This case study outlines the program that a teacher developed to integrate a course entitled "Southwest Cultures through Art" for middle school students around an anthropological theme. The course featured units on collage, petroglyphs, and pottery but mostly vernacular architecture. The case starts with a description of the context and…

This cross-site, collaborative study focused on the instructional practices of three middle school art teachers from Arizona, Indiana, and New York. The researchers found similarities as well as differences among the teachers' strategies. At all three sites, emphasis was on curriculum related to their students' lives, developing technical skills,…

The paper describes a participant observation study of a 3 week summer art program for Apache middle school students on the White Mountain Reservation. Computer art skills, specifically animation using a menu-driven computer paint program, were the focus of the investigation. Because it was in the context of a summer program, instruction was…

Explores the problems of teaching art to preadolescents by taking into account the experiences and reflections of the teachers, students, and the researcher. Uses cross-site analysis and categorizes the problems into three groups: (1) contradictions in student behaviors; (2) instructional demands; and (3) institutional contingencies. Includes…

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…