The Evolution of

Discipline-Based
Art Education
Discipline-Based Art Education, otherwise known
as DBAE, came about during a time when reform
was being made in general education. It has
evolved over the decades and has made several
reversions and permutations. While it is not really
seen as a teaching concept for today’s art
education classrooms it can be found in the
methods and ideas of what is being used. DBAE can
be viewed as the foundation of today’s art
education.
By: Casey N. Smith
ARE6049: History of Teaching Art
 BEGINNINGS
DBAE came about during a time when reform was being made in general education.
Educators, policy makers, researchers, and curriculum creators realized there was
something lacking in art education.

The Getty Center for Education in the

Arts took on the project of researching
and creating a new concept for art
education.

Four disciplines
were deemed
necessary in art Dwaine Greer broke
education; down the four disciplines
aesthetics, art to make them easier for
history, critique, educators to understand
art production. and implement.
 EVOLUTION
• The Getty Center held conferences & seminars focusing on debating & reviewing the ideas of
DBAE.
• 1989 critics became worried about the limited artists and works that were being included in the
DBAE curriculums. Also Multiculturalism was a growing movement in education. These concerns &
movements brought about the inclusion of multicultural frameworks as well as female and
minority artists and works of art.

• They struggled with the implementation of DBAE in schools. Some critics thought that they were
taking art out of art education. Advocates told educators that creating a ‘balance’ between the
four area did not necessarily mean equal time among the four. They suggested that art production
could still dominate the classroom as long as the other four areas were being effectively
integrated.
• They also faced a lack of education the teachers had in the areas of aesthetics, critique, and art
history. The Getty Center implemented training courses for educators in those areas. Which led to a
reform in teacher education.

In 1992 Stephen Dobbs

• Textbooks were revised to include more history.
wrote, “The DBAE
Curriculum creators were making adjustments and
Handbook: An Overview
creating timelines, games and even narratives.
of Discipline-Based Art
Education”
 TODAY
• DBAE provided a, “flexible structure • It provided a method for inclusion
that organizes thinking and provides of different cultures, artists, and
effective parameters for discussing minorities.
art work” (Spero, 1992, para 1).

• We still see the use of aesthetics,

art history and critique in
classrooms today incorporated
with art production.

• Through the use of “Enduring

Ideas” and “Essential Questions”
educators provide an
environment of inquiry which
comes from the foundations of
DBAE.
 Resources
Brandt, R. (1987). On discipline-based art education: a conversation with Elliot Eisner. Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198712_brandt2.pdf

Delacruz, E. M. & Dunn, P.C. (1995, November). DBAE: The next generation. Art Education, 48(6). 46-53. Retrieved
from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193572?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Delacruz, E. M. & Dunn, P.C. (1996). The evolution of discipline-based art education. Journal of Aesthetic Education.
30(3). 67-81. Retrieved from
http://www.elizabethdelacruz.com/uploads/5/4/3/6/5436943/delacruz_evolution_of_dbae_toward_holistic.pdf

Dobbs, Stephen M. (1992). The DBAE handbook: an overview of discipline-based art education. Getty Center for
Education in the Arts. Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwievKfOqZD
SAhXBPCYKHTWvCX4QFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffiles.eric.ed.gov%2Ffulltext%2FED349253.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFs3
DLMClFt5ywjowlj723N6IOFng&sig2=SvIMI4nPDIgoYz57G6tbNQ

Greer, Dwaine W. (1987). A structure of discipline concepts for DBAE. Studies in Art Education, 28(4). 227-233.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1320301?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Greer, Dwaine W. (1993). Developments in Discipline-based art education (DBAE): from art education toward arts
education. Studies in Art Education, 34(2). 91-101. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1320446?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Spero, Susan B. (1992). Using discipline-based art education art personal perspective. Museum-Ed, 1(3). Retrieved
from http://www.museum-ed.org/using-discipline-based-art-education-art-personal-perspective/