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Art programs have always been essential to education; they have provided students with a safe place to express themselves and make risk-free choices. However, due to budget cuts to the public school systems, art education is in jeopardy. The impact of the budget cuts on art education is widespread and has reduced student access to the arts and lowered the quality of the art education programs within our public school system. Schools can only provide students with the necessary resources, such as art supplies, technology, and professional development for art educators, with adequate funding. When schools are not receiving adequate funding for the arts, it makes it more difficult for students to explore different mediums and develop their artistic skills. This research aimed to examine the benefits of art education and related supporting research to create a Bitmoji Advocacy Classroom that will house resources for art educators to leverage use with legislators, policymakers, school districts, and parents. It will combine arguments regarding the essential benefits of art education to establish that the arts should be a priority in schools. The Bitmoji Advocacy Classroom will be a reference for art education advocates to enlighten policymakers and school districts, allow them to explore options for supplementing their budget, and access free Professional Development resources and materials to use in their classroom.

The world of education is constantly changing. As our culture and society evolves and grows, our educational practices must follow suit to reach the minds of tomorrow in a meaningful way. Arts integration is the teaching practice of using the arts as a lens through which students can view and articulate other subject matter. Integration of dance, music and visual arts promotes creativity and interest but also nurtures a meaningful educational experience. This confluence of educational disciplines will engage our students and excite them about learning. It is important to recognize that " culture populated by a people whose imagination is impoverished has a static future n such a culture there will be little change because there will be little sense of possibility" (Eisner, 2002, p. 5). Integrating the arts into the core curriculum empowers our students to believe in possibility and provides them a future of potential. The purpose of this study is to examine the process of arts integration within an urban middle school setting. The school chosen will be observed because it is established as an arts magnet school, serving the community as an Academy for the Visual and Performing arts. An arts magnet middle school embraces the principles of seeing artfully and uses the arts to illuminate and give dimension to the other core subject matter. The structure for the model of curriculum integration adapted by the arts magnet school faculty will be determined by analyzing interview transcripts, field notes, and faculty meeting notes. Classroom observations will also serve to provide evidence of implementation of the arts integrative process into the curriculum. The results will show how arts integration acts as learning "through" and "with" the arts as a result of a curricular process and collaborative engagement.

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<p> The purpose of this project is to identify a potential funding source and write a grant to provide art classes and art exhibits in Orange County, California to decrease mental health issues among older adults and to reduce mental health stigma. A comprehensive literature review found that art related activities are an effective way to reduce mental health issues among older adults. The search conducted identified a potential funding source to support the need for culturally competent art based mental health services. Mental health stigma results in numerous challenges for those with mental illness, their families, and the community. Art activities are low-cost, help decrease levels of stress, build self-esteem, and promote community involvement. If funded, this program could help older adults engage in the art related activities to improve their mental and physical health.</p>

<p> Within this dissertation I discuss my experience as both teacher and researcher in an early childhood art education research project with the goal to challenge traditional conceptions of power and knowledge in work with young children. Inspired initially by the idea of reactivating children&rsquo;s traditionally subjugated knowledges, in this research I aimed to foster a space where children and adults could ethically collaborate in art, making, and research. Over the course of 10 weeks, this art classroom was built as a space created for children, grounded in notions of change, movement, trust, and respect. The children were not only encouraged to create their own opportunities for making, and also to challenge what it means to exist and make in the early childhood art classroom by engaging in play, exploration, and collaborations with adults. In what follows, I share some of the children&rsquo;s words and work in order to make their experience in this classroom space visible. Both their artworks and experiences are analyzed through various theoretical lenses, including theories surrounding nomadism and movement, ethical encounters, collaborations between adults and children, and chaos theory in play. Ultimately, I argue that challenging conventional understandings of power, authority, and knowledge in the art classroom demands resistance from both adults and children. However, this resistance is coupled with a responsibility for educators to listen deeply to what their students both want and need, and to embrace curricular spaces that welcome the unknown. Throughout this dissertation it is my hope to present new and different ways of being and engaging with young children in spaces of art education.</p>

<p> This dissertation utilized a Delphi methodology in discovery of the perceived outcomes and teaching strategies that are common for art history survey courses taught at higher education institutions throughout the United States. A group of art history faculty, chairs, and current researchers focused on studying teaching and learning within art history weighed in on their perspectives through three mixed method survey rounds, ranking the importance of various themes developed through the responses. The results discover that there is still a strong preference for a Socratic seminar teaching strategy, while the participants also highlighted other outcomes and strategies that are important areas for future research in the discipline.</p>

Abstract TEACHING MOURNING By Julie Ann Crowder, MAE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011 Major Director: Sara Wilson McKay, Ph.D. Interim Department Chair and Associate Professor, Art Education As a researcher I sought to understand the following research questions: 1) What were the official policies and protocols that went into effect at William Fox Elementary School after the murder of the Harvey family in January of 2006? 2) What were the experiences of the staff and parents at William Fox Elementary School after the murder of the Harvey family? 3) What critiques and or suggestions do the employees and parents have of the personal or official policies or protocols, which were carried out after the murder of the Harvey family? The purpose of this research was layered. This research was necessary in order to create an accurate picture of the difficult emotional reactions of teachers attempting to teach students how to mourn while mourning themselves. Additionally, this study identified how teachers were able to continue about the business of every day life and education when they were dealing with difficult emotional issues. Participants at William Fox Elementary experienced the tragic death of the Harvey family on New Year’s Day 2006. This research illuminated possible new ways of looking at mourning, the public/media, and ways of handling these difficulties. This research could lead to the creation of new policies or protocols that would better serve the mourning populations in schools, which lose members to violence. The members of this study were William Fox Elementary employees or parents who were on present during and after the Harvey murders. Special attention was given to the IRB process. Seven participants who had a great deal of contact with Stella were selected. The PTA-funded Art Explosions teacher, Stella Harvey’s classroom teacher, the principal, the guidance counselor, a parent, the music teacher, and the librarian were all participants. Significant findings include: the importance of the speed and selection of information given to adults at the time of a tragedy, and the child information networks that form when children are not completely informed. Additionally a variety of information and thoughts are given on the subject of mourning, both public and private. Implemented and suggested healing techniques were investigated. Lastly, several uncomfortable issues that arose, such as race and rage were explored.