Curricular Approaches Within U.S. Art Teacher Education: The Status of Ecological and Environmental Education

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Arts, Culture, and Environmental Education

Abstract

As we confront complex, interconnected, and weighty socio-environmental issues, we claim the discipline of art education must acknowledge the deep intersectionality of systems of oppression and move toward a more eco-centric orientation. In this nationwide study, we investigated the emphasis of ecological and environmental pedagogies within art teacher education, their relationships with other common curricular approaches, and pre-service teachers’ valuing of ecological and environmental pedagogies. Utilizing a mixed methods descriptive survey design, we found the most emphasized approaches in U.S. art teacher education coursework were socio-cultural approaches: multicultural education, visual/material culture, social justice, and community-based education. In contrast, ecological/environmental education was least emphasized. However, pre-service teachers rated implementing ecological/environmental pedagogies as important and expressed their desire to receive additional support.

Authors

• Joy Gaulden Bertling, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

• Tara Camille Moore, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville