Quality community-based art education programs for older adults over the age of 50 should exploit the broad range of interests and cognitive abilities of participants by utilizing adult education theory, brain research, and the best practices of adult art education programs. We consider a developing paradigm on the cognitive abilities of the…

The culture of isolation in schools leaves many art educators feeling that they are, in a sense, islands. Working from the idea of an island, I use the geographic metaphor of an archipelago as a means to understand the tensions between isolation and collaboration related to professional development for art educators. In this article, I describe…

This quantitative study was sparked by a keen interest in art teachers who practice humor in challenging school environments. Stressors unique to art education can cause teachers to lose heart in such a way that their ability to perform is compromised. To teach effectively, teachers must maintain resilience to cope with stress. Pedagogical humor,…

This article explores "prosthesis" as a metaphor of embodiment in art-based research to challenge the utopian myth of wholeness and normality in art and the human body. Bearing in mind the correspondences between amputated bodies and the cultural dislocations of art, I propose "prosthetic epistemology" and "prosthetic ontology" as embodied knowing…

Art education has been in the midst of a transformation shaped by several factors, including changes in contemporary art theories, political and economic factors, and technological developments. Film, music videos, advertisements, video games and other forms of popular culture are shaping how students learn today. Discussions about video gaming…

The challenges and opportunities of globalization require art education scholars and practitioners to develop international competencies, but research in the specific field of comparative art education is very limited at present. In this article, I provide a pragmatic framework for studying art education policy as a subfield of comparative…

Against a backdrop exploring the relationships between cultural democracy and nonprofit arts funding policies, this article describes the impact of unwritten arts funding policies that are manifest in tax breaks for individuals, foundations, and corporations as well as federal contributions to nonprofit arts organizations in the United States. We…

Since the mid-1980s, arts policymakers in Minnesota have positioned "media arts"--defined as the "study and practice of examining human communication through photography, film or video, audio, computer or digital arts, and interactive media"--within the realm of aesthetic education and considered it one of six arts areas. This article explores the…

A survey conducted in the fall of 2006 on the National Art Education Association Higher Education Listserv yielded rich demographic information about the contexts, preparation, and values of 100 higher education art educator volunteer participants. The academic credentials of art educator participants, along with hiring and promotion practices in…