Expanding Visual Arts Experiences at Liberty Public Schools Through

the Introduction of Art Field Trips and Guest Speakers

Ashley Taylor
University of Missouri-Columbia
Summer 2015

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Abstract
Diminishing budgets and classroom cutbacks in the Visual Arts
program of Liberty Public Schools has caused me to take a look at the
ways in which these programs can be saved and an awareness for art
education can be given new life. By facilitating trips to art museums
and inviting guest speakers in the field of art to visit schools in our
district, I am proposing that I can foster an interest in Visual Art that
will translate into higher numbers enrolling in art classes at the
secondary level, and a desire for more students to continue in a Visual
Arts-related field post graduation.

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Expanding Visual Arts Experiences at Liberty Public Schools

Through the Introduction of Art Field Trips and Guest Speakers

Statement of Problem
Liberty Public Schools (LPS) have consistently been recognized
for their achievement in music education programs, theatre
productions, and speech & debate teams. However, the Visual Arts are
rarely recognized or advertized, and upper level students (grades 9-12)
seem to be losing interest in the Visual Arts. Enrollment in these
classes has been declining, thus leading to budget cutbacks. Many
students in the district have never been to an art museum or an art
gallery even though they live within twenty minutes of several. Many
students graduate from LPS without realizing the potential careers they
could pursue in the arts. These problems are part in parcel to the fact
that Visual Arts field trips, assemblies, and other first-hand/real world
experiences are underfunded, underutilized, and otherwise nonexistent
at LPS. Every year, money is given by the Parent-Teacher Association
at my school to fund Fine Arts related performances and field trips, but
it has never been suggested that they be Visual Art related.

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Research Proposal and Hypothesis

With this proposal, I intend to explore ways in which the Visual
Art department at LPS can inspire growth and flourish in the coming
years. By organizing and facilitating trips to art museums and/or
galleries in Kansas City (such as the Nelson-Atkins or the Kemper) and
inviting local guest speakers to visit the elementary school where I
teach, I believe a trend will be created wherein other schools in my
district will begin offering these types of opportunities for their
students.
After participating in these enriching, authentic experiences, I believe
students will seek out Visual Art opportunities (such as camps or
workshops) outside of school in their free time. Furthermore, I believe
a higher percentage of students will enroll in Visual Arts classes at the
secondary level and go on to pursue careers in a Fine Art related field.

Research Questions and Sub Questions

How would the introduction of Visual Arts field trips* and guest
speakers** at my school impact the future of the Fine Arts Department
at LPS?
*Visits to local art museums and art galleries
**Local artists with experience in various art media and fields

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Would other elementary schools in the district be willing to

pursue funding for Visual Art field trips and guest speakers?
If all elementary schools in the district continued to fund Visual
Art field trips and guest speakers year after year, would
enrollment eventually increase in Visual Art classes amongst

secondary level students?

If enrollment in Visual Arts classes increases at LPS, would the
percentage of students who go on to pursue a career in Fine Art
also increase?

Definition of Terms
Field Trip a visit taken by students or researchers to study a place
first hand
Guest Speaker a person who has been invited to lecture at a location
where he or she is not closely associated

Parent-Teacher Association an organization within a school setting

composed of parents and teachers whose intentions are to facilitate
participation within the community of the school.
Sociocultural Constructivist Theory a theory based on Lev Vygotskys
view that learning is a connection with and appropriation of the
sociocultural context within which people are immersed.

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Visual Arts art forms that are created for visual perception, such as,
but not limited to, graphic design, photography, drawing, painting,
printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture

Research Plan
The theoretical framework of the research would be based on
Sociocultural Constructivism, which aligns with Vygotskys view that
learning is a connection with and appropriation of the sociocultural
context within which we are all immersed. As I will discuss more within
the following review of key literature, findings show that authentic
learning tends to happen through participation in social activities, in
this case, activities where the community surrounding a learner all
contribute to the learning process. A phenomenological methodology
could be utilized, as I will be looking at the subjective experiences and
perspectives of a group of students and the individual factors that
contribute to their decisions to continue their Visual Arts education.
Ethnographic methodology could also be utilized, as my analysis will
begin during data collection, the goal being to find patterns and
explanations that lead to the students decision to enroll in Visual Arts
classes beyond what is required.
The study would begin by following a select group of
Kindergarten students through the course of their elementary and

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secondary education and use observation, student interviews, and
surveys as sources of data. Consent will be needed from parents, as
subjects will be studied from a very young age over an extended
period of time. However, IRB permission will not be needed unless I
publish the findings. The year of inception, the numbers of seniors
enrolled in Visual Arts classes would need to be collected at the end of
each year until the first group of Kindergarteners graduate in order to
track fluctuation. This research would assume students are available
to be researched between their Kindergarten year to their senior year.
The study could potentially be extended beyond the students senior
year to find out if the percentage of students who go on to pursue
careers in Fine Art also increases. Again, a survey would have to be
created so that numbers of graduates intent on pursuing a Fine Art
degree could be recorded.
One Visual Art opportunity per semester would be introduced in
the first year of the study (subject to change). By the time the first
group of Kindergarteners enters the middle level and they are able to
choose their own schedules, I would hypothesize that numbers (via
survey) will begin to show a shift toward higher enrollment in Visual Art
electives.

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Literature Review
Thus far in this proposal, I have discussed ways to begin
introducing field trips to art museums and guest speakers who work
within the Visual Arts into the structure of schools in Liberty. But how
can this help inspire LPS students to pursue further education in art?
Why is research needed for the pursuit of these types of enrichment
experiences? One reason is that there seems to be a lack of current
quantitative data for guiding the development of museum-school
relationships (Lauzier Stone, 79). Through Lauzier Stones research,
she found that cooperation with museums can have a powerful
influence on the curriculum and the classroom teacher (80). Not only
can the Visual Arts be affected in a worthwhile way, but crosscurricular connections can be made as well. Teaching about art and
visual culture should be occurring in an array of formal, non-formal,
and informal contexts with a variety of purposes according to
research by author Lara M. Lackey (101). She says that art education
should be happening while utilizing its multiple forms. By exploring
the ways that art education takes place in different contexts and social
situations, we can see how each setting creates unique environments
with which learners and teachers interact (Lackey, 103)

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As I mentioned above, Visual Arts field trips, assemblies, and
other first-hand/real world experiences are underfunded and
underutilized. The reduction in these types of experiences are due to
financial pressures within school systems and field trips are
increasingly seen as an unnecessary frill (Greene, et. al. 1). But these
enrichment experiences are far more important than the reward trips
that some schools have tended towards. One major component of
education today that is fostered by experiences in art museums is
critical thinking. Author Olga Hubard writes that several museums
across the United States assert that the goal of their education
programs is precisely to foster critical thinking in students (15).
There is also much research that suggests cooperative
relationships between schools and museums help students engage in
experiences that promote different kinds of learning (Jeffrey-Clay, 3).
Using the Constructivist theory, author Kody R. Jeffrey-Clay writes that
adding museum visits can open up students minds to link previous
knowledge to pre-existing knowledge and the more links created, the
more stable this new knowledge will be thus helping students learn
meaningfully and authentically.
So how would the introduction of Visual Arts field trips and guest
speakers at my school impact the future of the Fine Arts Department at
LPS? Author Renee Sandell writes that embracing contemporary

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standards for teaching art such as teaching about Form, Theme, and
Context in real world instances, provides a better understanding of the
relevance and significance of art, and as mentioned previously, creates
an interdisciplinary approach that is more meaningful to student
learning.
The idea of initiating steps to promote the art museum as a valued
resource may seem idealistic and unrealistic in light of pressing
teacher responsibilities. Yet the art specialist more than any other
teacher in the school setting is critical and is in the best position to
address the special needs of the school (Lauzier Stone, 82). By
allowing me to facilitate these experiences, one semester at a time, I
should be able to show that creating this interdisciplinary structure can
allow growth within our Visual Arts program, and continue to
encourage students to pursue careers in the arts. In doing so, as
author Lackey writes, artists become concerned with the production
and distribution of artistic and cultural products that translate into
capital, symbolic, and/or economic (105), and produces citizens that
are eager to find creative paths in all aspects of life.

Conclusion
The arts have been an integral part of learning at LPS and
continuing programs that facilitate multiple facets of the arts, including

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the Visual Arts, is of utmost importance in the coming years. Instead
of sitting back and watching budgets and programs diminish, it is my
goal to introduce the ideas fostered by this research to my
administrators in hopes of changing the focus of the Visual Arts to one
that does not sit back on its laurels, but instead is a powerful force to
be reckoned with. One that includes interdisciplinary and
contemporary approaches to learning about art, culture, and the wide
world surrounding our students today.

References
Greene, J.P., Kisida, B., & Bowen, D.H. (2014). The Educational Value of
Field Trips.
Education Next, 14 (1).
Griffin, J. (2004). Research on students and museums: Looking more
closely at the

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students in school groups. Science Education, 88 (1). 59-70
Hubard, O. (2011). Rethinking critical thinking and its role in art
museum
education. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 45 (3), 15-21.
Jeffrey-Clay, K.R. (1998). Constructivism in Museums: How Museums
Create
Meaningful Learning Environments. The Journal of Museum
Education 23 (1),
3-7.
Lackey, L. (2003). Theorizing a Network Called Art Education: ReEnvisioning and
Extending the Field. Studies in Art Education 44 (2), 101-116.
Lauzier Stone, D. (1994). Facilitating Cooperative School Relationships:
Museum
Educators Suggestions. Visual Arts Research 20 (1), 79-83.
Mayer, M. (2005). A postmodern Puzzle: Rewriting the Place of the
Visitor in Art
Museum Education. Studies in Art Education 46 (4), 356-368.

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Sandell, R. (2011). Seeing a bigger picture: the visual arts. Principal

Leadership 11
(7), 48-54.