Bullying has become a major problem in U.S. schools. In response to this issue, this research study used art therapy interventions to examine bullying behaviors among four students. Personal construct theory and previous research in art therapy helped inform this study by providing a structure for better understanding students' perceptions about bullying through the process of drawing based on personal understanding and experience. Participants in this study were four students of various ages, sexes, and schools from a small city in the southeastern United States. Each student participated in pretest/posttest personal construct drawing assessments and in three art therapy interventions. Students completed a self-rating with each drawing to depict their relatedness to the person they drew. A comparison was made between their pretest and posttest drawings and self-ratings to determine any changes following the art therapy intervention. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester, 2011. / August 3, 2011. / Art Therapy, Bullying, Drawings, Interventions, Personal Construct, School-Aged / Includes bibliographical references. / Marcia Rosal, Professor Directing Thesis; Dave Gussak, Committee Member; Tom Anderson, Committee Member.

This study investigated the use of a mandala drawing activity to reduce test anxiety in a small group of fifth grade students. A group of six students both boys and girls from a private North Florida School participated in the 4 week pilot study which met 5 times. The participants were given a pretest survey, the Children`s Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS), to evaluate how often the students experience test anxiety. The survey was given during the first session approximately 2 weeks prior to the initiation of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Three meetings consisted of an introduction to the mandala activity and opportunities for the students to create their own mandalas. One of these meetings allowed the students to create a mandala immediately before the first section of the FCAT was administered. The students completed the CTAS as a posttest during the final meeting. The scores of the post-evaluation were compared to the pre-evaluation scores in reference to the change in test anxiety levels due to the mandala activity. The results show some reduction in levels of test anxiety which when analyzed with a t-test did not show significance. The qualitative data collected through the form of behaviors displayed in the meetings demonstrated an overall improvement experienced during the course of the program. Suggestions for further research and suggestions for art therapy practitioners were discussed. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 28, 2012. / Anxiety, Art Therapy, FCAT, Mandala, Test Anxiety / Includes bibliographical references. / Marcia Rosal, Professor Directing Thesis; David Gussak, Committee Member; Tom Anderson, Committee Member.

There is a lack of research on intervention protocols for adolescent children of alcoholics who are high achieving and demonstrate a low probability of substance use disorders. Historically, these children have high academic success and their familial issues often remain secret; thus, school counselors or mental health professionals may overlook any psychosocial or emotional issues. The primary problem this study addresses is how to identify and serve this specific population as a mental health clinician. The purpose of this study is to increase this population's positive self-concept--a measurable and observable trait related to resiliency--using one or both of the following experimental art therapy interventions: a) an art education-based intervention entitled "Constructing a personal visual vocabulary" and b) Cognitive Behavioral Art Therapy-based directives, which include working toward an image-based personal narrative, or trauma narrative. The philosophical approach for this study is based on Hegelian dialectics. Levels of self-concept were measured by statistical analysis of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, Second Edition (TSCS:2) and correlated with the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, Second Edition (PH:2) to determine the total self-concept over three observation periods. To provide additional information on the participants' clinical state, their clinical notes, self-statements, and artwork were reviewed using the depression scales, a portion of the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale, Beck's theory of internal communication system, and the Expressive Therapies Continuum. This study used a randomized pretest-midtest-posttest experimental research design with a control group. The double blind method was used to prevent research outcomes from being 'influenced' by observer bias. The participants' qualifying criteria were determined following the closing of the study. A paired-samples t-test using total scores (TOT) from the TSCS:2 was performed for the qualified sample, all of the experimental participants, and the control group. The participants' TOT scores, measuring the levels of self-concept, before and after each of the two interventions were compared. The results indicated a significant difference in the TOT mean scores for all of the experimental participants after both interventions, at Observation Three, t(18) = -4.71, p = 0.0002. The computed total self-concept scores from the qualified sample were too small to infer a significant effect value at observation three; t(4) = -1.52, p = 0.2034; thus, the percentage changes for the mean total self-concept scores were calculated for each sample. The qualified sample demonstrated a TOT mean score increase of 26.9% in positive self-concept at Observation Two and maintained a TOT mean score increase of 16.5% at Observation Three. Based on these results, the null hypothesis was rejected; it was inferred that sixteen weeks of art therapy sessions increased the positive self-concept for high-achieving adolescent children of alcoholics who demonstrated a low probability of substance-use disorders. Further implications suggest that constructing a personal visual vocabulary increased positive self-concept at a higher rate for the qualified sample than cognitive-behavioral therapy with a focus on creating a personal visual narrative. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2014. / March 19, 2014. / Adolescents, Art Therapy, Children of Alcoholics, Cognitive Behavioral Art Therapy, Self-Concept, Visual Language / Includes bibliographical references. / Marcia L. Rosal, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lisa Waxman, University Representative; David Gussak, Committee Member; Tom Anderson, Committee Member.

This study was an exploration of the public trust and accountability characteristics of an accreditable museum as defined by the American Association of Museums (AAM). Museums that are accredited demonstrate their commitment to community engagement, diversity, and accountability. The 161 museums that were re-accredited in 2008-2009 were the intended sample for the study. The obtained sample consisted of 53 museums that responded to some or all of the questions in the survey used to gather relevant data. The Web-based survey included both closed- and open-ended questions that provided both qualitative and quantitative data. The survey queried museums for information as to: what museums do to engage with their audience and community; what steps do museums take to ensure diverse staffs, boards, and exhibitions, and to involve all of the stakeholders in planning for museum exhibitions, activities, and programs; how museums communicate with the public regarding the way they operate legally and ethically; what areas of public trust and accountability museums see as in need of further development within their own institutions; and what changes are being implemented to work on those areas of public trust and accountability identified as needing further development. The museums in the study offer a wide range of services to the public and are beginning to perform multiple functions within their communities. Regarding diversity, museums either have diverse staffs and boards or are aware that they are not as diverse as they could be and are actively seeking to further diversity. Diversity of exhibitions is aided by the input of community groups, although a large number of museums still only involve their own departments in planning. Where accountability is concerned, museums are found to have many operational documents available for the public by request, but most information that is communicated more directly to the public is about exhibitions and programs. Museums surveyed are continuing current activities or increasing their programming with communities and special populations. More diverse staffs and boards are being sought as these museums diversify the way they do business and the offerings they present. Web-based information is becoming the more prevalent form of communication and museums are increasing their presence online by using social networking and new media technologies. Through all of these efforts, museums are trying to remain relevant in an ever-changing society. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2010. / October 26, 2010. / Inclusiveness, Accountability, Transparency, Diversity, Museum Accreditation, Community Engagement / Includes bibliographical references. / Sally McRorie, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lisa Waxman, University Representative; Tom Anderson, Committee Member; Marcia Rosal, Committee Member.

This study is a personal contribution to the design for wellbeing phenomenon. Using a pragmatic-phenomenological paradigm, the main goal of this research was to conduct a design-based investigation from a human-centered perspective to study the relationship between the built environment and the experiences of art therapists who work in six different art therapy settings in the south Florida region. This relationship was examined through the art therapists' perceptions, needs, wants, recent challenges, and most importantly the adaptation techniques they develop to obtain healthier environment . A dynamic integration was needed due to the complexity of the research problem; therefore, an interdisciplinary conceptual framework was designed to tackle the different contexts of the study. Six art therapy settings were chosen for this study: clinical, educational, home studio, private practice, community treatment center, and mobile art therapy. Qualitative methods were used to collect the data. Personal interviews, participant observation, and visual documentation were the main three methods used throughout the study. An integrative design-based analysis system was created to analyze the data. Using design-based thinking, an analytical framework was developed to define the conceptual coding system of the definitions, categorizations, and associations of found data. As data emerged, the synthesis phase took place. It was a process of system thinking, interdisciplinary integration, and problem solving. Due to the phenomenological nature of the study, it was essential to document findings that have direct and indirect relation to art therapists' experiences in their settings. The findings of the research were organized using the research questions as a guide and organizational technique. Targeting perception, the art therapy settings were individually defined using contextual, experiential, and interactive categories. The rest of the phenomenological data was synthesized using universal design-based categories. A phenomenological reflective conclusion was generated to exhibit the multiple relationships art therapists have with their built environment. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2013. / October 4, 2013. / Art Therapy, Built Environment, Design for Wellbeing / Includes bibliographical references. / Pat Villeneuve, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lisa Waxman, University Representative; Marcia Rosal, Committee Member; David Gussak, Committee Member.

Today's societies are becoming ever more culturally diverse. A traditionally mono-cultural society, South Korea is in the midst of remarkably rapid changes that have made cultural diversity a widely discussed topic in education and many other fields. Though art educators in South Korea have adopted some of the longstanding multicultural approaches developed by other countries, cultural diversity issues in South Korean society must be examined in the context of the country's unique history and cultural values. Based on the assumption that art reflects life, this study used a pragmatically grounded contextual art criticism model to examine art dealing with cultural diversity by three South Korean contemporary artists whose work may function as a barometer of our social and cultural climate. For the data collection, the researcher takes a role as the critic and three artworks from each of the selected three artists were chosen as research objects. The works of the three participating artists were carefully and critically analyzed in their authentic context including document examination and personal interview. The critical analysis revealed several themes related to increased cultural diversity in South Korean society today: the influence of media on cultural understanding, a self-centered view of culture, less access to authentic traditional culture, missing the uniqueness and originality of local culture, generalization and prejudice vs. individuality, and multicultural groups in South Korean society. Though the role and the direction of the gaze may differ for each of the artists studied, all share the conviction that art can change society. Because art education is a means to this end, implications for art education are included for those who wish to meaningfully incorporate cultural diversity issues in South Korea classrooms. The findings of the study and their analysis point to the ways art can function as a mirror and window on today's culturally diverse societies in South Korea and many other places in the world. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2014. / July 14, 2014. / Art Criticism, Art Education, Contemporary Art, Cultural Diversity, Qualitative Research / Includes bibliographical references. / Tom Anderson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Carolyn Henne, University Representative; David Gussak, Committee Member; Jeffrey Broome, Committee Member.

Large numbers of military veterans are returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries and mental health issues. In response to this the Department of Veterans Affairs offers many evidenced based treatments, however, these treatments mostly rely on verbal processing and are not able to help those who have difficulty talking about their experience. Art therapy, and specifically, visual journaling, offers a potential to fill this void and help those who would benefit from a nonverbal treatment. The following study provides a literature review relevant to the use of visual journaling with military veterans. Current treatments that are offered to patients are reviewed. The benefits of art making are discussed and studies on the benefits of art and writing and detailed. Lastly, visual journaling and art therapy are discussed with an emphasis on studies demonstrating art therapy's usefulness with military veterans. The study utilized a 6-week visual journaling curriculum developed by the author. The journaling curriculum was focused on providing education and decreasing symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and trauma. The journaling curriculum was used to provide group art therapy at a therapeutic housing community for homeless veterans. Completion of the journaling group, pre and posttest Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure (CORE-OM), and an individual interview were required in order to be included in the study; two participants completed the study. The data from the CORE-OM was analyzed to determine change in overall score as well as the domains of life functioning, risk/harm, problems/symptoms, and subjective well-being. The individual interviews were analyzed to determine themes. The following themes were identified: self-knowledge gained via the journaling process, therapist qualities, individual versus group therapy, art making benefits, and art communicates the "real" me. Although the CORE-OM did not show clinically significant change, the interviews revealed that the participants did benefit from their participation in the journaling group. Several confounding variables affected this study including the common time-line with another study that was being conducted in the area, the conclusion of the group coinciding with the conclusion of the academic semester and the participants placing the study at a lower priority than their other appointments. Due to the small sample size and the fact that both participants were receiving other mental health treatment at the time of the study, the results cannot be generalized. The finding of results that are consistent with some results of other studies, and the benefit received from the participants indicates that the use of visual journaling can be beneficial to military veterans in recovery and further study is warranted. Suggestions for future study include utilizing the visual journaling curriculum with a larger group of military veterans and utilizing the curriculum with individuals. Additionally, suggestions for art therapists that wish to use visual journaling with their clients are included. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2014. / June 17, 2014. / Art Therapy, Journaling, Military, Veterans, Visual Journaling / Includes bibliographical references. / Dave Gussak, Professor Directing Thesis; Marcia Rosal, Committee Member; Jeff Broome, Committee Member.

This is a descriptive case study that examines the impact of an interdisciplinary, arts-centered curriculum implemented with rural, at-risk children in North Florida. In many areas of this country, the arts either face a threat of deletion from the school curriculum or have already been removed from school curricula altogether. The "No Child Left Behind" act has resulted in the arts being removed from a small, rural middle school in Florida with a large student population at-risk of educational failure. Coresponding with the reintroduction of an arts-centered curriculum into this school, the guiding research question is "How will an arts-centered, integrated, critical approach to teaching and learning affect rural, middle school students?" The Arts-In-Education grant program, through Florida State University's Center of Educational Research and Development, was instituted to address the problem of poor literacy skills for a single grade at the middle school, using the arts as the vehicle for motivation and transmission. During the second year of the grant, I was given the task of developing a particular curriculum for the students involved in the study focused on the theme, Who Do You Think You Are? Grant co-workers participated in refining this curriculum that was developed and implemented with seventh-grade students. This curriculum had students experience art-centered activities during their language arts classes, in which they wrote critically and creatively in relation to arts activities, recorded final raps and poems recorded on CDs. The following year, a smaller scale implementation was conducted with a single group of sixth-grade students who also were at-risk of educational failure, which was the focus group for this study. The participatory action research method was used in that the researcher was directly involved in teaching the curriculum and gathering the data that resulted from it. Impetus for the study came as a result of my own personal experience of living without the arts at a certain point during my earlier school matriculations, and being a peripheralized, at-risk student myself. So a personal vignette can be found in the study of my own personal experience, as stimulus and foundation for the theoretical premise of the study. The theoretical focus lies in African American liberation theory and philosophical pragmatism. Further, from a phenomenological perspective, I wanted to know how students and other stakeholders perceived the curriculum and its effects and what that meant to them. The desire was to find out what the students had gained from their art experience, qualitatively/affectively, and whether they felt art was a positive experience in and of itself and whether they felt it served as a positive tool for learning in language arts. The data was constructed from direct observation, student artifacts, and interviews. Raw data were frequently used in the report "to illustrate and substantiate the presentation" (Bilken & Bogdon, 2003, p. 5). Several themes resulted from the collected data. In answer to the primary question, the curriculum affected the students in several ways. First, in spite of some negative claims, most of the students understood the importance of art as a mode of personal self-expression and learning about new things. Second, they engaged in exploration about having respect for themselves through both the process and the curriculum content. But, in spite of engaging the arts as the means toward verbal and written literacy, the results of this study suggest the children made little progress toward written literacy. The arts-based curriculum did not, overall, motivate them to want to read and write. I suspect this reticence is as much a matter of poor skills development. Other themes were emergent. These themes dealt with discipline issues, adult betrayal, bureaucratic trouble, changing dynamics during recording of the CDs, and finally, a hopeful theme, the positive personal transformations in a few students during their involvement in the study. Because of the difficult conditions under which the study was conducted, conclusions about the potential success of the arts integrated curriculum's potential to positively affect children are difficult to draw. Some students understood that their personal paradigms had been expanded through this program, but others didn't acknowledge any effect. Further studies of this sort should be conducted and are planned by the researcher. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2008. / March 21, 2008. / Art Education, Qualitative Research, Case Study, African-American Philosophy, At-Risk, Interdisciplinary / Includes bibliographical references. / Tom Anderson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patty Ball-Thomas, Outside Committee Member; Marcia Rosal, Committee Member; Susan Wood, Outside Committee Member.

This study was phenomenological, qualitative research to examine the cross-cultural experiences of Asian art education faculty in U.S. higher education as well as the meanings they attach to those experiences. The review of literature on cross-cultural art education revealed that historically art education emphasized the idea of border-crossing by comparing art in cross-cultural contexts rather than examining people who are actually having cross-cultural experience through art and education. Asian art education faculty members who work in borderland through art and education are appropriate population to examine cross-cultural experience in art education. However, there is little or no research on Asian art education faculty members in the art education literature. It indicated a clear need for demographic data and in-depth investigation of their border-crossing experience in U.S. higher education institutions. The online survey was administrated to Asian art education faculty members who were identified by criterion and snowball sampling strategy to understand their demographic profiles and perceptions on cross-cultural experience. From the online survey, three participants were selected for further in-depth, phenomenological interview to better understand their perceptions on cross-cultural experiences. Participants in survey and interview indicated the greater opportunity to obtain a faculty position in the U.S. than in their home country as the primary motivation for applying for an academic position in U.S higher education. In addition, they perceived their successful higher education experience in U.S. as the qualification that the most helped them achieve a current faculty position. In-depth analysis of survey participants' perceptions of each challenge and interview revealed that teaching students and language barriers were cross-cultural challenges they faced. Further the analysis of the data from interviews with Dr. A and Dr. C revealed that their national culture strongly influenced the cross-cultural challenges they faced in their early career, while Dr. B didn't indicate the presence of this strong influence of natural culture in his professional career. In interview, Dr. A and Dr. C's national cultural values such as long-term orientation, large power distance, and collectivism caused their cross-cultural challenges in teaching students. In terms of language, Dr. A and Dr. B both accepted language barriers, but strongly believed that students should overcome those language barriers. Dr. A acknowledged, however, that his different communication style, that is, the indirectness and politeness typical of Korean culture, caused misunderstandings with others and, eventually, influenced the quality of his relationships with students and colleagues. However, overall participants in this study had positive perceptions of their relationship with colleagues, chairs, and mentors and demonstrated strong sense of belonging at their institutions. A cross-tabulation between tenure status and participants' cross-cultural challenges revealed that tenure track assistant professors were more likely to see their Asian ethnicity as presenting challenges in terms of language, relationship with colleagues, and isolation and rely on others of their same ethnicity in coping with issues on campus than tenured associate professor and a full professor. Finally, participants in this study indicated that their cross-cultural experiences created a new cultural identity as hybridized individuals and international community members. They also perceived that the development of these new identities transformed their experiences into opportunities and advantages in their careers. Further, they believed that Asian art education faculty members bring multiple perspectives to art and education, eventually; they turn art education into more globalized community. The findings of this study provided recommendations for prospective and early-career art education faculty members, non-Asian art education faculty members, art education students, art education Ph.D. offering universities. Further, it has implications for research on art education faculty and foreign-born art education faculty in U.S. higher education, art teacher education, and K-12 art education theory and practice. This research also contributes to mutual understanding, appreciation, and tolerance and potentially empower such individuals as underrepresented groups within the dominant culture in which they work and live. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2012. / October 22, 2012. / Asian Art Education Faculty, Border-Crossing Identity, Cross-Cultural Art Education / Includes bibliographical references. / Tom Anderson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Mary Stewart, University Representative; Marcia Rosal, Committee Member; Jeffrey Broome, Committee Member; Lind Schrader, Committee Member.

The population of ethnically diverse older adults in the US is rapidly growing, and reports of cognitive impairments, such as those caused by Alzheimer's disease, are becoming more prevalent. This investigation explored whether art therapy could provide cognitive benefits among an ethnically diverse (N = 133), particularly Latino/Hispanic, population of older adults who are often excluded from research on aging and cognition. Within the study, five art therapists, each in distinct cities throughout three US states, provided art therapy to individuals aged 55 years and older at locations such as community centers, adult day care, assisted living, and skilled nursing facilities. Data were collected from therapist notes and reports, attendance records, demographic questionnaires, pretests, and posttests. Both objective and subjective assessments were employed during the pre- and posttest sessions. Assessments were chosen based on their validity, reliability, and the availability of previous research demonstrating the efficacy of their use. Seventeen art therapy studies provided the basis for the methodology of this study. An objective assessment was used to evaluate changes in cognitive performance among participants. Two statistical analyses were applied to assessment data: a t-test and a univariate linear regression. In both analyses, the experimental group exhibited significantly improved cognitive performance. Results from the t-test analysis showed that the mean change in scores among experimental group members was significantly greater than the control group (t = 1.68; p = .048). The univariate analysis revealed that cognitive performance showed statistically significant improvement among the experimental group members as compared with the control group (t = 2.44; p = .017). The results indicated that art therapy as a treatment provided a medium effect size (d = .064). Cognitive functioning improved significantly among the experimental group as compared to the control group following 10 weeks of art therapy. Other findings suggested that subjective cognitive performance improved, though not significantly, and that treatment factors such as session duration and art-therapy-approach were significantly correlated with changes in cognitive performance. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2012. / February 13, 2012. / Art Therapy, Cognition, Latino/Hispanic, Minorities, Older adults, Quantitative / Includes bibliographical references. / Marcia Rosal, Professor Directing Dissertation; Colleen Kelley, University Representative; David Gussak, Committee Member; Pat Villeneuve, Committee Member.