This study will explore the role and impact of socially engaged art (SEA) on participants when presented through an interactive and nomadic mobile context. Using an action research methodology, I will use a pop-up camper to serve as research and art making hub. I will travel with the hub to various locations throughout Arizona working with participants to create an artistic response to prompts that encourage them to think about their own communities and participants’ roles within them. Some of these pieces will travel with the hub to future locations, serving as a point of response and/or engagement for participants from other locations or even from future visits to the same location. SEA invites participatory and dialogical interaction through art-making. Using SEA as a pedagogical approach could present alternative teaching and learning methods and locations possible to art educators. Because socially engaged art is heavily focused on agency (Helguera, 2011), responsibility of the arts to impact social change and influence (Bae & Shin, 2019), embraces tools and processes not exclusive to the art studio (Helguera, 2011), and leans heavily on collaboration and dialogue (Chalmers & Desai, 2007), it is an ideal method for creating and examining potential bonds between communities and their educators. This study will also explore how the nomadic state of the research hub impacts the researcher (artist/teacher) and the participants. The pop-up camper exemplifies temporality and limited access, using mobility to evaluate spaces, borders, and communities as a state of fluctuation and fluid movement. Potential impact on the researcher and participants could occur through the experience of a common item, such as the camper, repurposed for something totally different. Moreover, as an artist and educator, engaging with communities through either of these perspectives could cause a considerable impact on the artist/educator pedagogical and artistic practices.

This qualitative research utilized Skydive Arizona as a model to create a virtual duplicate site online in Second Life. Using both spaces, events and Happenings were conducted experimenting with art, social and philanthropic engagement simultaneously online and in the physical space. The researcher entered the study with questions concerning Web 5.0, the three-dimensional internet, and beyond, and emerged with interesting ideas concerning Virtual Tethering, Breaking the Fifth Wall, art Happenings, and virtual philanthropic events utilizing this technique. The intention was to educate the participants, musicians, virtual and physical exhibit attendees alike, on the idea of blending realities. This study is an example set forth of people inhabiting physical and virtual space at once without closing off to physical or virtual social engagement, instigating new ideas and possibilities in social augmented activities.
It was discovered that many struggle with the comprehension of connections between the virtual space and reality, once immersed in either the physical or virtual event. Few interacted in both spaces simultaneously, but once enlightened to the Happenings, most were excited about these possibilities indicating that seeds have been planted in the participants.

Art museums are institutions with a mission to not only preserve art and culture for the public, but to provide visitors with an educational experience. This qualitative case study includes three art museums in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area: a university art museum, a large public museum in Downtown Phoenix, and a contemporary art museum in the city of Scottsdale. This research study sought to identify the ways in which eight art museum employees from the education and administration departments identify their institutions as educational. Data was collected and analyzed through the methods of direct observations and field notes, one-on-one interviews, and photographs of educational programming.

After examining these art museums and conducting eight interviews, a description of each observation is displayed using examples of photographs and field notes. Although findings suggest a variety of educational programs for a range of visitors in each institution, all three museums offered comparable programs, activities, and events. This research study revealed similar ideas, themes, and perspectives between art museum educators and administrators. Findings indicate the importance of collaboration between both museum departments in order to ensure the success of their museums. All eight participants in the study had a passion for art and art museums as well as visitor education. Additionally, participants had concurrent thoughts in their interviews regarding concepts of educational programming, cultural diversity approaches, art museum fundamental roles, and overall educational goals.

The role of an art educator is characteristically dualistic and paradoxical. Not only are most art educators trained as artists, but they also receive instruction on theories and practices used in art education. The purpose of the study was to examine how community college ceramic instructors identify themselves within their dual roles as teacher-artists. I studied if and how the teacher-artist places emphasis on one position over the other, or how they successfully synthesized these positions. I also investigated the phenomenon by considering the why, how and which role they accentuated, as well as it affects and influences on their creative and teaching activities. By using a feminist theory, the research uncovered information on how gender may or may not affect their careers, as well as their identities.

This qualitative research study was about art teachers’ perceptions and practices of cultural diversity and its implications for the U.S. The purpose of the study was to provide a rationale for the need for learning institutions to recognize the changing demographics and to respond to the potential educational implications of the new demographics as they prepare their art teachers to educate diverse student populations. The study involved six art teachers who teach in schools with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. To collect data, interviews with participants were transcribed and analyzed. Analysis of teacher interviews showed the importance of helping art teachers to obtain the skills, attitudes, dispositions and knowledge to work effectively with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. The richness of the descriptions obtained from the interviews provides insight into multicultural art education in schools. The results of this study might help art educators and policy makers understand the need for more awareness of multicultural education and its impact on teachers, parents, administrators and students. This study concludes with suggestions on art education, including the need to develop curriculum that are inclusive to multicultural students, especially Islamic from cultures. Art education programs in universities should produce teachers who are prepared for the cultural diversity in their classrooms. It is essential that teachers accept and implement changes in their communities, in their schools, and in their teaching in order to better serve students of culturally diverse backgrounds.

The issue this study addresses is the need to extend the topic of gifted art education into the multicultural realm. The purpose was to assess accommodations for gifted art students of culturally diverse backgrounds, to see how socio-economic class and culture influence identification and opportunities for gifted art students, and to identify similarities and differences among gifted art students. The research took place at five public high schools containing a high percentage of culturally diverse students around the Phoenix rural and suburban areas. Participants included five high school art teachers and five artistically talented students that each teacher identified. I conducted, transcribed and analyzed interviews with the participants. Analysis of the data has led to many themes. Teacher interviews indicated universities attended by teachers in the study didn’t touch on diversity or gifted art education, although all art teachers have had a lot of experience teaching diverse students, and reported student diversity was growing. Teachers define artistically talented students as students with natural abilities, many times looking at the students' product. Teachers recommend the students to community art classes, such as the local center for the arts, or summer college courses. Teachers vary in support, some saying they have more than enough resources and support, others saying they need more space in the classroom and smaller class sizes, or want to take students to artist studios. Results from student interviews reveal that all students in the study were self-motivated to do art everyday, two mentioning especially after a big life event, such as depression or a father dying. Participating students think of art as something beautiful and something to which they can relate, defining art very vaguely, saying it could be anything or everything. All students have future plans to major or minor in art in college or continuing creating art in their free time. Participants had supportive and encouraging art teachers and parents and had art materials readily available. Universities and high school art teachers may benefit from the study because of the need to prepare for growing diversity. Art teachers may benefit from this study by gaining a better understanding of artistically talented students of diverse backgrounds and by challenging them, and getting parents involved in supporting their child.

The following study is about the importance of including global art and art history in a bilingual/bicultural art classroom. The study was performed with twelve Navajo art students in a predominately Navajo high school located in a small urban town off the Navajo Reservation. Navajo students selected traditional and contemporary artworks they were curious to learn more about from four global cultures, familiar (Navajo and European) and unfamiliar (Maori and Benin). They also responded to art criticism questions and identified reasons they were curious about the artworks they selected. Students were curious about familiar (Navajo and European) artworks more than unfamiliar artworks (Maori and Benin). Of all student responses, 69% focused on the artwork selected; 16% focused on meaning and expression, and 15% focused on the artist. This study concludes by suggesting that there should be a middle ground about what to teach to Navajo children. I suggest that art education should include other cultural information within the Navajo philosophy of education.

ABSTRACT



This Master's Thesis gives positive testament to the idea that high school students are able to develop creative choice making skills. During a yearlong study of a beginning foundational visual arts class, a pretest and a posttest self-portrait performance assessment was given to 34 students and scored by three visual art teachers from the same school. The performance results were then analyzed to ascertain evidence of the evolution of an idea and the logistic validity of assessing growth of a student's creative choice making process. Construction of an appropriate rubric to measure student growth was imperative in the process of training visual art teachers for scoring. Findings show overwhelming evidence that students’ creative choice making abilities were developed in the three weeks of instruction between pretest and posttest. Findings also suggest that with appropriate training, groups of visual art teachers can be trained to score student art performance assessments accurately and validly within the context of state required testing.

In contemporary society, educators teach adolescent students about the importance of developmental growth. This growth transitions into leadership, which prepares youth to collaborate with adults in a working environment. Additionally, youth mural programs generate leadership skills, yet not many art educators are using mural projects as a means to develop leadership in their students. This study explored the connection between working collaboratively on a mural project and the impact it had on leadership traits and skills in adolescent girls. I created an action research project in conjunction with Girl Scouts to encourage a group of girls while creating a mural. The mural project took place at an Arizona Girl Scout resident camp for a total of 11 days. Seven participants between the ages of 14-17 engaged in planning and executing a tile mosaic mural. The image they created remains as a permanent mural for the camp. Qualitative data includes responses to reflection questions and observations. Quantitative data consist of self-reported questionnaire scores before and after the mural project. The data is analyzed to understand if there was a difference in leadership traits and skills before and after instruction. Data is also used to see which leadership traits and/ or skills, if any, were impacted. Findings in the study reveal differences in leadership skills before and after instruction. However, there was not a significant impact to leadership traits. Specific skills that improved include those that involve communication and working with others. I conclude that adolescent girls became more aware of communicating effectively, adapting ideas to others, and working with others after they finished the mural. Additionally participants were more open to sharing thoughts near the end of the project than at the start.

Black Rock City is a temporary city existing for one week in the harsh desert of northern Nevada. It plays host to the Burning Man festival with over 300 large-scale art installations and is considered to be the largest interactive art festival in the world. Besides the main burn, smaller local regional events have developed. These regional events encompass many of the same tenets as Burning Man including the presentation of large-scale art. Burn2 is the regional event held on the virtual world, Second Life. In 2013, both events used the theme of Cargo Cult as a stepping off point for the artists. Through the lens of spectacle, I used art criticism as a way to gain understanding of the artworks.

Art criticism is a means of interpreting and appreciating artwork and is often used in the art classroom. Edmund Feldman's method promotes a deeper understanding of art and consists of four steps: description, formal analysis, interpretation and judgment. Using Feldman's method, I analyzed three artworks from the 2013 Burning Man festival and three works from Burn2. From interviews, photographs, and personal observations I analyzed the artworks. I used external analysis to compare the literature on similar festivals and the artworks with other events held in the real life and virtual world.

I found in both events very similar concepts and themes. Artists had specific subject matter in mind when designing their installations. Artists used the theme as a stepping off point for rationalizing their content. Art made to be displayed at Burning Man was expensive; funding was a concern for all the artists. Burn2 artists were free from funding concerns even though there were expenses to making art in Second Life. Emerging themes were use of building materials and color, use of electronics and computer technology, art installations in festivals, spectacle, collaboration, and interactivity. Further implications included teaching about the engineering of structures, critical thinking about festival themes and the individual art installations, visual culture, and art making with these emerging art forms.