Classroom teachers have stereotypes and myths about art education that seem to arise for various reasons including a range of backgrounds, interests, and lack of art experiences; diversity and contradiction of preferences; expectations for an easy course and high grades; and preconceptions about art and art teaching. This latter category includes…

Maintains that storytelling is an ancient instructional method that can be used effectively by contemporary art educators. Presents a narrative by a six-year-old Navajo girl that describes a typical school day. Includes suggestions for using the story to teach about cultural differences and cultural change. (CFR)

This paper describes a microethnographic pilot study describing, analyzing, and interpreting how culture is transmitted and retained in one Navajo public school system. The study is both historically and educationally significant because it presents a portrait of the everyday realities of art teaching and learning in a school system during a…

Briefly discusses the role that rites of passage play in traditional cultures and considers the possibilities inherent in incorporating this social concept into middle school art projects. Defines middle school as a transitional stage in adolescent development characterized by institutional and personal separation that lends itself to these…

Describes, analyzes, and interprets the cultural values communicated by a Navajo art teacher in a K-12 boarding school in New Mexico. Much of the Navajo world view is expressed through content, instruction, and demonstration. This view emphasizes spirituality, harmonious living, and the process of seeing and drawing as a way of honoring and…