An Inquiry of How Art Education Policies are Reflected in Art Teacher Preparation: Examining the Standards for Visual Arts and Art Teacher Certification

摘要

Policy changes influence various aspects of art education such as K-12 art education curricula, state licensure systems, and contexts of art teacher preparation. Despite strong relationships between art education policy and practical fields, few studies have attempted to understand art education from the perspective of policy analysis. This study explores the connections between art education policy and the field of art education through a focus on art teacher preparation in Indiana. Additional attention was paid to perceptions of the appropriateness of alternative licensure routes in relation to policies of academic and quality standards and the extent to which visual art teachers' sense of identity as teachers and artists is affected by appropriation of these standards.;The theoretical framework of this study is the need to understand policy appropriation of standards (including visual art and art teacher preparation standards) as an on-going process, that is continually influenced and changed by internal (human level) and external (institutional level) factors. The appropriation process is effectively expressed through practices, narratives, and texts of practitioners.;To understand the status and factors of the art education policy appropriation in art teacher preparation, I collected data as printed or digital documents, and as interviews with faculty members and pre-service art teachers in two traditional visual art teacher preparation programs in Indiana. I analyzed external (institutional level) and internal (human level) factors to adopt and work with state and national standards. While national standards for visual art education (were adopted by many states and presented as voluntary policy, in Indiana the national standards were built into the Indiana's Academic Standards for Visual Art Standards for K-12 students. Visual art teachers were required to complete a traditional teacher preparation program and pass examinations to become licensed to teach art.;Findings reveal that faculty of higher art teacher education programs in Indiana paid attention to the national and state standards in K-12 visual art and the standards for teacher education when preparing students to become licensed K-12 art educators. External motivations were accreditations system for teacher preparation requested by Indiana Department of Education related to NCATE. Schools and districts could be external motivations that pre-service art teachers adopt the standards in order to succeed in a job market. Internal factors were respects of roles and leaders of art education associations, desires to train/be qualified teachers and attain balanced knowledge between art studio and art education. Alternative routes to licensure were viewed as economically advantageous but not supportive of high-quality education. Policy had little impact on issues of identity. I concluded with recommendations for improvement in art teacher preparation that were needs of supportive policies for pre-service teachers' teaching and teaching licensure including traditional and alternative licensures.