The guiding question of this study was: What were the perceptions of the participants about their experience in the intensive art education program at Florida State University and what do these perceptions suggest about this program and other programs of this type There are two related purposes of this study. One purpose is to determine the perceptions of the participants about their experience of the program. The second related purpose is to evaluate the program qualitatively though their perceptions to see what they suggest for two and related programs. Based on a phenomenological study, data sources included in-depth interviews with six Korean teachers, the FSU program coordinator, the FSU program administrator, the Korean program coordinator at the teacher participants' home university, and two program assistants from FSU, intensive observations of whole events and activities, and review of the teacher participants' research journal notebooks, materials and documents. The intensive, Florida-based, one-month art education and cultural learning program that took place in January and February 2005, was intended to broaden the cultural understanding of the six participating Korean elementary school art teachers and enhance their professional lives. The program's content – units/modules consisting of extensive field trips, coursework, and schools visits – created an umbrella under which the teachers could investigate theories and practices in the field of art education within the diverse cultures of Florida. As both a participant observer and an assistant to the program, I observed all aspects of the program, conducted interviews with the primary stakeholders and read their research journal notebooks after the program was completed. Through these interviews and the analysis of the participants' journals, I was able to conclude that this program gave the teachers a valuable opportunity to understand differences in societies and cultures, and to some extent integrate their resulting insights into their classroom instruction at home. The significance of this program is that it can encourage the teacher participants and other primary stakeholders to understand people in different cultures, provide students who are interested in studying abroad with a beginning experience, and begin, through firsthand experience, to adjust their fixed or stereotypical views of cultures other than their own through the construction of new cultural perspectives. This is especially valuable for people from ethnically homogenous countries such as Japan and Korea who have a particular need for understanding other people and their cultures. One small piece of the solution to this problem may be education emphasizing cross-cultural understandings, such as that which occurred in this program. But the benefits seem to go both ways. From the analysis of the interviews I conducted with the American stakeholders in the program (who are members of a multicultural society, and were not traveling beyond their home borders) there was something to be learned about cultural understanding from the teacher participants. Clearly, such a program benefits both parties, and both have to work hard and stretch to understand other in the exchange. The implication and recommendation that derives from this study is that this program and others like it should be fostered and developed for both art teachers/educators and students in both homogenous countries, and others. While the benefits of this program, designed as it was to immerse Korean teacher participants in the culture of American art and education, are not measurable, this study offers strong evidence that one important outcome is increased cross-cultural understanding and recognition of the value of cross-cultural tolerance and respect from all parties involved. The implication of this insight is that this program should be further developed and fostered, and like programs should be implemented in other venues. Such programs as the one in which the Korean teachers participated may help to correct the inaccurate views that many international students have of the United States, and test the cultural understandings of such students against those of others, toward a better understanding of both. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education In partial fulfillment
of the Requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: August 20, 2007. / Art Education, Cultural Experience, Developing International Programs Through Art, Art Teacher Education, Site Visit-Based Art Education, Educational Art Criticism / Includes bibliographical references. / Tom Anderson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jeff Milligan, Outside Committee Member; Linda Schrader, Outside Committee Member; Pat Villeneuve, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_169055 |
| Contributors | Bae, Jaehan (authoraut), Anderson, Tom (professor directing dissertation), Milligan, Jeff (outside committee member), Schrader, Linda (outside committee member), Villeneuve, Pat (committee member), Department of Art Education (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
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