HOLISTIC APPROACHES TO ART EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF CHOICE-BASED ART EDUCATION A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Lauren J. Lutkus August 2019 Thesis written by Lauren J. Lutkus B.A., Kent State University, 2012 M.A. Kent State University, 2019 Approved by ______________________________________ Linda Hoeptner-Poling, Ph.D., Advisor, Associate Professor, School of Art ______________________________________ Marie Bukowski, MFA, Director, School of Art ______________________________________ John R. Crawford-Spinelli, Ed.D., Dean, College of the Arts TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 Topic Development.......................................................................................................2 Significance..................................................................................................................3 Purpose and Justification..............................................................................................4 Research Questions...…………………………………………...………………….....7 Definitions………………………………………………………………………........7 Assumptions and Limitations…………………………………………………...........9 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE……………………...………………..…...16 Historical Background………………………………………………………………12 Holistic Art Education Theory and Practice………………………………………...17 Foundations of Holistic Art Education Practice…………………………………….18 Steps for Implementing a Holistic Approach………………………………………..20 Holistic Art Education Practice from the Study Group for Holistic Art Education...24 Unpacking the Key Principles of Contemporary Holistic Art Education…………...27 Implications………………………………………………………………………….34 Choice-based Art Education………………………………………………………...36 Theory……………………………………………………………………………….37 Practice………………………………………………………………………………44 Intersections of Holistic and Choice-based Art Education………………………….52 III. METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………………..53 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….53 Qualitative Research Design………………………………………………………...53 iii Data Collection Methods................................................................................................62 Data Analysis.................................................................................................................64 IV. DATA ANALYSIS......................................................................................................66 Overview......................................................................................................................66 Space for Holistic and Choice-based Approaches.......................................................67 Symbiotic Relationships of Collaboration and Trust...................................................71 Whole and Engaged Students......................................................................................74 Balance, Inclusion, and Connection............................................................................78 Knowing Our Students is Loving Our Students..........................................................81 The Disposition of a Holistic Art Educator.................................................................84 V. IMPLICATIONS: BRINGING A CHOICE-BASED HOLISTIC PRACTICE INTO FOCUS..............................................................................................................................86 Overview.....................................................................................................................86 Focal Point: The Nexus of Holistic and Choice-based Art Education........................86 Perfect Lighting: Harnessing Mind, Body and Spirit to Create Authentic Artwork.100 Adjusting Aperture: Obstacles to Holistic and Choice Practices..............................106 Self-Portrait...............................................................................................................109 Conclusions: Bringing it all into Focus.....................................................................110 APPENDIXES A. Interview Questions..............................................................................................112 B. Sample Informed Consent Form...........................................................................113 C. Sample Audio/Video Consent Form.....................................................................116 D. Sample English Informed Consent for Student Artwork......................................117 E. Sample Spanish Informed Consent for Student Artwork.....................................119 REFERENCES................................................................................................................120 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Steps to implement a holistic approach. From: McKenna (2006)……………………….22 2. Studio Habits and their Definitions. Adapted from Studio Thinking from the Start: The K–8 Art Educator’s Handbook, by Jillian Hogan, Lois Hetland, Diane B. Jaquith, and Ellen Winner. © 2018 by Teachers College, Columbia University. Retrieved from: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/resources/eight-habits-of-mind...................................41 3. Continuum of choice-based learning. From Douglas and Jaquith (2009)…………….....43 4. Example of observational fieldnotes……………………………………………………..63 5. Change exhibition sign…………………………………………………………………..70 6. Identified harmonies between holistic and choice-based approaches to art education…..87 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe many people in my life a gracious and heartfelt thank you! for their support. First, I would like to thank the Art Education Faculty at Kent State University for the opportunity and privilege of my former position as Graduate Teaching Assistant that opened the door to pursue my master’s degree. It was a rewarding learning experience that culminated in this thesis being written. Thank you, Linda, Robin, Koon, and Juli for your friendship and support along the way. And to my thesis advisor, Dr. Linda Hoeptner-Poling- thank you for your patience with me! Your trust you put in me and my lengthy writing process allowed me to craft what I envisioned this writing to be. Thank you also to my grad student family- Christine, Kelli, and Missy, for your friendship and support, laughter and fun times! Thank you to my participant and your family, for the hospitality and adventure you gave me. I appreciate the kind heart you have and share with the world. You are a rockstar mom, teacher, and human! I learned so much from you during my short visit and hope to see you again soon. Thank you to my family- mom, dad, Lily, and Luke, for your support during kindergarten through graduate school! I admire you all for your own contributions to your professions and the wonderfulness you spread in the world. I am proud to be your sister and daughter. Thank you for being there for me. A special thank you to my fiancée and soon to be husband, Walter Shay. Thank you for interrupting my writing progress with your love and being my teammate in building a beautiful life together, and always knowing that when the laptop comes out I mean business. Thank you vi for your encouragement, dinners, cleaning, and handling business when I was glued to the computer. vii 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION On a hot September afternoon, I felt my heart sink for the first time as a teacher. While student teaching, a repeat kindergarten student with an impressive record of behavior problems had an outburst when I took away his crayons. The end of art class was devastating to him. His cries were visceral as he threw his body onto his teacher, who began to cry with him. Another student rushed to them with a box of tissue, saying “It’s okay teacher, we all cry sometimes.” This veteran teacher who was completing her last year before retirement looked at me and my cooperating teacher with tears streaming down her face and said, “He doesn’t like anything about school.” The three adults in the room shared this child’s pain for a few moments. He was being ripped away from experiencing joy. We wept with him because it was clear that this young child does not experience happiness or joy in his daily life. For a brief moment of time, a forty minute art class, he had found it, and was absolutely devastated that it had ended. With a class waiting outside and tears running down my face, I knew in that moment that art experiences for young children mattered deeply. That moment made me realize that what I did, and what I could do for children was so much more than a basic art education. The end of art class, the end of that child’s happiness for the day, was out of my control. Yet, I witnessed something incredibly important that had a profound effect on me as a teacher. The veteran kindergarten teacher, who was months away from retirement and had seen it all within her career in an urban school district, showed incredible compassion. She hugged him and cried with him. The adults in power in this situation showed great compassion for this child, and I knew right then and there that my practice was going to revolve around loving my students. 2 Topic Development To those serving students living in poverty, this story is not extraordinary. Time, resources, and stress provide obstacles that interfere with our efforts