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The field of art therapy has gained momentum in its collaboration with neuroscience in the quest for greater empirical evidence for the efficacy of the field. While there have been a few studies testing the applicability of salivary testing of cortisol with this type of research, no concrete studies have been conducted involving analyzing the effects that multiple sessions of art therapy have on stress. This study obtained empirical evidence determining the effects that a 4-week, mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) group had on cortisol concentration and perceived stress from participants. This study employed a quasi-experimental interrupted time-series research design allowing for comparative data between a pretest and posttest value of cortisol in graduate and medical students. Comparisons were made between the cortisol concentrations in all participants before and after the first and last session as well as between the data sets from each session to determine the longevity of effects. In addition, the participants’ perceived stress was quantitatively analyzed through the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The intervention being tested was MBAT in a group setting. The information gathered from the cortisol testing has implications for supporting the need for stress reducing programming for graduate-level students, as well as has important implications for using MBAT as a stress reduction tool. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2017. / July 17, 2017. / Art Therapy, Cortisol, Mindfulness, Mindfulness-based Art Therapy, Stress, Students / Includes bibliographical references. / Theresa Van Lith, Professor Directing Thesis; Dave Gussak, Committee Member; Gregg Stanwood, Committee Member.

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This research investigated how constructivist approaches are conceptualized and implemented in “gallery tour and studio workshop” programs at three art museums, and the relationship that exists between the gallery and studio learning. To address these questions, I examined how administrators from each museum designed programs and supported educators, how educators facilitated teaching, and how students responded to the gallery and studio learning. I employed a basic qualitative multi-case study. This method suited my research—an investigation of three cases (three iterations of a program at each museum)—because I aimed to understand the uniqueness of each case while examining a range of similar and contrasting cases. Data collection methods included observations of program sessions, interviews with museum administrators and museum educators, casual conversations with participating students, photos of students’ artworks, and museum documents. The cases offer examples of educators’ teaching approaches, which reflect—or do not reflect—constructivist tenets, as well as factors that influence the connection—or lack of connection—across gallery and studio learning. Specifically, the findings indicate that a smaller students-educator ratio and knowing students’ information in advance helped ensure a conducive learning environment. Another relevant factor was the educators’ facilitation of dialogue. Students became more involved in interpreting artworks when educators were most responsive to their ideas, and less involved when educators asked leading or less open-ended questions. Program themes, reflections on the tour prior to the studio session, and motivating questions for studio activities helped ensure connections between gallery and studio. Additionally, exploratory studio activities and small group discussions in the studio helped students make unique choices within their art projects, whereas step-by-step demonstrations led to prescriptive artworks. Further, students’ responses reflected the sequencing of the program: ways of discussing artworks travelled from the galleries to the studio, and student artworks referenced visual elements from artworks displayed in the galleries. While the findings of this research are not generalizable, they provide insight into methods and approaches that might be adopted by museum administrators, museum educators, and art educators who aim to provide school students meaningful and well-connected museum “gallery tour and studio workshop” educational programs.

There are several motivating and satisfying factors that affect volunteer retention. Organizations need to know what these factors are in order to make the volunteer’s role more satisfying and therefore improve rates of retention. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to explore the motivation factors for volunteers in an art museum setting, in particular the individual motivations for remaining at an organization for a period of time not less than one year, using Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman, 1959). The research includes an extensive literature review examining motivation theories, factors of retention and volunteering, and aspects of phenomenology. The population of this study consisted of 28 volunteers in one art museum, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Montgomery, Alabama. The museum represented an organization with an established and successful volunteer program. The participants were adults who were free-choice volunteers, or volunteers who were not required to provide service for any other reason other than their own choice. Data were collected through an online survey and in-person interviews. A statistical test with a chi-square was used to determine the relationship between volunteer retention and factors of motivation. The following factors were found to be significant in volunteer satisfaction and motivation: engagement and enrichment opportunities, a personal sense of doing something worthwhile, and enjoyment of the work itself. Of those factors, it was found that engagement and enrichment opportunities had the highest impact on volunteer retention. It was concluded that (1) there are several motivation factors for volunteers; (2) there is one motivation factor that also has a significant relationship with volunteer retention; and (3) volunteer motivation factors can also serve as factors for dissatisfaction and negatively impact retention. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2019. / February 18, 2019. / Administration, Art, Motivation, Museum, Retention, Volunteer / Includes bibliographical references. / Pat Villeneuve, Professor Directing Dissertation; Stacey Rutledge, University Representative; Jeff Broome, Committee Member; Ann Rowson Love, Committee Member.

The purposes of the study were threefold: (1) to assess whether the math program of a small, midwestern elementary school was meeting the district's established cognitive mathematics objectives, (2) to make recommendations for improvement of the existing mathematics program and (3) to provide a basis for the cognitive components of elementary mathematics program evaluation suitable for adoption by school corporations of a similar size.The study was designed to determine the following: Does the existing mathematics program currently conducted by a small, midwestern elementary school meet the stated program learning objectives as measured by the Metropolitan Achievement Test, and the program's criterion-referenced tests?The review of literature considered pertinent for the study was reviewed and categorized as-follows: (1) history and overview of achievement assessments, (2) evaluation of mathematics achievement, (3) mathematics teaching today, and (4) mathematics program recommendations. The population for the study was defined as those students in kindergarten through grade six in a small, midwestern elementary school enrolling 506 students who had been administered the Metropolitan Achievement Test, during the week of April 28, 1985.The assessment of the achievement of the cognitive mathematics objectives was dependent upon results of the mathematics subtest scores of the Metropolitan Achievement Test, Form JS, Survey Battery and the criterion-referenced tests of the U-SAIL Mathematics Program. Data obtained from the tests were analyzed, summarized and presented in a narrative report.Based upon the results of the study using the MAT the following conclusions have been drawn:1. At all grade levels, the mathematics program learning objectives as measured by the MAT are generally met, however, the proportion of the curriculum measured is not adequate for assessing achievement of the district's established mathematics cognitive objectives.2. The Metropolitan Achievement Test does not measure enough objectives to adequately assess achievement of the program's mathematics cognitive objectives.Based upon the results of the study using the U-SAIL criterion-referenced tests, the following conclusions have been drawn:1. At kindergarten, first and second grade levels, the objectives are adequately met. The program is effective.2. At third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade levels, the objectives are being inadequately met. The program is ineffective.

The purpose of this study was to analyze selected art education textbooks to determine if art education majors were receiving exposure to attitude formation and change information as it relates to the teaching of art. This study was limited to textbooks designed for use in art teacher training courses.To initiate the study, university level art educators were asked to identify prominent art education textbooks from Books in Print. A list was compiled of the books collectively identified by the educators which was then further narrowed to seven texts based on number of editions and longevity.The content of each text was analyzed using attitude-related words as recording units to isolate attitude statements or context units. After all seven texts had been analyzed, each text's context units were sorted into statements of definition or statements suggesting action. Statements of definition, which revealed the author's understanding of attitudes, were subdivided into six characteristics of attitudes as identified by Morris and Stuckhardt (1977). Statements suggesting action were sorted into categories related to attitude formation and change as recognized by Berscheid and Walster (1969).Of the seven texts analyzed, five of the seven authors made frequent reference to attitudes and values, yet only one explicitly discussed their relationship to the art classroom. When discussing attitudes, the explicit author did so almost entirely in statements of definition with only 13.6% suggesting ways to nurture positive attitudes in students. The overall assessment of context units revealed that a total of 451 context units were found in the seven texts, of which 69.4% were statements of definition and only 28.4% suggested ways to nurture positive attitudes in the art classroom.With the one limited exception, the authors virtually ignored in their texts the body of attitude research from art education and social psychology. The frequency with which attitude concepts appeared in five of the seven texts suggested that their authors considered them important to art learning, yet no one discussed what they are, where they come from, or how they can be affected in an organized, systematic way.

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In an effort to enhance art education, and to garner a better understanding of the artistic individual, arts-based research emphasizing cognitive case studies, or process examination have been conducted; several should be noted for their contributions to this study. First, are the cognitive case studies conducted by Franklin (1989), Gardner (1997), and Gruber and Wallace (2001); second, are studies emphasizing artistic processes conducted by Beittel (1973), and Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi (1976). It is the author's contention that cognition, intuition, and sensory experience, contribute to the successful production of a work of art. A documented history of artsbased research has been conducted inside the classroom, therefore this dissertation focuses on the integration of cognitive, intuitive, and sensory aspects of the creative process utilized by an artist working in a natural setting. It is appropriate to characterize this research as a longitudinal study of the creative process utilized by the accomplished artist Noel Robbins. The author deems Robbins as "accomplished" having earned the highest academic degree, the Master of Fine Arts, and recognition from the artistic community at large. It is challenging for an individual that has been professionally trained as an artist to remain objective while conducting research within her respective discipline. Therefore, the author utilized a phenomenological approach incorporating data triangulation, along with peer and member checking. Robbins's artistic process was analyzed using the Evolving Systems Approach (ESA) developed by Gruber and his associates (2001), whereby purpose, affect, and knowledge were examined. Insights were sought concerning changes within Robbins's artwork over a 15-year period. Self-directed art production (Ulbricht, 2005, Wilson, 2005), termed by Wilson "the third pedagogical site" (p. 1), offers an alternative to the prescribed media/techniqueoriented artwork emphasized in the schools. This is consistent with Robbins's artistic process that the author analyzed. This author posits that it is only through continued micro-aesthetic investigations of artistic processes that art educators will be able to fully embrace Dewey's (1934) belief that the connection between art and its relationship to society and nature is not only an intellectual (conscious) bond, but also an intuitive and sensory connection as well. / text

Visual arts education provides the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for students to become more responsive and responsible citizens who are aware of the interaction among the visual, aesthetic, economic and social aspects of their culture. A well-prepared visual arts educator is an essential contribution to the quality of student learning in this area of education. The purpose of this study was to suggest a series of guidelines and recommendations for the improvement of the art and art teacher education at Al-Fateh University in Al-Jamahiriya (Libya). Development of these guidelines and recommendations was based on the following steps: (1) Review and examination of developments and trends in Al-Jamahiriya's formal education system. These included secondary education, teacher preparation, and visual art education. (2) Examination of the present art education program at Al-Fateh University and its role in preparing qualified visual art teachers for Al-Jamahiriya's secondary schools. (3) Comparative study of selected factors pertaining to art education teacher preparation at Al-Fateh University and four exemplary American universities. (4) Library research regarding current thought and practices in the areas of visual art education and teacher preparation. A questionnaire was also developed and sent to the art education department at Al-Fateh University to help obtain descriptive data concerning the teacher education program. A panel of experts at the University of Arizona had identified four exemplary American university art education programs. These programs were examined as part of this study. Recommendations are made regarding selected improvements in the art and art teacher preparation programs at Al-Fateh University.