Art education scholars have redefined multicultural teaching practices to include a need for addressing social inequities. To understand art educators’ multicultural teaching practices, it is important to measure the extent to which they present cultural diversity in the classroom and present a racially diverse pool of artists. The purpose of this this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to measure the extent to which practicing K–12 art educators who are members of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) engage students with racially diverse artists and cultures within their curricula. The study aimed to measure the extent that educators address racial and cultural diversity in their classrooms. The study also gathered data on which resources participants indicated would help create and implement curricula that addresses racially diverse artists and cultures. Finally, the study explored the relationships between seven different teachers’ self-reported attributes and the extent that they taught about and valued racial/cultural diversity. The findings show that educators taught about racial and cultural diversity to regularly in their classroom practices and they also voiced a need for more resources to teach more about racially diverse artists and cultures, specifically visual resources and education/training regarding racially/culturally diverse content. Findings also indicated that educators who taught 21+ years, taught predominantly students of color, and those who were more comfortable with conversations pertaining to racial/cultural diversity were more likely to value the importance of racial/cultural diversity in their curricula. The results suggest that resources, such as education, training, or professional development, should be offered to educators in the field so that they may continue learning new language concerning diversity as perceptions and understandings continue to shift.

The intent of this study is to provide a comparison study of art education philosophies, methods, and practices in Bangladeshi schools to schools in the United States. This is a descriptive study with an intensive examination of curriculum materials and textbooks from the education system in Bangladesh as well as narrative based on my past experiences as a student in Bangladeshi primary schools. After translating and analyzing Bangladeshi middle school curriculum, I compared and contrasted art education philosophies, objectives and practices in Bangladesh with those in the United States.

This thesis explores one secondary art teacher's journey into multicultural education, multicultural art education and issues in holistic education. It delves into the difficulties and expectations in creating a classroom culture where all students feel validated and respected, and mutual understanding is fostered across cultural borders. Specific needs of multicultural students are addressed in regards to their education. Then due to an unexpected turn of events which led to a five week study abroad in India, the research looks at ways to incorporate a holistic approach, and spiritual dimension, to multicultural education based on Tibetan Buddhist principles. This narrative looks to find connections between cultural representation within the curriculum, student engagement, and teacher satisfaction. This thesis uses both narrative inquiry and autoethnography as methodologies. It includes field notes from India, as well as excerpts from my teaching journal in the classroom, which are woven into a narrative research text. It also includes an autoethnographic section describing my connection to the Hispanic community and why this study is relevant to my teaching practice.

The articles that recorded multicultural art lessons in the US P-12 classrooms in School Arts during the past decade revealed the condition of US multicultural art education from three aspects. First, the teachers’ interest in multiculturalism has been stable in the past decade. Second, the lessons covered multiple cultures unequally. Among pluralistic US cultures, Native American culture was favored while Asian-American, Arab-American, and Muslim-American cultures were neglected. Among global cultures, Mexican and African cultures were represented most often. Only 12.4% of world countries were represented. Third, most multicultural art projects were stereotyped, though some innovative projects emerged. Many art teachers selected cultural content to teach based on classroom population and local culture. The art teachers tended to teach the meanings of US ethnic cultures better than global cultures. The alteration of cultural materials and techniques caused the loss or change of cultural meanings.

The articles that recorded multicultural art lessons in the US P-12 classrooms in School Arts during the past decade revealed the condition of US multicultural art education from three aspects. First, the teachers’ interest in multiculturalism has been stable in the past decade. Second, the lessons covered multiple cultures unequally. Among pluralistic US cultures, Native American culture was favored while Asian-American, Arab-American, and Muslim-American cultures were neglected. Among global cultures, Mexican and African cultures were represented most often. Only 12.4% of world countries were represented. Third, most multicultural art projects were stereotyped, though some innovative projects emerged. Many art teachers selected cultural content to teach based on classroom population and local culture. The art teachers tended to teach the meanings of US ethnic cultures better than global cultures. The alteration of cultural materials and techniques caused the loss or change of cultural meanings.

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The purpose of this study was to describe the implementation, structure, content and outcome of an art-centered unit developed for 5th grade students. This unit was designed to be an example/model of specific tools and procedures that teachers can use in the art and general classroom to promote critical cultural consciousness, which is the ability to analyze both the covert and overt elements of a culture with the purpose of developing a holistic viewpoint that values the cultural heritages of self and others. The participants selected for this study were all the students in three 5th grade classes. The art-centered unit focused on three artists-Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White-under the theme "Respect and Homage." The research methods used in this investigation were qualitative. This study was written in a style that described the research design with its origins, organization and implementation. The implementation of the curricular unit developed for this study took place in the art and general classroom. Of particular interest in this study was the framework and structure of the art-centered unit, designed around two specific strategies utilized to promote critical cultural consciousness. One strategy in this unit was the identification of art-related or art-centered micro-cultures as an organizing framework for promoting critical, aesthetic inquiry of the selected works of art. Another important curricular strategy examined in this study was the utilization of personal and cultural value orientations for their role in developing cultural consciousness and critical aesthetic inquiry into works of art. Value orientations are common general issues or questions that we as people and as cultures apply various ranking patterns. Evidence of students' development of critical aesthetic inquiry into the focused works of art was documented and discussed, along with evidence of students' expanded understanding of art and culture. That evidence, added to students' personal, reflective ideas exhibited in the context of their personal art making, provided the record of students' growth in critical cultural consciousness used in this study.

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