This research focuses on attitudes toward artwork reflected in the official curriculum and pedagogical material in Israeli kindergartens, and the role this attitude plays in the reproduction of the class structure--specifically, the different institutional approaches to artwork in the kindergarten and the reproduction of cultural capital. This…

This study is an exploration of the art produced by American veterans of the Vietnam War. In the areas of artistic history, military service, and the creative process, Vietnam veteran artists are a diverse group, and there are many different ways of explaining the connection between Vietnam experience and their art. Some individuals made limited…

Theme parks can have educational value for students and teachers when these cultural sites within the range of visual culture are understood as sites of experiential learning and as processes of mediation between visitors and park designers. Worthy of serious study, the theme park can be explored as a cultural vortex whose swirling forces…

The value of recent theoretical perspectives in art education does not lie in providing comprehensive definitions that include all the artifacts and properties that "count" as visual culture, material culture, or mass arts. Instead, the value of articulating theoretical perspectives lies in mapping the terrain of cultural phenomena. In this…

A middle ground between two rival visions of art education is explored. One side views the major purpose for education in the arts to be the aesthetic experiences they offer, while a rival position identifies the mission of art education to be the exploration and analysis of visual culture, to help students discern social contextual influences…

In this paper, the author describes popular visual culture as seductive, engaging the interest of children and adults because it is both complex and highly sophisticated in aesthetic terms. The author states his agreement with the proponents of a visual culture approach designed to broaden the content of art teaching beyond fine arts to include…

The central claim of this article is that contemporary cultural forms such as television and the Internet involve more than the perceptual system of sight and more than visual images as a communicative mode. Meaning is made through an interaction of music, the spoken voice, sound effects, language, and pictures. This means that even the recent…

In Ghana, as in many areas of the world, the meanings attached to indigenous art forms are based on larger philosophical foundations. Those meanings are at the crux of the ongoing struggle in the minds of many Ghanaians over the appropriateness of Ghana's traditional arts in their contemporary education system. The indigenous arts are caught in…

What images should we study? Which have value? Which are significant? These questions lie at the heart of one of the most critical issues in art education today in the debate over whether the field should maintain a narrow focus on fine art or expand its scope to include all of visual culture. In this article, I argue for the inclusion of…

Inspired by queer artist David Wojnarowicz's strategies of witnessing anger and truth-telling in art education, this author modeled his dissertation, "My Self-Education As A Gay Artist" (1996) on Wojnarowicz's work. Check states that Wojnarowicz inspired him to think beyond the closet and acknowledge and incorporate the realities of violence and…

Information regarding enactment of drawing education legislation in the United States during the 19th century centers almost exclusively on events that occurred in Massachusetts, primarily the Massachusetts Drawing Act of 1870. Legislative history regarding the ratification of drawing education laws in states surrounding Massachusetts is available…

Despite the developing infusion of three-dimensional, technological imagery, little has been done to explain the effects of two-dimensional versus three-dimensional imagery on the learning process. This study examined the effects of two-dimensional stimuli and three-dimensional stereoptic stimuli on spatial representation in drawings. A scene was…

This case study focuses on one student as she engaged in a general education art course that integrated visual art, writing, and expressive movement. In the beginning of the semester, this elementary education major had little interest or experience in the arts. Over the semester, however, she moved from being resistant and fearful of art to being…

An exploration of the ways that technology increasingly alters our understanding of self and the world in which we live points to the unfolding of what computer theorist Peter Lunenfeld (2000) calls a hyperaesthetics. In this article, the author correlates theories of art and artmaking with a burgeoning hyperaesthetics through theoretical…

In this article, I shall argue for the value of conceptualizing, and practicing art education as a kind of play or game, drawing inspiration from the concepts of finite and infinite games articulated by philosopher James Carse (1986). In so doing, I seek to encourage a continuing dialogue with the assumptions that constrain the theoretical basis…