ERIC Number: EJ1169056
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1750-8487
EISSN: N/A
"Being" a Critical Multicultural Pedagogue in the Art Education Classroom
Acuff, Joni Boyd
Critical Studies in Education, v59 n1 p35-53 2018
Art educators continuously struggle to understand what multiculturalism "looks like" in the art classroom. This has resulted in multicultural art education becoming superficial, in which art teachers guide students through art projects like creating African masks, Native American dream catchers, Aboriginal totems, and sand paintings, all without communicating the context of the art. This type of multiculturalism essentializes cultures, and builds Western, myopic narratives about groups of people, specifically about their "Art". Critical multiculturalism is a power-focused upgrade of multiculturalism that calls for a critique of power and demands recognition that racism and other discriminations are enmeshed in the fabric of our social order. Teaching through a critical multiculturalism framework helps teachers dismantle Western, normalized narratives and produce counter-hegemonic curriculum that contextualizes culture and reveals its fluidity. In this article, the author shares a teacher action research study in which she describes what critical multiculturalism looks like in her art education classroom. The study focuses on "being" a critically multicultural educator versus "doing" critical multiculturalism. Such a position counters the idea that critical multiculturalism is a thing to complete, but instead is an ongoing process that rests on specific ways of thinking and considering the classroom, curriculum, and students.
Descriptors: Art Education, Multicultural Education, Critical Theory, Art Teachers, Action Research, Teaching Methods, Art Products, Power Structure, Story Telling, College Faculty, Graduate Students, Teacher Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ohio (Columbus); Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A