What do art educators need to know to teach elementary generalists well? Our collaborative autoethnographic inquiry.
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| Title: | What do art educators need to know to teach elementary generalists well? Our collaborative autoethnographic inquiry. |
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| Authors: | Willcox, Libba1 (AUTHOR) swillcox@iu.edu, Huxhold, Dianna2 (AUTHOR) dmhuxhold@gmail.com, Lackey, Lara3 (AUTHOR) laralackey@gmail.com |
| Source: | International Journal of Education through Art. Jun2026, Vol. 22 Issue 2, p245-263. 19p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Art education, *Teaching methods, *Elementary education, *Elementary school teachers, *Education policy, *Curriculum planning, *Teacher training, Autoethnography |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | Our collaborative autoethnographic (CAE) inquiry explores what art educators need to know to teach elementary generalists well. We analysed how authors in the United States perceive the challenges and remedies for teaching generalist art methods courses and how our lived experiences support or complicate normalized assumptions about teaching art methods for general educators. We found that authors identify familiar teaching challenges (e.g. students' misinformed beliefs about art, limited content knowledge and fear about art-making) and suggest curricular, pedagogical and philosophical remedies. However, our lived experiences revealed that many challenges consist of structural, administrative and policy-related issues beyond individual instructors' control. Our CAE reveals what a literature review alone could not, exposing how structural and cultural dynamics profoundly shape this work. Our findings suggest that problems extend beyond our classrooms and stem from institutional and broader cultural environments that position art as supplementary rather than essential to schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of International Journal of Education through Art is the property of Intellect Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | Our collaborative autoethnographic (CAE) inquiry explores what art educators need to know to teach elementary generalists well. We analysed how authors in the United States perceive the challenges and remedies for teaching generalist art methods courses and how our lived experiences support or complicate normalized assumptions about teaching art methods for general educators. We found that authors identify familiar teaching challenges (e.g. students' misinformed beliefs about art, limited content knowledge and fear about art-making) and suggest curricular, pedagogical and philosophical remedies. However, our lived experiences revealed that many challenges consist of structural, administrative and policy-related issues beyond individual instructors' control. Our CAE reveals what a literature review alone could not, exposing how structural and cultural dynamics profoundly shape this work. Our findings suggest that problems extend beyond our classrooms and stem from institutional and broader cultural environments that position art as supplementary rather than essential to schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 17435234 |
| DOI: | 10.1386/eta_00232_1 |
