Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University 2" x 2" slides. In Audio-Visual Library. / The purpose of this study is to construct a test of design judgment for use both as an evaluative and guidance device in the art classes of Grades VIII and IX of the Framingham Public Schools. This is to be known as the Framingham Design Judgement Test. Its objectives are (1) to help the art teachers of Grades VIII and IX evaluate one phase of the local art program; (2) to help select those pupils who, having demonstrated ability and interest in art in the earlier grades, should be encouraged ,to continue the subject in Grade IX; and (3) to help determine which students, by virtue of special talent, should elect the Art Major course at the beginning of Grade X, and which ones should be advised to pursue their art interests in the General Art course.

As human beings our identities are formed from birth as we draw on our connections to people, places and the experiences we encounter in life. For young children, adults are crucial in directing these experiences, whether this is at home, school or further afield and therefore they play a key role in identity formation. In the world of education this means that decisions are made by adults based on what is considered best for young children in order to succeed in the future. This has the potential however to have both an enabling and a limiting effect on children's lives. In a climate where arts education funding is being cut and awareness of children's voice and rights is growing in strength, this PhD seeks to explore experiences of visual arts and perceptions of self-identity from a child's perspective with the aim of informing adult perspectives of arts education policy and practice in primary schools. The main argument focuses on children as autonomous identity curators continuously drawing on their curiosity of the world. By engaging them in dialogue about their experiences and lives, adults will be presented with an alternative perspective of the world that can be used to genuinely meet individual needs in young children. The research question 'How do visual art experiences interact with children's self-identity?' is addressed drawing on the principles of bricolage to discuss and analyse the issues through multiple lenses, including the work of Dewey, Bourdieu, and Giddens. A small-scale, multiple case-study, interpretivist approach has therefore been adopted focused on nine participants drawn from four classes from two schools in a Scottish city. Data were gathered during the academic session of 2016-2017 employing narrative inquiry and arts-informed, participatory methods and analysis. Each participant presented a uniquely different relationship with visual art, with some indicating that it was an integral part of their identity and others not so much. Adults, both at school and home, were key in informing this and in one sense the children lacked autonomy and agency in their visual art experiences. However they were autonomous when it came to determining the value of these experiences in their lives and in their identity, with each drawing on their curiosity of the world in different ways to determine this. Rather than create identity, they curated it. They presented a reasoned perspective of their experiences, and highlighted an awareness of aspects of visual art that in some cases came more from their experiences outside of school than from within. Thus at times the perspective was at odds with the intentions of the adult world, particularly from education and creative industries viewpoints; the children created their own meaning and learning from their experiences which were in contrast to the intended learning of the adult world. They also demonstrated a curiosity and open-mindedness in relation to visual art which was not necessarily developed fully by the adults in their lives. This PhD is therefore important because it demonstrates that children do have a degree of agency and autonomy in the formation of their identity and that they develop interests and knowledge that is independent of adult intentions regarding teaching and learning. It is a key piece of research which also presents the voices of children who are not currently represented in academic research in this depth. Finally it raises questions regarding the effectiveness and relevance of current art education practice in education and cultural institutions for children in the contemporary world.

This narrative study explores how two Taiwanese college art teachers’ lives and teaching experiences illustrate the ways they cultivate resilience and motivation to sustain professional commitments amidst challenges in their teaching careers. I use the life story interview as my methodology and a three-dimensional space approach to code and analyze my data to retell their stories about how resilience and motivation have guided them as they negotiated dilemmas in teaching. The participants’ stories demonstrate that in order to be motivated, teachers must satisfy their basic needs, which, in the language of Maslow’s need theory, include secure income, safety, love and belonging, respect, and personal accomplishment. To be resilient, art teachers need to facilitate self-efficacy as an essential belief to face challenges, and they also must gain support from family members, students, school administrators, and fellow members of professional organizations as external support resources. This study also illuminates the significance of international educational exchanges, the teaching knowledge constructed through layers of life and professional experience, and the importance of creating dialogue to address teachers’ challenges. Recommendations for future study include exploring further the relationship between motivation and resilience, specifying how gender difference affects the ways participants tell their stories, investigating how teachers in diverse cultural and geographical settings develop motivation and resilience, considering how teachers construct career-affirming memories from both positive and negative life experiences, and exploring uses of social media to engage a broader audience, sharing participants’ stories without the limitations of time and space.

No description available.

This study investigates the variance in critical thinking dispositions between arts and non-arts undergraduates using quantitative data from the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), a survey instrument. Data were collected from a sample of 141 undergraduates at a large, urban, public university on the east coast. The population consisted of four groups: freshmen non-arts students, freshmen arts students, junior and senior non-arts students, and junior and senior arts students.;of the four groups which were compared, the junior and senior arts subjects showed the greatest mean total score on the CCTDI. This mean was significantly higher than that of freshmen non-arts students. Junior and senior arts students were also found to have significantly higher mean scores on several of the CCTDI subscales.;A consensus of findings in research literature on higher education and critical thinking indicate that an inquiry-based curriculum positively influences gains in critical thinking in undergraduates. Research shows, as well, that learning in the arts is largely inquiry-based. The synthesis of those findings and the results of this study indicate that exposure to learning in the arts positively influences students' disposition to think critically.

No description available.