Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of incorporating social action and awareness into high school visual arts content area courses. In order to assess the views of teachers, artists, and others in related fields, graduate student Blake Smith distributed 400 surveys to a variety of participants over a four-month period, yielding 154 samples collected for analysis. The unique and contrasting professional and personal responses from participants, most of whom were ninth through twelfth grade public high school art teachers, revealed mixed opinions, concerns, and possibilities. Findings are presented regarding teachers' expected roles, contextual and instructional conflicts related to social issues, and the potential problems and benefits of incorporating social action. This study suggests a need for more research and course materials on the studied topics, as well as an exploration of future curricular possibilities for social action in order to meet competing agendas in art education.