What is Art Education For?
In the following case studies, you will see how each art teacher responds to the big, philosophical question, “What is Art Education For?” as exemplified by the curriculum they design, the instructional approaches they use, and the ethical commitments they make.
Art Education has many faces. Some argue that art exists in schools primarily to provide opportunities for students to study amazing works of art (through the lens of art historians, art philosophers, and art critics), and to learn how to think, solve problems and see the world as artists and designers do (which is often called an essentialist or discipline-centered perspective). Others promote art as a means to some other end (a contextualist perspective), like using art as a means to create a more socially and environmentally just society, to contribute to the holistic well-being of the individual child, and/or to prepare students for the work world. For a brief introduction to these and other faces of art education, watch this video created by Dr. Mary Hoefferle, the Undergraduate Art Education Program Director at UW-Madison, which helps contextualize the pedagogical models that inform and set the foundation for the day-to-day work of the art educators featured here in Tiny Case Studies.
Meet the Teachers
WONDER
Meri Lau teaches K-2 at Midvale Elementary in Madison, WI. Her teaching practice encourages wonder, imagination, and purposeful play in the art room, and her thoughtfully sequenced curriculum connects her students’ art experience with their daily lives outside of school, other subject areas, and the greater world of art. Learn more here.
CHOICE
Bridget Kudrle teaches k-5 at Creekside and Meadowview Elementary Schools in Sun Prairie, WI. She embraces a choice-based model of art education called Teaching for Artistic Behavior in which students develop the eight studio habits of mind, learning to generate new ideas, creatively solve problems, collaborate and engage in the world as artists. Meet Bridget here.
PLACE
Sue Pezanoski Browne teaches k-5 at La Escuela Fratney in Milwaukee, WI. Sue collaborates with her students to develop learning experiences directly tied to their lives in the local community. Using a place-based, culturally responsive approach to education, Sue centers community stories, resources, and concerns at in heart of her art program. Meet Sue and her students here.