The overarching problems to which this study responds are the inadequacies of a traditional language arts curriculum for underserved middle school students and the ways such curricula fall short in providing these students viable means to succeed both academically and socially. The purpose of this study was to learn what happens when underserved middle school students were simultaneously engaged in literacy studies and visual arts learning based on the perceptions of four students, their teacher and the researcher. The questions that guided this study of an integrated literacy curriculum in a visual arts classroom were: 1) What were the perceptions of four underserved middle school students regarding their participation in an arts and literacy integrated curriculum? 2) What were the perceptions of a middle school teacher about student participation arts and literacy integrated curriculum? and, 3) What were the perceptions of the researcher who participated in arts and literacy integrated curriculum? This study incorporated ethnographic techniques of observation, interviews, and artifact collection and analysis as a basis for assessing and interpreting evaluating the real world experiences of students and a teacher. By using a case study methodology along with elements of autoethnography, the study explored primarily the perceptions of four underserved students, along with casual interaction with 24 other students, in class as they engaged in literacy activities in the art class. Results illustrate the students did not find the writing assignment relevant to the associated art activity. Although some students disliked the literacy exercise, some professed to understand its value. Most deemed it irrelevant or inappropriate. All preferred to only work on their art projects. The veteran teacher expressed interest in incorporating language arts into the art class but only did so on a limited basis. It appeared to the researcher that the potential for increasing verbal literacy was likely hampered by inadequate preparation for the lesson. The teacher may not have had a deep belief or motivation to fully utilize this technique. The potential for students to be exposed to deeper literacy integration in the arts class may not have been fully realized.

Art integration research has received much attention of late, yet the focus generally examines ways integration practice and pedagogy support or enhance outcomes of high stakes testing. Serving as a counterpoint, this qualitative action research study, grounded in my experiences as a middle school arts integration specialist, addresses the value of visual culture art integration as a site of youth empowerment. Working collaboratively over a period of four months with three non-art educators to create and teach a series of social justice art integration units with sixth graders, I examined ways an integrated art and visual culture curriculum fostered safe spaces for students to take risks by deconstructing and reconstructing their identities, beliefs and understandings of others and their world through artmaking. In chapter one, I recount early teaching experiences that prompted the research questions in which an examination of which arts integration pedagogies best stimulate students to examine visual culture, articulate voice, and question power relationships that perpetuate social inequities. I address the theoretical lens of social justice art education as it frames the study and examine and discuss the current literature surrounding visual culture and art integration in chapter two. Chapter three delineates methodologies employed in the action research study including data collection measures of visual journaling, artmaking and photography. In chapters four, five, and six, I recount the process in which students engaged with, responded to, and created artwork through three curricular units--in social studies examining the intersections of culture and visual culture as evidenced through advertising, in language arts class collaboratively exploring persuasion through environmental and ecological art installations, and in math class integrating Fibonacci's theories through art making. Findings, discussed in chapter seven, indicated that visual culture art integration, used by teachers is often mislabeled out of insecurity and is a viable methodology for increasing student engagement. When students work collaboratively a space is created for them to regain power in the classroom and increase empathy awareness for themselves and others. Furthermore, art making, within a non-art classroom, can be a particularly successful arena through which middle school students articulate and clarify their voices.

Through a qualitative case study this research examines the needs of three generalist high school teachers in relation to arts integration, writing, critical thinking, and the art museum website. The study also examines the perspectives of art museum educators in relation to how museum websites can be used to support teaching the writing process in the school classroom. Arts integration and the museum website are analyzed in depth through literature review and in-depth semi structured interviews. This research aims to present a model for collaborative website design where the museum website is designed around classroom teachers' curricular needs.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att undersöka vad som styr lärares val, avseende estetisk integrering i undervisningen. Undersökningen omfattar klasslärare i grundskolans tidiga år. Empirin samlades in genom enkätundersökning med slutna och öppna frågor samt genom halvstrukturerade samtalsintervjuer. Under intervjuerna gavs möjlighet att ställa fler frågor som fokuserade på faktorer som kan vara förutsättningar för estetisk integrering i undervisningen. Det insamlade datamaterialet analyserades utifrån studiens frågeställningar samt ramfaktorteorin. Tidigare forskning visar positiva effekter av att arbeta med estetiska uttryckssätt i undervisningen. Forskningen belyser även en mer komplex bild av den estetiska integreringen. Denna studies resultat indikerar att lärare är positiva till estetisk integrering i de teoretiska ämnena, men att det finns faktorer som styr omfattningen av den estetiska integreringen. Det behövs exempelvis tid till förberedelser och efterarbete samt anpassade lokaler när man arbetar med estetiska uttryckssätt. Goda kunskaper i de estetiska ämnena och elevernas intresse för det estetiska är något som motiverar många lärare. Läroplanen upplevs både motiverande och som en ram lärare måste hålla sig inom. En av undersökningens slutsatser är att den estetiska integreringen i undervisning är komplex. Det finns en rad faktorer som spelar in i lärarnas val av hur de bedriver sin undervisning. Lärarna har ett frirum för initiativ. Samtidigt är frirummet en del i ett skolsystem med regler och ramar som lärare måste förhålla sig till. / The purpose of the study is to examine what factors lead teachers to include, or not include, aesthetic elements in their work with children. The empirical data was collected via a web-based questionnaire as well as two semi-structured interviews, all three concerned teachers working within the first grades of primary school. The interviews allowed for deeper discussion of survey questions and the frame factors that may affect the aesthetic integration. The collected information was analysed according to the frame factor theory. Previous research suggests that art integration in early education has a positive effect on learning. However, it also provides a more complex picture of such integration. Our study indicates that teachers in general have a positive view on art integration in theoretical subjects, but nevertheless there are various factors that reduce the extent to which this integration takes place. Time, space, teacher competence within the aesthetic area, as well as interest from pupils and teachers all seem to play an important part. The current curriculum appears alternately to motivate teachers and lock them within an inflexible framework. In conclusion, art integration is rather complex. There is a range of factors which affect how teachers choose to pursue their teaching. Teachers have a certain freedom of initiative, a 'free space' within which they try their ideas. Even so, this 'free space' is part of a school system with regulations and frames, which the teachers have to take into consideration.

This mixed-methods dissertation used an explanatory sequential design to examine art and mathematics preservice teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards integrating art and mathematics (IAM) after an IAM workshop. The conceptual framework of this study has its basis in three theoretical sources: constructivism, multiple intelligence theory, and semiotics. Each of these sources provides a conceptual lens to examine art integration in the curriculum and the teacher's role in facilitating this instructional process. Participants of this study included two sub-groups at a large university in Saudi Arabia. The first sub-group was preservice teachers of art education. The second sub-group was preservice teachers of mathematics. Quantitative and qualitative results indicated that the IAM workshop had positive impacts on art and mathematics preservice teachers' attitudes and perceptions of IAM. Participants attributed more value to art, were more willing to apply IAM, and felt that there was less barriers for applying IAM. The study also indicated differences between art and mathematics preservice teachers' attitudes towards IAM. The differences were due more to art value than willingness or barriers. After the IAM workshop, mathematics preservice teachers put more emphasis on the importance of art to mathematics, especially with respect to making mathematics a more enjoyable subject.

With the continual use of standardized testing, teaching art in schools, particularly elementary schools, often falls to generalist teachers with little to no experience in art. While art can be integrated into daily curriculum for deeper and lasting learning, without the proper training or support, generalist teachers are left to implement art as they encountered it in the past, if at all. Artistic anxiety and culturally misappropriated artistic experiences result in the arts being used inefficiently or avoided completely. Creating a curriculum for preservice elementary generalist teachers, I explored art integration through developing artistic confidence, skill, and identity for 16 non-artists in a 3-credit term course that included an art-teaching practicum component for participants. While the majority of participants finished the course with a positive artistic experience--many declared that they had started on an artistic path and that they looked forward to integrating the arts in their future curricula--it was evident that a course covering art integration, developing an artistic self, and completing a practicum left participants rushed and overwhelmed. Some even closed themselves off to certain projects, afraid of failure. To help preservice elementary generalists connect to art as a learning tool, I suggest establishing an arts integration minor that requires a full-semester studio course focused only on developing an artistic identity. The course should build artistic confidence and habits that preservice teachers can take into practicum courses, which focus on experientially integrating the arts in lesson planning and teaching.

Teachers are seeking effective teaching strategies to support an array of student learning needs. The arts hold the potential to transform the learning experience for students; however, the use of art integration is limited and unknown to many educators. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to interview and observe 8 elementary school teachers who were identified by the school administration as successfully having integrated art into the curricula, defined by teaching with and through the arts across all content areas. The intent of this study was to explore the participants' perceptions about the use of art integration in the classroom, effective practices for integrating art into the curricula, and the way art integration supports student learning and provides focus for student learning. Constructivist theory and the theory of multiple intelligence served as conceptual frameworks for this study by relating to the need for students to build learning from social engagement and experience, and to learn from different perspectives which can be facilitated through arts integration. Data collected from the 8 teacher participant pool through 8 interviews and 4 classroom observations were analyzed with open coding followed by axial coding to determine emergent themes. Results suggest that art integration enriches the entire learning experience. Teachers used art to make the curriculum visible to students. Students interacted with the curriculum through art making, and finally demonstrated understanding in an art form. Teachers credited the use of art integration for higher levels of learning due to increased student engagement through hands on activities, real life connections, document-based inquiry, and collaborative learning. The findings of this study suggest the expanded use of art integration may lead to social change in the classroom that will improve student learning.

The aim of this study is to investigate preschool teachers&rsquo / beliefs about integration of visual art with other activities in early childhood settings. More specifically, the present study examined the effects of teachers&rsquo / year of experiences, their educational background and whether they take a course which is related to visual art or not on teachers&rsquo / beliefs about integrated curriculum and integration of visual art with other activities. Preschool teachers were asked to complete &ldquo / teachers&rsquo / beliefs about integration of visual art&rdquo / questionnaire which was developed by the researcher. It includes four parts: demographic information, teachers&rsquo / beliefs about integration, teachers&rsquo / beliefs about integration of visual art with other activities, and the status of the integrated curriculum in early childhood education. The participants of this study consisted of 255 preschool teachers working with children between the ages of 5 to 6. 118 participants were public pre-school teachers whereas 137 of them were private pre-school teachers in Ankara. The results revealed that there were significant relationship between teachers&rsquo / year of experience and their beliefs about integration of activities and teachers&rsquo / perceived role of the integrated curriculum in early childhood education. In addition, a significant relationship was identified between teachers&rsquo / educational background and their beliefs related to integration of visual art with other activities, usage about integration of visual art, and their perceived role or &lsquo / place&rsquo / of the integrated curriculum in early childhood education. Finally, a significant relationship was reported between the last variable, whether the teacher had taken a course related to visual art or not, and with beliefs about integration of visual art with other activities and usage about integration of visual art.

Many new institutions struggle with issues of identity and purpose, which can create instability and lack of growth. Mission statements are often used to clearly identify the characteristics that make an organization unique. This study was informed by theories of organizational management, art integration constructivism, and Bronfenbrenner's cultural ecology. The literature indicates that there is a strong connection between a clear and concise mission statement and the organization's behaviors. This study examined a small Southeast Michigan charter school devoted to integrating arts and academic curricula to determine how the stated mission was understood and implemented by its stakeholders. An applied, mixed methodology design was used to investigate the connection between the stated mission and the actions of the school's stakeholders. A 4-point, Likert type, quantitative survey was administered to 40 teachers, administrators, and board members and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the summative data. The analysis examined coded themes and found inconsistencies in the knowledge base of the school's stakeholders, primarily related to a lack of shared understandings of organizational statements and arts integration. The study recommendations include a guide for a staff introduction to ongoing pragmatic action research as a method to investigate and implement possible resolutions to the stated problem. The action research would help the school meet its stated goals of providing a coherent, arts-integrated learning experience for the school's students. The study and recommendations will lead to positive social change in that a coherent, arts-integrated education has been shown to provide an educationally and socially beneficial learning environment for the individuals involved in the program.

The aim of this study is to investigate the changes in early childhood teachers&rsquo / views about and practices of integration of visual art into science activities that occured after they attended the workshop. In order to explore the changes in five early childhood teachers&rsquo / views about science teaching, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and activity plans were used in this study. The study was conducted in a private preschool located in the &Ccedil / ayyolu district of Ankara. The first phase of the analysis consisted of portraying all the data related to participant teachers&rsquo / views about science teaching and the integration of science and visual art on the basis of pre-interviews, observation, and post-interviews. The second phase of the analysis involved finding out whether there was any difference between pre- and post-interviews of participant teachers in terms of their views about science teaching and the integration of early childhood science and art. Meanwhile, observational fieldnotes and teachers&rsquo / activity plans were examined based on the themes emerged from the pre- and post-interviews. The findings of this study indicated that early childhood teachers believed in the importance of science activities in their practices. They provided child-centered activities for children to improve their science experiences. In addition, they used different learning experiences that were naturalistic, informal, and structured in early childhood classrooms. In terms of the place of visual art in early childhood curriculum, all participant teachers stated the importance of visual art in early childhood settings. They also mentioned that visual art could be considered as an effective tool for teaching science because children like attending art activities. They preferred to use art activities after they implemented their science activities. Teachers also mentioned that children could easily express themselves with the help of art activities so they stated that they generally used art activities in their classroom practices.