Agency and empowerment in the art classroom can exist at the epitome of how a student explores and defines her-/him-/themself, and then voices that recognition. Merriam-Webster ("Agency," n.d.) defines "agency" as "a person or thing through which power is exerted or an end is achieved" (n.p.). Empowerment can be seen…

The National Arts Action Summit (NAAS) is an annual event organized by Americans for the Arts (AFTA) that includes advocacy training and legislative meetings. In this article the author focuses on the curricular preparation thought necessary to prepare students to engage in the events at NAAS effectively. This narrative highlights important…

Art educators can be reluctant to study graffiti with their students, commonly citing that the practice of graffiti art is rooted in illegal vandalism. While this is true for a large amount of graffiti, today, graffiti art is also often completely legal in the form of murals, commissioned pieces, works in galleries, billboards, logo designs, and…

Paraprofessionals are among the 650,000 people supervised by certified professionals who support students with disabilities as determined by a student's Individual Education Plan (IEP). While there is a growing body of literature that examines the role of paraprofessionals in the general classroom, there is little information about the role of the…

Although virtually all contemporary art teachers list "enhancing creativity" as a key desired outcome of their programs, analysis of lesson plans used in schools suggests that in practice very little curriculum is specifically geared to developing creative abilities. In this paper, the author describes how she developed the curriculum…

Teachers who frame the curriculum around purposeful playful activities that allow children to work at their own pace and allow children to make choices rather than be coerced into their work are indirectly committed to becoming researchers in their own classrooms. The art teacher-researcher is a participant observer of what goes on in the…