Danielle Tavernier

June 18, 2014

Philosophy of Art Education Paper
Personal Philosophy of Art Education
My Beliefs About Art Education
In my own personal experience as an artist, I have found that art education is a
collaboration of knowledge and expression. I believe that an artist must establish a firm
knowledge base (Roberts, 2005), and then build on that with personal ideas and passion. This
knowledge base must consist of art history and an understanding of the formal elements and
principles of art. From here, a work of art can be created by adding imagination and self-
expression. I believe that art speaks to each person differently and should be approached with an
individual style. When students possess this information, they can give an educated critique of a
work of art and critique their own work to improve it. An art teacher should present the students
with an education of art history, the tools to create and critique art, and then the capacity to help
the students express themselves when making art. The student should come into art class ready to
learn (like any other subject), with an open mind, and be willing to express themselves through
problem solving. Lastly, parents and administrators need to view art as a serious subject that
deserves respect and equal attention.
Philosophical Label
Based on my previously stated beliefs for art education, I feel that I am best classified as
a discipline-based art educator. Discipline-based art education (DBAE) is a teaching philosophy
that consists of four basic disciplines: art history, art criticism, aesthetics, and art making
(Stinespring, 1992). I believe in this philosophy because it is structured and supports the
formalist approach to art. Students should be proficient in the four disciplines that make up
DBAE in order to be skillful and successful artists. DBAE allows the students to learn about
various styles and techniques while still having an emphasis on individual expression and
reflection making it possible to engage students both intellectually and intuitively in art
production (Roberts, 2005). Many see the DBAE style as too controlling not allowing the
students the freedom to be creative, I believe the contrary. The DBAE style exposes the students
to more possibilities through studying art history, aesthetics, and critiquing art. They are building
a vocabulary and critical thinking that can benefit them in multiple areas of study. The DBAE
teacher is not put in place to control the student, but to provide them with professional insight
and direction if they ask for it or need it.
Current Issues for Consideration
John A. Stinespring (1992) believes about DBAE that more classroom time is to be
spent talking about the arts and less time making art. I believe that this all depends on the
teacher. As an art educator I would plan to spend 25% of class time teaching art
history/criticism/aesthetics and the students would spend 75% of class time thinking and
creating. Another misconception about the art history taught in a DBAE classroom is that it only
emphasizes white Western male artists. This is also a factor that depends on the teacher that is
teaching. I think that it is imperative to expose children to art history in all cultures, especially if
you have a variety of ethnicities in your classroom. There are a variety of cultures living in the
U.S.; this means that American classrooms are becoming more and more multicultural. Themina
Kader (2005) believes that DBAE teachers need to consider geography, history, socio-economic
conditions of the people who create the artworks, role of men and women in the production
process. If DBAE teachers take all of these factors into consideration when teaching, they
would be better able to make connections in a multicultural classroom.

References
Kader, T. (2005). SchoolArts: DBAE and multicultural art education in the United States of
America. International Journal of Education through Art, 1(1), 65-84.
doi:10.1386/etar.1.1.65/1
In this article, Themina Kader (fine arts professor at the University of Wisconsin)
addresses how discipline-based art education exists with multiculturalism in the
classroom. Kader talks about the exposure of different cultures in education since the
1960s. She is also a strong proponent for a publication by the name of SchoolArts.
SchoolArts is a journal that reflects strictly on issues in art education.
Roberts, T. (2005). Teaching real art making. Art Education, 58(2), 40-45.
doi:10.2307/27696064
Teresa Roberts is an art educator at Northern Garrett High School (Accident, Maryland)
that wrote this article about her discovery of discipline-based art education and ways to
make student art meaningful. She writes about ways that teachers can engage their
students into deep thought about the content of their art. Roberts is a clear advocate for
the structure of DBAE and driving each individual student to creativity through art
history, criticism, aesthetics, and art production.
Stinespring, J. A. (1992). DBAE and criticism. Art Education Policy Review, 94, 20-25.
doi:10.1080/10632913.1992.9936904
In this article, John A. Stinespring (assistant professor in the Department of Art at Texas
Tech University) presents many criticisms towards the DBAE philosophy. He does not
feel that students are capable of making an educated and valid critique of a work of art.
Stinespring also briefly offers his opinion on the workings of a discipline based art
education classroom.