Teachers often enter practice with a narrow perspective of teaching. Through critical reflection, the minds of pre-service teachers can be opened to the bigger realities of teaching and social justice practice. Paired pre-service student teachers from two diverse university settings, Canada and South Africa, were immersed in a collaborative…

In an attempt to connect theory and practice with regard to research on creativity and visual arts, this study aims to explore how visual materials created by children can help determine qualitative parameters in the process of observing creative activity. These materials are the result of a series of workshops designed by the authors, artists,…

Facilitating the development of employable graduates is an important part of initial teacher education (ITE) courses globally. School administrators seek to employ high quality teachers who will contribute positively to student learning and the school community. The perception of a candidate's level of employability in a job interview though, will…

This phenomenological study examined how students at a large, urban community college experienced being an artist, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also investigated the ways these students made meaning of their arts experiences. The research design was based upon the model outlined in "Interpretative Phenomenological…

Most education systems around the world today rely heavily on conventional methods of teaching. Yet the challenges and needs of contemporary life necessitate innovative ways to teach children life skills. To create a positive and accessible environment in which to build positive life narratives, every student must be able to see people around them…

Background: It is important for children to be engaged in art activities to acquire desirable emotions and behaviours. Art education is thought to contribute to children's development of personal and social skills, such as self-confidence and sharing. Aim: This study aims to investigate the effect of art activities on 36-48-month-old children's…

It is well established that drawing upon students' Funds of Knowledge (FoK) supports powerful learning outcomes, especially for youth whose life experiences are not always valued in dominant classroom spaces. Yet, teachers can struggle to find ways to do so (Gonzalez, Moll, and Amanti 2005). In this article, the authors introduce an…

As the COVID-19 virus has spread worldwide, much attention has been paid to its impact on the health and wellbeing of adults, with less attention to how the virus has impacted on young children. This article draws on documentation and video data from a kindergarten in Aotearoa New Zealand. It discusses the working theories of 4 year-old children…

Teachers are searching for accessible, relevant, and engaging lessons for students as elementary classrooms grow more diverse and high-stakes testing constrict curricula and recess time. General music teachers may consider implementing lessons that blend popular culture with collaborative, interdisciplinary projects. Artist Keith Haring was…

Civic engagement is not just concerned with identifying societal and political structures. It is also concerned with how young people understand themselves as civic agents capable of starting and sustaining change. Seeing students as change makers is a civically engaged goal supported by literature surrounding the aims of art education in K-12…

This paper theorises the speculative process of how an arts-based online youth activist resource, AGENDA (www.agendaonline.co.uk) is becoming eventful and re-mattering youth voice on gender and sexual violence. Utilising the concept of the 'cwrdd' -- a Welsh word for gatherings made, found and stumbled upon -- we explore how our AGENDA cwrdds…

There is anecdotal evidence that many elementary teachers integrate mathematics lessons and art activities by having students first make colorful, rich material that is subsequently used in an instructional activity. However, it is unclear whether such activities effectively promote learning and transfer of mathematical concepts. The goal of the…

There is something quite magical about forming a connection to a book: the way in which the words on the page can conjure feelings of excitement, fun, joy, laughter or tears, channeling the part of our being that fundamentally makes us human. The journey that children take as they travel towards becoming a competent and confident reader can be a…

Art and artistic activities that play a significant role in the lives of both children and adults are an important requirement for all individuals. Cultures develop, expand, and enrich through artistic activities, which are important for the development of visual literacy, especially in social studies. The present study aims to determine the…

Capacity to teach the arts is a problem reported by many teachers in primary (elementary) school settings in Australia. This paper reports on research which explored how to build primary school teachers' capacity in arts-based pedagogy. It outlines the design and development of a co-mentoring program between arts mentor practitioners and…