<p>Attempting to discover the utility of the Semantic Differential in determining learner needs and preferences at the outset of a 9-week beginner art-appreciation class, the researcher surveyed her students&rsquo; affective responses to 30 portraits. Over a one-year period, thirty-two at-risk young adults completed the survey using 16 bi-polar adjective pairs (good: bad | beautiful: ugly, etc.) to indicate how they felt about each portrait. The respondents had one minute to rate each portrait or thirty minutes total. Supported by research on the cross-cultural validity of the survey tool, the universal relevance of portraiture alongside curriculum, cognitive and visual culture theory, the student responses reveal that (1) the survey mechanism itself is useful to the art educator; and (2) there is a wealth of information on student preferences in terms of style, media, and subject. </p><p> Responses to the portraits reveal near total engagement with the process as well as interesting patterns and divergences: in one example, two portraits created 1,000 years apart were ranked &ldquo;positively&rdquo; by all respondents. Other examples reveal a complexity of responses across media and style as well as race, gender and age of subject. </p><p> While it has yet to be demonstrated whether the survey results can be generalizable across a population of similarly-situated individuals, the researcher believes the real value may lie in the survey&rsquo;s use in creating a dialogue based on immediate information about student preferences; where, within a community, students can mine the degree to which they have been influenced by their material culture. The dialogue will serve as a safe jumping off point to explore their identity and their role in society through discussion, art production and interpretation. </p>

Research by educators in lifelong learning experiences is one of the most important fields in American education today. Even though adults are usually self-directed and will acquire knowledge or will learn skills to solve immediate problems, they usually need a facilitator and a variety of learning experiences to meet their needs and abilities. One of the learning experiences adults will be seeking is through art museums. Consequently, museums need to focus on how to make museum education more significant for adults by teaching them how to learn in museums. The goal of this exploratory study was to analyze any interesting variables in the effectiveness of three dissimilar treatments, using different interpretive techniques and symbol systems, on adults' understanding of the subject matter, content and style of landscapes. This study was developed around a specific exhibition, "A Return to Arcadia: Nineteenth Century Berkshire County Landscapes." In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the three different learning experiences through different symbol systems, eighty-seven adults were divided into three groups. One group was given a straight, formal slide lecture on the exhibition. The second group participated in an informal gallery presentation in the exhibition. The methodology for this presentation was the discussion/inquiry method. The third group was given a double exposure to the exhibition. The slide lecture was presented as orientation before the participants were exposed to the landscapes in the gallery with the discussion/inquiry method. Each of the three groups was given a post slide test, open-ended questions to answer, and an interview immediately after its particular treatment. The findings from the slide post-test, open-ended questions and interviews seem to indicate that art presented in different symbol systems, environments and interpretive techniques does convey different meaning and concepts. The implication of this exploratory study is that definitive research, using the scientific and naturalistic paradigms, should be completed to investigate the significance of the findings from this study.

This researcher examined the relationship between visual arts programs and creative thinking skills of high school students taking a foundations of music course and an introductory visual art course. A gap existed in the current literature concerning visual art experience and creativity among high school students. This study was based upon the theories of Eisner, Gardner, and Csikszentmihalyi concerning creativity and art experiences. This researcher used a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design. A convenience sample of 2 high school fine arts classes was comprised of 1 visual art class and 1 foundations of music class, giving a sample of 50 high school students. The visual art class was the treatment group that received visual art instruction. The foundations of music class was the control group that received no visual art instruction. Pre and post assessments were measured using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) after 1 term of instruction. Data analysis using the t-test showed that a statistically significant increase was found in creative thinking skills among high school students with visual art experience. The findings could help educational stakeholders to improve visual art curriculum and to seek funding for visual art programs. The findings will lead to social change in high school art curricula as documented in the current literature to a deeper understanding of the importance of teaching subjects that encourage creative thinking at the high school level. Social change implications include: (a) increased funding for visual art curriculum that will lead to positive social change by enhancing student creativity; (b) encouraging further research on the importance of creativity skills among high school students; and (c) increasing community awareness of the necessity of creative thinking in the global economy and the value of visual art experience in helping students gain creativity skills.

The world is becoming progressively interconnected through technology, politics, culture, economics, and education. As educators we strive to provide instruction that prepares students to become active members of both their local and global communities. This dissertation presents one possible avenue for engaging students with art and multifaceted ideas about culture, community, and politics as it explores the possibilities for creating a community-based, art education curriculum that seeks a merger of global and local, or "glocal" thinking. Through curriculum action research, I explored the process of writing site-specific curriculum that focuses on publicly available, local works of art and encourages a connection between global experiences and local application. I have completed this research for two communities, one in Ohio and one in Texas, and investigated the similarities and differences that exist in the process and resulting curriculum for each location. Through textual analysis, interviews, curriculum writing, and personal reflections, I identified five essential components of a community-based, glocal art education curriculum: flexibility, authenticity, connectedness, glocal understandings, and publicly available art. Additionally, I developed a template for writing glocally focused, community-based art education curriculum and produced completed curricular units for each of the communities. Finally, I have made suggestions for the future study and development of glocally focused, art education curriculum.

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