Many newcomer children spend a 'silent year' in elementary school classrooms while they adjust to a new culture and language. This often delays inclusion in learning and forming friendships with peers. For refugee children with disabilities (RCDs) this phase may last for 3 years or more, impacting their mental health and sense of belonging, and…

The author started an artistic gratitude practice in March before the pandemic shut everything down. Every day the author writes something to be grateful for, and randomly selects two art supplies from a mason jar. Then, a postcard-sized artwork is made using those supplies and a gratitude journal as a prompt. While this practice has been deeply…

"Exploring Best Practices in Trauma-Informed Teaching and Therapeutic Approaches in Art Education" will address how applying trauma-informed teaching and therapeutic approaches within the art classroom will help students form positive behaviors and coping mechanisms to deal with trauma. Multiple art educators from varying backgrounds and…

Visual art is an enriching part of educational curriculum and an individual's development (Malley & Silverstein, 2014), but public school curriculum is increasingly focusing on standardization, core subject curriculum, testing, and accountability measures leaving creative fields behind as merely an additive part of education or a resource…

Trauma-informed teaching practices and therapeutic art approaches can promote creativity, feelings of safety, and resiliency. This research examines the effectiveness of trauma-informed teaching practices and therapeutic art approaches in supporting at-risk elementary art students in Kensington, Philadelphia. It will emphasize how art-making can…

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, art therapy education was rarely taught online. This study employed a qualitative narrative research design. Its purpose was to understand the experiences of art therapy educators as they transitioned to remote and online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and to uncover the creative strategies they developed or…

This pilot study examined parental responses to artistic processes and products in the framework of art-based parental training (ABPT), which was offered concurrent to child art therapy. Thirty-four parents and their children completed scales before and after the 10 month program. Results showed several positive correlations between changes in…

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global, collective, traumatic experience. Trauma-aware museum educators can play a therapeutic role in helping visitors reengage with life as the world reopens. This article explores the dynamics of what a trauma-aware approach to engaging with art may be, specifically detailing methods that can create new cognitive,…

This brief report describes the growth and expansion of the Art"Access" program at Queens Museum in New York, NY, that is shaped and operated by art therapists and teaching artists. Art"Access" was first piloted in 1983 as Please Touch for individuals who are blind or have low vision. The authors conducted oral history research…

High school students need Social Emotional learning integrated into classrooms, but what that looks like is not well defined for art educators. When one tries to look, most research points to art therapy strategies which leave art educators feeling ill-equipped to implement in their classrooms. This study explored the implementation of visual…

With an interdisciplinary focus on creativity, inclusion and wellbeing, this paper provides a conceptual argument for additional and reimagined arts education programs in schools that incorporate creative arts therapies. Based on a review of literature in this field, it documents the practices and value of creative art therapies, for students…

Visual arts are activities that contribute to educating learners with and without special needs. These activities provide an opportunity for learners with special needs (LSN) to freely express their feelings, conflicts, psychological problems, and their artistic creativity. Visual arts are considered as a source of satisfaction, development of the…

This article assists art educators, especially preservice teachers, in increasing their understanding of the symptomology and behaviors of students on the autism spectrum that may limit artmaking. Here, the author examines specific behaviors and symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), from both a psychological and developmental perspective.…

This article reflects upon the process, the challenges and the opportunities realised in the recent revalidation activity of an undergraduate degree programme in Creative and Therapeutic Arts (CTA) in the UK. The premise of the revalidation activity and the historical context of the course are briefly encapsulated, before engaging with theoretical…

In this article I use a visitor-focused lens to examine ways in which art therapy and art museum education share similar goals and could join their efforts to serve people and communities in mutually beneficial ways. Benefits of such collaboration include affective and social development and education of visitors, a useful framework for exploring…