"Art and Social Justice Education" offers inspiration and tools for educators to craft critical, meaningful, and transformative arts education curriculum and arts integration projects. The images, descriptive texts, essays, and resources are grounded within a clear social justice framework and linked to ideas about culture as commons. Essays and a…

When small art images are incorporated into the curriculum, students are afforded opportunities to slow down, observe minute details, and communicate ideas about art and artists. This sort of purposeful art contemplation takes students beyond the day-to-day educational practice. It is through these sorts of art activities that students develop…

External assessments are pervasive in education, particularly with the testing environment created by the "No Child Left Behind" reform initiative. To solidify its position as a core subject within education, art needs to be accountable to its standards at both national and state levels. Art can be assessed for accountability purposes…

As a Chaplain working in the Anglican school system in Melbourne, Australia, my concern is with the spiritual development of students. This year I have been trialing the educational application of activities used in creative arts therapy. Continuing the theme of my recent doctoral studies in children's spirituality, I am concerned that education…

The first thing a visitor notices when entering Hollytree primary school is the art-work displayed on every wall. This paper, based on a three-year ethnographic study of the school, mobilizes field notes and interview and photographic data to probe the meanings of this visual "display". We argue that the walls (re)produce and promote…

Over the past several years, the author has worked to find practical ways to bring awareness of the content for study in art to students at all levels. This article focuses on one such practical approach for teaching students about the elements and principles as they apply to a single work of art, and for developing technical skills for creating…

Developing learning experiences around real-world scenarios engages students in hands-on, authentic learning that promotes skills such as: research methods, collaboration, workplace skills, persistence, information organization and application, and self-reflection practice. The final work, new skills, and knowledge may then be demonstrated to an…

It is time for new ideas and models for art education. Current developments in contemporary art, learning theory and in art education itself demand new approaches and provide inspiration and guidance for change. Each area brings particular components to the table but they all have one primary element in common: a call for art education that is…

The International Child Art Festival, sponsored by the International Child Art Foundation, was held September 9-12, 2003, on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The three-day event was a celebration of the creativity of youth around the world. This article briefly describes the highlights of the this festival.

In this article, the authors relate how they introduced Pinwheel for Peace project in their classroom to teach about the meaning of peace to their students. The authors chose pinwheel for discussing about peace because it symbolizes simple and joyful childhood things and it is easy to make. Students use paper to make pinwheels. As part of the…

This brief article describes the history, traditions, and food of the Mexican holiday known as Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Day, and explores classroom and studio activities that teachers can do with their students. Teachers are urged to encourage students to explore the topic of the Day of the Dead, comparing it to other traditions and…

Education in European countries is subject to many competing demands which have an influence on the organisation and content of arts education. Increasing globalisation has brought both benefits and challenges, including those arising from increased international competition, migration and multiculturalism, advancements in technology and the…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) Is She Your Competition? Are India's Students…

Sciences fair season is a time when seasoned non-science teachers typically give up all hope of cramming any more knowledge into the heads of their students. It's just too much. However, non-science types might be missing out on a pretty good deal. The science department has got these kids in a pretty tight grip as far as the process and the…

This report summarizes findings from the Academy for Educational Development's (AED's) evaluation of After-School Math PLUS (ASM+). This program was designed to help students find the math in everyday experiences and create awareness about the importance of math skills for future career options. The evaluation was conducted by AED's Center for…