , p. 11), which, by taking further steps, may work “as a resource of data and a platform for further research, including comparative research and a meta-analysis of methodological and conceptual issues in arts education” (Schonmann, 2015 , p. 11). However, this potential is problematic in that the individual contributions are not only topically different, but they frequently appear to be scientifically or linguistically incommensurable: “Entries expose a wide range of different levels of presentation and are not uniform in their presentation” (Schonmann, 2015 , p. 11).

International Discourse Constructions of Arts, Education, and Research as Topic Fields

What is the actual connection between arts, education, and research? What conceptual understanding and research questions are identifiable in this field? There is no comprehensive empirical answer to such questions, but the international compilations published in recent years provide some insight at least into that part of the research discourse that is trans-disciplinary and trans-nationally oriented. For this purpose, we have conducted content analyses of the relevant volumes (Bresler, 2007 ; Fleming, Bresler, & O’Toole, 2015 ; Schonmann, 2015 ). Furthermore, a quantitative analysis has been conducted of the most voluminous one containing approximately 150 contributions to 1,500 pages (Bresler, 2007 ).

In what follows, these findings will be completed by the results of a detailed meta-study of the research field in Germany, which examined over 15,000 relevant titles, about 1,300 of which, identified as contributions to the research field of arts and cultural education, were analyzed in detail. While these results can only reflect the particular research landscape of Germany, they provide some valuable insights into the structural relations between arts research, research styles and methodologies, and research issues and perspectives (Liebau & Jörissen, 2013 ).

It must be stated as a caveat that the relevant, global discourse-related compilations on arts education or arts research provide only a selective depiction of the research field. For example, none of the international compilations in question represents South Asia or India. Second, all volumes show a marked quantitative predominance of Anglo-American and/or European contributions; in all the volumes under consideration, at least two thirds of the contributions come from Anglo-American or European countries.

If we question the agenda setting concerning arts and education comparatively in terms of topical construction, there are significant differences most of all when it comes to understanding the term “arts.” In the Anglo-American and European contributions, the word is a fixed umbrella term for the established arts such as music, dance, fine arts, visual arts, theater/drama, and literature/poetry and is found as a topical construction about twice as often as in contributions from other countries. Furthermore, in terms of methodology, the authors from the Anglo-American and European countries mentioned in Bresler ( 2007 ) make twice as many “programmatic” contributions, which are those based on theoretical positions with normative implications rather than on empirical studies.

This impression is confirmed by the explicitly research-oriented compilation by Fleming et al. ( 2015 ), which represents primarily English-speaking and European authors; only one essay in this volume is “trans-continentally” authored, including also East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania (here, in particular, the Maori culture).

However, our quantitative analysis demonstrates that an overemphasis on the stereotypical distinction between “Western” versus “non-Western” must be treated with caution, as this binary opposition inappropriately reduces the diversity of positions, including the considerably different perspectives within the individual contributions from English-speaking America and Europe. It is urgent to internationalize the research discourse, especially in view of the need to include post-colonial perspectives (Spivak, 2013 ).

In the field of “arts education,” research applies traditional and established concepts of art, including music, dance, theater/drama, fine arts/visual arts, and literature/poetry, whereas it gives little consideration to either non-classical theoretical constructions of aesthetic practices such as “visual culture” or any new fields of aesthetic production such as digital games.

The more traditionally established concepts of arts as reference points are rarely explained in terms of theory or differentiated in the context of the research contributions. This is a clear indication of how much they are rooted in traditional educational fields of practice for which the question of a theoretically consistent topical construction is rarely a question of urgency.

Indeed, topical construction is often merely implicit rather than explicitly stated, which tends to lead to non-transparent assumptions concerning the methods and goals of “education.” Second, contributions seldom differentiate between subgenres and substyles, even in contributions on the quantitative-experimental effectiveness research on music, for example, where it regularly remains unclear which instruments or which musical styles have been the subject of teaching (Rittelmeyer, 2012 ). Finally, the practice-based and thus seemingly natural topical construction also becomes manifest in the debates on hegemonial “Western” ways of understanding arts. An essential aspect of the criticism of the Western way of understanding art in this context is the rigid separation between the arts, as opposed to an interconnected or holistic understanding, such as in music, for example, where counter-hegemonial concepts such as “musical arts” refer to the “aesthetic inseparability”of music, dance, drama, storytelling, verbal arts (poetry), religion, and visual arts” (Dzansi-McPalm, 2007 ), or “musicking,” which refers to the corporeal and performative dimension of musical practices (Small, 2011 ).

Similar to their “Western” counterparts, these patterns of criticism, based on a post-colonial situation, argue by referring to cultural forms and aesthetic traditions of communication (here oral), which, by means of a comprehensive way of understanding cultural and aesthetic practice, distance themselves from rational, “system-differentiated” (Luhmann, 1982 ) ideas of society according to Western ideals with their analytically, theoretically, and institutionally separated “arts” (Akuno et al., 2015 ). In this context, it must be mentioned that in the research discourse, there is also a conspicuous absence of applied arts, such as sewing, hair braiding, or culinary arts (Bamford, 2006 ).

In the research fields of arts education, one of the core topics of applied aesthetics in the modern age—“design”—receives only marginal attention, which can hardly be explained other than by traditional, practice-related ways of constructing topics. According to this logic, “design” is always perceived as being close to the fine arts (Allison, 1982 ; Murray-Tiedge, 2015 ).

In view of the implicit “policy of making visible” by way of concept-theoretical constructions and settings, the above-mentioned relation, no matter how crucial, hides another problem, that of the scientific perception of new and emerging kinds of art, regardless of their origin, which do not fit into any traditional pattern. Thus, not only all the overview volumes under discussion here, but also our study Forschung zur Kulturellen Bildung in Deutschland seit 1990 (Research on Arts and Cultural Education Germany Since 1990; Liebau & Jörissen, 2013 ) demonstrate clear research gaps when it comes to forms of aesthetic articulation beyond traditional genres of art, that is, everywhere that established ideas of work, genre, subject, and even space are transgressed. This concerns most modes of aesthetic articulation within and by way of digital media, but also alternative spatial arts such as street art, graffiti, parcours, and urban hacking.

The term “education” covers an extremely heterogeneous field of meanings. In the context of “arts education,” the predominant views on what is meant by the term “education” are characterized and can be identified by the common distinction between formal, non-formal, and informal educational contexts, places, and situations. Beyond this, research contributions necessarily refer to one of the three following process levels:

The social, institutional, organizational level, that is, educational system, policy, institutionalization, curricula, teacher training, vocational training, professionalization, family and community, cultures of teaching and learning

The level of educational interaction aiming at this teaching/learning, that is, communication, teaching, coaching

The individual level of actual learning, that is, perception processes, experiential processes, learning processes, educational processes, developmental and socialization processes.

Judging by the results of our analyses and of our German meta-study, by far the greatest proportion of research in arts education is dedicated to formal education. This is depicted both by the structure of the reviewed compilations and by the quantitative relations. Only every tenth contribution deals clearly with informal ways of organizing arts education, and only every fourth deals with its non-formal foundations (Bresler, 2007 ). Accordingly, the predominant research fields are teaching research, curriculum research, and vocational training (e.g., teacher training). About every fifth contribution systematically discusses individual process qualities in the sense mentioned above. As to be expected, considerable differences with respect to perspectives and normative implications are to be found here. On the one hand, the focus on understanding educational processes in an individualistic sense is met with criticism. For example, Akuno et al. ( 2015 ) states for Kenya that the lifelong, context-specific arts education embeds a holistic and communal approach to the development of the individual, so paradoxically it both embodies and renders unnecessary the concept of Bildung as a distinct philosophy of learning built on the notion of a distinct individual. Education in the arts would seem to be more akin to those older, more communal classical concepts of harmony and beauty: artistic education leads to the schooling of the emotions, the body, the mind, and the spirit, culminating in aesthetic, moral, and cognitive competencies. On the other hand, there are contradicting assumptions based on world views and socio-theoretical stances, such as the traditional enculturation and appropriation of values, which stand in contrast to processes of value-related, identity-related, and socio-critical reflexivity.

In line with the predominance of formal educational aspects, the desired primary educational goals are training and the achievement of learning objectives in the sense of communicated theoretical and/or practical knowledge and skills. Secondary goals are things such as creativity and the instrumental use of aesthetic-sensual processes in the sense of “learning through the arts.” Furthermore, some of the general educational goals include concepts such as “personality and identity development,” “participation, responsibility, and the ability to take criticism,” and “socialization and enculturation.” It is rare to find goals such as “cultivation,” “transcendence,” “spirituality” or “happiness.”

Interestingly, studies on the effects and transfer effects of arts education, in the sense of the measurable efficiency of arts education, and of measurable effects in respect of general competence, are of very different relevance in the international perspective. This line of research, which is very common in the research on music education, for example, is hardly ever represented in international compilations. In so far as paradigmatically, methodologically, and with regard to subject discipline, quantitative research on effects and transfer effects are to be attributed rather to international educational research—with a clear predominance of the psychology of learning; it hardly comes as a surprise that researchers in this field are less networked with researchers who are often trained in their respective arts and are often active in the field of educational practice. Here, our statement of a close connection between practical field, topical construction, and research direction becomes relevant once again, as, in this respect also, the field of “research in arts education” is always only partially considered, at least according to the current state of research.

On the other hand, as a result of these paradigm shifts, once again methodological questions interact with constructions of research topics and fields. In the field of empirical research in arts education, the feasibility of methodical approaches depends much on the structure of the respective art or aesthetic activity. For example, it is possible to identify empirically the neuronal effects of musical activities on instrumentalists. However, it will not be possible in the foreseeable future, for structural reasons, to measure the neuronal effects of dance or theatrical activities by using brain scanners. This could only occur within extremely artificial settings which have little to do with the realities of the aesthetic practices in question. The same holds for any indicator-based monitoring of arts education programs, qualities, or achieved participation, at least where the structural particularities of topics and contexts are not sufficiently taken into consideration.

Thus, if arts education research does not assume a real research interest in the arts but only an interest in the effects, efficiency, and outcomes of arts education, then practical issues of feasibility may simply result in focusing research on more easily researchable arts. At the same time, their subject-specific approaches to topical construction may be transferred as an ontological backdrop to the arts and educational processes being researched. This connection between topical ontology, scientific epistemology, and methodology in the field of arts education will be explained in the following section with reference to some typical constellations.

Ontologies, Epistemologies, Methodologies

As when conducting any research, the applied methodology is epistemologically framed, in that any scientific method is based on general, implicitly sustainable, taken-for-granted assumptions about how statements are related to facts. When it comes to topical construction, this relation of epistemology and methodology is of momentous significance; it implies an ontology of its topical field. For example, a correspondence-theoretical epistemology implies a realistic ontology. One assumes that statements correspond with topics in an assumed “objectively existing” world. Thus, it is posited (a) that the topic is ontologically separated from the statement and (b) that the topic is existent in a sense which is to be determined.

In the context of natural sciences research, the way in which objects exist is realistically connoted—the last point of reference is an assumed physical world existing as such (Searle, 1995 ). In contrast to this, from a praxeological-hermeneutical perspective, the topic is always already meaningfully constituted in the form of referring meaning to meaning (Rorty, 1980 ). For a phenomenological kind of epistemology, the topic is found in experiential events, so that, as is already the case in hermeneutics, the question about “things as such” does not make any sense (Husserl, 1982 ). From the point of view of a socio-constructivist epistemology, on the other hand, subjective experiences are essentially based on socially construed realities and their structures (Berger & Luckmann, 1966 ). With relational epistemologies, such as the actor-network theory, entities develop and exist always only as the effects of network relations between very different agents, be they material, conceptual, or human (Latour, 1993 , 2013 ). If we apply this incomplete series of examples to the topical field of arts education, it follows that the latter—as is typical for educational research—has no ontologically homogeneous, definable research topic but consists of a variety of topic-constituting perspectives which are connected to each other by way of family resemblance (Wittgenstein, 1953 ). What is the case, for example, if we speak of “someone learning to play a musical instrument”? Already the linguistic form of the question implies a range of ontological assumptions (subject: person, human being; topic: musical instrument; learning goal; intentional actions: making music, learning), which, epistemologically speaking, are not at all a matter of course and can only be regarded as acceptable descriptions of a learning situation in the context of everyday conventions. If we consider this scene from the epistemological perspectives of the above-mentioned examples, the ontological implications become immediately obvious. Here are some further examples:

In terms of the neuro-scientific research of learning, complex physiological causal effects occur in the context of which, for instance, particular forms of air pressure fluctuations, efferent (muscular-active) and afferent (perceptive) processes of signal processing, as well as processes of neuronal connection at the level of somata, axons, and dendrites interact with each other. Within this ontological frame—and this is not at all meant as criticism—everyday entities such as “music,” “subject,” and “musical instrument” are simply non-existent. “Learning” is not a hermeneutic-sensual but an informational process, just like the topics consisting exclusively of complex parametrized data or data streams and data aggregations.

From a hermeneutical perspective, at first one would assume that learning is a meaning- and significance-generating process for the individual human, which happens in the space between not-knowing and knowing, being unable and being able, and which must not only be understood in terms of learning something new but also in terms of unlearning and relearning—which are of utmost significance for the individual human. Then, learning how to play a musical instrument would have to be understood by way of interpreting the subject to be learned—“how to play a musical instrument”—by its cultural significance and thus its cultural-historical context. In this case, interpretation as the principle of interpreting meaning would not only focus on the question of the significance of the learning process itself and the way in which its meaning is structured, but would also try to work out the cultural implications encoded in the process of learning how to play a certain musical instrument.

Here are some of the possible questions this perspective might include:

Which ideas of music are connected to learning how to play a certain musical instrument?

Which culturally-historically handed-down skills or mastership demands become obvious?

Which skills are connected with learning how to play a certain musical instrument?

What knowledge and skills horizons are opened up by learning how to play this musical instrument?

In what way does learning how to play a musical instrument lead to certain ideas of music and music-making?

In what way does the process of learning create certain meaning-structured or meaning-structuring ways of behavior for the learner?

In contrast to this, a phenomenological approach would operate less at the level of the significance of learning and place less emphasis on the principle of structured meaning. Such an approach would operate rather at the level of the materiality and sensuality of learning how to play a musical instrument. In this case, learning would be understood rather as an emergent event becoming obvious by the situational transformation of a learner’s subjective relatedness to the world (English, 2012 , p. 211; Meyer-Drawe, 2012 ). A possible research interest would then be to describe the learning of how to play a musical instrument as a process of the performative creation of aesthetic-sensual effects of presence. In this context, it would be of particular interest to consider the question of a habitually characterized bodily memory and a specific bodily-aesthetic reception capability.

In applying a relational epistemology, learning how to play a musical instrument could be understood only by way of analyzing the unity of “musical instrument and human” that occurs purely as a result of situation and process. In this perspective, the foundation of the learning process is the connection of a person to a certain musical instrument. This music-making human is a subjective-acting being, but at the same time, a quasi-subjectivity must be attributed to the musical instrument itself, as it creates and structures the actions, the materiality, the perceptions, and experiences of the music-making human. Both human and instrument are components in a structure of mutual relations—they are a unity. Then the “trumpet human” or the “drummer human” would each be specific forms of the actor hybrid “human-musical instrument.” Such a perspective is interesting in terms of learning theory because it demonstrates that learning always takes place in a concrete situation, which can only be understood by considering the relational situations or relation-creating processes between the learner and that which is to be learned.

These examples show that certain early practical or life-world experiences suggest preferences for certain learning methodologies. Indeed, topical constructions arise from such congruent life experience, as is the case with ethnographic or phenomenological approaches. A research field which is de facto related to fields of educational practice and which operates in close connection to them is always located within resource-related and political horizons. Consequently, the connection between research, policy, and advocacy, whether it be implicitly or explicitly articulated, plays a crucial role for understanding this research field (The Second World Conference on Arts Education, 2010 , p. 5). In the context of the methodologies mentioned in these examples, there arises the question of the relevance of cross-system (research/practice; research/policy) connectivity between research and practice, on the one hand, and between research and policy, on the other.

There is an indisputable affinity between quantitative-databased research results and quantitative-databased governance with regard to educational policy. In contrast, qualitative, meaning-based research results may per se connect to social value types of discourse which, if perceived as valid, may unfold their own political effectivity.

Toward a Typology of Perspectives in Arts Education Research

Independently of the methodological approach, there are, therefore, some characteristic research perspectives that stand out as typical. In order to identify them, self-descriptions drawn from the discourse on arts education can provide an interesting resource. In such discourse, there is frequent reference to education/learning in the arts versus through the arts (e.g., Bamford, 2006 , p. 11). Education “in the arts” aims at arts as a topic of teaching and learning in the widest sense. The arts are the goal of learning. In the case of education “through” the arts, on the other hand, the arts are not at all the goal but only a channel of learning (pedagogical tools in other subjects; Bamford, 2006 , p. 11).

Building on this distinction, Lindström ( 2012 ) proposes four analytical categories that correspond to the most central logical perspectives in research and practice within the realm of arts education: learning “in,” “about,” “through,” and “with” the arts. Lindström arrives at this fourfold distinction by differentiating between convergent and divergent aims in arts education, on the one hand, and “media-neutral” versus “medium-specific” modes of aesthetic learning, on the other. Aims are considered convergent when the arts themselves constitute the object of learning. In the case of divergent aims, the arts are merely used as a means toward other learning targets that are not specifically art-based. Lindström defines as “media-neutral” a mode whereby something is learned about a particular art form without the medium of that particular art form necessarily being considered (e.g., something can be learned about music theory or the history of music based on text without the relevant musical connections necessarily having to be listened to). In contrast, “medium-specific” modes of learning require a clear focus on aesthetic forms of expression.

Following Lindström’s categorization, education in the arts is connected to aesthetic practices, with the goal of communicating or acquiring skills and practical knowledge. This classical core understanding of arts education is intensively researched when it comes to social forms of organization: formal, informal, and non-formal. Education about the arts happens by way of arbitrarily chosen media, with the goal of communicating explicit knowledge. This happens to different degrees in schools, in the context of which the line of conflict between “about-” and “in-”oriented curricula again becomes clearly obvious (e.g., Fleming et al., 2015 , p. 143). Education through the arts is connected to aesthetic practices, in the context of which the convergent goal is not the arts but other subjects, and extensive sections of creativity-oriented research literature belong to this perspective, as does most transfer research (Winner, Goldstein, & Vincent-Lancrin, 2013 ). Furthermore, the idea of arts-based research may be connected to this perspective (“artistic/performative ways of inquiry”; Schonmann, 2015 , p. 500). Finally, education with the arts happens by way of arbitrarily chosen media and does not aim at the arts in the convergent sense but at any other possible topical field. Here the arts are aids, as for example when war photography and war literature are used as means of citizenship education (Noddings, 2007 ), or when making music is used as a means of social integration (Skyllstad, 2007 ), or when “arts in the community [are used] as a place-making event” (Thomson, Barrett, Hall, Hanby, & Jones, 2015 ).

This systematic differentiation is highly relevant insofar as it allows one to distinguish various forms and goals of aesthetic education. However, it does not yet allow one to identify specific modalities or qualities in the process of learning, nor does it help us to say anything about particular social forms of organization of the process of learning. Yet both are of great significance. Concerning the dimension of modality, the phenomena that promote research in this context range from socialization via education and teaching-learning relationships to neuronal “learning” processes via appropriation processes and even extend to establishing orientational knowledge. It is obvious that in each case learning goals are about very different process qualities—and thus about very different topical constructions of “arts education.” Also, the different social types of organization—in the sense of distinguishing formal, informal, and non-formal educational contexts—play a significant role in the research discourse. For example, from a post-colonial perspective, in all cultural contexts the formalization of previously informal practices of arts education clearly has considerable consequences for the subject of “arts education” (Akuno et al., 2015 ).

Whereas all dimensions mentioned here refer to processes of different kinds, a smaller but nevertheless important field of structure-oriented research on arts education can be distinguished. For example, there are studies on meta-research (Liebau et al., 2014 ), policy research (Schonmann, 2015 , pp. 439), monitoring, as well as theoretical, historical, and contextual research (e.g., Hunter, 2015 ).

Arts education is characterized by multi-disciplinary ways of understanding research and, to the same degree, by the nature of the research field itself. Each research field is characterized by specific culturally, socially, and historically influenced ideas, structures, patterns, and goals. At the same time, there appears another aspect of fundamental significance for the (self-)understanding of arts education research: the principle of a double historicity.

Due to the fact that both what is in each case tangibly meant by arts education, or by arts and education, and what is associated by the concept or principle of research are not only tied to concrete research disciplines but also contextually influenced by social, political, cultural, and economic factors, not only is the phenomenon and concept of “arts education” subject to permanent historical change, so is the choice of method and manner of researching this field. In other words, the researched topic and the procedure and the modalities of research are all subject to continuous transformation, so that both the field of practice and the field of research must be considered emergent and constructive contexts, each of which—in each case according to its own logic—only creates what arts education appears or is named to be. Thus, when it comes to current developments, the principle of internationalizing the research on arts education would be a historical marker of the significance of such transformation processes, or it would be a historically situated dispositive, transforming scientific discourses, goals, approaches, and ways of proceeding. For example, in the course of an intensified internationalization of the research on arts education, both parallels and divergences regarding research concepts and research styles become increasingly obvious, and the differences between a frequently postulated open-mindedness and actually culturally closed traditions of concepts and phenomena move ever more to the fore.

Then internationalization requires research activities at a meta-level, and this means both in the historical and also the empirical and (concept-) theoretical-systematic sense. In short, internationalization enhances recognition and opens up possibilities and prospects, while at the same time resulting in insecurity and a shaking of traditional patterns and logics: “If nothing else, all that contemporary activity and global decision-making suggest a high level of both interest in and confusion about the nature and the importance of the arts and their relationship to education. That at least is nothing new” (Fleming et al., 2015 , p. 1). However, we might add that being aware of this will necessarily change points of view, intentions, and practices.

The perception and, above all, the recognition of diversity in research and practice, without prematurely judging them according to one’s own criteria, might have a lasting impact on scientific thought. Of course, international research in arts education, being a comparatively young field, must find appropriate and productive ways of coping with this challenge.

As has been suggested, the topics are culturally determined, and it is difficult to compare them theoretically or consider them together in terms of generally recognized concepts and logics at an abstract level. In this context, science still means developing a language that is both open to the discourse and topically adequate without being structured in a Eurocentric or generally normative-cultural-imperialist way. Instead it must be capable of integrating the cultural heterogeneity and diversity of arts education, while at the same time guaranteeing the best possible scientific discriminatory power when it comes to presenting facts. Another effect in this context would be the postulation of art as an open and flexible concept: “This development can also be seen as a pragmatic response to a globalized context in which plurality and diversity are sought and celebrated. ‘Art’ has to be seen as an open concept, in that new cases will continue to evolve” (Fleming et al., 2015 , p. 2). From a critical stance, this circumstance makes it obvious that, although the terms “art(s)” and “arts education” are often openly used in many scientific contexts, they can lose shape and substance and become blurred with other terms, such as creativity, the aesthetic, or culture, which are used as umbrella terms.

Now, however, we have come to an aspect which characterizes both the field of arts education and the field of research on arts education: the relevant subject-related discourses again and again emphasize the significance and the specific value or the specific potential of arts education, and in general it is assumed—as is proposed in our discourse-analytical thesis—that arts education, first, is pedagogically essential and, second, has comprehensive potential outcomes—even if it is not easy to make them empirically visible (Liebau, Wagner, & Wyman, 2013 ).

However, at the same time it becomes obvious that, structurally and logically considered, attributions to and legitimations of arts education cannot be formulated in a generally binding way; the differences between the different patterns of arts education are too great (e.g., Liebau et al., 2013 ). If arts education is based on a functional-economic perspective, which is legitimated by way of efficiency and transfer effects, if the function of arts education is identified in the field of preserving a much-varied cultural heritage, if social-political goals are pursued by way of arts education (e.g., empowerment), if arts education is intended as a means of (comprehensive) personality development, or if arts education is considered an original momentum for the unfolding and support of (professional) artistic activity and thus a principle of further developing “the arts,” all these possibilities are greatly dependent upon traditions, framework conditions, and discursive influences. Furthermore, the definitions and ways of understanding “art” and “culture” in the field of arts education may not be generally estimated but can only be understood in relation to the respective society, culture, and thus tradition. For example, whether sewing or storytelling are considered to be arts is something that cannot be generally decided according to certain established criteria. Such activities can only be described in a context that recognizes the cultural specificity of such phenomena.

If, thus, arts education research does not want to be (unconsciously) normative and affirmative, it must now reflect on the problem of the generalization of scientific statements, and it must do so in two respects :

The inclination to overgeneralize can easily distort thinking and can also arise if one is locked into a particular cultural way of thinking, assuming that one’s one way of seeing things is the only way.

The tendency to overgeneralize is also a danger in researching the arts where claims can be made about the arts in education as a whole based on limited data derived from specific forms.

Thus, under the sign of internationalization, arts education must currently cope with three challenges. It must, first, view each current manifestation of arts education as real-existing possibilities. Second, it must understand these manifestations according to their respective historical development. Third, it must further develop concepts and research perspectives that can analyze each concrete manifestation of arts education in a methodically appropriate way, while at the same time aiming at making generalizable statements.

Against the background of such analyses and considerations, the inevitable question here is whether it even makes sense to ask what the various perspectives in arts education research, in their very diversity, have in common. From a strict, theoretical, and systematic point of view, evidently there is no standard core. However, on the basis of what has been stated so far, it is possible to identify certain questions, problems, and perspectives that might provide a meta-structure of arts education research and which are located beyond topical and research-methodological issues and result from the fact that the topics under research are non-determinable. We propose to understand these basic structures as dispositive dichotomies of arts education research. These would be the dichotomies of

Description or analysis versus prescription or standardization within and by way of research

Scientific epistemological interest versus interest in political change and further development

Particular or exemplary (research) perspectives versus theoretical (over)standardization

Culturally and historically influenced (implicit and unconscious) presuppositions or preconceptions versus the use of a scientifically neutral and generally valid language

Emphasis on arts education having a value of its own versus arguing by way of utilitarian legitimation patterns

The corporeality or subjectivity of artistic, aesthetic. or cultural processes of learning and experiencing, their non-linguistic nature as well as their emergent process nature versus the demand to provide objective evidence for the effects of arts education by way of outside observations which may be converted into language.

If now, as a conclusion, one attempts to consider these dichotomies as dispositives, that is, as parameters or previously decided manifestations or prestructured figurations by way of which discourses (and practices) only unfold, then, again at an abstract level, it might actually be possible to identify an essence of arts education research: after all, arts education research appears as a specific kind of practical science—if the concept of practice is considered etymologically—which is the science of and for arts education at the same time. It seems as if this double direction is what may be claimed as the discursive core of arts education research. However, this is not yet sufficient for stating in which ways this science can actually be practiced, what research actually looks like, which methods are applied, and which questions are asked. But it is possible to show that arts education research also analyzes a specifically human practice; it seeks not only to identify, describe, and analyze but also to promote further development.

Recent MAEd topics in Art Education

MAEd Applied Projects are found through the UGA Libraries repository ScholarWorksUGA .

Walking, Listening, Making: A Collaborative, Arts-Based Investigation of Place & Belonging for a Group of College Freshman Women Ansley O’Neal, 2021

Relationships, Place, and Play: Connections Between Online Photo-Sharing and Making Pictures in the Middle School Art Classroom Mary Elizabeth Garrett, 2021

Student Choice and Voice: A Transition to Choice-Based Art Education Lisa Marie Chalfant, 2019

Discovering Cultural Capital and Funds of Knowledge Through Art Sketchbook Dialogues Dylan Chase Slaton, 2019

Understanding Black Feminist Theory and the Representation of African American Women’s Art in Museums: Engaging Black Women in Critical Dialogue Amber Coleman, 2018

Collaborative Art Installation Carlin Brownlee, 2018

An Invitation to Reimagine: Engaging with Social Justice in the High School Art Classroom Christine Wu, 2017

Art Education and Homeschooling: How Visual Arts are Integrated into Home School Learning Amber Waters Pitt, 2017

Recent PhD topics in Art Education

PhD dissertations are found through the UGA Libraries repository ScholarWorksUGA .

Attuning to the Natureculture of Schooling in the Anthropocene: Ecologically-Responsive Art Provocations with Elementary Students Heather Hudgins Silver, PhD, December 2022

Gendered Threads: A Speculative Analysis of the Spacetimemattering of Women's Fiber Crafting Andrea Ezell Elliott, PhD, December 2022

Memes to Inspire: A Qualitative Case Study of Internet Meme-Making as Digital Art Activism Jhih-Yin "Diane" Lee, Ph.D., August 2022

A Foucauldian Genealogy of Teacher Effectiveness Discourse: Exploring the Impact on Art Education Abby Newland, Ph.D., May 2021

Encountering Rhizomatic Relations at the Rural External(Ity) of an Art Museum: A Deleuzian Inquiry on the Possibilities of Rural Access Mallory Lind, Ph.D., May 2021

Exploring Nuances of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Children's Voices Through Art and Play Nara Kim, Ph.D., August 2020

Meshworks of Storied Matter: Becoming with Discarded Objects through Participatory Public Art Interventions Kira Hegeman, Ph.D., May, 2019

Making Art, Making Meaning: Examining the Experience of Artmaking in an Art Museum Callan Elizabeth Steinmann, Ph.D., August 2017

Teachers’ Perceptions of a Collaborative Arts Professional Development Workshop Nancy D. Herlihy, Summer 2016

Instanbul Beloved: A Researcher in the Bound Unity of Others Sonya Turkman, Spring 2016

Piggies and Portraits Competing at the County Fair: An Ethnographic Case Study of Student Art Competitions Frances Vaughn, 2016

The Possibilities of Freedom Within A High School Mixed Media Classroom Amy Workman, 2016

Seeking Wide-awakeness: An Exploration of Engagement in a High School Visual Arts Course Rebecca Williams, 2015

Painting a Picture of Change: Veteran Art Teachers’ Perspectives of Standards, Assessments, and Accountability in the Art Classroom Drew Brown, 2015

The Triadic Tangle: The Influence of Implicit Beliefs and Expressive Outcomes on the Creative Becoming of Three Art Methods Students Tammy Catherine Cline, 2015

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Art Education in the Classroom

The Importance of Art Education in the Classroom

November 30, 2023

Paintbrushes in plastic cups of paint in an Art Education classroom

That deceptively simple, four-word query confronts a topic that’s occupied some of the world’s greatest creators and philosophers since Plato. How we answer this question can have much bigger consequences than whether you get to buy a piece of artwork from Banksy’s online store. The issue of art’s value becomes far more pressing when policymakers and administrators decide how to allocate time and funding for art education in schools.

Art teachers must be ready to advocate for committing the necessary resources to prioritize the value of creativity in the classroom. You may have to explain the importance of art education in a school’s curriculum and present the research to back up those claims. We can become powerful advocates for the power of art and improved student outcomes by investigating the many benefits that come out of integrating more creativity into the school day and improving our classroom strategies .

Why Is Art Education In Schools Important?

Anyone who’s passionate about the arts recalls formative moments of experiencing a work of art pushing through a creative challenge. When we’re exposed to remarkable artworks or have opportunities to create, we find that art is crucial to individual growth and development and can even impact our health.

A literature review from Frontiers in Psychology outlined several studies linking aesthetic experiences with broad improvements in subjects’ emotional states that promote physical and psychological well-being. Giving learners the time, space, and materials for creative expression can lower stress, improve memory, and make them feel more socially connected. Instructors can build their careers on bringing those experiences to students in a variety of settings, like galleries, museums, or events organized by nonprofit and community organizations.

Appreciation for art also makes a significant difference in people’s lives on a macro level. Entire societies may stand to gain from an investment in the arts. Drawing on data from the General Social Survey, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Department of Public Administration linked participation as either an audience member or creator to higher levels of civic engagement and social tolerance . This work suggests that children learning how to draw, paint, sing, or just appreciate the works made by others can help us become not just happier and healthier, but also better people. Learn about UF’s Online Master of Arts in Art Education program

How Does Art Education Help Students?

When surveyed by the nonprofit organization Americans for the Arts, members of the U.S. public overwhelmingly agreed that the arts are one aspect of a well-rounded K-12 education . In addition, a recent study conducted in Houston public schools showed that students who participated in arts education see the following benefits:

Improved writing achievement
Reduced disciplinary infractions
More student engagement
Improved college aspirations
No drop in standardized test scores

Yet, participation in the visual and performing arts is often treated as merely supplemental to other aspects of learning. As a result, there are major differences in access to art and music classes across the country.

2019 findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that eighth graders in the Northeast were much more likely to report being enrolled in a visual arts course than those in the South. Disparities were also tied to race, ethnicity, family income, and whether a school is located in a city, suburb, town, or rural area.

Meanwhile, the Nation’s Report Card shows that U.S. students continue to score lower than many of their peers in Europe and Asia on standardized tests despite years of pressure on educators to close the achievement gap. But seeking to improve student performance in math and reading does not have to come at the expense of art education.

In fact, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, argue that instruction becomes more effective when educators integrate creative activities and make them central to academic development. Across disciplines, including STEM, there’s room to reimagine classes with a strong emphasis on drawing, painting, playing music, performing drama, and other creative pursuits. Encouraging students to use their imagination can help them actively engage with new concepts and discover connections between ideas as well as provide advantages for their social and emotional well-being.

One example of effectively integrating arts and creative expression with other fields as a pedagogical strategy can be seen in the collaboration between University of Florida faculty members Susan K. Jacobson, who studies wildlife ecology and conservation, and Robert C. Mueller, who teaches printmaking. The UF professors collaborated on an interdisciplinary project in climate change communication in which groups of graduate students from both the School of Natural Resources and the Environment and the College of the Arts visited the university’s Seahorse Key Marine Laboratory. The students participated in learning activities like scientific lectures, discussions, and making collages before working in small groups to create environmental communication materials for visitors.

As this example shows, students benefit from learning to embrace insights from multiple disciplines, and this can be valuable when they go on to pursue jobs. A 2019 survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed that employers are interested in hiring professionals with skills that can be strengthened through participation in the arts, such as written communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and taking initiative. Art teachers can help students become more well-rounded and capable individuals by teaching them to develop original ideas through creative projects and practices.

The Importance of Art Education in Early Childhood and Beyond

It’s never too soon to introduce kids to the possibilities of creative expression. As outlined in a literature review from the National Endowment for the Arts, a variety of studies demonstrate the value of embedding artistic practice into early childhood education . Imaginative activities for young learners can lead to better skills in social interactions and emotional regulation.

Lessons in the arts introduce K-12 students to problem-solving techniques, which help them to see the world in new ways, and provide access to creative ways of knowing. Kids discover how art can communicate their own ideas and may become interested in creating increasingly realistic depictions and mastering new techniques. By high school, young artists can think critically about their own work and that of others, establishing a unique point of view and a sense of community with other creative individuals.

The National Core Arts Standards provide a framework for advancing students’ artistic understanding . This structure breaks down the developmental stages from Pre K through high school into 10 anchor standards. In each stage, students build creative habits as they learn to:

Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work
Organize and develop ideas and work
Refine and complete artistic work
Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation
Convey meaning through the presentation
Perceive and analyze artistic work
Interpret intent and meaning
Apply criteria to evaluate work
Make art by synthesizing and relating knowledge and personal experiences
Deepen understanding by relating artistic ideas to societal, historical, and cultural contexts

Pediatrician Dr. Perri Klass outlined the benefits of art education in schools in the New York Times, noting improvements for overall motivation, thinking, and academic achievement . An arts-integrated curriculum that asks students to draw or sing as part of the learning process may enhance their ability to recall material such as scientific principles or vocabulary. Foregrounding creativity can be especially effective for students who struggle to retain information from traditional lectures and reading assignments alone.

Art does matter in the classroom, delivering a wide range of advantages for students. Educators can make the most of that potential by equipping themselves to offer creative practice as a central feature in the curriculum and show decisionmakers how these initiatives can achieve transformative results. The University of Florida’s online Master of Arts in Art Education (MAAE) program helps teachers make a difference. This program features courses that prepare educators to work in a variety of learning environments , support students of all ages, incorporate digital tools into their pedagogy, and foster critical thinking.

About the Online Master’s in Art Education from the University of Florida

The University of Florida’s online Master of Arts in Art Education (MAAE) program engages students purposefully in art education theory and practice, contemporary art, and their own studio work. Our dynamic online learning environment fosters meaningful interaction with peers and our world-class faculty as members of a supportive, close-knit community of art educators, artists, cultural workers, and scholars. This flexible program brings you the advanced concepts and immersive, hands-on experiences you need to flourish academically and creatively.

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Research into the value and impact of the arts is a core function of the National Endowment for the Arts. Through accurate, relevant, and timely analyses and reports, the National Endowment for the Arts elucidates the factors, conditions, and characteristics of the U.S. arts ecosystem and the impact of the arts on other domains of American life.

The NEA has four priority areas of research:

Health and wellness for individuals
Cognition and learning
Economic growth and innovation
In what ways do the arts contribute to the healing and revitalization of communities ?
What is the state of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the arts ?
How is the U.S. arts ecosystem adapting and responding to social, economic, and technological changes and challenges to the sector?

NEA Research Agenda: FY 2022-2026

Infographic of high-level research priorities

Research Agenda Planning Study

Research Stories

Quick Study Podcast : This monthly audio feature uses research to explore the arts sector and to demonstrate the arts’ value in everyday life.
Measure for Measure : Monthly arts research blog post.

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Research Publications NEA-produced in-depth reports and analyses of research topics in the arts, such as:

Arts Participation Patterns in 2022: Highlights from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts
Online Audiences for Arts Programming: A Survey of Virtual Participation Amid COVID-19
Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium
Arts Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Examining the Evidence

Measuring the Arts The National Arts Statistics and Evidence-based Reporting Center (NASERC) is an online hub for monitoring the U.S. arts ecosystem through a series of national indicators, and for accessing data-driven guides and reports aimed at arts practitioners. See NASERC's launch webinar .

National Archive of Data on Arts Culture (NADAC) An online repository of arts and cultural datasets, for analysis by scholars, arts managers, and policy leaders. A webinar tour is now available .

Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA) The NEA partners with the Bureau of Economic Analysis (U.S. Department of Commerce) to provide annual reports of the economic impact of arts and culture in the United States.

Arts Data Profile Series Collections of statistics, graphics, and summary results from data-mining about the arts. Examples include datasets from the Survey for Public Participation on the Arts (SPPA), the Arts Basic Survey (ABS), the American Community Survey (ACS), and more.

Research Grants in the Arts Study Findings Working papers, publications, and presentations that so far have resulted from NEA Research Grants in the Arts funding. Topics include economy/workforce, arts participation, health, and education.

Research Labs Information on the NEA's current Research Labs, transdisciplinary research teams, grounded in the social and behavioral sciences, engaging with the NEA five-year research agenda.

The NEA’ Research Awards cover two funding opportunities for research projects that engage with the NEA’s five-year research agenda :

Research Grants in the Arts: Support for research studies that investigate the value and/or impact of the arts, either as individual components of the U.S. arts ecology or as they interact with each other and/or with other domains of American life.

Research Labs: Transdisciplinary research teams investigating the value and impact of the arts.

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Sound Health Network A partnership of the NEA with the University of California, San Francisco in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Renée Fleming, the center’s artistic advisor. The Sound Health Network (SHN) was established to promote research and public awareness about the impact of music on health and wellness. Visit SHN’s website for a database of key scientific publications on music and health research, webinars, funding opportunities, and more.

Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network An initiative of the NEA in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs that seeks to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life for military and veteran populations exposed to trauma, as well as their families and caregivers. Creative Forces is investing in research on the impacts and benefits—physical, social, and emotional—of these innovative treatment methods. Visit Creative Forces’ National Resource Center to learn more and to read all research associated with Creative Forces.

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OLD TEXT Research Agenda: FY 2022‐2026

This document sets forth a five‐year research agenda for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In preparing this agenda, the NEA’s Office of Research & Analysis supervised a planning study that included a review of NEA research activities in the past decade, and arts-related research supported by other federal agencies. The study also used focus group meetings and interviews with field experts to gather views on priority research areas. These activities preceded a public comment period. The resulting agenda aligns with the NEA’s FY 2022-2026 strategic plan, to be published in early 2022. The agenda is based on results from a planning study conducted in 2019-2020.

See an infographic of high-level research priorities, as discussed in the agenda.

Research Publications The Arts Endowment produces in-depth reports and analyses of research topics in the arts that demonstrate the value and impact of the arts in communities throughout the country.

Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account The National Endowment for the Arts partners with the Bureau of Economic Analysis (U.S. Department of Commerce) to provide annual reports of the economic impact of arts and culture in the United States.

Arts Data Profile Series Collections of statistics, graphics, and summary results from data-mining about the arts.

Research Grants in the Arts Study Findings Working papers, publications, and presentations that so far have resulted from NEA Research Grants in the Arts funding.

National Endowment for the Arts Research Labs Transdisciplinary research teams investigating the value and impact of the arts.

Sound Health Network A partnership of the Arts Endowment with the University of California, San Francisco in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Renée Fleming, the center’s artistic advisor. The Sound Health Network was established to promote research and public awareness about the impact of music on health and wellness.

Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network Creative arts therapies at the core of patient-centered care for military members, veterans, and their families.

Arts & Human Development Task Force The federal interagency task force established in 2011 to encourage research on the arts and human potential.

Quick Study Podcast

A new monthly audio feature using research to explore the arts sector and to demonstrate the arts’ value in everyday life. Listen

Research Convenings National gatherings with researchers and arts and community experts.

Creative Forces National Resource Center/Clinical Research Findings Creative Forces invests in research on the impacts and benefits – physical, emotional, social, and economic – of creative arts therapies as innovative treatment methods.

National Archive of Data on Arts and Culture Hosted by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan. A webinar tour around the latest data on arts and culture at the National Archive of Data on Arts and Culture is now available .

Recent Research News

Research Blog Posts

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12 Essential Understandings to Improve Your Art Students’ Research Habits

Picture this scenario: You introduce a new unit and reveal an art history topic to your students. After you outline a short artist-research project, your students visit their local library and check out quality source materials. They navigate the internet with ease and inquire further into unfamiliar concepts. Finally, your students identify relevant images and text to support their topic. Their presentation includes a list of sources on the final slide.

Sounds like a pipe dream, right?

In reality, our students need scaffolded instruction to improve their research abilities.

Consider that worldwide, people conduct over 3.5 billion Google searches daily, totaling 1.2 trillion searches yearly. Over 300 hours of video footage are uploaded to YouTube every minute , and 4.2 billion “likes” are clicked on Instagram each day. We live in an age where anyone can publish online, and media permeates our world.

How can we guide our students through the process of navigating media with purpose?

When you teach artist research in your art classroom, you prepare your students for real-world applications using several 21st-century skills .

Research is holistically baked into many artmaking processes. Developing and articulating connections to the work of other artists is a core part of Responding in the National Core Art Standards . Whether you teach advanced students through AP or IB Visual Arts or strive to support your elementary or middle schoolers, students will need your support to research efficiently and effectively.

Let’s establish and unpack twelve essential understandings for developing good research habits.

1. define “information literacy” for artist research..

Budding art student researchers need to understand when to look beyond what they know. According to the American Library Association , information literacy is a composite set of skills that enable individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.” To be information literate, students need research skills and critical thinking skills. Additionally, we can prepare ourselves to support a broad range of competencies.

2. Develop good research habits through repetition.

To instill good research habits in your students, provide them with routine opportunities for research. You can spiral these activities by starting small and building up to more complex tasks. Exposing students to the work of other artists often and asking them to do a little digging for small tasks will help them develop the necessary autonomy for more extensive research projects.

3. Foster a renewed relationship between students and the library.

At the start of the school year, I find it helpful to take my students on a field trip through the hallways to our underutilized library. Upon entering the library, you can start a foundational conversation about sources. Engage your media specialist or librarian in advance to collect some of the best art books to share. Check your students’ knowledge of books, from the publication page and the table of contents to section headers and the index.

4. Discuss the concept of “quality” resources with your students.

As your students flip through the glossy book pages, the conversation about quality and authentic sources begins. Yes, the internet is full of options and ideas. However, your students may be surprised to learn about the quality control processes required for professionally published books . After learning about quality sources, it’s time to discuss digital wayfinding.

A straightforward search on Google , Bing , or Yahoo will provide a list of sources and topics. Image searches are often more exciting for students at the start of a quest for new inspiration. It is good to remind them that image searches work better as a starting point for research than as the only line of inquiry.

5. Enhance internet search results with better keywords.

Shane Mac Donnchaidh offers several options for refining internet searches to improve the results. First, students will find enhanced results by looking at quality sources through a basic internet search—not an image search.

More specific phrases will enable a more precise outcome. For example, the most popular images and articles will appear when looking up historic Swedish artist Hilma af Klint. Ask your students what they want to know about new artists as they embark upon their research. They will discover that phrases such as “Hilma af Klint sketchbook” or “Hilma af Klint works on paper” will yield more specific results. Depending on your students’ ages and experience levels, they may need support with this. A prepared menu of search terms, quick tips, and questions can help lead students through a more successful research experience.

6. Identify domain name endings for quality results.

It may sound like a no-brainer, but many of your students may not consider the domain name ending as a key for finding enhanced results and identifying credible sources.

Discuss the difference between typical endings , such as:

.com denotes a commercial website.
.org traditionally means the website is for a nonprofit.
.gov is a government website.
.edu represents an educational institution.

To narrow their search, students will need to type “site” followed by a colon and the desired domain ending. For example, “Land Art site:.org” will narrow a search into nonprofits such as museums or research organizations. This trick is one quick and easy way to zone in on quality sources.

7. Apply critical thinking skills to determine the relevance of new information.

Work with your students to identify parameters for identifying “reliable” or “quality” sources. Is the information on the site up-to-date? Does the data come from a reliable source? How do they know? Is the information on the topic detailed? Does each source offer something different from the previous source? Pose these questions in a visible place for students to consider as they continue their research in books, magazines, and online.

8. Implement a reverse image search to authenticate questionable artworks.

Have you ever found yourself fooled and unsure whether something is original or an imitation? It is often easy to detect an outlier with a trained eye. Our students often don’t have a discerning eye or knowledge of art history to tell the difference.

Reverse image search tools, like TinEye , allow you to drag and drop a screenshot or image file into their search engine. If an image is authentic, the search results will include art museums, galleries, exhibition reviews, or artists’ websites.

The examples below show two versions of Andy Warhol’s Mao Zedong . Which one is by Warhol? Play with TinEye and see if you can figure it out!

9. Suggest a minimum number of sources and keep a running list of sources handy.

Three sources will help build a well-researched and balanced report, article, or presentation. While three sources may seem like a lot for a younger student at first, they will quickly catch on to the advantages of considering multiple points of view.

Your students may need additional training to stay organized. Learning how to bookmark and organize websites is one way to manage a list of sources. You can also teach your students to keep a single document with linked references for easy access. Online bibliography generators, like easybib.com or zbib.org , help students maintain a digital record of sources. Students enrolled in IB Visual Arts will appreciate this practice when preparing their Comparative Study assessments.

10. Teach your students about primary sources through experiential learning.

It’s unnecessary to explain to art teachers how incredible it is to see art in the flesh! However, many students don’t experience art beyond the art classroom. Organizing an external field trip requires preplanning, administrative approval, and guardian permission. And it is always worth it. When students encounter work first-hand, they understand the difference between that and experiencing work online or in a book.

When field trips are not possible, share your own in-person experiences with your students. Then, encourage your students to visit local galleries and nearby fine art museums or check out museum offerings during their school holidays. Museum visits may inspire new artworks, IB Comparative Study proposals, or even IB Extended Essay ideas for advanced students. This experiential approach to art research can extend into a lifelong interest for students of all ages.

11. Create a virtual museum field trip.

Your students can attend a dozen different virtual museums in a single day—an impossibility within the physical realm! Virtual offerings have increased and improved in recent years. Virtual field trips are easy to organize, and they retain many of the qualities of visiting a museum. These experiences also support student autonomy and choice.

Here are some top virtual museum sites and resources to consider:

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Amaze Your Students With Google Arts and Culture
The British Museum’s Museum of the World
10 Museums With Virtual Tours (Including the Louvre, Uffizi, and the MOMA.)

12. Curate a list of artists by theme, subject matter, media, historical movements, or geographic location.

If you give students absolute freedom to peruse the internet searching for new artists, prepare for uneven outcomes. Students often don’t know where to look, and they quickly become entangled in a wayward search with few results.

Instead, curate a list of artists relevant to a specific unit or activity. With a shorter list of options, your students will be more efficient in selecting a research focus. Lists allow students more time to engage with the critical thinking processes required in research.

If you are looking for artists to share, here are some curated resources to get you going:

Art21 Artist List Students can search by theme or medium with drop-down menus.
Art Through Time: A Global View This website is organized by theme.
Smarthistory This website is organized by date.
Rethinking Art—13 Artists Who Play With Form and Function
11 Fascinating Artists Inspired by Science
7 Contemporary Artists to Support Advanced Students
6 Latinx Artists Your Students Will Love

Developing good research habits does not happen overnight.

Try taking one or two of these ideas to implement at first. Then, add new ideas and habits along the way. When you scaffold research skills, you will see increased student engagement in the research process. Once your students have the skills required for research, they can focus on deeper concepts. Interpreting art and creating comparative analyses provide excellent avenues for critical thinking. However, you do need to develop student ownership to get there. You can do that by developing student autonomy through the acquisition of research skills using the twelve tips above.

National Core Arts Standards (2015) National Coalition for Core Arts Standards. Rights Administered by the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education. Dover, DE, www.nationalartsstandards.org all rights reserved.

NCAS does not endorse or promote any goods or services offered by the Art of Education University.

How do you currently help students develop their research skills?

How can you incorporate routine research into your curriculum?

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

Shannon Brinkley

Shannon Brinkley is one of AOEU’s Adjunct Instructors and a high school art educator in an international school in Germany. She sees the art classroom as a laboratory for experimentation, a safe space for developing student identity, and a site for connecting with the world beyond.

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July 12, 2017 32 Comments

82 Questions to Ask about Art

Inside: Why classroom art discussion is a vital part of art education and 82 questions about art you can use in your classroom.

If you are stumped about how to lead a discussion about a work of art, use this list of art questions to give you some ideas!

As art teachers, we know the importance of creativity and the joy of making something with your own hands, but we also know the power of looking at the artworks of others.

Looking at art is an emotional, independent experience. Each person looking at a work of art will view it through the lens of their life and draw different meanings based on what they see. Talking about art allows us to break free of our solitary interpretations and uncover new insights.

Classroom art discussions are a launching pad for creativity, collaboration, and cognition. By exposing our students to works of art, giving them the space to examine their reactions, and opening a dialogue to share their thoughts, we help them develop empathy, connect with history, flex their critical thinking and observation skills, and consider the human spirit.

If you haven’t done it before, starting a classroom art discussion can be intimidating, but the benefits are worth overcoming the nerves. Below you’ll find 82 questions you can use to start and extend conversations about works of art with your classes. If you’d like more guidance, check out my five tips for leading a meaningful classroom art discussion .

Grab this art questions list and an artwork from 10 Artworks Perfect for an Art Criticism Lesson for older students or 20 Great Artworks to Look at with Young Kids for younger children, and start talking about art with your students!

Pair these questions with art cards for a variety of engaging art appreciation activities! Learn how to make a DIY art collection and start a weekly masterpiece presentation in your classroom in this post .

Want all of these art questions plus printable question cards in a free PDF download?

Free Resource!

82 Questions About Art

82 questions you can use to start and extend conversations about works of art with your classroom. Free download includes a list plus individual question cards perfect for laminating!

Questions About Art

What’s going on in this artwork?
What was your first reaction to this artwork? Why do you think you had the reaction?
Does your opinion about the artwork change the longer you look at it? Why?
Describe the lines in this artwork
Describe the colors in the artwork
Which area of the artwork is emphasized by the artist? Why?
Which area of the artwork is most important? Why?
How did this artist use space? ( Space in Art Examples )
How did the artist use balance? ( Artworks that Use Balance )
How did the artist use proportion? ( Examples of Proportion in Art )
How does your eye move through the artwork? What choices did the artist make to make that happen?
Close your eyes and describe the artwork from memory. Why did you remember what you remembered? Why did you forget what you forgot?
How would you describe this artwork to someone who has never seen it?
What elements of this painting seem real?
What adjectives would you use to describe this artwork?
What verbs would you use to describe this artwork?
What elements seem dreamlike or imaginary?
What is strange about this painting?
What is mysterious about this artwork?
What is normal about this artwork?
What is boring about this artwork?
Why is this artwork not boring to look at?
What is exciting about this artwork?
If this painting had sound effects, what would they sound like? ( More activities about art senses )
If this artwork was a brand, what would be its slogan?
What is missing from this artwork?
If this artwork were music, what would it sound like?
If this artwork could dance, what song would it dance to?
What do we know about the artist after viewing this artwork?
If you could ask the artist a question, what would you ask him/her?
Who do you think was this artwork created for? Why do you say that?
How do you think the artist feels about the final product?
How do you think this artwork was made?
Why do you think this artist created this work?
What do you think this artist is trying to say in this artwork? What is the meaning or message?
What’s the story being told, if any?
What do you think happened before this scene?
What do you think happened next?
What emotions do you notice in the artwork?
What emotions do you feel when looking at this?
How do you think the artist was feeling when he created this artwork?
How did the artist use line, shape, and color to contribute to the mood or meaning?
What is the title? How does the title contribute to your understanding of the meaning?
What title would you give this artwork?
What symbols do you notice in the artwork?
What juxtapositions do you notice?
Put your body into the pose of some element of this artwork. How does it feel to be in that position?
What would it feel like to be in this artwork?
What does this artwork remind you of? Why?
How do you personally relate to/connect with this picture?
How can you connect this artwork to your own life?
How might you feel differently about the world after looking at this artwork?
Why do you think you should be learning about/looking at this artwork?
Do you want to see this artwork again? Why?
What do you want to remember about this artwork?
What do you want to forget about this artwork?
Who do you know that would really like this artwork? Why would they like it?
Who do you know that would really hate this artwork? Why would they hate it?
What do you like about this artwork?
What do you dislike about this artwork?
What is beautiful about this artwork?
Why would someone want to steal this artwork?
If you could change this artwork, how would you change it? Why?
What does this artwork say about the culture in which is was produced?
How do you think this artwork was used by the people who made it? What was its function?
Was this intended to be a work of art or not? Why do you think that? How does that impact your understanding of the artwork?
What does this painting say about the world in which we live?
What does this artwork teach us about the past?
How does this artwork teach us about the future?
What was happening in history when this artwork was made? How does that change your understanding of the artwork?
What are the values and beliefs of the culture in which this artwork was made?
How might your interpretation of this artwork be different from someone in another culture?
If you could ask this artwork a question, what would you ask it?
If this artwork had eyes, what would it see?
If this artwork were a person, what would they want to eat for lunch?
If this artwork were a person, what would they look like?
If this artwork were a person, what would their personality be?
If the art could talk, what would it say?
What would this artwork want to do when it grows up?
If this artwork could travel anywhere in the world, where would it go? Why?
If this painting were a person, what job/career would it want to have?
What is this artwork afraid of?

Questions about Art PDF Contents:

82 Questions About Art (List)
82 Questions About Art (Printable Index Cards)
Links to Artwork Suggestions

Printing Instructions:

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Download the Printables

This list is available to download in two formats. The first is the list formatted to print in a pdf (2 pages). The second is the questions formatted to print on cardstock to cut out and laminate . (They are designed with this Avery (8577 using Template 8387) Postcard template , so you could also buy the Avery cards and print on them to make it easier).

If you are a member of The Curated Connections Library , you can get this lesson and all of my other resources for one monthly fee. Find out more information at this link .

This article was originally posted on August 31, 2015.

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Reader Interactions

32 comments.

February 7, 2016 at 7:51 pm

Thank you, Cindy. As a middle school art teacher, your prompts are GOLD!!!

February 8, 2016 at 1:57 pm

Thank you! 🙂

April 25, 2024 at 4:44 pm

This is very cool 👍

April 29, 2024 at 7:07 am

Awesome! Glad you’re finding it useful.

September 30, 2017 at 12:52 pm

Great guiding questions. Thank you!

October 1, 2017 at 6:01 pm

You’re welcome!

November 25, 2018 at 1:42 pm

Thank very much for the 82 question. I will take time to look at each one of them.

May 11, 2020 at 1:46 am

Amazing thank you soooo much

October 18, 2021 at 1:15 pm

All docents at the Tucson Museum of Art are receiving a “post Covid” refresher course – these 82 questions are required homework. The effort and insights of the author (Cindy?) are appreciated and currently being put to good use. Thank you.

October 22, 2021 at 8:17 am

That is so awesome to hear! Thank you.

July 21, 2020 at 9:27 am

It’s interesting to know that appreciating art can be an emotional and independent experience. I’m taking Engineering courses right now but visiting a museum once with my friend made me realize how wonderful art is, even if it doesn’t have any direct relation to my chosen degree. It might be a good idea to look into realistic sculptures and start studying art from there.

October 29, 2020 at 10:21 am

Hi These are great! Can’t seem to download can you help?

October 30, 2020 at 8:49 am

I will send you an email to help you get this downloaded.

January 17, 2021 at 10:24 pm

I am interested with this training because this would be a great help for me to enhance my skills in English efficiency.

January 20, 2021 at 12:21 pm

So glad you enjoyed it!

January 18, 2021 at 11:24 am

Hi Cindy! I have tried to download these and keep receiving the art appreciation free resources. I am hoping to utilize them for some parent engagement with my students’ artwork. If you are still able to share the questions about art cards, I would appreciate it tons! Thank you!

January 20, 2021 at 12:40 pm

Check your email, I am sending the download!

March 7, 2021 at 9:52 am

Hi there! LOVE these questions, but the download button doesn’t seem to be working (?)

March 9, 2021 at 12:29 pm

The glitch is fixed! You can now download using the button.

March 21, 2021 at 9:43 pm

It helps me a lot. Thank you.

March 23, 2021 at 11:46 am

Awesome! You’re welcome.

August 4, 2021 at 7:10 am

Thanks for your valuable resources keep sharing the information like this…

October 3, 2021 at 8:29 pm

Hey there, thanks for creating such a great resource. But I cant seem to download it, any help is appreciated. Jess

October 8, 2021 at 7:15 am

Thanks for letting me know! I emailed you.

March 2, 2022 at 1:53 pm

i look forward to read these for my project at school very helpful

March 4, 2022 at 8:20 am

Great, Brianna!

May 8, 2023 at 4:59 am

I can’t get the resource to download 🙁

May 12, 2023 at 6:42 am

I emailed you! Please check your junk/spam if you don’t find my email in your inbox.

September 22, 2023 at 5:16 am

The great resource !

November 9, 2023 at 6:16 am

very informative blog thanks

November 16, 2023 at 11:26 pm

It’s blissful, insightful and enjoyable. This work is artistically done and I appreciate your creativity. Thank you!

November 28, 2023 at 3:27 pm

So glad you found us!

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Free Bundle of Art Appreciation Worksheets

In this free bundle of art worksheets, you receive six ready-to-use art worksheets with looking activities designed to work with almost any work of art.

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Birds can be picky building their nests. They experiment with materials, waffle over which twig to use, take them apart and start again. It’s a complex, fiddly process that can seem to reflect careful thought.

“It’s so fascinating,” Maria Tello-Ramos, a behavioral ecologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said. “But it hasn’t been studied much at all.”

New research led by Dr. Tello-Ramos, published on Thursday in the journal Science , provides the first evidence that groups of birds that build their homes together learn to follow consistent architectural styles, distinct from groups just a few dozen feet away.

The finding upends longstanding assumptions that nest building is an innate behavior based on the birds’ environment and adds to a growing list of behaviors that make up bird culture.

As important for survival as nest building is, scientists know relatively little about it. Most of what is known about bird nests has come from studying their role in reproductive success, focusing on their usefulness in protecting birds and eggs from cold, wind and predators.

“The focus has been on the structure, not the behavior that built it,” Dr. Tello-Ramos said. She said she found that surprising because nest building is one of the rare behaviors that has a tangible product, something that can be measured and provide insight into why birds behave the way they do.

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An Introduction to QuantCrit

An introduction to the five tenets of QuantCrit. The presentation will explain how researchers can use QuantCrit to make equitable shifts regarding race and racism in their quantitative analyses.

Introduction to Network Models for Multivariate Data

Learn about the general framework of network models for multivariate data

Intensive Longitudinal Data

This session covers techniques for diagnosing the presence of latent subgroups (classes) with homogeneous change patterns, model fitting, and interpretation of results based on exploratory and confirmatory approaches

Introduction to Mediation Analysis with PROCESS

This session covers the underlying principles and application of mediation using ordinary least squares regression and the PROCESS macro for SPSS, SAS, and R

Introduction to Moderation Analysis with PROCESS

This session covers the underlying principles and application of moderation using ordinary least squares regression and the PROCESS macro for SPSS, SAS, and R

Introduction to Multilevel Models for Clustered Data

Get an introduction to multilevel models for clustered data and learn how to interpret the effects of cluster-level predictors

Technical Foundations of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

This session covers advances in artificial intelligence, with a focus on the innovations that helped lead to generative AI, and how these innovations also improved automated scoring and the processing of text

Training for the Collection of Real-World Biobehavioral Data Using Wearable Devices

Outlines advances in and adoption of wearable technology for the collection of biobehavioral data in research settings

Introduction to Intensive Longitudinal Methods

Provides an overview and definition of intensive longitudinal methods that focuses on the importance of within-person change processes

Intensive Longitudinal Data: Methodological Challenges and Opportunities

Explores the challenges of intensive longitudinal methods in detail

Intensive Longitudinal Data: A Multilevel Modeling Perspective

Demonstrates how the multilevel model can easily accommodate common features of intensive longitudinal data

Intensive Longitudinal Data: A Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling Perspective

Provides a general overview of the dynamic structural equation modeling approach to intensive longitudinal data

Adding Level-1 Predictors to Multilevel Models for Clustered Data

This training further describes how to properly specify the effects of individual-level predictors in multilevel models for clustered data

Introduction to Group Iterative Multiple Model Estimation (GIMME)

This training focuses on GIMME, a method for the discovery and estimation of network models

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Psychological Scientists

Artificial intelligence and data science techniques for processing unstructured data are introduced, and the ethical considerations that accompany the implementation of these cutting-edge models is also examined

An Introduction to Missing Data Analyses

Explore popular missing data methodologies such as maximum likelihood, Bayesian estimation, and multiple imputation

Continuous, Objective Behavioral Measurement Using Smartphones

The workshop will explore the pros and cons of using smartphone apps to gather sensor data on users' behavior, including language, cognition, activity, sleep, mobility, and environmental exposure

Indigenous Knowledges as Research Methodologies in Psychology

Four early-career Indigenous psychologists share their experiences and expertise concerning the identification and application of Indigenous ways of knowing for research in psychology

Introduction to Social Network Analysis

Learn common methods of network analysis through practical examples; these include identifying central individuals, conducting community detection, and fitting social network models

Introduction to Factor Analysis

This session discusses what factor analysis is as well as the differences between factor analysis and principal components analysis

An Introduction to Eye-Tracking Methods and Research Designs in Psychology

This session delves into what eye-tracking entails, what it helps us measure, and how to create research designs specifically for eye-tracking studies in psychology

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IMAGES

82 Questions to Ask about Art
(PDF) EDGE: 20 Essays on Contemporary Art Education
Artist Research Template Worksheet
Artist Research Homework Sheet (Made by Miss Allen)
Artist Research
Artist Research Template Worksheet

VIDEO

From a Museum Educator: Finding Connections in the Artwork
Art IS Education PSA
ABS: What's Possible? Art Education for the Blind
How Can Looking at Art Help You Become More Visually Literate? (Part 5 of 8)
Unit1 Meaning and Concept of Art and Arts in Education #arteducation #deled #tutorstheory #education
Art in Education, should it be graded?

COMMENTS

Studies, Findings, and Resources
1) Educators view arts classes as a core element of their educational program; 2) The central role of the arts is reflected in how educators organize their day; and. 3) Educators value that the arts affect students' engagement and achievement in school. Arts Education for America's Students, A Shared Endeavor.
Studies in Art Education • National Art Education Association
NAEA Members receive a reduced rate of $20 per 1-year subscription. If you are an NAEA member and would like to subscribe to Studies in Art Education, please contact Member Services at [email protected]. Institutions and Non-NAEA Members should contact [email protected] for subscription information and to subscribe.
Art Education Journal • National Art Education Association
Art Education is the official journal of the National Art Education Association. Art Education covers a diverse range of topics of professional interest to art educators and anyone whose interest is quality visual arts education. It is published bi-monthly in full color. Each issue features an editorial, six articles, and instructional resources, making Art Education a significant addition to ...
Studies in Art Education
Studies in Art Education is a quarterly journal which reports quantitative, qualitative, historical, and philosophical research in art education, including explorations of theory and practice in the areas of art production, art criticism, aesthetics, art history, human development, curriculum and instruction, and assessment.Studies also publishes reports of applicable research in related ...
Studies in Art Education
Journal overview. Studies in Art Education is a quarterly journal that reports quantitative, qualitative, historical, and philosophical research in art education, including explorations of theory and practice in the areas of art production, art criticism, aesthetics, art history, human development, curriculum and instruction, and assessment.
Masters Research Projects in Art Education
Local Street Art and Graffiti . Manrique, Danielle F. (Danielle F. Manrique, 2015-01-13) The Masters Research Project examines how local street art and graffiti might be integrated in a curricular design. The research takes place in Bogota, Colombia. This city has become renowned for its street art and graffiti ...
Arts-Based Research
Introduction. The term arts-based research is an umbrella term that covers an eclectic array of methodological and epistemological approaches. The key elements that unify this diverse body of work are: it is research; and one or more art forms or processes are involved in the doing of the research.How art is involved varies enormously. It has been used as one of several tools to elicit ...
Art Education
Art Education, the official journal of the National Art Education Association (NAEA), covers a diverse range of topics dealing with subjects of professional interest to art educators.It is published bi-monthly in full-color, and each issue features an Instructional Resource section—making Art Education a great addition to every teacher's reference library.
Questions Asked in Art-museum Education Research
Vallance, E. (2007). Questions Asked in Art-museum Education Research. In: Bresler, L. (eds) International Handbook of Research in Arts Education. Springer International Handbook of Research in Arts Education, vol 16.
Art Education
Art Education is published bimonthly: January, March, May, July, September and November. Topics deal with issues of professional interest to art educators and are suited to a diverse audience. Each issue of Art Education addresses a theme or topic. Manuscripts accepted for publication are scheduled for the earliest occasion on which a theme is covered or an article is felt to be appropriate ...
Impact of art education on student development and achievement
This raises several questions around art. education's impact not only on standardized test scores but on the academic and. personal development of students. The current relevant research shows compelling. evidence that art education does positively impact critical thinking, creativity, and. problem solving skills.
arts education research: Topics by Science.gov
Moon, Bruce L.; Hoffman, Nadia. 2014-01-01. This article presents an innovation in art therapy research and education in which art -based performance is used to generate, embody, and creatively synthesize knowledge. An art therapy graduate student's art -based process of inquiry serves to demonstrate how art and performance may be used to ...
PDF 47 QUESTIONS ASKED IN ART-MUSEUM EDUCATION RESEARCH
cation research in a sampling of relevant European, Canadian, and American research reports, assessed against the matrix that emerges from a synthesis of the three perspectives. 701 47 QUESTIONS ASKED IN ART-MUSEUM EDUCATION RESEARCH Elizabeth Vallance Indiana University, U.S.A.
PDF Review of Evidence: Arts Education Through the Lens of ESSA
1. Are there research studies on arts education interventions that meet the criteria for evidence as specified in ESSA? 2. How large are the effects of arts education interventions on student outcomes? 3. To answer these two questions, we undertook five steps: 1. Informed by published research reports, arts organization websites, and other ...
Arts Education Research
The fact that research traditions are themselves closely connected to a particular field of arts education adds an additional dimension to this complex question: according to our meta-studies relating to arts education-research, it is particularly evident that (1) Western and Eurocentric biases are quite dominant in this research field and that ...
77 questions with answers in ART EDUCATION
Question. 664 answers. Dec 29, 2018. Yes, the 21st century can be called the age of photography, graphics, image, etc. because this form of transmission begins to dominate the Internet. In ...
Recent MAEd & PhD Topics in Art Education
Recent MAEd topics in Art Education. MAEd Applied Projects are found through the UGA Libraries repository ScholarWorksUGA . Walking, Listening, Making: A Collaborative, Arts-Based Investigation of Place & Belonging for a Group of College Freshman Women. Ansley O'Neal, 2021. Relationships, Place, and Play: Connections Between Online Photo ...
Research • National Art Education Association
The AEDP recently released the National Arts Education Status Report Summary 2019, a comprehensive look at access to, and participation in, arts education in public schools in the United States. Arts Education Data Project. October 11, 2022. NAEA Research Commission - Data Visualization Working Group.
What Makes Action Research Special?
Action research is systematic. Art educators who conduct action research aim to produce trustworthy and meaningful results. We read, plan, and identify research methodology that is well suited to our research questions and contexts. We still draw upon well-vetted practices that fall under the general categories of quantitative, qualitative, and ...
The Importance of Art Education in the Classroom
In addition, a recent study conducted in Houston public schools showed that students who participated in arts education see the following benefits: Improved writing achievement. Reduced disciplinary infractions. More student engagement. Improved college aspirations. No drop in standardized test scores.
Research
Working papers, publications, and presentations that so far have resulted from NEA Research Grants in the Arts funding. Topics include economy/workforce, arts participation, health, and education. Research Labs Information on the NEA's current Research Labs, transdisciplinary research teams, grounded in the social and behavioral sciences ...
12 Essential Understandings to Improve Your Art Students' Research
Earn graduate credit and delve into the art education topics that interest you with 30+ courses to choose from. Learn More . Magazine & Media. Learn from articles, podcasts, videos, and more to spark inspiration and advice you can use immediately in your art room. ... This experiential approach to art research can extend into a lifelong ...
82 Questions to Ask about Art
Inside: Why classroom art discussion is a vital part of art education and 82 questions about art you can use in your classroom. If you are stumped about how to lead a discussion about a work of art, use this list of art questions to give you some ideas! As art teachers, we know the importance of creativity and the joy of making something with ...
Review of Education
Review of Education is an official BERA journal publishing educational research from throughout the world, and papers on topics of international interest. Abstract The world map is changing due to waves of immigration, population and demographic changes in mainland Europe and North America.
Weaver Bird Nests in Africa Appear to Reflect Local Styles and
Sparrow weavers in Africa appear to learn distinct building styles that reflect group traditions, research shows. It raises intriguing questions about avian intelligence. By Rebecca Dzombak Birds ...
Methods for quantitative research in psychology
Compare and contrast the major research designs. Explain how to judge the quality of a source for a literature review. Compare and contrast the kinds of research questions scientists ask. Explain what it means for an observation to be reliable. Compare and contrast forms of validity as they apply to the major research designs.
Science Training Sessions
Join APA for science training sessions focused on the integration of new tools and techniques to support cutting edge psychological research. APA members can log in to watch the video and access the transcript and slide deck for each webinar below.
About Us
What We Do VINSE is a multi-disciplinary institute that supports research, education, and K-12 outreach across science, engineering, and medicine. VINSE facilities comprise a cleanroom with state-of-the-art nanofabrication and microfluidics and an adjoining materials characterization laboratory. VINSE also houses an advanced imaging suite featuring electron microscopy (EM), cryo-EM, and atomic