Introduces and describes this special international issue focusing on educating through the arts. Argues that the arts promote children's sense of success, creativity, and self-expression. Notes contributions to this international issue from Canada, Finland, Norway, Australia, and the United States. Includes a bibliography of 11 references on…

Describes a classroom project integrating children's literature, Japanese culture, and geometry that grew out of the local killing of a Japanese exchange student. Fourth-graders read "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" around which the interdisciplinary unit was developed. Topics covered included Japanese culture, American social…

Develops a unit to help elementary school children revive the spontaneous bright color painting qualities of their preschool years. After observing book illustrations and Henri Rousseau's work, second grade students created compositions outlined in black paint and then used felt-tipped markers instead of paint to color in the shapes. (KM)

Described is how folk art can be used to teach spatial thinking and symmetry. Activities are open-ended and can be used for all age groups and levels of development. Mathematics is integrated with the study of culture, art, and history in these activities. (KR)

Reviews arguments against including content-rich art activities within the special education curriculum. Provides counterarguments for including such activities and reports on the work of a speech pathologist who used art activities. Discusses approaches and strategies for teaching children with behavior problems. (CFR)

Asserts that art teachers must be prepared to understand and work with persons with disabilities. Describes a one-semester pilot program for art education students designed to examine what kinds of academic preparation and practicum experiences are needed. (CFR)

Postulates that students' untutored and unrehearsed verbatim responses to viewing artworks parallel specific schools of thought in aesthetic theory. Middle school students tape recorded their responses to a previous museum visit. Their responses reflected some of the key concepts in expressivism, institutionalism, and formalism. (MJP)

Shows how two approaches, nurture (subject-matter centered) and nature (child-centered), have affected education and art education over the years. Concludes that whichever approach is fashionable, art education must be relevant to students' lives and they should be able to talk intelligently about art. (KM)

Provides six fully developed library media activities that are designed to be used with specific curriculum units. Highlights include elementary student activities for art (winter holiday crafts); reading/language arts (fantasy in stories, elements of folk stories from India, writing sequels to fairy tales); science (animal symbiosis); and social…

Argues that evaluation and assessment are essential to both the practical and conceptual aspects of art education. Outlines criteria and guidelines for developing different evaluation methods. Proposes a process model for evaluating students' work. Maintains that all students will enhance their learning if they negotiate the criteria and purposes…

Examines how discipline based art education (DBAE) has affected the teaching of art to exceptional children. Argues that balance must be maintained between self-expression and academic rigor. Recommends using reproductions of artistic works as visual motivational aids. (KM)

This article discusses how a first-grade inclusive classroom immersed students in multiple sign systems to foster literacy, including art, drama, and music, science, and movement activities. The second part profiles a boy with learning difficulties and what was learned about him in an attempt to take an aesthetic stance toward assessment.…

Presents a series of pictures drawn by an autistic adult over a period of years. The pictures represent recollections of a day in his childhood. This representation is notable because of its consistent theme, as well as its reflection of the ability to reexperience and enjoy pleasant past memories. (MJP)

Describes "Site Omaha" an interactive public arts project designed to explore alternative art venues in the urban environment and to create a common link between artists and other community members. "Site Omaha" initiated innovative community arts projects. Provides a brief overview of urban environmental art. (MJP)

Considers the process through which a group of teachers enrolled in an art education course established friendships with selected works of art by regarding them as metaphors for their lives. Teachers connected with the art works through religious references, family bonds, formal contexts, and ties to nature. (MJP)