CASEY N.

SMITH
ARE6746: Methods of Research
Fall 2017
 PATHS TO BECOMING AN
ART EDUCATOR

The purpose of this collective case study is to

explore the paths that people take to
become art educators and where those
paths lead them.
 RATIONAL &
BACKGROUND
There are many reasons a person might choose to
be an art teacher; holidays, joy of teaching and
sharing passion for art, desire for creative job.

Unfortunately, there are also many art teachers

experiencing burn-out, feelings of isolation,
and “artitude”.

By learning about the possible struggles of being an art

teacher people preparing to enter the classroom can
better prepare to handle these issues.
 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• How and why do people decide to become art

educators?

• What do practicing art educators report about their

experiences in the classroom over time?

• What reasons do former art educators give for leaving

the profession?
 LITERATURE REVIEW
• Anderson’s (2000) book Real Lives: Art Teachers and the Cultures of
Schools provides an excellent snapshot of the paths that some
individuals have taken to becoming art educators including their
education, teaching experience, current job position, and their
experiences as an artist.

• In the 2016 case study by Buffington, Williams, Ogier, and Rouatt they
identified five factors that lead individuals to becoming art educators;
the individuals’ family and early childhood experiences, school art
experiences, the influence of mentors, young adult experiences, and
the individual’s identity. Through the case study the participants
became more aware of the influences that led them to art education,
and the implications those influences have on our own teaching
methods.

• Lawton (2016) describes as “artitudes,” opinions of others concerning

the degree an art educator possesses, that can affect the educators’
self-confidence, self-esteem and can contribute to teacher burnout.
She discusses how people still hold on to the notion, “Those who can’t
do, teach.” This is true for art educators as well. Many people look at art
educators as individuals who failed as artists, but this is not true.
 SUMMARY OF RESEARCH
METHODS
• I will be creating surveys using the information I have learned
from scholars Bertot (2009), and Ritter & Sue (2007).

• I will also be conducting interviews using the information learned from

Dilley (2009), Jacob &
Furgerson (2012), as well as
Turner (2010).

Participants will be students in the

UF Master’s of Art Education
program.

I will need IRB approval to

conduct my research.
 DATA COLLECTION
METHODS
• I plan to send out an invitation to the other students in
the UF Master’s in Art Education program. The survey
will be conducted online through a platform such as
Google Forms.

• After the surveys are completed, submitted, and

analyzed I may be conducting interviews with those
individuals who did not give clear answers or those
who’s answers prompted more
questions. This could provide me with
further information on what changes
during their teaching profession and
why they are leaving the classroom.
 DATA ANALYSIS
• Scholarly research articles will assist me in deciding on
preliminary categories to sort my data.

• Data gathered from the surveys will be put into

a spread sheet. This will provide an easy way to
view all of the responses together and I can easily
group and sort the responses according to what
I am looking for.

• I will record the interviews and code the responses

the participants give. This will help me group
similarities and differences in the experiences that
the participants have had in the profession.
 WHAT IS TO COME?
• Creating the survey.

• Creating a list of students in the UF Master’s of Art

Education program to invite to take the survey.

• Begin working on the webpage in my professional

website that I will be using to document and share my
research with others.

• Work on creating infographics to share the data with

others.