Currently, studies on STEAM education or arts integration focus on students' experiences rather than teachers' challenges. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to set an example for policymakers, educators, and researchers, to provide better support for art-integrated mathematics and biology teachers by understanding their professional…

This research study is a qualitative action research study that examines the best ways to support the emotional needs of students as they matriculate through high school. Specifically for this study, high school educators who teach in the four academic content areas (English, Math, Science, and Social Studies classes) implemented Calming Corners,…

This qualitative teacher -- research study investigates how secondary students in English classes might use art materials and the construction of abstract artworks to explore, develop, and express their responses to and interpretations of literary works. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1. What happens when students are…

Middle school is a transitional period in which many students experience content-specific teachers, travel between classrooms, and explore extracurricular activity options for the first time. Historically, African American middle school students have not fared well in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) on standardized…

Middle school is a transitional period in which many students experience content-specific teachers, travel between classrooms, and explore extracurricular activity options for the first time. Historically, African American middle school students have not fared well in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) on standardized…

This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of general education classroom teachers (grades 1-5) who have been highly effective in using arts integration and their perceptions of using the arts for formative assessment. The study explored the ways in which teachers with high self-efficacy integrating the arts designed and facilitated…

This dissertation describes a project to develop an art-based curriculum to teach young elementary school-age children social and emotional skills in the classroom based on the experiences of experts in the field of elementary education. Social-emotional learning (SEL) focuses on several key concepts including skills in interpersonal…

Arts-integrated STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education has long debated the role of the arts within this interdisciplinary approach: does arts-integration solely serve STEM outcomes, or can it also benefit the arts? This study explored one approach -- "photography-integrated STEM" -- that equally balances art…

To successfully create inclusive environments that address the unique needs of each student, teacher candidates must adopt their students' perspectives. Radical imagination is essential for empathy, as it enables individuals to recognize diverse viewpoints (Greene, 1995). Arts-based methods provide a means for teacher candidates to practice…

Using autoethnographic, arts-based, and embodied methods, this postformal dissertation study establishes the first of a two-part research-as-community-building template designed with racially and socioeconomically diverse school communities in mind. Imagined as a double helix in an echo of human DNA, it describes an arts-based, embodied self-study…

Integrating contemporary artmaking practices, specifically approaches to matter (which includes materials, objects, bodies, spaces, etc.) within PK-12 art education, has potential to open pathways for artmaking, meaning, and identity formation. However, art education literature suggests that translation of contemporary artmaking practices into…

Elementary teachers' mathematical self-efficacy is abundantly important in the mathematical growth in students. Research suggests early career teachers have a low level of self-efficacy in implementing arts integration. The purpose of this study was to examine perceived changes in teacher self-efficacy in implementing arts integration after…

From computational and scientific viewpoints, virtual reality (VR) is a well-researched technology, platform, and mode of communication. However, from an arts perspective, virtual reality has very few, if any, defined parameters as an artistic medium. This study aims to explore the technical affordances and the experiential and creative phenomena…

The purpose of this study is to investigate if a mindfulness mandala coloring activity reduces a student's anxiety about reading. Reading is a fundamental skill for all other academic success, making proficient reading skills necessary. This study investigates if a reduction in a third grade student's reading anxiety results in changes to oral…

Schools must develop educational interventions that assist students with disabilities to develop skills that are useful inside and outside of school (Fletcher et al., 2018). In this study, I will investigate how integrating visual arts into core social studies content benefits high school students within a self-contained special education…