Abstract

This thesis is a qualitative research study which investigates the current attitudes and practices of four Quebec secondary art educators while addressing social issues in the secondary art curriculum. Using narrative inquiry, three art educators were interviewed in regard to their personal and professional experiences of addressing social issues in the art classroom, along with a self-interview to capture my own attitudes and practices. Interview questions were built around four major themes that I selected because they relate to my own art teaching experience of addressing social issues in the art classroom. The data is comprised of transcripts of interviews wherein the participants relate values, preferences, concerns and practices in the art classroom, when specifically addressing social issues. The analysis consists of compiling and summarizing all of the responses according to each interview theme to identify similarities and differences among the four participants' attitudes and practices. The findings of this analysis of the interviews, along with connections to related professional and research literature, contribute to my professional knowledge; the outcomes of the research confirm and expand my understanding of an issues-based approach to art education. As a practicing art educator, this inquiry is valuable to me because I was able to learn from the experiences of other art educators, and to identify several practical recommendations to offer art teachers who want to address social issues in the secondary art classroom