Schmidt, Laura_MED_2023

Title Schmidt, Laura_MED_2023
Alternative Title The Art of Social Justice: A Study on Attitudes and Practices of Secondary Visual Art Educators in Utah
Creator Schmidt, Laura Gigger
Collection Name Master of Education
Description The following Master of Education thesis aims to understand the attitudes and practices of secondary art teachers in Utah towards SJAE. The goal was to determine art teachers' attitudes towards social justice pedagogy, how social issues are being discussed in the classroom, and what tools and strategies are being used to promote social justice in the classroom.
Abstract Background: Many art teachers recognize that students in the classroom have different cultural backgrounds and come from various socioeconomic classes. A social justice art education (SJAE) is an approach that incorporates multicultural art education and visual culture art education, which teaches students how to understand and interpret the messages conveyed through different images in our society. The key to successfully teaching SJAE is for the teacher to help students embrace diversity, create a positive classroom community, and focus on multicultural art. Purpose: This study aimed to understand the attitudes and practices of secondary art teachers in Utah towards SJAE. The goal was to determine art teachers' attitudes towards social justice pedagogy, how social issues are being discussed in the classroom, and what tools and strategies are being used to promote social justice in the classroom. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used to better understand art teachers' attitudes and practices. A quantitative survey was conducted, and three art teachers were chosen for an in-depth interview. The data collected from a Likert scale survey was used in conjunction with the interviews to get a more complete picture of how art educators feel about SJAE. Results: The study showed that art teachers surveyed and interviewed were familiar with different types of social justice issues and were generally interested in incorporating lessons that would help students learn to understand, respect, and appreciate diversity. However, the study also found that many art teachers lacked the confidence, training, and time to focus on implementing a social justice pedagogy in their classrooms.
Subject Education, Secondary; Art in education; Social justice
Keywords social justice; art eduction; multicultural art eduction; Utah art educators
Digital Publisher Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, United States of America
Date 2023
Medium Thesis
Type Text
Access Extent 69 page pdf; 517 KB
Language eng
Rights The author has granted Weber State University Archives a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce their theses, in whole or in part, in electronic or paper form and to make it available to the general public at no charge. The author retains all other rights.
Source University Archives Electronic Records: Master of Education. Stewart Library, Weber State University
OCR Text Show
Format application/pdf
ARK ark:/87278/s698d8kk
Setname wsu_smt
ID 96898
Reference URL https://digital.weber.edu/ark:/87278/s698d8kk