In this article, the authors offer an approach to teaching that can help students prepare to write for the workplace and in the community: a case study of community-based writing. In this case-study project, students work in groups to study the writing needs and practices of a community-based group or organization, such as a local public library,…

This paper reports the findings of a study on pre-service teachers' background and confidence in music and visual arts education. The study involved 939 non-specialist pre-service primary teachers from five countries. Initially the paper identifies the students' perceptions of their background and confidence in relation to music and visual arts…

The mission of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) is to promote art education through professional development, service, advancement of knowledge, and leadership. This brief describes the NAEA's vision, core values, goal, objectives and strategies, and rationale (why education in the arts and why advocacy), and presents a brief profile…

Teaching history through the visual arts is one way of bringing the past into the present. In Cuba, the visual arts and architecture have reflected the country's "flowering of identity" through time, as a multi-ethnic population has grown to recognize its own distinct history, values and attributes, and Cuban artists have portrayed the…

In this article, the author analyzes Arthur Efland's "Art and Cognition," which advocates study of the visual arts for its cognitive benefits. The author argues that Efland's cognitive premises are largely sound but that his specific recommendations often belie the general principles he espouses. Efland focuses on the interpretation of baffling…

The authors describe how they started a holiday mural project for students in different grades. They discuss how Gustav Klimt became the inspiration for this project. Klimt is an artist known for his "painted mosaics." The authors decided to use a theme that was decorative and enchanting, containing all of the jewel-like qualities that a holiday…

To help librarians answer patrons' questions about art works, especially paintings, the procedures followed by the reference division of the Suffolk Cooperative Library System are outlined, and a list of reference materials is suggested. Topics covered include biographical information about artists, identification of paintings, location of…

Uses Marsden Hartley's "Indian Fantasy" to explore with students in grades 7-9 the variety of expressive qualities of an early twentieth-century U.S. artist working abroad. Presents lesson objectives, instructional strategies, evaluation criteria, and background information about the artist and painting. (GEA)

Reviews the problem of defending expressive arts education within a rationalistic, reductionist, outcome-oriented educational milieu. Maintains that until expressive arts are seen as being mainly concerned with the development of mind, in the broad sense, the status of expressive arts in curriculum theory and educational practice will remain…

A functional approach involving collage, two-dimensional design, three-dimensional construction, and elements of Cubism, is used to teach abstract design in elementary and junior high school art classes. (DS)

Suggests the use of Sumi-e painting with its emphasis upon simplicity as a means of motivating students to explore a new and interesting form of visual expression. Describes an activity which involves a demonstration of this art form. Includes a chart showing the seven basic Japanese Sumi-e strokes. (KO)

Discusses an exploration of depth in landscape painting using Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night" as an example. Used computer drawing software for children to allow students to create their own interpretations of "Starry Night" while exploring means of portraying depth in two-dimensional art. (DSK)

InnerSpark is a residential summer arts training program for high school students established by the California State Legislature (California Education Code sections 8950-8957) in order to make it possible for "artistically gifted and talented students, broadly representative of the socioeconomic and ethnic diversity of the state, to receive…

This article compares the Beehive Collective's "Plan Colombia" to a museum exhibition representing the official U.S. position on Plan Colombia. Through a dialectical (Kellner & Share, 2007; Greene, 1988) reading of "Plan Colombia" and "Target America," I examine how each uses visual narrative to promote a…

A/r/tography is an arts-based research methodology that inquires into educational phenomenon through artistic and aesthetic means. A/r/tographical research engages in pedagogical inquiry where the distinctions between researcher and researched become complicated, responsive, and undone. A/r/tography, the authors argue, develops the relationship…