Webs, Windows, and Reflections: Experiences in a Secondary Art Classroom

Abstract

Action research methods were implemented to alter the attitudinal and behavioral changes occurring in adolescents during their participation in a year-long visual culture art curriculum taught in a secondary public school. As the students studied and decoded the visual language of contemporary imagery found in popular culture, their responses and actions concerning attitudes toward learning and toward learning about social issues, their willingness to engage in critical inquiry of contemporary visual culture, and their understandings of individuality were evaluated. Assisting adolescents in gaining knowledge to resolve their questions, communicate their thoughts and ideas in a visual form, and empower them to become critically literate justified the implementation of a visual culture art curriculum. By realigning the art curriculum to emphasize the study of content relevant and meaningful to the lives of adolescents, the students became engaged in their education. Through the process of critical inquiry of contemporary texts and images, the students understood the meanings associated in popular imagery and became empowered to challenge the social representations inherent in contemporary imagery. By creating visual imagery in response to their inquiry, the students became aware of the influence of their work on others and the role of visual imagery in creating meaning. The study revealed that the visual culture art curriculum was the impetus for change, and it was the teacher/student relationships, peer interactions, parent/child communication, and artistic experiences that occurred in response to the curriculum discussions and activities that were of significance in altering the adolescents' behaviors and attitudes.