abstract: ABSTRACT This qualitative study examines how high school art teachers conceive of being a good art teacher. Motivated by my own experiences as an art teacher, I designed this study to add teachers' voices to the conversation surrounding quality in education. My research design included a narrative strand and an arts-based strand. In the narrative strand, I interviewed and observed 12 high school art educators from a major city in the southwest. I conducted an autoethnographic reflection exploring my connection to the research topic and research process. In the arts-based strand I used fiber-arts to further understand my topic. I wrote this dissertation using a narrative approach, blending the traditional research format, voices of participants, and my autoethnographic reflection. I included the results of my arts-based approach in the final chapter. Findings suggest that the teachers in this study conceptualize being a good art teacher as a process of identity construction. Each of the teachers understood what it meant to be a good art teacher in unique ways, connected to their personal experiences and backgrounds. As the teachers engaged in identity work to become the kind of art teacher they wanted to be, they engaged in a process of identity construction that consisted of four steps. I propose a model of identity construction in which the teachers chose teaching practices, evaluated those practices, identified challenges to their identities, and selected strategies to confirm, assert, or defend their desired identities. The findings have implications for teachers to become reflective practitioners; for teacher educators to prepare teachers to engage in reflective practices; and for administrators and policy makers to take into account the cyclical and personal nature of identity construction. This study also has implications for further research including the need to examine the dispositions of art teachers, teachers' evolving conceptions of what it means to be a good art teacher, and the effect labeling teachers' quality has on their identity construction. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2014

This study explored the current status of Turkish basic art education and the objectives of the first year art program at the university level in Turkey. Also, the researcher attempted to explore the objectives and expectations of Turkish art professors and to examine the applicability of certain concepts of American basic design education in the teaching of studio foundation courses in Turkish art schools. The study included the literature review concerning changes in educational philosophy related to the history of design education in the West and in Turkey.

The purpose of the study was to make an assessment of Arkansas middle school/junior high art programs using National Art Education Association standards. Data were collected from questionnaires, curriculum guides, and school visitations. Participating in the study were 127 schools enrolling 53,502 students of which 14,755 (28%) were taking art classes. For comparisons, the state was divided into five regions.

Syftet med denna studie är att med hjälp av en kvalitativ intervjustudie ta reda påvilka kunskaper som undervisning i bildämnet ger eleverna, vilken betydelseämnet har i skolan och för elevernas framtid. Studiens frågeställningar som blirbesvarade är varför man undervisar i bild och vilka praktiska respektive kognitivafärdigheter eleverna får möjlighet att utveckla inom bildämnet. Den tidigareforskningen fokuseras på synen av bildämnet, dess roll i barns och ungasutbildning, samt de färdigheter bildämnet kan bidra till att utvecklas hos eleven. Imetodavsnittet redogörs för studiens kvalitativa studie som baseras på tresemistrukturerade intervjuer, urvalet och studiens genomförande samt att studiensbearbetning av empiriskt material och analysmetod presenteras. Det empiriskamaterialet analyserades genom en fenomenografisk analysmetod, vilken fokuserarpå de betydelser en företeelse eller objekt ges, samt hur olika perspektiv avhändelser eller av objektet förknippas med varandra. I resultat och analyspresenteras och analyseras studiens empiriska material. Analysen är indelad i dekategorier som användes i den fenomenografiska metoden, som är relevanta tillstudiens syfte och frågeställningar. Resultatet av studien visar att de deltagandelärarna lär ut olika kognitiva förmågor. Studien visar också att lärarna har olikauppfattningar om bildämnets syfte i skolan och ämnets relevans för eleverskommunikativa förmåga. En slutsats jag drar av studien är att alla lärare bör hakunskaper om bildämnets roll för elevers utbildning, identitet och medborgerligarättigheter.

Budgetary constraints have led many educational leaders to limit arts education programming to students across the state of Pennsylvania. The purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to investigate how educational leaders sustain access to arts education programs using alternative budgetary resources for K-12 students in Pennsylvania Title I schools. This multiple case study provided analysis within and across Pennsylvania Title I schools to help fill a gap in the educational leadership literature regarding alternative budgeting strategies to meet programming needs. The conceptual framework integrated transformational leadership, principles of creativity, and budgetary strategies. Key research questions explored sustainability frameworks and the use of creative leadership strategies to guide budget allocations while analyzing how educational leaders employ constructs of transformational leadership theory to produce measures of accountability. The study of 15 school districts across Pennsylvania employed an in-depth interview process and document review. Multiple case study analysis allowed for the exploration of leadership decisions within the current financial landscape of Pennsylvania Title I public schools during the 2017-2018 school year. The study found that alternative budgetary resources were not confined to financial support but included strategic resource management, inclusive stakeholder practices, and synoptic performance. Each of these constructs extended knowledge in leadership practice and organizational outcomes. This study's findings may have practical applications in relation to sustained leadership for arts education programs using alternative resources in Pennsylvania Title I schools.

A primary challenge to educators is the design and implementation of effective student engagement processes. High school students cannot be successful if they are frequently absent from school, as active engagement opportunities reinforce knowledge and help to keep students enthused in their learning. To address the challenges of frequent school absences, this study examined a gap in the literature--namely, the relationship between active engagement and arts courses as a motivator for students to remain in high school. For this study, active engagement was defined as a process in which the student's interests, efforts, and knowledge culminated in an application of the learning content. Using Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) flow theory, a mixed-methods study was conducted to examine students' experiences with active engagement in arts courses. Data were collected from a survey (50 = x) and phenomenological interviews (8 = x). Quantitative analyses of these data included a paired-sample t test to determine whether there was a significant difference between the average values of students' perceived learning capabilities and expectations for learning in relation to arts courses versus non-arts courses. Content analyses created categories and identified themes that found students felt more engaged, self-confident, and motivated about their learning during arts educational experiences. Contributions to positive social change included increased awareness about how students make meaning of active engagement in arts courses. Such information can help school districts understand more about the importance of providing students with artistic and creative educational experiences.

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For years now, students have been learning from two different types of teachers: Teachers who received certification from a traditional training program at a university and teachers who became certified through alternative certification routes. Does the educational preparation of an art teacher matter? Is alternative certification as effectual as traditional teacher preparation programs? Darling- Hammond (2006) says, "Evidence indicates that teachers who have had more preparation for teaching are more confident and successful with students than those who have had little or none." This thesis will examine and analyze alternative teacher certification in art education for the state of Florida, in a selected county in central Florida, and the traditional teacher certification program via a university path. I am choosing to base this study on my own program of study. I am on the path receive a Bachelor's degree through a traditional art education preparation program. This topic will be discussed by conducting a review of literature. Articles from scholars will be cited in order to provide evidence to support the conclusion that art teachers who are traditionally certified are better prepared for the art classroom than art teachers who attained certification via an alternative route. In order to carry out this investigation, an autoethnography will be included, which will include personal experiences, such as going through a traditional art teacher certification program, which is a four year Bachelor's degree in art education and observing art teachers who have completed different types of certification, leading me to the conclusion that traditionally certified art teachers are more prepared.

Education systems in China and the United States are very different. Chinese educator Hong Wang compared the two education systems and came to a conclusion: Chinese education wins in the starting point, while American education wins in the end point (Cheng, 2014). Chinese students learn more things, take challenging courses, and do well in academic accomplishment. However, examination-oriented methods in the Chinese education system may kill students’ interest in learning. Even though Chinese students learned fast in the starting points, they failed in the terminal points as they lost their interest in learning (Chen, 2014). Many educators and scholars think of Chinese education as important for developing a foundation of skills and American education is viewed as more helpful in cultivating students’ creativity (Liu, 2014). This study will explore some of the differences between Chinese and American art education. The methodology for this study is qualitative case study research using data collected from both American and Chinese publications, from national and governmental organizations, and information gathered from surveys and interviews of Chinese art educators who have both education experiences in the United States and China. This research includes comparison and evaluation of the differences between curriculum, assessment, and class management in both Chinese and American art education systems. The result will contribute to providing valuable reference data for both Chinese and American art education systems, for art students and art educators.