This qualitative case study investigates first-year college-level art education in the United States today. Specifically, 12 art instructors from a broad range of postsecondary institutions (including private art institutes, public research universities, public liberal arts colleges, and community colleges) were interviewed to explore perceptions of first-year students’ art skills, dispositions, and teaching. When supplemented by online institutional data, descriptions emerge of the curricular structures and changing teaching environments of the sampled first-year art programs. This study finds that art majors enter college art programs today with different skill sets and dispositions than past students. While digital media offers new options for artmaking, the data suggest it may also influence students’ development of manual, fine-motor, and drawing skills. These art instructors describe first-year students as having shorter attention spans and experiencing greater frustration when learning new skills. Furthermore, the data and literature suggest that more college students today enter with mental health issues (such as anxiety and depression) and learning disabilities. Budgetary cutbacks to K-12 arts programming may have diminished students’ abilities to produce quality portfolios for admission to selective art programs, which may have consequences for enrollment. Enrollments reflect shifting student demographics, such as more international students attending private art colleges. Rising college costs have prompted other changes, such as more students living at home and commuting to save money, or transferring to four-year programs after attending community college, working jobs while attending college, and pursuing career-oriented art majors. First-year art programs are continually adapting to new technical, educational, and cultural challenges through restructured curricula and modified pedagogy targeted to the student demographic served by the institution. In addition to teaching art skills required for subsequent coursework, the participants reported helping first-year students adjust to the college environment in ways that foster personal growth. This study documents changes in first-year art education as a basis for further research. Art educators at all levels benefit from knowledge of how college art instructors and first-year programs are modifying pedagogy and curricula to meet the changing needs of incoming art students.

Certain disjunctions exist between the structure, courses, and practices of current textile curricula on the one hand, and the demands of students for entry into diverse creative professions and the demands of the creative industry for qualified new talents on the other. Thus, this research will explore the history, current issues, and emerging trends of academia and the creative professions as these shape the qualifications, aspirations, and expectations of students, academia, and the textile-related fields. The ultimate goal of this study is to comprehend the contemporary issues—social, economic, and cultural shifts—that may impact textile education within art and design colleges, and propose an efficient and engaging BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) textile curriculum suitable for the era of interdisciplinary education and the fourth industrial revolution. Since scholarly study of the effectiveness of art school curriculum is limited and little research has examined the challenges of BFA education, and in particular BFA textile education in the context of 21st century college education, the researcher begins with a survey of existing literature from adjacent fields, including higher education, sociology, business, marketing, apparel, and art education, in particular, adolescent artistic development. The existing literature also includes statistics from government, consulting firms, colleges ranking sites, and annual reports published by each school. This qualitative case study examines how stakeholders in BFA textile education—students, faculty, and professionals—from five selected art colleges in the U.S. perceive their educational experiences and post-college careers. The data were collected through 1) a review of existing literature pertaining to perspectives of general college education, creative industry, and current student generation, and 2) qualitative data gathered through initial surveys and verbal interviews, including two pilot studies. Stakeholder perspectives obtained through interviews are interpreted through the following theoretical frameworks: 1) the business perspective aiming at the success of all stakeholders; 2) the marketing perspective aiming at improving stakeholder satisfaction as a means of enhancing the operational efficiency of organizations; and 3) the educational perspective aiming to create effective teaching and engaging learning environments for the success of today's young creative talents. The researcher contends that the findings strongly suggest curricular and pedagogy change in accordance with societal changes and demands of the stakeholders—current student generation, creative industry, and academia—while at the same time informing the significant value of college education, BFA education, and textile education in the 21st century.