In this arts-based inquiry, we studied how 50 teacher candidates at seven after-school program sites used the arts, along with traditional written reflections, to examine their teaching beliefs and represent their field experiences. Data were collected throughout the 6-week course semester and analyzed using a three-stage process of thematic…

Kids Creative is a New York City nonprofit that runs afterschool and summer programs with over 1,000 youth each year. The programs they run use this creativity-oriented process to produce original musicals, works of art, videos, dances, and more. When Kids Creative received grant funding, they were able to include more youth and add homework help,…

This article derives from my Master thesis on the development of processes of Context Based Participatory Professional Development undertaken with a group of educators and a pedagogical leader. This study narrates the journey of professional development of one of these educators working towards the transformation of the pedagogy developed with her…

In this article, the authors reflect on their experiences of integrating visual arts, specifically painting, into an English language arts curriculum. Although each of them had previously used art as a response to literature with our students, neither of them had before collaborated with professional artists or been as intentional about…

The authors investigated the effectiveness of a mindfulness art activity compared with a free draw/coloring activity on test anxiety in children. The sample consisted of 152 students (50% female; Mage = 10.38 years, SD = 0.88 years) randomly assigned to a mindful (n = 76) or free (n = 76) group. Participants completed a standardized measure of…

In this article, I share how SQUAD Art Studio functions as an alternative, community-based, multisite Saturday art lab school for negotiating theory and practice with preservice art educators. SQUAD Art Studio educators' work confronts developmentalist images of children and preconceptions about young children and digital media. We revalue images…

This study aimed to improve the education process by enabling children to associate natural environmental experience with art and to include it into aesthetic experience in place-based visual arts applications. Accordingly, answers for subquestions such as how it can be possible for children to create nature-art relation through place-based…

Pupils with intellectual disabilities have personal, social and communication challenges as stated in DSM-5 (APA, 2013) and ICD-10 (WHO, 1992). As such, their cognition in general and language acquisition in particular are difficulties they struggle with in school. As a result, teaching them becomes cumbersome for teachers and caregivers. However,…

Aesthetic education is fundamental to young children's holistic development and future lives. The development of aesthetic sensibility has been promoted in early childhood education in various countries and is an important issue in Taiwan's current educational practice. This paper aims to examine the aesthetic domain of the "Early Childhood…

Among various benefits of art for young children, this article highlights the emotional development aspect, specifically boosting self-confidence through art activities. The definition of self-confidence as having trust in one's self, clear knowledge of one's strengths and limitations, and assurance of one's ability to handle a variety of…

The benefits of using art in health care, especially with cancer patients, have been described anecdotally. However, few manuscripts include a conceptual framework to describe the evaluation of patient programs. This paper describes patients' evaluation of a healing arts program developed within a hospital for cancer patients that used art-making,…

In this study, we examined the relationships between the attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance and participant reactions to using a range of art materials typically employed in art therapy. Participants (N = 409) engaged in art making with one of five materials: markers, oil pastels, gouache paint, finger paint, or clay. It was expected…

The financial crisis in Greece brought about significant changes in the sociopolitical and financial landscape of the country. Severe budget cuts imposed on the arts and performing practices have given rise to a new aesthetic which has impacted the themes and methodologies of contemporary productions. To unpack this aesthetic, I explore the ways…

Art therapists use pictorial image making to help patients communicate feelings through creative expression and cope with traumatic experiences through the artistic processes (Ulman, 2001). With children, art therapy is used as a way to discern their emotional states and determine their relationships to the external world (Edwards, 2008). However,…

During the nearly sixteen years she has lived and worked in inner city neighborhoods in New York, Delaware, and Philadelphia, Bethany Welch has seen communities reclaim these spaces by tackling the most visible things first. This includes clearing trash strewn vacant lots and creating murals on expansive exterior walls stained with marks of time.…