Abstract

Most colleges and universities offer a general course in elementary art education to provide instruction to the elementary generalist to enable that student to later provide art instruction to students at the elementary level. This course is commonly referred to as the two-credit course in elementary art education throughout this thesis. This thesis is a case study investigation of a certified elementary art specialist and a non-art certified teacher teaching elementary art in the Subject School District in Utah. It asks and gathers data on three main questions. How is art education valuable for elementary students? What is a quality elementary art curriculum? How does an elementary art specialist change the learning experience of elementary art students? Under these three main questions the following questions are also considered: Where do teachers obtain their curricula? What research exists that describes differences between art specialists and non-art specialists teaching elementary art? What were the qualities within each art room? What types of art projects are being taught in these two different classrooms?Further, a survey was constructed to seek answers about the attitudes towards art education in the Subject School District in relation to the three questions under consideration. To ensure the maximum in statistical accuracy, the survey was sent to every elementary school in this district including all elementary administrators. The survey contained 49 statements on attitudes towards elementary art education. There were 129 elementary educators and administrators out of 2,300 from Subject School District that responded. The data from the survey was analyzed to determine where these attitudes lie and the thoughts on the importance of art education at the elementary level. The results of this survey show the typical elementary educator in Subject School District feel the arts are indeed an important part of the elementary curriculum. However, the majority do not feel fully prepared to teach a quality elementary art curriculum and feel elementary art should be taught by art specialists.

Degree

MA

College and Department

Fine Arts and Communications; Visual Arts

Rights

http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2011-12-13

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd4941

Keywords

elementary art education, art specialist, elementary art curriculum

Language

English

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