Art to empower: designing and implementing a contemporary visual culture art education for urban elementary institutions with implications for classroom practice

摘要

The following paper offers a comprehensive historiography of the curricular trends and approaches for the teaching of elementary visual arts within the discourse of Art Education. The exploration begins with an overview of the modernist, Discipline Based Art Education curriculum, including its origins and implementation within the U.S., public K-8 school system. In this section I offer an assessment of DBAE???s curricular strengths and weaknesses. Next, the text moves into an examination of post-modern, contemporary curricular approaches to teaching visual arts, more specifically, the visual culture theory. With this, I introduce a discussion about the current reality of arts education within the urban, public school system of Chicago, Illinois. This section offers insight into current art education trends and exposes the discrepancy of resources for visual arts education among Chicago???s elementary institutions. Finally, I offer a sample visual arts curriculum designed to empower students to take responsibility for their learning and success.