Arts Education as a Vehicle for Social Change: An Empirical Study of Eco Arts in the K-12 Classroom

Abstract

Arts education has been part of the United States K-12 educational system for over a century. However, recent administrative policy decisions addressed the economic bottom line and the 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, and complied with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). These decisions resulted in standardisation of both core curricula and testing, leaving arts programs to function in a diminished capacity, curtailing both individuality and creative thinking. This study unpacks the role of the arts as change agents with the ability to: address current discourse; question ideologies and culture; convey complex problems in artistic form; engage the viewer in aesthetics; provide a perspective not found in regimented thinking; and empower creative problem solvers. This work also highlights the role of eco-art as a medium for addressing complex environmental challenges. The study also empirically examines, through a self-report survey, K-12 arts educators’ perceptions of integrating eco-arts into curricula. Findings revealed respondents’ desire to integrate eco-arts into the arts curricula and identified the most significantly perceived barriers to integration, as well as the role of policy on practicality. The authors also identify the study's limitations and recommend areas for future research.

Innovative praxis for environmental learning in Canadian faculties of education

“…Collaborative environmental art projects like the Cape Farewell project (Buckland, 2006) and the Beehive Design Collective (n.d.) have also influenced how the OISE artworks have developed. While recent research in environmental art education is beginning to identify some implications for the pedagogy of this emerging field of study (Davis, 2018;Sams & Sams, 2017) there were very few models to follow in similar types of projects in faculties of education (Efthymia, Vasiliki, & Konstadinos, 2012;Inwood & Ashworth, 2017).…”

The Impact of Arts Integration in Primary Education

“…Arts integration is about teaching art as a separate subject and using art as a tool for expression, reflection, and understanding of the socio-cultural world, thereby promoting creativity and interactivity in learning (Bushati, 2018;. It has been suggested that arts integration can promote child agency, support disability identity development, and serve as a vehicle for social change in K-12 education (Sams & Sams, 2017;Allen et al, 2020). Additionally, the feasibility of integrating visual arts education into the primary education curriculum has been demonstrated, highlighting the potential for successfully implementing arts integration in schools (Strohbehn et al, 2020).…”